North State Journal — Special Edition

Page 1

VOLUME 1 SPECIAL EDITION

WEDNESDAY, JULY 13, 2016

WWW.NSJONLINE.COM

the Sunday NEWS BRIEFING

Democratic U.S. presidential candidates Hillary Clinton and Sen. Bernie Sanders stand together during a campaign rally where Sanders endorsed Clinton in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, U.S., July 12.

NC favorites Cheerwine, Krispy Kreme pair up Salisbury, N.C. Cheerwine and Krispy Kreme have joined forces to release the Cheerwine Kreme, a soft drink that combines the flavors of two North Carolina brands. The Cheerwine Kreme is available at grocery chains, some convenience stores and at Krispy Kreme locations in North Carolina, South Carolina and Georgia. Krispy Kreme will be offering free samples of the drink July 23.

VA Delegate to the RNC Convention wins lawsuit

BRIAN SNYDER | REUTERS

Richmond, Va. A Virginia delegate to the Republican National Convention who does not support Donald Trump is claiming victory after a federal judge ruled that delegates cannot be fined or jailed for not voting for the state’s primary winner. However, the impact of the decision is thought to be limited because Virginia allocates delegates proportionally and it does not free them from proportional obligations. Carroll Correll Jr., who filed the lawsuit last month, is backed by a group of Trump opponents who say they are lobbying the RNC Rules Committee to force a convention vote on whether delegates should be freed from their candidate commitments.

Center opens to employ hundreds Mebane, N.C. Gov. Pat McCrory is scheduled to join in the grand opening of a Walmart Distribution Center in Alamance County Wednesday morning. The facility will employ 450 people and serve 125 stores across the area. It was built after a $100 million investment by Walmart in the project, which also received a performance-based grant from the One North Carolina Fund of up to $1,100,000. Under the grant program companies receive no money up front and must meet job creation and investment performance standards to qualify for funds. More than 52,000 people work for Walmart across N.C.

INSIDE

A farewell to Tim Duncan, Wake Forest legend and five-time NBA champion B1 4,000-plus fans were treated to autographs, a scrimmage and the signing of two draft picks at the Carolina Hurricanes’ Summerfest B4 Sports

NORTH

STATE

JOURNaL ELEVATE THE CONVERSATION

NC LEGISLATURE

McCrory signs body camera, law enforcement bills By Jeff Moore North State Journal RALEIGH — Gov. Pat McCrory signed multiple pieces of legislation related to law enforcement Monday, including a police body camera bill and a bill to establish an alert system to help capture those that harm public safety officials. House Bill 1044 establishes the Blue Alert System to aid in the apprehension of suspects who kill or inflict serious bodily injury on a law enforcement officer. “We are helping protect those police,” said McCrory at the bill signing. “[The Blue Alert system] includes the whole community wherever one lives in North Carolina.” In addition, McCrory signed H.B. 972, which establishes procedures for the disclosure of police body camera footage. Under the new body camera provision, body camera footage will not be public record. Instead it gives police departments discretion in releasing the footage. If a request for footage is denied, an individual may challenge the denial in court with the potential to obtain a court order for

the footage. “This legislation fulfills our commitment to protect our law enforcement and gain public trust by promoting uniformity, clarity and transparency,” said McCrory. “You know, technology like dashboard and body cameras can be very helpful, but when used by itself technology can also mislead and misinform, which causes other issues and problems with in our communities.” The North Carolina chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union is protesting the law, claiming a lack of transparency. “Body cameras should be a tool to make law enforcement more transparent and accountable to the communities they serve, but this shameful law will make it nearly impossible to achieve those goals,” said Susanna Birdsong, policy counsel for the ACLU of North Carolina. “People who are filmed by police body cameras should not have to spend time and money to go to court in order to see that footage. These barriers are significant and we expect them to drastically reduce any potential See MCCRORY, page A8

Summer southern cocktail recipes with a taste of the Old North State. C3 the good life

CHRISTINE T. NGUYEN | NORTH STATE JOURNAL

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20177 52016 $2.00

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Gov. Pat McCrory (center) shakes hands with Rep. John Faircloth (R-Guilford) after McCrory signed H.B. 972 and H.B. 1044 Monday, July 11 at the Executive Mansion.

COUNCIL OF STATE

State budget surplus stands at $425 million By Jeff Moore North State Journal RALEIGH — Gov. Pat McCrory convened his Council of State for a business meeting on Tuesday, receiving updates from members in their respective agency dealings. The regular meeting is usually a perfunctory affair to keep the governor and Council of State members abreast of developments ranging from North Carolina Department of Agriculture harvest statistics to approving the sale of state properties. Tuesday’s meeting, however, notably brought good news from the state budget office. State Budget Director Andrew Heath announced to the council “for the third time this year, the state budget office in concert with the fiscal research division of the General Assembly, has revised revenue figures upward above our initial projections; this time by another $95 million.” The final expected budget surplus for the fiscal year now stands at $425 million. “This is driven by higher than anticipated collections of income tax, which is a sign that more people are working and earning

higher wages,” said Heath. “This shouldn’t be taken for granted, particularly when you have Virginia, our neighbor to the north, who just announced a $266 million shortfall.” Higher than expected income tax collections were also pointed to in the last two upward revenue projections. Despite lowered personal and corporate income tax rates and a shift toward consump­ tion based sales taxes, income tax receipts continue to outperform. “Generally wages are up incrementally, but the number of jobs that have been created is probably what’s driving the higher than expected revenue,” said Heath. “You’re seeing the impact on revenues from all that increased economic activity. “In particular, North Carolina scored well in access to capital, we’re the second best in the nation in that category,” reported Heath. “And we were recognized for venture capital and small business loans that are helping create jobs.” In a press release addressing the surplus, McCrory said, “At a time when neighboring states are revealing steep revenue deficits, North Carolina’s economy is firing on all cylinders.”

DALLAS Photos of the slain policemen as U.S. President Barack Obama speaks during a memorial service for the five killed last week in a sniper attack in Dallas. KEVIN LAMARQUE | REUTERS

Police memorial strikes up tough conversations By Cory Lavalette North State Journal RALEIGH — President Barack Obama spoke Tuesday at a memorial service in Dallas for the five police officer killed by a gunman who was seemingly motivated by the deaths of two black men last week in Louisiana and Minnesota. Obama returned to the United States from Europe after the gunman, Micah X. Johnson, opened fire on police during an otherwise peaceful Black Lives Matter protest Thursday in Dallas. Johnson killed five officers, wounded seven others, and injured two civilians before police ended a multiple-hour standoff by using a police robot to detonate a bomb and kill Johnson.

“Like police officers across the country, these men and their families showed a commitment to something larger than themselves,” Obama said in honoring the five fallen officers. Obama’s speech praised the work of law enforcement across the country while not dismissing the distrust that exists in some places between police and the communities they serve. “Faced with this violence we wonder if the divides of race in America can ever be bridged,” Obama said. “We wonder if an African-American community that feels unfairly targeted and police departments that feel unfairly maligned for doing their jobs can ever See DALLAS, page A8

22 legislators leave General Assembly On Murphy to Manteo, page A5


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