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Your weekly North Carolina political news report.
Education
WRAL NEWS: Superintendent: NC K-3 teachers getting iPads
Reading teachers across the state, from kindergarten to third grade, will get computer tablets from the state this school year in an effort to track and improve student reading.
Economic Development
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS: North Carolina acts deep blue with state worker minimum wage
North Carolina Republicans have infuriated liberal activists by slashing income-tax rates, defending illegally gerrymandered districts and passing a now-partially repealed “bathroom bill” aimed at transgender people.
WRAL TECH: Employment in NC hits record; economist says job growth will continue
Never have this many people been working in North Carolina. And the job environment is going to continue improving, according to an NCSU economist.
Elections
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS: US judge voids part of North Carolina election law
A federal judge invalidated part of North Carolina elections law that allows one voter to challenge another’s residency, a provision that activist groups used to scrub thousands of names from rolls ahead of the 2016 elections.
Healthcare
WUNC: CDC: NC Sees Second-Highest Spike in Opioid Deaths In US
The number of drug overdose deaths in North Carolina jumped by more than 22 percent in the past year, according to the Centers for Disease Control. North Carolina saw the second-highest spike in the country after Nebraska.
In the Courts
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS: NC court: No proof public safer when sex offenders tracked
North Carolina’s second-highest court says authorities can’t force a sex-offender to wear a monitoring device for decades because evidence fails to show that tracking protects the public.
Justice & Public Safety
NC HEALTH NEWS: N.C. Judges Could Get More Discretion on Drug Crimes
A legislative committee took up the issue of mandatory minimum sentencing for drug crimes on Tuesday, agreeing that judges should have the ability to dissent from minimums under certain circumstances.
Transportation
THE STATE: Transportation secretary suggests free lane for I-77
A state transportation official said Wednesday he is backing a recommendation to convert one of the two proposed toll lanes for Interstate 77 near North Carolina’s largest city into a free, general purpose lane.