VOLUME 2 ISSUE 59
|
WWW.NSJONLINE.COM |
WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 14, 2018
Inside Cup season gears up with Daytona 500, Sports
PHOTO COURTESY OF ATLANTIC COAST PIPELINE
An existing pipeline marker is shown in Virginia. The 600-mile natural gas pipeline will run through West Virginia, Virginia and eight counties in N.C., ending in Robeson County. Approval of permits allowing the project to move forward in N.C. was announced by the N.C. Department of Environmental Quality earlier this month, as N.C. Gov. Roy Cooper announced a $57.8 million fund for environmental impact mitigation, economic development, and promotion of renewable energy.
the Wednesday
NEWS BRIEFING
White powder in envelope sends 3 to hospital as a precaution New York Vanessa Trump, the wife of Donald Trump Jr., and two other people were taken to a New York hospital on Monday after she opened a piece of mail containing an unidentified white powder that was later determined to be cornstarch, officials said. The daughterin-law of President Donald Trump was hospitalized after she complained of nausea following her exposure, New York officials said. Authorities have been on alert for mail with white powder in it since 2001, when envelopes laced with anthrax were sent to media outlets and lawmakers, killing five people.
NORTH
STATE
JOURNaL ELEVATE THE CONVERSATION
Ford issues “do not drive” warnings for some trucks Washington, D.C. Ford on Monday warned an additional 33,000 owners of some older pickup trucks in the U.S. to stop driving them until potentially defective Takata air bag inflators can be repaired. The expanded warning was prompted by additional testing and now covers a broader time frame of production. Mazda said it was issuing a similar expansion for about 1,800 2006 Mazda B-Series trucks. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) said the vehicles pose “an immediate risk to safety” and urged owners to immediately schedule a free repair. For more information visit www.nhtsa.gov
Justice Department seeks $2.175B for new FBI headquarters in 2018 Washington, D.C. The Trump administration is asking Congress for $2.175 billion up front to pay for a new FBI headquarters in 2018, U.S. Justice Department officials said on Monday. The officials said they are requesting all the money at once. The Federal Bureau of Investigation is housed in a 1970s-era building that has nets rigged to catch falling stone and is too small to contain its burgeoning workforce.
AARON P. BERNSTEIN | REUTERS
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, accompanied by Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX), speaks with reporters following the weekly policy luncheons at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., on Feb. 13.
U.S. Senate launches free-for-all immigration debate ahead of deadline Sen. Thom Tillis’ (R-N.C.) immigration proposal is playing a key role in a rare debate with a wide range of ideas in play
of ideas and proposals, but also an open debate that members of both parties have called for. "Whoever gets to 60 wins," McConnell told reporters at a news conference. "There's no secret plan here to try to push this in any direction. The Senate is going to work its By Donna King will, and I hope that we will end up North State Journal passing something." On Monday, Senator John WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Senate began a major, Cornyn, the No. 2 Republican, put free-wheeling immigration debate tight time constraints on the northis week, its first in nearly five mally slow-moving Senate. "It's this week or not at all," years. The structure of the discussion was what made news, with Cornyn said of the need for quick some calling it a “jump ball.” The Senate action. Speaking to reportsenate members voted 97 to 1 to ers, he warned that the debate had begin the debate with only Sen. Ted to be "wrapped up" by Thursday, Cruz (R-Texas) voting against it. before next week's congressional Majority Leader Mitch McConnell recess. Democratic Senator Dick started by introducing an unrelated bill and opened the floor to amend- Durbin, Cornyn's counterpart, told ments on immigration; any that got reporters he hoped a combination 60 votes becomes a part of the bill. The result is becoming a patchwork See IMMIGRATION, page A2
Origin of Cooper’s deal raises questions among lawmakers Lawmakers direct “mitigation about the fund’s management, orfund” money to eastern igin and whether the money from energy companies was truly “volunN.C. schools By Donna King North State Journal RALEIGH, N.C. — The N.C. House of Representatives passed legislation Tuesday by a vote of 10412 requiring that the $57.8 million dollars from energy companies building the Atlantic Coast Pipeline (ACP) go to the eight public school systems directly impacted by the project. The measure, S.B. 90, passed the N.C. Senate on Monday and now goes to Gov. Roy Cooper. The $57.8 million would come from Duke Energy and Dominion Energy, with whom Cooper negotiated a deal creating a discretionary fund. The deal was signed by the governor’s general counsel one day before his Department of Environmental Quality approved permits that allowed the ACP to move forward. News of the fund was presented to the public and lawmakers simultaneously, in a “Memo of Understanding” (MOU). It highlights the intention of the fund — to pay for mitigating any damage to wildlife and natural resources caused by the project, economic development along its path and renewable energy projects. It also says that the governor would later appoint a board to dole out the money to projects fitting the MOU’s description, and he would issue a more detailed executive order with “directives.” The fund is in addition to mitigation costs ACP must pay by rule in N.C. However, lawmakers on both sides of the aisle have been questioning the deal, with some calling it a “slush fund.” In a committee meeting last week after S.B. 90 was introduced, lawmakers grilled the governor’s new legislative director Lee Lilley, a former lobbyist for Dominion Energy, with questions
INSIDE The N.C. General Assembly adjourned until May on Tuesday. Find out who decided not to run for re-election Jones & Blount
5
20177 52016 $2.00
8
tary,” as described by Lilley in the meeting. “Do you know whether the governor has ever asked private parties for a voluntary contribution in connection with environmental permitting in the past?” asked Sen. Paul Newton (R-Cabarrus) in the meeting. Just a week on the job, Lilley had few answers but agreed to take the questions from lawmakers in writing. While several Democrats on the committee objected to the line of questioning, Democratic Rep. Pricey Harrison (D-Guilford) told television station WRAL, “It wasn’t that they (the energy companies) were paying $57 million or whatever it was to get the permit. It was just that that was a condition of getting the permit granted.” Lawmakers delivered the questions on Tuesday with directions that they be answered by 4 p.m. on Thursday. The 15 questions range from requesting information about how the fund came about, what other companies the governor has received contributions from and whether the arrangement violates ethics laws and constitutional separation of powers. “Gov. Cooper’s deal looks like a payment-for-permit and doesn’t pass the smell test, and the right thing to do is to take this ‘voluntary contribution’ to the state and use it to fund the educational needs of children in the poor, rural communities impacted by the Atlantic Coast Pipeline,” said Senate Majority Leader Harry Brown (R-Onslow), chair of the Senate Appropriations/Base Budget Committee. Also at issue, the MOU says that the governor of N.C. will return part of the money to energy companies if the project is canceled, even for denial of or loss of approvals and See COOPER, page A2