NC Politics in the News

September 23, 2019

Pardon Our Dust

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Agriculture  

THE FAYETTEVILLE OBSERVER: Marine veteran opens Broad River Hemp Company in Fayetteville
Robert Elliott says he’s eager to help military veterans become farmers while, at the same time, educating people on the benefits and uses of the various products derived from industrial hemp.


Economic Development

TRIANGLE BUSINESS JOURNAL: Manufacturing giant to bring hundreds of jobs to greater Triangle region
An Indian manufacturing giant appears to have picked the greater Triangle region for a massive project – one that includes initial investments worth more than $170 million.


Education

WCTI 12: Dorian-flooded NC school to get iPads for displaced students
North Carolina’s top education official says the state will send hundreds of iPads to students and teachers on an island damaged by Hurricane Dorian. North Carolina Public Schools said in a press release that Superintendent Mark Johnson announced Monday the department of public instruction would send 200 iPads to Ocracoke School, where flooding forced 185 students out of their building.


Environment

THE NEWS & OBSERVER: NC got an ‘F’ for unsafe school drinking water. Activists want the lead out of schools. 
Environmental activists have launched a new campaign to protect children from drinking lead-contaminated water in schools following a national report that gave North Carolina a failing grade for safe school drinking water.


Healthcare

SPECTRUM NEWS: Medicaid Expansion for North Carolina Revived in House
A Republican framework for Medicaid expansion in North Carolina is advancing again with bipartisan support in the state House. But it’s unclear whether that will change feelings about the concept in the GOP-controlled Senate.


Government

CHAPELBORO: Cooper Vetoes Annual North Carolina Regulatory Cleanup Bill
Gov. Roy Cooper has vetoed the annual legislation pitched by Republicans as reducing and streamlining North Carolina regulations. The Democratic governor wrote Friday that a couple of provisions in the 25-page Regulatory Reform Act of 2019 threaten public health and safety. Gubernatorial vetoes apply to an entire bill’s content.

THE NEWS & OBSERVER: New political maps pass NC legislature, will be reviewed by judges who ordered redraw
North Carolina’s new political maps gained final approval from both the N.C. House and Senate on Tuesday. Nearly all Republicans supported them, and Democrats were split. The maps can’t be vetoed by Gov. Roy Cooper — the state constitution specifically forbids it — but they aren’t necessarily the final word.


Politics

THE NEWS & OBSERVER: Raleigh mayoral candidates explain how they’ll tackle the city’s pressing issues
Housing affordability. Transit. Economic development.The six candidates who want to be Raleigh’s next mayor tend to agree on the major challenges facing the city. But their approaches to addressing them set them apart.

WECT 6 NEWS: North Carolina legislators finalize more ‘mini-budget’ bills
A North Carolina budget veto has slowed state government for months, so lawmakers have sent Gov. Roy Cooper more stand-alone legislation containing popular provisions from that spending plan. Cooper now has four spending bills on his desk that address school and prison safety, disaster relief and testing sexual assault evidence kits. All received unanimous support.


Technology

GCN: Testbed for 5G-powered drones coming to North Carolina
To ensure 5G-powered drones and autonomous vehicles can be effectively integrated into smart city operations, the National Science Foundation selected the Raleigh and Cary, N.C., area to host the Aerial Experimentation and Research Platform for Advanced Wireless.


Transportation

THE NEWS & OBSERVER: Businesses will press legislators to ease NCDOT financial crisis, resume projects
A growing coalition of businesses and trade groups has begun to press the General Assembly to provide an infusion of cash to the N.C. Department of Transportation so it can resume planning work for hundreds of construction projects across the state.