North State Journal — Vol. 2., Issue 22

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VOLUME 2 ISSUE 22

www.NSJONLINE.com |

Wednesday, May 31, 2017

Inside Dale Jr. honors veteran at Coca-Cola 600 Sports

CHRISTINE T. NGUYEN | NORTH STATE JOURNAL

Tony Colburn of Yadkin Valley Balloon Adventures inflates his hot air balloon during the WRAL Freedom Balloon Festival in Fuquay-Varina.

the Wednesday

News BRIEFing

Officials OK lined landfill for coal ash at Dan River Raleigh State officials authorized Duke Energy to operate a double-lined, industrial landfill that will be used to store coal ash and other wastes at the utility’s Dan River Steam Station in Rockingham County, on Tuesday. The state Division of Waste Management issued the permit for a landfill to be constructed on 23 acres of property. The Dan River facility is one of four high-risk facilities required by law to be excavated and closed by December 2019.

NORTH

STATE

JOURNaL ELEVATE THE CONVERSATION

Cooper sues the state legislature again Raleigh Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper on Friday filed the third lawsuit of his sixmonth-old tenure against the Republican-led General Assembly. Cooper is trying again to sue the lawmakers over a law to shrink the size of the Court of Appeals by attrition and the appointment process of certain boards.

The suit says the legislature’s measure is a violation of the separation of powers in the state constitution. Republican lawmakers criticized the latest suit, calling it a waste of taxpayer money and called on the governor to work with the legislature and “to see what’s right for the state, regardless of who’s in power.”

Hepatitis B, C on rise in N.C. Raleigh Preliminary data shows that between 2014 and 2016, new cases of hepatitis B increased by 56 percent and new cases of hepatitis C increased by 69 percent. State health officials are advising people to be tested for the virus.

INSIDE

Former N.C. budget director announces run at Court of Appeals Jones & Blount

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U.S. Supreme Court sends district maps back to NC high court Final outcome could spark new maps, new elections

By Donna King North State Journal WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday issued a order to the N.C. Supreme Court to reconsider its earlier decision approving the state’s voting district maps. The nation’s high court acted on a petition for review filed by former state Sen. Margaret Dickson, a Democrat. The 2011 suit challenges 25 state legislative districts and three Congressional districts in N.C. The order tells the N.C. Supreme Court to consider the constitutionality of the districts for a third time, this time in light of a U.S. Supreme Court decision issued last week,

Cooper v. Harris, saying that the state relied too heavily on race in drawing the Congressional maps (which are no longer in use) and rejected them. The state’s highest court upheld the 2011 Congressional district maps twice already, most recently in 2015, saying that they were drawn to comply with the Voting Rights Act and were therefore constitutional.

However according to constitutional lawyers it is too soon to tell what Tuesday’s order could mean to N.C. because another critical case is still pending. The U.S. Supreme Court has not yet issued a decision on the state legislature’s appeal of a 2016 decision from a panel of federal judges who found the district maps unconstitutional. That decision, paired with last See SCOTUS, page A3

House makes progress on key budget provisions EMORY RAKESTRAW | FOR THE North State Journal

Hundreds gather for the 56th annual Memorial Day Observance hosted on the Battleship North Carolina.

Commemorating the fallen The 56th Annual Memorial Day Observance on the USS North Carolina Battleship drew hundreds, including veterans who share their stories of battles fought and comrades lost

By Emory Rakestraw For the North State Journal WILMINGTON — While plenty of Americans were firing up their grills, out on the boat, or sunbathing by the pool this Memorial Day, thousands were commemorating fallen soldiers who paid the ultimate sacrifice for their country.

One of those in attendance for the 56th Annual Memorial Day Observance on the USS North Carolina Battleship was a CIA and NSA veteran who noted today as an especially tough one because during overseas operations.

“Eight of my comrades didn’t return home,” the veteran, who wished not to be named, said.

“Never forget, it’s important to remember this day.”

Regarded as one of the most

decorated battleships during World War II and believed to be world’s greatest sea weapon, the Battleship North Carolina now sits on the Cape Fear River across from historic downtown Wilmington. This year’s Memorial Day Observance included speeches from Col. Robert Cooley Jr., U.S. Army Reserve and chairman of the Battleship Commission, and Gov. Roy Cooper. There was also the presentation of the Memorial Wreath followed by a gun salute from U.S. Marines of Headquarters and Service Company.

The event was a mix of patriotism, remembrance and tears.

For Cheryl Penney and her father, Korean War Navy veteran Danny Salvagno, the event is an annual tradition.

“We’ve been out at the Wilmington National Cemetery this morning, we helped put flags out Saturday,” said Penney, who works as the events coordinator for American Honor Guards of North Carolina. ”[Salvagno] taught me everything about being a patriot.”

For her, that means “to stand up for our country, for our vetSee BATTLESHIPS, page A2

Piece by piece, the N.C. House is forming their budget plan, approving tax reductions and reforms as part of the budget proposal Tuesday

By Jeff Moore North State Journal RALEIGH — The N.C. House of Representatives is making headway on finalizing its budget proposal after initially announcing an aggregate spending level of $22.9 billion that matches the total appropriations level as proposed by the N.C. Senate. The House Finance Committee passed several tax reforms Tuesday morning to be included in the final House budget

plan.

The House budget tax proposals introduced would increase the standard deduction by $1,000, from $17,500 to $18,500, for married filing jointly taxpayers and surviving spouses, by $800 for heads of household, and by $500 for single and married filing separately taxpayers.

The tax proposals differ from the Senate plan in the degree and areas of tax relief offered. For example, the Senate plan raises the standard deduction to $20,000 for married couples filing jointly, while also lowering the personal income tax rate.

“There are differences between the (House and Senate) finance packages, but I assure you that the See HOUSE BUDGET, page A8

EAMON QUEENEY | North State Journal

Rep. John Szoka speaks to House members of the North Carolina General Assembly during session at the Legislative Building in Raleigh.

North State Journal for Wednesday, May 31, 2017

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BATTLESHIPS from page A1

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North State Journal (USPS PP 166) (ISSN 2471-1365) Neal Robbins Publisher Donna King Managing Editor Drew Elliot Opinion Editor Will Brinson Sports Editor Published each Wednesday and Saturday by North State Media, LLC 819 W. Hargett Street, Raleigh, N.C. 27603 TO SUBSCRIBE: 866-458-7184 or online at nsjonline.com Annual Subscription Price: $100.00 Periodicals Postage Paid at Raleigh, N.C. and at additional mailing offices.

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PHOTO COURTESY OF NASA VIA REUTERS

Hurricane Matthew is pictured along the southeastern U.S. coast.

U.S. weather forecasters predict above-normal hurricane season Meteorologists say there is a 70 percent chance of 11 to 17 named storms

By Mollie Young North State Journal OLLEGE PARK, Md. — U.S. weather forecasters on C Thursday predicted more trop-

ical storms than normal for the 2017 Atlantic hurricane season, which last year brought one of the deadliest recorded storm systems, killing several hundred people and causing $10 billion in damage.

Meteorologists with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Climate Prediction Center said there was a 70 percent chance of seeing between 11 and 17 named tropical storms this season, which begins on June 1 and runs for six months.

“There is a potential for a lot of storm activity this year,” Ben Friedman, acting NOAA administrator, said at a press conference in Maryland.

Five to nine of the storms could become hurricanes, with

winds of 74 mph or higher, including two to four major hurricanes, with winds of at least 111 mph, Friedman said.

The Atlantic hurricane region includes the whole North Atlantic Ocean, Caribbean Sea and Gulf of Mexico, said Gerry Bell, a NOAA hurricane climate specialist. U.S. residents along the Gulf Coast and Atlantic Coast could be affected by the hurricane season, as well as Mexico and the nations surrounding the Caribbean Sea. The figures for 2017 are higher than last year’s prediction of 10 to 16 storms, with four to eight likely to become hurricanes.

Based on 30 years of data, the United States experiences an average of 12 named tropical eastern storms each year, with about three storms escalating to greater than or equal to a Category 3.

According to Alex Zarnowski, a meteorologist for the N.C. Department of Environmental Quality, two major factors may affect the upcoming season: the possibility of returning El Nino conditions, and the amount of dry air transported into the Atlantic from winds blowing from east to west across the Saharan

Desert in Africa.

“There are many more factors that will ultimately determine how active the season will be but, regardless of the forecast North Carolinians need to be prepared for the worst when it comes to hurricanes,” said Zarnowski. “Everyone in North Carolina should have a hurricane plan and supplies ready for any upcoming season.”

National forecasters are expected to deploy more sophisticated tools this season to accurately track and predict the intensity of storms. But Friedman warned residents, especially in coastal areas, to get ready ahead of time.

“We cannot stop hurricanes, but we can prepare for them,” Friedman said.

Last October, Hurricane Matthew killed hundreds of people when it hit the Caribbean and United States, including 22 confirmed deaths in North Carolina. The storm caused billions of dollars of damage, making it one of the deadliest and most costly in N.C. history.

Reuters News Service contributed to this article.

erans, which is exactly what I’m doing right now.”

Justin Cornegay, who served as a staff sergeant during World War II, also attended. During his service he was assigned to a B-24 Liberator bomber and said after returning from duties, “When we landed in Newfoundland we separated and I haven’t seen any of them since.”

Of his service and life as a veteran, he said, “It’s never the same. We had some close calls but we came back. It gives me pride to have served my country.”

The 2015 U.S. Census reported that today there are 930,000 living veterans who served during World War II, 1.8 million who served in the Korean War, and 6.8 million who served in the Vietnam War. Census Bureau and Department of Defense data notes that during World War II 12 percent of the U.S. population were part of the armed forces. Statistics of World War II fatalities vary, ranging from 50 to 80 million killed in total.The Department of Veteran Affairs reported 291,557 Americans died on the battlefield, with about 11,000 of those being North Carolinians.

In 2007, a report “The cost released by Department of Veterof freedom Affairs stated ... it is high, ans that nearly 74,000 so we must Americans had been be grateful.” killed during Gulf War actions from 1990-2007.

From — Gov. Roy 2001 to now, 6,915 Americans have lost Cooper their life fighting the “Global War on Terrorism.”

When reflecting on the numbers of those who have served and never returned home, it’s important to see why for millions of Americans Memorial Day isn’t about barbecue and beaches, but rather a painful, sobering day of reflection and remembrance.

“The cost of freedom ... it is high so we must be grateful,” Cooper said to the hundreds in attendance on the battleship. “We must be grateful for the military and what it does for our state and our economy. North Carolina is the most military-friendly state in this country and for good reason.

“We must all remember that in order to keep this democracy we have to fight for our freedom, we have to make sure we work hard to preserve our freedom. ... Thank God for the men and women who so ably serve our country.”

2017

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North State Journal for Wednesday, May 31, 2017

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Cooper introduces new environmental curriculum for high schoolers

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videos in new DEC curriculum

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activities for students

Critics call out “It’s Our Air” program as propaganda

By Mollie Young North State Journal ALEIGH — Gov. Roy Cooper and his administration have R rolled out an environmental cur-

riculum to be implemented in high school Earth Science and AP Environment classes across the state.

“It’s Our Air” aims to educate students about the sources of air pollution, how the state measures pollutants, and the enforcement of state and federal regulations.

“The curriculum will build future leaders who are better equipped to participate in the environmental decision-making process critical to our state’s economic competitiveness and public health protection,” said N.C. Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) Secretary Michael Regan, who joined the Cooper administration in January from the Environmental Defense Fund.

The program was modeled after a similar “It’s Our Water” curriculum that has been available to teachers for close to a decade, and was developed in consultation with the Department of Public Instruction and education leaders from across the state, according to DEQ. Teachers can download the curriculum for free, with the program broken into three topic-specific modules that include nine videos and 15 activities for students.

In the first module, students are introduced to the narrator that appears in all nine short videos. “Understanding air can be tricky,” the man says to a room full of teenagers.

“In order to understand air and air pollution, we’re going to have visualize and think abstractly; and it’s important, because your very survival depends on it.”

Roy Cordato, a professor at NC State and resident scholar at the John Locke Foundation, said while the program states that it includes a variety of viewpoints, it is actually nothing short of propaganda.

“I have been through a lot of the material that [DEQ] has for kids, and most of it is heavily slanted,” said Cordato. “When an agency puts out a curriculum, they try to get students to take positions that will ad-

CHRISTINE T. NGUYEN | NORTH STATE JOURNAL | FILE

The free environmental curriculum can be downloaded online by teachers, and is broken into three modules that include videos and activities for students.

vance their size and scope.” Cordato noted that there are hundreds of free curriculums that agencies and organizations push out, and that schools are not required to adopt these.

In Module 3, students explore air pollution problems and solutions, with a focus on personal lifestyle changes and government regulations.

“It’s pretty clear that in our society we love to use energy at home and on the go — we especially love our cars,” the narrator tells students in a video about driving choices and air pollution. “But all that energy we are using is the primary source of the pollution in our air.”

The video goes on to explore electric car options, with a visit to the “Electric Vehicle Challenge” which shows excited student teams from across North Carolina learning and competing to create energy efficient vehicles.

“Electric vehicles have no emissions,” a student from Topsail High School says, “so as long as the electricity is produced cleanly, the vehicle is completely clean, and it does not effect the atmosphere.”

The narrator adds over a graphic of an electric car plugged into a house connected to a solar farm, “Driving an electric car charged with solar energy, would produce no air pollution emissions.”

But Cordato, and many other conservative leaders, say statements like these are both filtered and unrealistic.

“We would basically have to pave over the whole state to provide all of our electricity from solar,” said Cordato. “Even then, all of that would need backup conventional generators because you don’t get electricity from solar at night, on cloudy days — maybe an average of five hours a day can come from solar.”

Cordato said if you really want to improve air quality through car usage, you need to get older cars off the road — an idea that is briefly touched on in the electric car video.

“The idea that you are going to present to kids that this is possible to run even a single automobile off of solar power, is just ridiculous,” he said.

Later in Module 3, students are asked to contemplate, “What role does regulation play in improving or maintaining air quality?” Students are taught about the positive impacts of the N.C. Clean Smokestacks Act, linking the legislation to improved health outcomes across the state.

However, the study the curriculum cites fails to compare North Carolina outcomes to neighboring states that did not implement similar legislation.

Likewise, Cordato points out that

while researchers analyzed mortality data from 1983 to 2010 and air quality data from 1993 to 2010, the N.C. Clean Smokestacks Act was not passed until 2003 and not fully implemented until about 2007.

“The Clean Smokestacks Act was not even passed for the majority of this study,” said Cordato. “We’re looking at maybe one or two years of impact ... and it would only be the case if you saw a precipitous drop in the last few years, not a steady decline in the rate from 1993 to 2010.”

But supporters of the curriculum say that students need to learn about their impact on the world around them at an early age.

“We often forget that all education is environmental education — by what we include or exclude, we teach the young that they are part of or apart from the natural world,” Dr. David Orr, a professor of environmental studies at Oberlin College, is quoted as saying on the Office of Environmental Education website within DEQ, which helped to develop the curriculum. “An economist for example, who fails to connect our economic life with that of ecosystems and the biosphere has taught an environmental lesson all right, but one that is dead wrong.

Our goal as educators ought to be to help students understand their implicatedness in the world and to honor mystery.”

NC bill would change how vacated U.S. Senate seats are filled Party of vacating senator would give governor list of three potential replacements

By Cory Lavalette North State Journal

photos by CHRISTINE T. NGUYEN | NORTH STATE JOURNAL | FILE

Rep. Darren Jackson during the Senate Redistricting Committee for the 2016 Extra Session in the Legislative Office Building at the N.C. General Assembly on Feb. 18, 2016.

SCOTUS from page A1 week’s Cooper v. Harris decision will have the biggest impact.

Tuesday’s ruling is significant for sure, but its too soon to know,” said John Wester, a Charlotte attorney.

“The combination of that ruling and the May 22 ruling is going to give citizens, legislators and courts the clearest direction to date for drawing legislative districts that will pass constitutional muster.”

The Southern Coalition for Social Justice, which represents plaintiffs in the case, took it as a victory.

“In light of Cooper v. Harris, our clients are hopeful that the N.C. Supreme Court will follow federal law and recognize these districts for what they are: unconstitutional racial gerrymanders,” said Anita Earls, executive director of the Southern Coalition for Social Justice, following the order. “The North Carolina Supreme Court should take action swiftly to re-

Sen. Bob Rucho reviews a newly printed map during the Senate Redistricting Committee for the 2016 Extra Session.

quire the immediate implementation of fair districts for all North Carolina voters.”

Another element at play is that the N.C. Supreme Court has flipped ideological balance since the 2015 decision. In November’s election, Judge Mike Morgan beat

incumbent Justice Bob Edmunds for a seat on the court. Edmunds was a conservative and Morgan is thought to be more liberal.

Dickson’s was one of several lawsuits challenging the maps based on the placement of Districts 1 and 12 for U.S. Congress, saying that they packed African-American voters into the two districts to minimize their political influence. However those districts were largely drawn by Democrats before the last census. When Republicans won a veto-proof majority in 2011 they faced the responsibility of redrawing the maps as is done every 10 years with new census data.

However, for N.C. and several other Southern states at that time, the maps had to be cleared by the U.S. Department of Justice. North Carolina’s maps received “preclearance” from the Obama Justice Department, which said they met the requirements of the Voting Right Act. In 2013, that clearance requirement was removed.

RALEIGH — U.S. Sen. Thom Tillis’ collapse during a morning road race two weeks ago turned out to be a medical false alarm, but it raised the question around the state capital about how a vacated Senate seat would be filled.

Rep. Justin Burr (R-Stanly) was already looking into the issue and filed a bill addressing it last month.

The current law allows the governor of North Carolina to fill a vacancy on the U.S. Senate with a person from the same political party as the vacating senator, followed by a special election at the next statewide election.

“It’s so vague, the way the law’s currently written, that someone could change their political affiliation and technically be of the same political party as the person who vacated a seat, then immediately change back,” Burr said of the current procedure.

“So there’s a lot of mischief I think that could come from that method.”

Currently, if one of North Carolina’s senators (both Republicans) vacated their seat, Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper could appoint anyone registered as a Republican, even if they had switched party affiliations recently.

“And that would be legal under the current law,” Burr said.

“There’s no type of restrictions to

stop that, and at least this [legislation] would require some input from folks that tend to think and certainly affiliate with whoever vacated that seat.”

House Bill 659 would let the state executive committee of the vacating senator’s political party to provide the governor with three people to choose from as a replacement.

The 17th Amendment of the Constitution grants state legislatures the power to determine how vacated U.S. Senate seats are filled, and Burr said his proposal is in line with what several other states do.

“There’s three or four different methods across the country that are typically used,” Burr said.

“The method we’re in now is used by some states, but the method that I’m proposing to go to is also used a number of states that put these general restrictions in place to make sure that it is a choice that is recommended by a political party.”

Burr said feedback on his bill has been positive, with several legislators unaware of how ambiguous the current law is. The Tillis incident — the senator was fine and back to work that after afternoon — made H.B. 659 even more relevant.

“I hope this bill never gets used, but certainly after the fact I’ve had several people comment to me about the fact that we just went through this discussion a month ago about my bill,” Burr said. “Then to certainly have this scare happen, it only helps reinforce the need for the legislation.”

The bill made it through the House along party lines and was referred to N.C. Senate Rules Committee on April 27.

North State Journal for Wednesday, May 31, 2017

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North State Journal for Wednesday, May 31, 2017

Murphy to Manteo Western Piedmont Community College

Caldwell Community College

McDowell Technical Community College Blue Ridge Community College

Cleveland Community College

Gaston College

Alamance Community College

Randolph Community College

Pathway to success While many of us don’t receive our career “ah-ha” until during or after college, the NCWorks Career Coach Program is designed to assist high school students in making that tough decision prior to higher education. Implemented in September 2015, community college career coaches visit local high schools to help students figure out career goals and assess which community college courses will help achieve those. The career pathway also helps direct toward local industry and workforce needs. It is offered at 14 community colleges throughout the state. — Emory Rakestraw, for the North State Journal

west Electric capacity expanded

Western Carolina sees uptick in applicants

Watauga County Blue Ridge Energy recently introduced a newly energized system for its members in southern Watauga County. The project includes installing distribution lines underground along Hwy 321 and upgrading and modernizing transmission lines from 44 kilovolts to 100 kilovolts. The system strengthens reliability for 6,000 homes and businesses in Blowing Rock and Aho. The final phase of the project will take place over the next few months and includes converting more overhead power lines to underground.

Blue Ridge Energy serves 74,000 customers in multiple counties across western North Carolina.

Jackson County Western Carolina University is reporting an approximate 6 percent increase in the number of applicants for their 2017 freshman class. WCU is one of five UNC schools that will get funding from the state government in order to reduce tuition starting in fall of 2018. The program, called N.C. Promise, was passed by the N.C. General Assembly last year as part of an effort to make a college degree more affordable while boosting attendance at some system schools. The university reports that many students have said they applied with plans to take advantage of the program starting next year.

Watauga Democrat

$559.5 million worth of poppy plants seized Catawba County The Catawba County Sheriff’s Office seized over $500 million worth of opium poppy plants found in a field May 23 behind Poultry Road. The plants can be processed to make heroin, morphine and opium. The day before Animal Services removed 358 animals from the residence including chickens, dogs and a cat. Cody Xiong, 37, of Hickory, was charged with one felony count of manufacturing a schedule II controlled substance and two felony counts of trafficking opium or heroin.

Hickory Daily Record

North State Journal

PIEDMONT

Vance County For the second time in 15 years, a Henderson janitorial supply factory has been destroyed by a fire. Multiple fire departments responded to calls Monday morning about ETC of Henderson. At the time around 75 employees were on site but able to escape without injuries. Firefighters were able to contain the blaze, but black smoke from the fire was visible as far as 30 miles away. A major fire had previously destroyed the factory in 2003. Henderson Mayor Eddie Ellington called it a “tremendous loss for the city.”

Former state budget director launches bid for NC Court of Appeals

Johnston County Community College

Central Carolina Community College

RALEIGH — Judge Andrew Heath, a former state budget director, announced Monday he is running for a seat on the North Carolina Court of Appeals. Heath, who was appointed to the Superior Court by outgoing Gov. Pat McCrory in December, will seek the seat formerly held by Judge Doug McCullough.

“2018 will be an important election year for the direction of the North Carolina Court of Appeals, and I have been encouraged by supporters in every region of the state to run,” Heath said in a press release sent late Monday.

McCullough, a Republican, announced in April that he would retire early in order to give Gov. Roy Cooper the power to appoint his replacement, in protest of a bill that would reduce the number of Appeals Court judges from 15 to 12 members. Cooper quickly appointed Charlotte Democrat John Arrowood to the seat.

“It’s a shifting landscape,” said Heath in a phone call with the North State Journal.

“There could be less seats on the Court of Appeals, which makes each seat all the more important.”

Prior to his appointment in late 2016 to the Superior Court bench, Heath served as state budget director, advising

Pitt Community College

Robeson Community College

EAST

Orange County UNC-Chapel Hill will now be able to double the size of its undergraduate entrepreneurship program after receiving an $18 million donation from the Shuford family of Hickory. It is the single largest donation to the school’s College of Arts and Sciences and will support entrepreneurship programs, 70 student internships, entrepreneurs in residence, faculty fellow positions and a lecture series. The minor of study will be named the Shuford Program in Entrepreneurship.

14 rescued on Cape Fear River after ‘disaster cruise’

Storms injure 14, damage buildings Sampson County Numerous buildings were damaged or destroyed and 14 people injured during Monday night storms that rolled through Sampson County. Two people were taken to local hospitals but no injuries were serious. Winds caused a mobile home to flip over and the county received dozens of reports of flipped homes. Duke Energy said Tuesday morning more than 1,100 customers were without power in Sampson County with an additional 400 in neighboring Duplin County.

WRAL

Harnett County A Saturday afternoon turned scary for 14 teenagers riding inflatable rafts down the Cape Fear River. Rainswollen currents trapped the rafters and Lt. Rodney Daniels of Erwin Fire & Rescue said when they found the young adults, “At one point, we had one in the water and three in a tree.” Crews from five Harnett County emergency and rescue squads combined to help.

The spot where the rafters were found at Erwin’s Cape Fear River Trail is close to where three kayakers were rescued three weeks prior.

Fayetteville Observer

Associated Press

Zoo searches for missing birds

Trial begins for minister charged with kidnapping, assault

Man bites flight attendant, runs off plane

Rutherford County A longtime minister at Word of Faith Fellowship in Spindale is the first of five from the church to stand trial for allegedly attacking a 23-year-old member in 2013 in an attempt to expel his “homosexual demons.” Matthew Fenner said Brooke Covington, 58, and about 20 other members of the church slapped, punched, choked and screamed at him for two hours in a practice an Associated Press investigation said was regularly used to “purify” its members.

Mecklenburg County A 22-year-old man jumped out of an airplane attempting to take off in Charlotte on Thursday. After the American Airlines flight pulled away from the gate, Tun Sein stood up, tried to bite a flight attendant, fought off two passengers, ran to the door, opened it and jumped out. Investigators say he spoke little English. He has been charged with interference with a flight crew.

Asheville Citizen-Times

jonesandblount.com @JonesandBlount

By Mollie Young North State Journal

UNC receives $18 million donation

Fire destroys building for second time

Jones & Blount

Vance-Granville Community College

Piedmont Community College

Associated Press

Randolph County The Asheboro Zoo is searching for two secretary birds that “flew the coop” Friday. The zoo said the birds escaped through a door that wasn’t tightly closed after strong wind gusts. The 4-foot-tall birds of prey are light gray with long, dark tail feathers. The birds have been seen several times but zoo officials are trying to entice them with food rather than capture them.

WRAL

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Two charged with murder after bicyclist dies New Hanover County Leonard Pocknett Jr., 43, and his 16-year-old son have been charged with murder after the man they allegedly beat died Friday night. On May 10, a 911 caller told police an SUV followed 58-year-old Gregory Gineman and another man as they rode their bikes shortly before midnight. The caller told police Gineman was beat until he was unconscious and bleeding and the first officer on the scene reported he wasn’t breathing. It’s still unknown why the father and son allegedly attacked Gineman.

Associated Press

N.C. considers alligator hunting Onslow County Six meetings will be held in June by the state Wildlife Resources Commission to determine if North Carolina will allow alligator hunting. Two years ago the commission voted against it.

Hunting would only be allowed on the southeast coast with strict limitations as it can take the reptiles 15 years to mature enough to reproduce. Alligator hunting was last legal in North Carolina in 1973.

JDNews

McCrory on a $500 billion economy and managing the state’s $22 billion budget.

Heath had previously served as chairman of the Industrial Commission, a body that administers the state’s workers’ compensation laws. He received his law degree from Indiana University in 2006 and a bachelor’s degree from UNC Asheville in 2003.

Heath said his background sets his candidacy apart.

“You’re just not going to see that type of depth of experience from the other folks who are running for Court of Appeals,” he said.

Monday’s campaign announcement marks Heath’s first attempt at elected office.

Heath will run as a Republican, months after state lawmakers changed laws to require judicial candidates to identify their party affiliation.

Arrowood is currently serving his second short-term appointment to the N.C. Court of Appeals, having also been appointed to the bench in 2007 by Gov. Mike Easley. He lost his bid for a seat on the court in 2014 to Judge John M. Tyson.

Arrowood has not yet formally announced his intentions with respect to the 2018 race.

Last week, appellate attorney and Campbell Law School professor Allegra Collins, a Democrat, announced she will run for the Appeals seat currently held by Judge Rick Elmore, who is not seeking re-election.

Renee Ellmers lands Trump Administration job

By Mollie Young North State Journal RALEIGH — In her first interview since taking a position within the Trump administration, former U.S. Rep. Renee Ellmers (R-N.C.) confirmed that she will be heading the Atlanta regional office for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) under her former congressional colleague Secretary Tom Price.

Ellmers began her new position last Wednesday which will require her to oversee all department functions for eight Southern states, including North Carolina.

An early supporter of President Donald Trump, Ellmers said she approached Price about joining the team after he was tapped to head the agency. “I immediately told him, ‘I want to come work with you so that we can get everything done that we have been working on for so long,’” said Ellmers who served alongside Price, an orthopedic surgeon from Georgia.

Ellmers served three terms representing the 2nd Congressional District, but lost her primary to Rep. George Holding last year after state redistricting pitted the two Republican incumbents against each other for the same seat.

A vocal opponent of the Affordable Care Act, Ellmers looks forward to implementing the eventual replacement of Obamacare, and said her former colleagues in Congress are taking their time with a health care bill because it is important to get it right.

“You have to build a foundation,” Ellmers said about the bill that passed the U.S. House earlier this month. “I believe that is why the Affordable Care Act didn’t achieve the goal that President [Barack] Obama put forward. I think there just wasn’t a strong enough foundation to move forward.”

Addressing some of the more politically charged comments about the Republicanled health care bill, including that the bill opens the door for victims of rape to be denied affordable coverage, Ellmers said she is confident that these allegations are grossly misguided.

“As a woman who wants to do everything she can do to empower other women, I can’t tell you how appalled I am that anyone would think that somehow, in this whole process, any Republican or Democrat would ever think to allow an insurance company to abuse someone who has been a victim of sexual abuse,” she said.

“If that ever happened in the past, that will never happen moving forward,” Ellmers continued. “I feel secure in knowing that pre-existing conditions will be taken care of. It is part of the ongoing conversation.”

In the end though, Ellmers said partnerships with the nonprofit and private sector to raise awareness about preventative care and treatment options is more important than any federal bill.

“Good health care in this country isn’t going to be solved with a pen or budget — it’s everyone working together to help folks understand the importance of a good, healthy lifestyle, and what we can do to make it happen.”

North State Journal for Wednesday, May 31, 2017

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north STATEment Neal Robbins, publisher | Drew Elliot, opinion editor | Ray Nothstine, deputy opinion editor

Visual Voices

EDITORIAL | Drew Elliot

Can the new 700 Club juice the economy?

With tax and health care reform, Washington can turbocharge the effect of millions of newly creditworthy consumers returning to the market.

Economists have wondered for years what has kept American consumers’ cash in their wallets long after the recession ended. Were consumers, bitten by the recession, twice shy about making major moves such as “trading up” for a new house, or buying a vacation home or boat? Was this the new normal, where boats and play homes didn’t fit in and renting was king?

Were too many caring for multiple generations at home?

One explanation for the lag, a metric that has mostly escaped notice, is also one whose end may foretell an economic breakout. More than 6 million Americans will have major detrimental information fall off their credit reports in the next five years, according to Barclays. Many of these consumers have been back on their financial feet for years, but have been living a cash-based existence since foreclosures and personal bankruptcies destroyed their ability to get credit.

But with the hangover from the painful financial missteps gone, or soon to be so, many are planning a return to credit purchases such as moving from renting to owning a home again.

As the Wall Street Journal reported this week, Americans’ credit scores hit a record high in April. Up from 699 in the fall, the average score of 700 is the highest since Fair Isaac began tracking the data in 2005. Additionally, the percentage of consumers with the worst scores hit a record low.

Turning to North Carolina, the state’s creditworthiness hasn’t looked so stable in a long time, at least when measured by foreclosure filings. The first four months of 2017 have seen

an average of 2,133 filings in the state, the best figure since 2000, when the monthly average was 1,715. After the recession officially ended in mid2009, monthly average foreclosure filings per calendar year hit a peak in 2010, with 5,523, and have been falling steadily since then.

Post-recession, North Carolina’s experience mirrors the national trends. But the Tarheel State’s housing problems didn’t begin with the 2008-2009 recession, they began with the onset of the brief post-9/11 recession. Foreclosures doubled from 1998 to 2002, then nearly doubled again by 2008, just before the beginning of the recession that will always be associated with the bottom falling out of the housing market. That is much different than the nationwide numbers, where annual filings remained steady from 2001 until the final months of 2006, then shot up from there to the 2010 peak.

So as the passage of the seventh year causes the glut of foreclosures to roll off credit reports, the continuing low interest rates and economic growth (however sluggish) should allow more consumers to get back into the market for major purchases. It may be a car, boat, or vacation home — but for the new 700 Club, it also may simply be a return to homeownership. Many families have been forced to rent homes since foreclosure or bankruptcy sent their credit scores plummeting.

If Republicans in Congress and the Trump administration can ever get down to business and pass the economy-boosting tax and healthcare reform they were elected to achieve, the promise of more consumer cash in the economy will turbocharge the effect of millions

of newly creditworthy consumers with stable finances returning to the market ready to borrow and buy.

To be sure, a return to usage of consumer credit does not need to be a return to “liar loans” and running up endless credit card debt. The experience of foreclosure and bankruptcy for the 700 Club — and for the lenders too — will have made them much more circumspect about piling on debt and draining assets. No one still believes that real estate values always increase.

Not anymore.

Consumers who have been burned are more likely to weigh factors beyond their current paycheck before they make that large purchase again. Unfortunately, the gridlock in one-party Washington is sending the worst signals possible, and people are noticing. The May update to N.C. State University economist Michael Walden’s leading indicator index for North Carolina posted its first year-over-year decline since December 2015. Walden explained that the drop is not concerning yet, but “as the nation continues to struggle with modest growth, and as the Trump administration economic stimulus plans are currently stalled, both private and public decision-makers should approach the future with caution.”

The economy needs a breakout, and the newly creditworthy are able and ready to provide it. If the politicians can do the jobs they were elected to do, the entire nation will benefit.

EDITORIAL | Ray Nothstine

Zbig Brzezinski: In defense of a good offense Brzezinski was a bright spot in the otherwise aimless and ineffectual Jimmy Carter administration of the late 1970s and 1980.

Secretary of Defense James Mattis’s reply to Steve Dickerson on CBS Face the Nation Sunday only adds to the warrior’s lore.

When Mattis was asked what keeps him up at night, he immediately responded: “Nothing, I keep other people awake at night.” Mattis confidently stressed that the war against the Islamic State is shifting to annihilation tactics, reminding the nation again that the key to a strong defense is often offensive in nature.

Another important American leader who reflected that mindset, especially against the former Soviet Union, was former National Security Adviser Zbigniew Brzezinski. At 89, Brzezinski passed away Friday in the country he became a citizen of 30 years after his birth.

His family fled Poland before World War II, and the Soviet takeover after the war nixed the possibility of a return.

Brzezinski was a bright spot in the otherwise aimless and ineffectual Jimmy Carter administration of the late 1970s and 1980. An intellectual and academic, Brzezinski was an expert on the Soviet Union, refusing to believe the “Evil Empire” was a permanent fixture on the world stage. A critic of détente, Brzezinski and global events prodded by Soviet aggression began to shift the debate on American foreign policy from containment to rollback, particularly in Eastern Europe. Before that, especially under Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford, permanent stalemate and arms treaties was all the rage amongst America’s diplomats.

Brzezinski was attacked by the doves in the Carter administration and many of their

cheerleaders in the media who fretted about any attempt to poke the Russian Bear. One of Brzezinski’s key contributions, and an area where Carter himself deserves some credit, was raising the moral and human rights argument against Soviet brutality. “By emphasizing human rights America could make itself the carrier of human hope, the wave of the future,” he noted. This was especially invigorating for the religious dissidents and political prisoners who were languishing and locked away.

Being Polish naturally instilled in Brzezinski a heart for the tens of millions of Poles suffering under Soviet occupation. He boosted Radio Free Europe’s signal strength across Eastern Europe and helped lay the external support for Polish Solidiarity, the infamous labor union that resisted and then heroically toppled Poland’s communist occupiers. After Carter’s defeat, he consulted on Ronald Reagan and former CIA Director William Casey’s covert strategy in the ramp-up of Solidarity, where it flourished under Reagan’s more aggressive posture to destabilize the Soviet stranglehold over Poland. “This was the first time that communist police suppression didn’t succeed,” Brzezinski declared.

When the Soviets invaded Afghanistian, Brzezinski’s hardline stance against the totalitarian regime was vindicated to the chagrin of the political left. Carter began to listen more to Brzezinski and was forced to take a harder stand against the Soviet menace.

Brzenzinski argued for and succeeded in implementing an arms buildup, aggressive

military excercises increased, as well as economic sanctions. He armed the Mujahideen rebels in Afghanistan and helped to essentially manufacture a Vietnam quagmire for an increasingly unstable and erratic Soviet Empire.

While Reagan deserves the bulk of the foreign policy credit for his aggressive rollback of containment that accelerated the Soviet demise, Brzezinski helped to lay that foundation.

“Brzezinski’s brilliant strategic mind enriched American foreign policy for decades his distinctive voice will be greatly missed,” noted former Vice President Joe Biden. While he was a fixture of the Democratic Party, Brzezinski showed his bipartisan chops when he endorsed George H.W. Bush for president in 1988.

He made plenty of mistakes, especially in regards to Iran and Cambodia, but his life and legacy deserves recognition, especially among the political right. He was a realist and voice of reason in the Carter administration and was critical of misguided wars, arguing there is no external cure for an unhealthy or fractured nation. As the war with the Islamic State and evil continues to rage, Brzezinski’s example remains invaluable for Americans.

North State Journal for Wednesday, May 31, 2017

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guest opinion | winston Brady

Getting the classics back in the classroom

At a Classical school, we hope to teach students how to think, not what to think.

Before we discuss what Classical education is, let’s dispel a few myths about what Classical education is not. For instance, students and faculty in a Classical school are not required to wear togas to class each day. Nor do we have chariot racing or discus throwing in place of basketball or soccer. On the outside, a Classical school looks just like any other school.

A Classical education differs from other schools because of our commitment to the “Great Books” of the Western canon, our study of Latin, logic, and rhetoric, and our approach to the humanities and the sciences. If you are considering a new school for your child, you may find the number of options overwhelming. Let’s discuss why these three factors separate a Classical education from other schools and why the Classical approach will help your student develop the skills they need to succeed in life.

Classical education makes of first importance the works of the Western canon from Plato and Thucydides to Montesquieu and Montaigne. These “Great Books” include, but are not limited to, the Bible, the works of Plato, Dante, Shakespeare, and other figures from Sumer to modernday. Reading these works in their entirety takes place in high school, while students in earlier grade levels read excerpts or adaptations, so they can still interact with the characters, storylines, and themes.

The Founding Fathers read these works for both school and pleasure, and if we want students to imitate

their example, we should give them the books that molded the hearts and minds of our nation’s founders.

Keeping in line with the kind of schooling the Founding Fathers enjoyed, most Classical schools offer Latin, logic, and rhetoric.

Latin, as an inflected language, requires students to analyze the endings of words to determine their usage in a sentence, while students learn how to construct arguments in logic class and to defend their views in rhetoric.

These are tools in the intellectual toolbox a Classical school provides its students, as we hope to teach students how to think, not what to think.

However, the biggest perceived drawback of a Classical education is in the sciences. How can an education trapped in Antiquity help students master technical skills needed to compete in a highly competitive global landscape? This view, however, is misleading and can stifle innovation in both science and the humanities. When introducing the iPad 2, Steve Jobs said, “Technology alone is not enough,” because the best technology needs the liberal arts to stoke its creative fires. Jobs even attributed his edge in the tech world to studying calligraphy, not courses in engineering.

Classical education already unites the arts and sciences.

In history, students study the Scientific Revolution and its prominent figures; in logic, they learn the rules these thinkers applied in studying the natural world; and in science they conduct

experiments with Galileo’s boldness and curiosity. At Thales, as with any Classical school, we aim to join the arts and sciences so that students can succeed in any career they choose. I can only speak for Thales, where we offer an engineering elective called the Luddy Institute of Technology that teaches CAD design and chariot building, among other classically inspired projects so we don’t stray too far from our roots. Applied science is a powerful tool for testing information, but a curriculum needs more than just the sciences.

To inspire students, we need a curriculum that gave rise to modern science to begin with.

A Classical education is as challenging as it is invigorating.

The Western tradition is 6,000 years of man’s recorded attempts to discover the true, the good, and the beautiful, and when authors from Cicero to Kant write on such ideals, we should pay attention.

An education that is based upon the “Great Books,” equips students with a rich intellectual toolbox, and joins the arts to the sciences is indeed the right fit for your student’s future. As Isaac Newton said that great men stand on the shoulders of giants, a Classical education preserves the giants of the Western canon so students may stand upon their shoulders, survey with confidence the world in which they live, and overcome any challenge thrown at them.

Winston Brady is a curriculum adviser and humanities instructor at Thales Academy in Apex, where he has taught for six years.

Guest Opinion | margaret Spellings

walter Williams

Overpopulation hoax 1798, Thomas Malthus wrote Essay on the Principle of Population.”

IHen“Anpredicted that mankind’s birthrate

would outstrip our ability to grow food and would lead to mass starvation. Malthus’ wrong predictions did not deter Stanford University professor Paul Ehrlich from making a similar prediction. In his 1968 best-seller, “The Population Bomb,” which has sold more than 2 million copies, Ehrlich warned: “The battle to feed all of humanity is over. In the 1970s and 1980s hundreds of millions of people will starve to death in spite of any crash programs embarked upon now.” This hoax resulted in billions of dollars being spent to fight overpopulation.

According to the standard understanding of the term, human overpopulation occurs when the ecological footprint of a human population in a specific geographical location exceeds the carrying capacity of the place occupied by that group. Let’s look at one aspect of that description — namely, population density. Let’s put you, the reader, to a test. See whether you can tell which country is richer and which is poorer just by knowing two countries’ population density.

North Korea’s population density is 518 people per square mile, whereas South Korea’s is more than double that, at 1,261 people per square mile. Hong Kong’s population density is 16,444, whereas Somalia’s is 36. Congo has 75 people per square mile, whereas Singapore has 18,513.

Looking at the gross domestic products of these countries, one would have to be a lunatic to believe that smaller population density leads to greater riches. Here are some GDP data expressed in millions of U.S. dollars: North Korea ($17,396), South Korea ($1,411,246), Hong Kong ($320,668), Somalia ($5,707), Congo ($41,615) and Singapore ($296,967).

The greatest threat to mankind’s prosperity is government, not population growth. For example, Zimbabwe was agriculturally rich but, with government interference, was reduced to the brink of mass starvation.

generation college students. We need to make it easier for working adults to attend classes online, in the evenings, and at a pace that works for their lives.

We absolutely must end the steep rise in tuition that has hurt middle-class families and pushed college out of reach for others. And we must do it all while maintaining the world-class research and scholarship that distinguish our public universities.

These aren’t distant dreams. With 17 institutions serving every region of North Carolina, and some of the strongest state support anywhere in the country, we can shape a more promising future. Our colleagues at the state’s community colleges and the Department of Public Instruction have resoundingly endorsed the university’s plan, pledging to help create a more coordinated, more unified approach for students at every level.

Our policymakers have shown a willingness to go big with initiatives like NC Promise, which lowers tuition at three UNC-system institutions to just $500 per semester. Our chancellors and our faculty are eager to experiment with new kinds of curriculum and teaching, with redesigned classes to help students graduate on time and growing internship and cooperative programs that connect students to job opportunities.

Our aim isn’t simply to grow, but to improve. We have a graduation rate that’s a full 10 percentage points higher than the national average, but we’re focused on closing achievement gaps so that even more students finish on time. We have some of the lowest tuition rates in the country, but we’re committed to making college more affordable and raising more money for financial aid.

There shouldn’t be two North Carolinas when it comes to educational opportunity. As the state toast promises, this is the land where the “weak grow strong and the strong grow great.”

Simply put, everyone deserves the chance to rise.

The overpopulation hoax has led to horrible population control programs.

The United Nations Population Fund has helped governments deny women the right to choose the number and spacing of their children. Overpopulation concerns led China to enact a brutal one-child policy. Forced sterilization is a method of population control in some countries.

Nearly a quarter-million Peruvian women were sterilized. Our government, through the U.N. Population Fund, is involved in “population moderation” programs around the world, including in India, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Nigeria, Mexico, Indonesia, Brazil, the Philippines, Thailand, Egypt, Turkey, Ethiopia, and Colombia.

The entire premise behind population control is based on the faulty logic that humans are not valuable resources. The fact is that humans are what the late Julian L. Simon called the ultimate resource.

That fact becomes apparent by pondering this question: Why is it that Gen. George Washington did not have cellphones to communicate with his troops and rocket launchers to sink British ships anchored in New York Harbor? Surely, all of the physical resources — such as aluminum alloys, copper, iron ore and chemical propellants — necessary to build cellphones and rocket launchers were around during Washington’s time. In fact, they were around at the time of the cave man. There is only one answer for why cellphones, rocket launchers and millions of other things are around today but were not around yesteryear.

The growth in human knowledge, human ingenuity, job specialization and trade led to industrialization, which, coupled with personal liberty and private property rights, made it possible. Human beings are valuable resources, and the more we have of them the better.

The greatest threat to mankind’s prosperity is government, not population growth. For example, Zimbabwe was agriculturally rich but, with government interference, was reduced to the brink of mass starvation. Any country faced with massive government interference can be brought to starvation. Blaming poverty on overpopulation not only lets governments off the hook but also encourages the enactment of harmful, inhumane policies.

Today’s poverty has little to do with overpopulation. The most commonly held characteristics of non-poor countries are greater personal liberty, private property rights, the rule of law and an economic system closer to capitalism than to communism. That’s the recipe for prosperity.

Margaret Spellings is president of the University of North Carolina.

Walter E. Williams is a professor of economics at George Mason University.

Christine T. nguyen | North State Journal

A graduate processes into the the College of Education graduate recognition ceremony at East Carolina University on May 6 in Greenville.

The chance to rise — UNC’s strategic plan will ensure opportunity for all North Carolinians

We absolutely must end the steep rise in tuition that has hurt middleclass families and pushed college out of reach for others. And we must do it all while maintaining the world-class research and scholarship that distinguish our public universities.

A few weeks AGO, the Chronicle of Higher Education ran a cover story with the headline, “The 2 North Carolinas.” It explained how the state’s historic investment in higher education has paid off handsomely — but not for everyone.

In the regions of our state where colleges and universities have helped seed new industries and attract new businesses, economic growth is strong, wages are high, and unemployment is reaching historic lows.

But in places where the pathway to higher education has frayed, there are fewer options. The vast majority of jobs created since the Great Recession require education beyond high school, and that presents a stark challenge for those who haven’t had the opportunity to earn a degree or a credential.

That’s the reason we have one of the fastestgrowing economies in the country alongside some of the lowest rates of economic mobility. The chance to earn a better life is the cornerstone of the American dream, and it increasingly depends on access to quality education.

No state lawmaker or university official can control those economic trends, but we can do far more to make the university an engine of opportunity for all North Carolinians. Our current educational and economic divide is evidence that higher education needs a fresh approach.

As the Chronicle report put it, “The lesson of North Carolina may not be to write off higher education as a driver of economic growth, but to recognize that there are limitations to what colleges can do — and to understand that they may need to do things differently than in the past.”

I agree. Universities can’t be all things to all people, but we can focus our resources on creating simpler, cheaper, and more flexible options to serve a changing state.

That’s why the state’s public universities have adopted a very focused, straightforward strategic plan. As North Carolina’s demographics change, we need to welcome more rural, low-income, and first-

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North State Journal for Wednesday, May 31, 2017

Nation & WORLD

U.S. Navy skydiver killed in parachuting accident in New York Harbor

week in images

EDUARDO MUNOZ | reuters

Army members hold the U.S. flag as they attend the Intrepid Sea, Air, and Space Museum’s annual Memorial Day commemoration ceremony in New York to honor the men and women who made the ultimate sacrifice while serving in the United States Armed Forces.

CARLOS EDUARDO RAMIREZ | reuters

Riot security forces clash with demonstrators as a motorcycle is set on fire during a protest against Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro’s government in San Cristobal, Venezuela.

PHOTO PROVIDED BY THE SRI LANKA AIR FORCE VIA REUTERS

A part of a flooded highway exit is seen in a village in Matara, Sri Lanka.

AMMAR AWAD | reuters

A Palestinian man reads the Koran in al-Aqsa Mosque, on the compound known to Muslims as al-Haram al-Sharif and to Jews as Temple Mount, in Jerusalem’s Old City during the holy month of Ramadan.

Experts are cautioning that the ICBM would be traveling faster than any missile in previous GMD tests Reuters RLINGTON, Va. — The Pentagon prepared on Tuesday A for a first-ever missile defense test

HOUSE BUDGET from page A1 goal of both finance packages is exactly the same,” said House Finance Chairman Rep. John Szoka (R-Cumberland). “To continue the good work that we have accomplished since 2011; to continue to be respectful of taxpayers’ dollars; to continue to modernize our tax code and to make North Carolina the best economically performing state in the union.”

Popular deductions were also increased as part of the House budget tax plan, raising caps on mortgage expense and property tax deductions. Effective Jan. 1, 2019, the cap on such deductions is raised by 10 percent, from $20,000 to $22,000.

Some business taxes are also lowered in the House proposal, specifically those businesses subject to franchise taxes. Those businesses are currently taxed at a rate of $1.50 per $1,000 of franchise

photo provided by the U.S. Department of Defense, Missile Defense Agency

A Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) interceptor is launched during a successful intercept test.

North Korea has dramatically ramped up the pace of its missile tests over the past year, with a goal of developing an ICBM that can strike the U.S. mainland.

The continental United States is around 5,500 miles from North Korea. ICBMs have a minimum range of about 3,400 miles, but some are designed to travel 6,200 miles or farther.

The Missile Defense Agency said the test will involve launching a simulated ICBM from a test site on Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands toward the United States.

U.S. forces, using data from satellites and radar, will fire a ground-based interceptor from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California.

value, but the House plan reduces that rate to $1.40 with a minimum tax of $200 and a maximum of $150,000. A staple of the Senate’s billion dollar tax cut proposal, corporate income tax rate reductions have not thus far been included in the House plans.

“Lower taxes in itself is a great economic incentive both for companies that have been here for quite some time and those that we’re trying to attract to North Carolina,” said Szoka.

Beyond those reforms, the House Finance Committee passed a number of targeted tax exemptions for certain equipment purchases. Facilities used primarily for receiving, inventorying, sorting, repackaging and distributing finished retail products for the purpose of fulfilling customer orders will get sales tax exemptions for the purchase of distribution equipment.

“We have all seen the economy

New York A member of the U.S. Navy’s elite skydiving demonstration team plunged to his death on Sunday when his parachute malfunctioned while performing in an aerial exhibition as part of New York Harbor’s annual Fleet Week festival. U.S. Coast Guard personnel pulled the parachutist from the water near the mouth of the Hudson River moments after the accident, witnessed by thousands of spectators watching the show from Liberty State Park in Jersey City, N.J.

Kentucky town welcomes Confederate memorial moved from Louisville

High stakes as Pentagon tests ICBM defense system for first time

involving a simulated attack by an intercontinental ballistic missile, like the one North Korea seeks to develop, in what experts saw as a high-stakes moment for the U.S. program.

The U.S. military sought to manage expectations ahead of the test, which it acknowledged could go either way, saying it would gain vital data regardless of whether its Ground-based Midcourse Defense (GMD) interceptor hit its target.

It also sought to reassure the public that America’s defenses were layered, meaning it had multiple opportunities to strike down a missile headed toward the United States.

“We improve and learn from each test, regardless of the outcome. That’s the reason we conduct them,” said Pentagon spokesman Cpt. Jeff Davis.

“The system that we test today is a developmental system that’s being flown for the first time and we look forward to understanding the results so we continue to mature the system and stay ahead of the threat.”

The U.S. system has successfully hit its target in only nine of 17 tests since 1999. The most recent test was in 2014.

the BRIEF

A successful intercept would be much like hitting a bullet with a bullet, experts say, cautioning that the ICBM would be traveling faster than any missile in previous GMD tests.

Riki Ellison, the founder of the Missile Defense Advocacy Alliance, described the test as “vital.”

“We are replicating our ability to defend the United States of America from North Korea, today,” Ellison said.

Still, there were no guarantees that Tuesday’s test would be successful and any failure of the GMD could deepen concerns about a program that according to one estimate has already cost more than $40 billion to develop.

In the fiscal year 2018 budget

“There are differences between the (House and Senate) finance packages, but I assure you that the goal of both finance packages is exactly the same.”

— N.C. House Finance Committee Co-Chairman Rep. John Szoka (R-Cumberland) transition, and we want to encourage manufacturing here in North Carolina,” said Szoka. “We also recognize there has been a huge increase in fulfillment centers. These fulfillment centers typically take a great deal of investment and they

Brandenburg, Kentucky A small Kentucky town gave a formal welcome on Monday to a monument to the Confederate soldiers of the Civil War, rededicating the structure after the University of Louisville removed it, calling it an unwelcome symbol of slavery. About 400 people, some dressed in grey replica uniforms and many holding small Confederate battle flags, gathered for the Memorial Day ceremony on a bluff above the Ohio River in Brandenburg, about 40 miles southwest of Louisville.

British American Tobacco to expand ‘glo’ smokeless tobacco sales in Japan from July London British American Tobacco will expand sales of its “glo” tobacco-heating device to Tokyo and Osaka from July and roll it out nationwide by year-end, intensifying a battle with Philip Morris International for a share of Japan’s vaping market. Big tobacco firms are investing in alternative products as more people give up traditional cigarettes amid health concerns. Japan has emerged as a popular testing ground, mainly for “heat not burn” tobacco devices, given e-cigarettes using nicotine-laced liquid are not permitted under the country’s regulations.

“The Little Mermaid” landmark vandalized

proposal sent to Congress last week, the Pentagon requested $7.9 billion for the Missile Defense Agency, including about $1.5 billion for the GMD program.

A 2016 assessment released by the Pentagon’s weapons testing office in January said that U.S. ground-based interceptors meant to knock out any incoming ICBM still had low reliability, giving the system itself a limited capability of shielding the United States.

“There are already significant questions about the capability of this system and how much protection it actually provides and I think if the test fails, you are going to hear even louder concerns and criticisms,” said Kingston Reif at the Arms Control Association.

Copenhagen, Denmark Denmark’s most famous landmark, “The Little Mermaid,” has been doused in red paint by anti-whaling activists. “Danmark defend the whales of the Faroe Islands” was written in English on the ground in front of the sculpture, using the Danish spelling for the country. The statue, which depicts the little mermaid from Danish author Hans Christian Andersen’s tale by the same name, has been damaged several times including being decapitated twice.

employ a lot of people. We have actually missed opportunities the last few years because we haven’t recognized the role these fulfillment centers are now playing in our economy.”

Purchases of mill machinery will also get a sales tax exemption under the House plan, removing the current 1 percent sales tax on such equipment.

Further, the plan creates a new sales tax refund for small and rural research and development businesses. The maximum total amount of refunds allowed to all eligible businesses in a calendar year would be capped at $15 million.

“This is targeted at biotech industries and other capital intensive small startups,” explained Szoka.

“Research and Development is a competitive advantage in North Carolina and we want to best leverage innovations occurring in our universities and encourage

entrepreneurship. When you talk to the biotech industry and the IT industry and these highly technical small businesses that are sprouting up around the state, we believe that for a very small investment this will facilitate businesses growing and actually attract more capital to the state.”

Full details of the House budget plan are not yet available, but are expected to be released and voted on this week. So far provisions of the House proposal appear to focus more on targeted reforms, as opposed to a Senate plan that continues sweeping tax reductions across multiple categories. Once a final House budget is complete and voted on, the process of reconciliation with the Senate proposal will start in earnest.

Lawmakers have repeatedly indicated plans to approve a biennial budget and adjourn the 2017 session by the end of June.

wednesday, May 31, 2017

600 miles to glory Matt DiBenedetto in the No. 32 Go Fas Racing Ford and Danica Patrick in the No. 10 StewartHaas Racing Ford comer through turn four during the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series CocaCola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway, May 28.

See more from the race on B4.

the Wednesday Sideline report

SPORTS

GOLF

Woods arrested for DUI in hometown of Jupiter, Florida Golfer Tiger Woods was arrested and charged with driving under the influence early Monday morning in Jupiter, Fla. Woods, a Jupiter Island resident, was taken into custody at 3 a.m. ET, according to the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office.

Woods issued a statement saying no alcohol was involved and the situation was a result of mixing prescription medication.

He registered 0.0 on two breathalyzer tests, according to a police report. The 41-year-old Woods, who had fusion back surgery in April, was found asleep at the wheel of his car, booked at 7:18 a.m. and released on his own recognizance at 10:50 a.m.

C

Trout out indefinitely with thumb injury

MEDIA

Legendary sportswriter DeFord dies at 78 Former Sports Illustrated writer and longtime NPR contributor Frank Deford died at his home in Key West, Fla., at the age of 78. His wife, Carol Penner Deford, confirmed her husband passed away on Sunday. The Baltimore native started writing at Sports Illustrated in 1962 and had two lengthy stints with the magazine. The first came from 1962 to 1989 when he became known for writing SI's bonus story — the longest piece in each issue. His second stint lasted from 1998 until his passing during which time he continued to write his signature stories.

NHL

Caps GM considering Ovechkin trade Washington Capitals general manager Brian MacLellan told reporters Tuesday that he might trade superstar Alexander Ovechkin if a “legitimate hockey deal” was proposed. As of now, no legitimate deal has been offered and Ovy remains a part of the team’s future plans.

Earnhardt’s final Coca-Cola 600 shared with family of fallen soldier

By R. Cory Smith North State Journal

MLB

Los Angeles Angels star center fielder Mike Trout, a two-time American League MVP, will be sidelined indefinitely after a MRI on Monday confirmed he suffered a torn LCL ligament in his left thumb in Sunday's game at Miami. Trout slid into second base headfirst on a steal attempt and jammed his thumb into the base of the bag. He came out of the game hoping it was just a strain, and X-rays taken at the time were negative.

Eamon Queeney | North State Journal

Troy Taormina | usa today sports images

Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry (30) dribbles the ball as San Antonio Spurs guard Patty Mills (8) defends during the third quarter in game three of the Western conference finals of the NBA Playoffs at AT&T Center in San Antonio, May 20.

Warriors favored in epic NBA Finals rubber match LeBron James and the Cavaliers are underdogs to Golden State once again

By The Sports XChange For the third straight year, LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers will square off against the Golden State Warriors as the NBA Finals get underway on Thursday night. And for the second straight year they will be underdogs.

James scored 35 points and passed Michael Jordan to become the NBA’s all-time playoff scoring leader as the Cavaliers routed the Boston Celtics to claim another Eastern Conference title, the seventh in a row for James with multiple franchises.

Both teams dominated throughout the playoffs — Golden State and Cleveland went an absurd 24-1, with the Warriors remaining undefeated ahead of the Finals thanks to a 12-0 run through the playoffs thus far.

The Westgate Las Vegas SuperBook installed Golden State as a minus-260 favorite, with Cleveland at plus-220, meaning a $100 bet on the Warriors would win $38.46 and the same bet on

the Cavaliers would win $220, according to ESPN. The Warriors are listed as seven-point favorites for Game 1 at home, according to CBS Sports.

Here are 10 storylines to watch ahead of the Finals beginning.

The real MVP? Andre Iguodala earned MVP honors of the 2015 Finals mostly for his defense on James, who was harassed into 39.8 percent shooting in the series. Last season, James lit it up for 49.4 percent to wrestle away the hardware and the championship.

As the 2017 road to the Finals has demonstrated, James appears to be getting better with age. A monster series from James is the only hope the Cavs have of winning.

The future of Kevin Durant.

At some point, the TV debating duo of Jeff Van Gundy and Mark Jackson are bound to take sides on whether the first-year Warrior should opt out of his contract and return to Oklahoma City next season or unpack his bags and settle in. The question will become: Is he more likely to leave if the Warriors win or if they lose?

Extracurriculars. It has been a relatively quiet 2017 postseason in terms of flagrant fouls, See WARRIORs, page B8

HARLOTTE — Susan McClamrock originally decided that, rather than putting together a big event for Memorial Day, her family would spend the holiday together, honoring fallen soldiers on a very difficult day.

Seven years earlier, the McClamrock family lost a soldier, son, brother and a husband. Private First Class James McClamrock, 22, was killed on Sept.

7, 2010 at a military base near the city of Tuz Khormato, about 130 miles north of Baghdad, when an Iraqi soldier opened fire.

“I had just decided as the mom, the matriarch of the family, that this Memorial Day — going on seven years this year — we were going to be quiet,” Susan explained. “We were going to grill together at the house, go to James’ grave like we usually do to spend the moment in reflection and then just be with each other.

“Well, that’s the way it started off.”

A text from Leigh Walthers, a Special Investigations Unit field investigator at Nationwide in N.C., informed Susan that her plans would change.

James’ name was going to be on the front windshield of a car in the Coca-Cola 600.

And not just any car — James’ name was going to be on Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s No. 88 machine in his final Coca-Cola 600.

“This one’s especially huge because we’ve got the No. 1 race car driver, like everybody wants Dale Jr. because of his dad’s legacy and his own legacy,” Susan said. “And this is his last 600! If I was Dale Jr., I’d probably want my name on my last 600 [car].

This is where he wants to win. This is his hometown.

“Instead, he’s sharing that day with us. … It’s just a sweet thing.”

Each car during the 600 featured a different soldier’s name as part of “600 Miles of Remembrance,” NASCAR’s tribute to those that lost their lives serving our country. For Earnhardt, having a close geographical connection made it all the more

“You never want him to be forgotten.

Because when we forget and people stop talking and the honors stop coming, he will truly die.”

— Susan McClamrock, mother of fallen soldier James McClamrock

See EArnhardt, page B8

Inside

Christopher Hanewinckel | USA TODAY Sports images

The Predators did everything imaginable to steal Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Finals, including limiting the Penguins to 12 total shots and storming back from a 3-0 deficit. It was just the latest win for former Hurricanes general manager Jim Rutherford over former Carolina head coach Peter Laviolette. And that’s just the beginning of the Carolina ties for the 2017 Finals. Cory Lavalette breaks down all of the connections to Raleigh. Page 3.

North State Journal for Wednesday, May 31, 2017

B2 WEDNESDAY

05.31.17

Trending

Richard Sherman: Seahawks cornerback agreed to pay for the college tuition for Virginian Hershai James after the high schooler improved her grades following a challenge from Sherman to become an honor student.

Nolan Carroll: Cowboys defensive back was arrested on suspicion of DUI over Memorial Day weekend after being pulled over early Monday morning and taken to the Dallas County Jail.

beyond the box score POTENT QUOTABLES

MLB

Nationals outfielder Bryce Harper was ejected during Washington’s Memorial Day matchup against the San Francisco Giants after storming the mound, throwing his helmet and launching a shot at Giants reliever Hunter Strickland.

Charles LeClaire| Usa Today Sports images

“I don’t like him.

I think on the ice, he’s a piece of garbage.”

Former NHL defenseman John Scott on Nashville Predators defenseman P.K. Subban

Alex Noren: Swedish golfer fired a 62, highlighted by an eagle on No. 18, in the final round of the 2017 BMW Championship to capture the seventh European Tour victory of his career.

Kelley L Cox | Usa Today Sports images

Bill Streicher | Usa Today Sports images

Ernesto Valverde: Former Athletic Bilbao coach was named the head of the FC Barcelona squad, replacing Luis Enrique, who departed the team less than a week after winning the Copa del Ray. Detroit Pistons: Franchise reportedly interested in trading away the No. 12 pick for a veteran who can help the team win now, as the Pistons view themselves as a team capable of winning early.

Buster Posey: San Francisco Giants catcher drew attention from fans and media after being spotted standing far away from the fight between the Nationals and Giants after Bryce Harper charged the mound.

Wholey’s: Famous Pittsburgh seafood market required identification from anyone attempting to purchase a catfish in order to keep Predators fans from buying the pond animal and throwing it on the ice during the Stanley Cup.

“It’s fun to speculate about that, if Dak were to go down in week 2, would Tony come back?

I don’t know the answer to that.”

Cowboys QB coach Wade Wilson on potential backup quarterback situation

nfl

1,000 Number of tickets that Raiders fans requested refunds for according to owner Mark Davis, who had previously promised to refund any fans who asked after the team announced its move to Las Vegas. Davis also said he subsequently re-sold the full amount of refunded tickets to other fans and the Raiders had sold out their season tickets for the 2017 season.

NHL

UFC

Charles LeClaire | Usa Today Sports images

Nashville Predators fans were so excited about the team’s opportunity to play in the Stanley Cup that at least one of them snuck a catfish into the Penguins arena and threw it onto the ice. Thowing a catfish on the ice is a Predators tradition dating back to 2003.

GOLF

Per Haljestam | Usa Today Sports images

UFC fighter Alexander Gustafsson took “put a ring on it” to a whole new level over the weekend, when he proposed to his girlfriend Moa Antonia Johansson in the octagon following a victory over Glover Teixeira during UFC Fight Night.

Holidays have not typically been very good for PGA Tour golfer Tiger Woods, who was arrested over the weekend and charged with DUI. Woods, who remains steadfast about returning to play professional golf, claimed the incident did not involve alcohol but was a result of mixed prescription medication. The police report released on Tuesday morning revealed that Woods blew a 0.0, but that doesn’t make the mugshot any less damning.

VIA Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office

Always Dry. Always Comfortable.

introducing the NEW 29 Express

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North State Journal for Wednesday, May 31, 2017

Stanley Cup Final has familiar faces

Splitter to Spoiler

Game 1 reminiscent of 2006, when Hurricanes rallied for win

By Cory Lavalette North State Journal

Eamon Queeney | North State Journal

Austin Dillon reacts with the checkered flag after driving the No. 3 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet to the win during the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway, May 28.

Gamble gets Austin Dillon, No. 3 back in Victory Lane in Coca-Cola 600 HARLOTTE — Call it luck. Call it strategy. Call it C whatever you want. Austin Dillon

calls it a win.

For that to come in the CocaCola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway — less than an hour away from his hometown of Welcome, N.C. — and in the No. 3 car, Dillon had a difficult time keeping his emotions in check.

“It hasn’t sunk in yet. I can’t believe it,” Dillon said in Victory Lane, his first trip in 133 Cup races. “I was just really focused on those last laps. My fiancé wrote in the car, ‘When you keep God in first place, he will take you places you never imagined.’ And, I never imagined to be here at the 600 Victory Lane.

“Praise the Lord and all these guys who work so hard; and my pit crew is the best on pit road. I love it for them. We’re in the Chase. It’s awesome.”

Dillon’s opportunity might have never happened had it not been for a bit of chance. Jimmie Johnson was in cruise control up front with less than two laps remaining before sputtering out and falling to the 17th position, opening the door for Dillon to clinch his first victory.

While Dillon may have been “handed” a victory with a fuelmileage gamble by some fans’ accounts, Dillon had to finish the race. He also had to push the seven-time champion to the brink on his tail for the final laps. Any question about Dillon’s thoughts on the win were answered with his left fist raised.

“If they think it was a fuel mileage race, they can kiss my ring,” Dillon said with a smile and a mic drop.

Regardless of how it was accomplished, getting the No. 3 back in Victory Lane was a special moment for Richard Childress Racing. Despite questions from Dale Earnhardt fans about whether or not Richard Childress — Dillon’s grandfather — should ever bring the car back to the track, he was justified on Sunday.

“Can you believe this? the Coke 600, Austin Dillon, the 3,” Childress said. “When I got emotional, I looked up, when I looked up and seen the 3 on top of the board, I was standing there doing an interview, that’s when I got emotional. ...

“Having my grandson just made it that much more special. I know Dale is up there smiling down because he would want this win, he’d want to see it with Austin.”

Truex left wanting more after 600 miles It’s hard to fathom any driver wanting to go beyond the 600mile threshold — the longest in NASCAR — but that’s exactly what Martin Truex Jr. wanted in Charlotte.

After leading 397 of 400 laps in a win last year, Truex led the way for 233 in 2017. He was forced to pit late to get fuel to finish out the race and couldn’t quite catch up to Dillon on the final laps, finishing 1.152 seconds behind Dillon after being passed by Kyle Busch on the final lap.

“Couple more would’ve been nice,” Truex said with a laugh.

“But if we had a couple more, Kyle would’ve beat us. He passed us there coming to the checkers, so I was just hanging on that last run.

We were really, really loose. I think if we weren’t so loose we could’ve caught the 3 on the last lap.”

Truex’s entire tenure with Furniture Row Racing has been littered with close calls. Whether it was a nailbiter in Daytona last year, mishap at Kansas in 2016 or fuel mileage in Charlotte, Truex has seen so many strong efforts fall short.

B3

R. Cory Smith

Sunday was no different.

Following the one and a half hour rain delay, Truex never missed a beat with rocket restarts and clean air keeping him up front all night. But when the clock struck midnight, the No. 78 turned into a pumpkin again.

A huge part of that was due to lapped traffic, which battled Truex for positioning and forced him to work harder to catch back up to the leaders of Johnson then Dillon.

“You don’t ever know where they’re gonna be,” Truex said.

“There’s five or six cars that go in a different lane every time you catch them. They go in the corner at the bottom and they come out the corner at the top. You wouldn’t believe how much time you lose just trying to pass those guys.”

Truex can take solace in the fact that he moved up to No. 1 in the points standings, but notching another five playoff points along with his stage win and a second straight Coca-Cola 600 would have firmly separated Truex from the field.

Peter Laviolette and Jim Rutherford had seen this before. Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final and one team is out to a commanding 3-0 lead. Back in 2006, The Hurricanes — with Laviolette on the bench and Rutherford, the general manager, watching their team from on high — rallied to tie the game and eventually won, 5-4, on captain Rod Brind’Amour’s goal with 31 seconds left.

The Stanley Cup Final has a very yellow tinge this year, with the Pittsburgh Penguins and Nashville Predators facing off to determine the NHL’s 2016-17 champion, but Monday’s Game 1 felt a lot like that final round opener 11 years ago. This time, though, Laviolette and Rutherford were on different sides.

Laviolette is coaching the Predators, the third team (along with Philadelphia) he’s led to the NHL’s final two. Rutherford “retired” from Carolina in late April 2014, but re-emerged as the Penguins GM just a little more than a month later. He led Pittsburgh to the Cup last season and is on the cusp of winning his third title this year.

Laviolette — who’s had longtime assistant Kevin McCarthy at his side since their days together in Raleigh — saw Nashville have their first goal waved off after a coach’s challenge determined the Predators were offside, then watched on as the Penguins scored three times to take a big lead.

Then everything dried up for Pittsburgh.

The defending champs went 37 minutes without recording a shot

Stanley Cup Final Schedule Game 1 Pittsburgh 5, Nashville 3 Pittsburgh leads series 1-0 Game 2 Nashville at Pittsburgh Wednesday, 8 p.m., NBCSN Game 3 Pittsburgh at Nashville Saturday, 8 p.m., NBCSN Game 4 Pittsburgh at Nashville Monday, 8 p.m., NBC Game 5 Nashville at Pittsburgh* June 8, 8 p.m., NBC Game 6 Pittsburgh at Nashville* June 11, 8 p.m., NBC Game 7 Nashville at Pittsburgh* June 14, 8 p.m., NBC * if necessary

on goal, and Laviolette’s Predators chipped away at the lead until it was tied. But unlike 2006, the coach didn’t get the final result. Pittsburgh’s Jake Guentzel — on the Penguins first shot on net since Nick Bonino’s first goal gave them a three-goal cushion — scored with 3:17 remaining in what proved to be the game-winner in a 5-3 final.

It was a loss for Laviolette and Nashville, but not for Rutherford and a handful of other people with Hurricanes ties on the Penguins’ side.

Defenseman Ron Hainsey had famously never reached the playoffs before being traded from Carolina to Pittsburgh at this season’s trade deadline. He played his 20th postseason game with the Penguins Monday night, a total that is now more than all but three players under contract with the Hurricanes next season: Jordan Staal (73), Cam Ward (41) and Lee Stempniak (28). Of those three, only Ward has played a postseason game with Carolina.

Coincidentally, Rutherford, then with Carolina, traded with Pittsburgh for Staal in the summer of 2012, and one of the pieces that went to the Penguins was prospect Brian Dumoulin. Dumoulin, a 2009 second-round pick by the Hurricanes, has emerged as one of the Penguins’ most reliable defensemen and leads the team in ice time this postseason at 21:49 per game (Hainsey is second at 21:08).

Joining them on the Penguins is Matt Cullen, at 40 the oldest player in this year’s playoffs and the third oldest in the NHL this season (Jaromir Jagr, 45; Shane Doan, less than a month older than Cullen). Cullen, like Rutherford, is in search of his third Cup — he won with Carolina in 2006 and rejoined Rutherford in Pittsburgh last year to help the Penguins to the title. He played his 44th career playoff game with Pittsburgh Monday, one more than the 43 he accumulated in 2006 and 2009 with the Hurricanes.

Both Cullen and Dumoulin had primary assists in Monday’s win.

Rutherford also brought some familiar faces to the Penguins front office. Jason Karmanos, son of Hurricanes owner Peter Karmanos Jr., is vice president of hockey operations, a job he took after he was fired by his father in 2013 as Carolina’s assistant general manager following a personal falling out. Mark Recchi, who won Cups in Pittsburgh, Carolina (as a deadline rental) and Boston, returned to the Penguins in 2014 as a player development coach.

While the national and Canadian media hone in on big names like Sidney Crosby and P.K. Subban, hockey fans in North Carolina can focus on the players, coaches and executives who once called Raleigh home. The emotions of who to root for can be as wild as a Game 1.

Oil, lapped cars cost multiple contenders opportunity On a day where there was no shortage of huge wrecks in every notable race from Monaco to Indianapolis, the NASCAR race in Charlotte didn’t disappoint.

After Jeffrey Earnhardt experienced issues that led to oil and a part dumping on the track, Chase Elliott appeared to run over it and his car caught fire. Brad Keselowski attempted to brake and steer clear of Elliott’s No. 24 car, but couldn’t do either due to the oil on the track.

What happened next was a massive collision that left both cars mangled. Keselowski smashed into the back of Elliott and ultimately sent both cars to the garage and drivers to the infield care center.

“Somebody broke and there was just oil everywhere and I couldn’t turn,” Keselowski said. “I ran into the back of Chase. ... You couldn’t stop and turn. You couldn’t do anything.

“It’s a real bummer four our team. We had a really fast Miller Lite Ford and I think we had a shot at winning tonight, but that’s how it goes.”

A part failure later in the race for Ty Dillon saw him dump oil all over the track, spinning out Kevin Harvick and Kasey Kahne.

Harvick was able to save his ride with a masterful slide any dirt track racer would be proud of.

Kahne was not so lucky, sustaining enough rear-end damage to send him to the garage.

“Yeah, it was really crazy,” Kahne said. “My crew chief said there is oil on the track, but I knew I broke something on the car, so actually broke a left-side truck arm. I got underneath the car when I got out and looked at.

It was just hanging. I don’t know why that happened, but it broke, so then the rear-end was moving around and I couldn’t drive it.”

Keselowski remained at third in the points, but Elliott dropped from fourth to seventh. Kahne, meanwhile, dropped down to 20th and well outside of the playoff discussion following Dillon’s win.

Rain may have delayed the race for fans, but oil ruined it for a handful of drivers.

Charles LeClaire | North State Journal

Nashville Predators left wing James Neal (18) battles for the puck between Pittsburgh Penguins defenseman Olli Maatta (3) and center Matt Cullen (7) during the second period in game one of the 2017 Stanley Cup Final at PPG PAINTS Arena in Pittsburgh on May 29.

Crack down on drunk driving and boating gets underway

By Donna King North State Journal RALEIGH — Montana Marshall Poe never thought she’d kick off Memorial Day weekend 2017 standing in front of news cameras at Falls Lake in Wake County. But after her sister Sheyenne Marshall, 17, was killed by an impaired boater two years ago, she made a commitment to make sure no one ever forgot.

“She was an all-around good person, she was a Christian, she was going to go to college to become a nurse,” said Marshall Poe. “She was a wonderful person with big, big dreams ahead of her. Unfortunately that got taken away from her too soon.”

Sheyenne was kneeboarding during a family party on Lake Norman July 4th weekend 2015 when she was struck from behind by an impaired boater and killed.

“Our family was shocked to find out that there were no real consequences for something like that,” said Marshall Poe. “You would think that it would be the same as for drunk driving in a car. ... Once we got through our initial shock and grieving, we decided we would fight for penalties

so this would not happen to other families in the future.”

On Thursday, Montana stood with leadership from the N.C. Highway Patrol and the Wildlife Resources Commission and told her family’s story. The two agencies teamed up to share it and crack down on drunk driving and drunk boating over Memorial Day weekend. A campaign called “On the Road, On the Water, Don’t Drink and Drive” was launched Thursday to encourage safe and sober operation of motor vehicles and boats.

“There have already been two boating fatalities in N.C. this summer that involved alcohol,” said Marshall Poe. “So I’m hoping this campaign will show that drinking while operating any kind of machinery is not OK because it can cause devastating loss to families.”

Last year, the State Highway Patrol investigated 275 fatal collisions and more than 9,578 injury wrecks during the summer months, including 54 fatal collisions and 844 injury accidents due to impaired driving.

“Partnering with fellow law enforcement agencies to accomplish the goal of saving lives is

something we always encourage,” said Col. Glenn McNeill, commander of the State Highway Patrol. “This campaign is simply another way we focus on removing impaired motorists from our state’s roadways.”

The State Forensic Test for Alcohol Branch and the Mothers Against Drunk Driving N.C. chapter joined them to help get the word out.

“We are so grateful for what they do to keep everyone safe, and we feel like its important that we help by sharing our story too and spread awareness and the dangers of drunk driving and drunk boating,” said Marshall Poe. In 2016, Sheyenne’s Law was passed, making it a felony charge if a boater is impaired and accidentally injures or kills another person on the water. Legislation being considered in the N.C. legislature would increase the penalties for causing death by operating a boat or motor vehicle under the influence. H.B. 65 has already passed the House and is now in committee in the Senate.

It would make penalties for killing someone with a boat or vehicle while under the influence carry jail time of up to 27 months.

North State Journal for Wednesday, May 31, 2017

B4

North State Journal for Wednesday, May 31, 2017

B5

One hot night

Race fans in matching Coca-Cola pants watch as Lynyrd Skynyrd performs before the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Coca-Cola 600.

Jamie McMurray shares a moment with his daughter Hazel, 4, as they hop into the bed of a truck during driver introductions.

Photos by EAMON QUEENEY | North State Journal

Austin Dillon, third from right, dives into the grass with his pit crew as they celebrate his win after driving the No. 3 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway, May 29.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. signs an autograph for a fan as he makes his way off stage during driver introductions.

Petty Officer First Class Robert Rasmussen, of Tampa, FL., salutes during the playing of the national anthem before the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Coca-Cola 600.

Kendra Owens, of China Grove, N.C., watches the race on the jumbotron from inside a RV on May 28.

Fans watch from elevated positions as the cars head into the back straight away on May 28.

Water floods the track after heavy rains passed through on May 28.

1st

6th

Austin Dillon

2nd Kyle Busch

3rd

Martin Truex Jr.

4th

Matt Kenseth

5th

Denny Hamlin

Kurt Busch

7th

Erik Jones

8th

Kevin Harvick

9th

Ryan Newman

10th

Dale Earnhardt Jr. Racers make their way through the first turn as the pit markers glow, May 28.

North State Journal for Wednesday, May 31, 2017

B6

Can the 2017 Wolfpack football team realize the hype?

With preseason rankings listing the Wolfpack, firstround draft pick hopefuls and an experienced cast, can this year’s team finally live up to its potential?

By R. Cory Smith North State Journal ALEIGH — NC State head coach Dave Doeren has been R building a “sleeping giant” — as

some are calling this year’s squad — since he arrived in Raleigh.

He has all the pieces this year on offense and defense to make the jump Wolfpack fans have been waiting for.

On the brink of a sub-.500 season last year, the Pack rattled off two straight victories over rival North Carolina and Vanderbilt to finish 7-6. While the team loses crucial starters like Matt Dayes and Josh Jones, it has a veteran core that includes 11 seniors with starting experience returning.

In total, Doeren has 16 total starters returning on offense and defense. That list doesn’t include Kelvin Harmon, a standout receiver as a freshman who was second on the team in receiving touchdowns (five).

All of that experience is thanks to Doeren believing in his own system and, at times, relying on players before they were ready.

Doeren has zero doubts his players are ready this season.

“Going into year five with a bunch of players that we have brought up from the beginning and a lot of young players that probably played a lot earlier than they should,” Doeren said with a laugh. “They’re now going into their third, fourth or fifth year and I know how excited they are for this season and seeing the way they’ve taken ownership in the culture of our program.”

But wait, haven’t NC State fans heard this story before? Several times, in fact.

madeline Gray | North State Journal

Head coach Dave Doeren talks with his players following the spring football game at NC State on April 1.

Back in 2003, head coach Chuck Amato returned a team defeated Notre Dame in the Gator Bowl and 11 wins the year prior.

That team, which included seniors Philip Rivers and Jerricho Cotchery along with T.A. McClendon, tripped up against Wake Forest to start the year and never quite recovered, finishing a disappointing 8-5.

In 2010, coach Tom O’Brien navigated a team that included Russell Wilson and a terrifying defensive corps in Earl Wolff, Audie Cole, Nate Irving and Terrell Manning to four straight wins.

The team then fell flat, losing four of the next eight, including a loss to Maryland to deny it a berth in the ACC Championship Game, before salvaging a bowl win over West Virginia.

O’Brien came in with similarly heightened expectations in 2012 with seniors Mike Glennon, Tobi-

as Palmer, Wolff and Ricky Dowdy along with junior David Amerson expected to lead the way. That team finished 7-5 in the regular season, costing O’Brien his job and opening the door for Doeren.

So what makes things any different for this year’s team? Experience is one thing, but the 2017 squad has a massive amount of veteran talent.

Ryan Finley has taken his bumps under center and finished last season strong. Stephen Louis, Jaylen Samuels and Harmon make up an explosive arsenal through the air. Samuels and Nyheim Hines are expected to carry the load in the backfield along with Reggie Gallaspy.

Then there’s the defense. With more experience than ever — eight of the aforementioned 11 seniors — has a chance to be one of the best in the entire country.

That all starts with the defensive

UNC fires back at NCAA in latest response to allegations The 102-page document restated the school’s assertion that irregularities involving its African and Afro-American Studies department were an academic issue not governed to NCAA bylaws

By Brett Friedlander North State Journal The ongoing dispute between North Carolina and the NCAA has taken more twists and turns than a mountain road since the case involving suspect classes in the school’s African and Afro-American Studies department began in 2011.

The one constant has been UNC’s assertion that the scandal is an academic issue outside the NCAA’s jurisdiction.

That claim was hammered home again by UNC in its third and latest response to an NCAA Notice of Allegations, which was released to the public on Thursday.

“The fundamental issue in our case is that the NCAA bylaws cover athletic matters, not how academics are managed,” athletic director Bubba Cunningham said on a teleconference with the media. “We have thoroughly addressed academic oversight with our accrediting agency, which is the proper governing body for academic issues.

“Our reply to each allegation is based on the NCAA’s constitution and member-adopted bylaws. We expect the Committee on Infractions to consistently apply these bylaws as the case moves forward.”

The latest phase of the case has dragged on for more than three years and has included three separate notices spelling out five Level I NCAA violations. The most recent was received by UNC in December. It reinstated mention of the Tar Heels’ men’s basketball and football programs that were omitted from the previously amended version.

It also reclassified the anomalous AFAM courses referred to in Allegation 1 as “impermissible extra benefits” while using harsher language in describing the violation as “unethical conduct” and accusing UNC of the more serious “lack of institutional control.”

But UNC fired back with a 102page document that cites five fac-

“What we’re hoping is the facts of this case are measured consistently with the bylaws and definitions that have been adopted by the (NCAA) membership.”

— Bubba Cunningham, athletic director tors to support its contention that AFAM irregularities should not be considered a breach of NCAA rules.

Those factors, as spelled out in the school’s response, are that the courses were available to all students; that athletes were treated no differently than the other students enrolled in the courses; that the courses originated in the AFAM department as a means to “assist students with a wide variety of challenges and interests;” that no coach or athletic department employee were involved in steering athletes to the courses; and that the issues involved with the courses were academic in nature and not “the result of inadequate athletic oversight.”

It was also pointed out that UNC has already been sanctioned by its accrediting agency, the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, and has instituted some 70 reforms and initiatives to prevent the issues from happening again.

“The allegations have changed a couple of times, so this response is specific to this set of allegations,” Cunningham said. “But I would say that in a global sense, it’s consistent with what our position has been from the very beginning.”

There are a few differences in this latest response.

The most significant is UNC’s claim that athletes comprised only 27.4 percent of the enrollment in the suspect AFAM classes. That figure is much lower than the 47 percent described in the report issued by former federal prosecutor Kenneth Wainstein.

Cunningham declined to elaborate on how the new figure was reached, but implied that it had more to do with semantics than mathematics.

“The definition of a student-ath-

lete is defined by the NCAA for our purpose and in other reviews and investigations, how you define that is a little bit different,” Cunningham said. “That’s probably as much as I should weigh in on a specific relative to one of our responses.”

In addition to the adjusted percentage, UNC’s latest response to the NCAA includes new testimony from former AFAM administrator Deborah Crowder — a key figure prominently named in the allegations who was interviewed by the NCAA in March.

It also, for the first time, cites as precedent two previous cases in which the NCAA declined to sanction neither Michigan nor Auburn for similar academic issues.

“In my experience, each case is different,” Cunningham said.

“What we’re hoping is the facts of this case are measured consistently with the bylaws and definitions that have been adopted by the (NCAA) membership.”

While Cunningham said that UNC is “prepared to work through all of the (NCAA) processes” until the seemingly never-ending case is decided, he and other university officials -- including chancellor Carol Folt -- have expressed concern over the fairness of that process.

Specifically, their issue is with a potential conflict of interest involving SEC commissioner and Committee on Infractions chairman Greg Sankey. UNC has requested that Sankey recuse himself from its case, but he has declined.

Cunningham did not specify when UNC would be scheduled to appear before Sankey’s committee.

He did, however, say that he hopes the case will be decided on its merits and not — as UNC’s response spelled out — “media reports, commentary from various sources (including Mark Emmert, the President of the NCAA) and the investigative reports that reviewed these matters from perspectives unrelated to whether there have been NCAA rules violations.”

“The public narrative for the last six years, popularized by media accounts, is that the Department of Athletics at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill took advantage of ‘fake classes’ in the Department of African and African-American Studies to keep student-athletes eligible,” the response noted. “That narrative is wrong and contradicted by the facts in the record.”

line, as South Carolina head coach Will Muschamp pointed out earlier this month.

“They’ve got four defensive linemen that are all going to hear their names called in next year’s draft,” Muschamp said. “I can assure you of that. It’s as good of a front four that we’re gonna face this year. … It’s good to lead the season off with a really good football team because it’s extra motivation for your players during the summer.”

Led by Bradley Chubb, listed as the No. 1 defensive end prospect

by Mel Kiper Jr. of ESPN, the defensive line compiled 27 sacks and 64.5 tackles for loss last season.

There is no weak link on the line, which includes fifth man Darian Roseboro, who tallied seven sacks of his own last year.

The linebacking corps — which includes seniors Airius Moore and Jerod Fernandez — helped to

form the No. 8 rushing defense in the country with just 108.6 rushing yards allowed per game in 2016. That same defensive group allowed a miniscule 4.42 yards per play last season, which ranked second best in the country.

“Just walking into the offseason program you can feel a difference,” Doeren said. “I think that just comes with experience. You can’t recruit that. When guys play over a long period of time and they go through the peaks and valleys of college football, they finally get to that moment where they feel like they’ve helped build something that can be special. There’s a lot of urgency.”

In order to realize the hype, Doeren and his group will have to tame the best division in the best conference in college football. With an ACC opener at Florida State, a Thursday night game against Louisville, a road trip to Notre Dame and a showdown with Clemson all taking place over a seven-week span starting in Week 4, simply winning the Atlantic Division will be a massive task.

But for now, NC State has just over three months to prepare to take down a second straight SEC opponent to start the season. Even with a murderer’s row of games taking place during the ACC gauntlet, Doeren has his team solely focused on the Gamecocks.

“I think a lot of teams beat themselves early in the season,” Doeren said. “I don’t care how experienced you are, you have to have your guys in the right frame of mind to perform at their best out of the gate. For us, that will be critical playing a team like [South Carolina].”

Equipped with a wealth of weapons on offense and one of the best defenses in the country, NC State has all the tools to erase the past. Given all that, this will finally be the year the Wolfpack doesn’t just build hype, but finally follows through with the best cast the program has seen in years.

Tar Heels will have different look next season without Bradley With the loss of two senior big men and now Tony Bradley to the 2017 NBA Draft, UNC coach Roy Williams might have to stray from his traditional insideout philosophy next season

By Brett Friedlander North State Journal Tony Bradley’s decision to stay in the NBA draft was somewhat unexpected considering that the freshman center is projected at a marginal first rounder, at best.

But it didn’t take Roy Williams by surprise.

The North Carolina basketball coach knew Bradley’s departure was possible after the young player said he planned to explore his options in the aftermath of last month’s national championship victory against Gonzaga.

So Williams took precautionary measures with the late addition Garrison Brooks, a four-star prospect who originally signed with Mississippi State.

A 6-foot-10 power forward from Lafayette, Ala., Brooks will help offset the loss of Bradley, just as the earlier signings of big men Brandon Huffman and Sterling Manley filled the void left by the graduation of seniors Kennedy Meeks and Isaiah Hicks.

But while the Tar Heels should have enough size to go around in 2017-18, the one thing they won’t be able to replace is the experience Bradley gained in his one college season.

The 6-foot-11 Florida native averaged 7.1 points and 5.1 rebounds in around 15 minutes per game and was a key contributor off the bench during UNC’s postseason run.

He scores five points and pulled down seven boards in his team’s title-clinching victory against Gonzaga.

Bradley’s stats were expected to increase exponentially as the focal point of UNC’s low post game next season With him, the Tar Heels were considered a legitimate threat to get back to win the ACC, get back to the Final Four and successfully defend their national championship. Without him, their stock has

been devalued to that of just another ranked team with questions to answer.

The most immediate of those concerns are what Williams will do about the gaping hole that’s been left in the paint.

Given the lack of a proven inside presence, the Hall of Fame coach is either going to have to hope that at least one of the freshmen big men is capable of making a significant immediate contribution or scrap his favored inside-out philosophy for a more perimeter-oriented attack that takes advantage of his veteran returning backcourt.

Next year’s team got a major boost when point guard Joel Berry decided to withdraw from the draft and return for his senior season.

Not only is Berry an efficient scorer, as he showed while winning Most Outstanding Player honors at the Final Four, but he’s also a poised, intelligent playmaker who knows where and when the ball needs to be in virtually every situation.

His experience and skill, along with the return of Theo Pinson, Seventh Woods and Brandon Robinson will allow Williams to utilize a smaller, faster lineup designed to beat the opposition up and down the court.

Luke Maye, the hero of UNC’s South Region championship win against Kentucky, could play either the four or the five at 6-foot-8 while incoming freshman wing Jalek Felton would also fit in at multiple positions.

Williams is also working on an ace-in-the-hole by recruiting graduate transfer Cameron Johnson.

A 6-foot-8, 210-pound wing with two years of eligibility remaining, Johnson averaged 11.9 points, 4.5 rebounds and 2.3 assists at Pittsburgh last season and would fit right in as an athletic veteran replacement for ACC Player of the Year Justin Jackson.

That is assuming he is able to gain his release from his former school, something that’s still a matter of heated contention.

Even if he isn’t able to come to UNC, the Tar Heels will still have the makings of a solid team in 2017-18. Just not as good as the one it would have been had Bradley withdrawn from the draft and returned for his sophomore season.

North State Journal for Wednesday, May 31, 2017

NFL NOTEBOOK

Brady pays tribute to fallen SEAL, Vick wants to retire with Falcons

By NSJ Staff Brady pays tribute to fallen Navy SEAL New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady delivered a video message to the family of a Navy SEAL killed recently in action.

In a column this Memorial Day weekend, Bill Speros of the Boston Herald wrote about Navy SEAL Kyle Milliken, a Maine native and former UConn track athlete killed in Somalia on May 5.

Brady delivered the video message last week at the funeral of Milliken, thanking the hero’s wife and their two children for their sacrifice.

Speros shared that at Milliken’s funeral in Virginia Beach, Va., Brady’s video offered condolences and spoke of how Milliken was considered a “glue guy” by UConn track coach Greg Roy. Milliken, 38, became the first American service member killed in Somalia since the early 1990s, dying in a firefight during a raid.

He spent 15 years in the Navy, earning a spot on SEAL Team Six and securing four Bronze Stars for his efforts in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Milliken had a special connection to the Patriots when in 2011 he and other Navy SEALs took part in a training exercise at Gillette Stadium.

Vick wants to retire with Falcons Quarterback Michael Vick, the former No. 1 overall pick of the Atlanta Falcons, clarified his earlier comments regarding retirement, saying he has not spoken with anyone from the organization about signing a one-day contract so he can officially retire as a member of the Falcons.

Vick previously told CBS Radio in Atlanta on Friday night that he has talked with the Falcons about signing a one-day contract and then officially retiring.

“Hopefully soon,” the 36-yearold Vick said during the interview.

Vick was the No. 1 overall pick in the 2001 NFL Draft out of Virginia Tech, but his tenure in Atlanta ended in disgrace when he was arrested for running a dog-fighting operation. He spent 21 months in federal prison for the crime.

In February, the 36-year-old Vick announced he was retired from the NFL, but he had told CBS Radio in Atlanta on Friday night that he has talked with the Falcons about signing a one-day contract and then officially re-

Summer hoops recruiting roundup

By Shawn Krest North State Journal

Jason Getz | USA TODAY SPORTS IMAGES

Former Atlanta Falcons quarterback Michael Vick during pregame before the Falcons game against the New Orleans Saints at the Georgia Dome.

tiring. He spent six seasons with the Falcons and was a three-time Pro Bowl selection before his dog-fighting conviction.

Raiders sell out despite Vegas move

tickets

The Oakland Raiders’ season tickets for the 2017 campaign have sold out despite their impending move to Las Vegas.

Fans spending money on season tickets for a lame-duck team comes as Raiders owner Mark Davis is hinting he will ask to stay around the Oakland Coliseum for an extra season while Nevada builds his Vegas dome stadium, according to the San Francisco Chronicle.

The team’s lease in Oakland runs through the 2018 season, but the Las Vegas stadium may not be ready until 2020.

“We haven’t heard anything official, but that’s what we are hearing through the NFL blogs,” Scott McKibben, executive director of the Oakland Coliseum Authority, told the newspaper.

Gronkowski sharp in Pats’ OTA New England Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski, coming off a season-ending back injury and fresh from signing a restructured deal that could pay him as much as $10.75 million this season, impressed coaches this week during

organized team activities.

“He looks like Gronk,” Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels told reporters. “We haven’t got into a big evaluation. He’s involved in everything.”

The 6-foot-6, 265-pound Gronkowski is less than six months removed from back surgery, but was a full participant during Thursday OTAs practice in the rain.

“I mean, we’ll see how it goes,” coach Bill Belichick told reporters regarding Gronkowski. “We’ve only practiced a couple days.

We’ve got a long way to go, but we’ll see how it goes.”

Gronkowski was injured in Week 12 against the New York Jets on Nov. 27. He caught 25 passes for 540 yards and three touchdowns in eight games in 2016.

Vikings’ Zimmer says he will be back Minnesota Vikings coach Mike Zimmer said he plans to return to his duties even if he loses sight in his right eye.

Zimmer is away from the team during this week’s organized team activities after undergoing his eighth eye surgery in the past seven months.

“I’ll be back shortly with one eye or two,” Zimmer said during a conference call. “It doesn’t matter.

I’ll be back either way.”

Zimmer’s latest surgery was on May 17 when doctors inserted a gas bubble into his eye, designed

to stabilize his detached retina and keep it in place.

The possibility of becoming permanently blind exists and the 60-year-old Zimmer has pondered the situation.

“I don’t want to go blind in this eye (but) if that’s what it is, that’s what it is,” Zimmer said. “This will not keep me from coaching.”

Kelly joins ESPN as NFL, college football studio analyst Former Oregon and NFL coach Chip Kelly is joining ESPN as a studio analyst next season, the network announced Friday.

Kelly, 53, primarily will be part of Saturday’s college pregame, halftime and wrap-up shows on ESPN2. In addition, ESPN said he will provide NFL analysis on Sundays during “SportsCenter.”

“Over the last 30 years, I have experienced football from one perspective — as a coach,” Kelly said in a statement. “Working in television will allow me to see the game from a different angle; simultaneously, I’ll provide viewers an insight to the mindset of a coach and team while offering alternative views of various situations.

“Once I decided to make the move to TV, my familiarity with ESPN, combined with their high-quality production and vital role in college football, it was easily the best network suited for me.”

McGirt set to defend unlikely crown at Memorial The North Carolina native hopes to have continued success at the Jack Nicklaus event

By Tom LaMarre The Sports XChange Year in and year out, many of the best golfers in the world flock to Muirfield Village Golf Club in Dublin, Ohio, to pay homage to the best golfer of all time.

Jack Nicklaus is host of the Memorial Tournament, which begins on Thursday, and once again the field is loaded.

Among those who committed to play are top-ranked Dustin Johnson, Jason Day of Australia, Phil Mickelson, Jordan Spieth, Justin Rose of England, Adam Scott of Australia, Hideki Matsuyama of Japan, Matt Kuchar, Bubba Watson, Rickie Fowler, Justin Thomas and Louis Oosthuizen of South Africa.

Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland also was entered, but he was forced to withdraw because ongoing back problems.

Past winners of the tournament include Nicklaus, Tiger Woods, Tom Watson, Raymond Floyd, Hale Irwin, Greg Norman, Curtis Strange, Bob Tway, Kenny Perry, Tom Lehman, Paul Azinger, Fred Couples, Ernie Els, Jim Furyk, Steve Stricker, Vijay Singh of Fiji and K.J. Choi of South Korea.

The Memorial has something of a major championship feel, which made journeyman William McGirt’s victory one of the biggest upsets of the 2016 season on the PGA Tour.

“I wondered for years if I would ever get to the PGA Tour,”

B7

Peter Casey | usa today sports images

William McGirt reads the 18th green during the first round of The Players Championship golf tournament at TPC Sawgrass - Stadium Course Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla., May11.

said the then-36-year-old McGirt, who won in his 165th start on the circuit. “And then once you get out here, OK, you’ve played 160 events. Are you ever going to win? But I think you have to get your nose bloodied some to learn how to handle it, and I definitely had my nose bloodied a few times.

“It’s pretty darn cool feeling right now to get win No. 1, and for it to be here at the Memorial in front of Mr. Nicklaus, making that putt on the last hole made that pretty darn special.”

McGirt got up and down from behind the 18th green on the second playoff hole, sinking a 6-foot putt for par that beat Jon Curran, another player seeking his first victory on the PGA Tour.

Nicklaus watched it all unfold and recognized what was happening as the two unheralded golfers outlasted established

winners such as Johnson, McIlroy, Kuchar, J.B. Holmes and Gary Woodland.

“I won half of my golf tournaments watching everyone else self-destruct,” said Nicklaus, who had 73 victories on the PGA Tour, including a record 18 major titles.

“And that’s the way you win. I saw (McGirt) coming down the stretch. I saw Jon coming down the stretch. The two of them played great. I felt that either one of them could have won.”

McGirt, who will try to become the first player to successfully defend his Memorial title since Tiger Woods claimed three straight of his tournament-record five victories at Muirfield Village from 1999 to 2001, took the lead with an 8-under-par 64 in the third round.

Even though he didn’t tear up the course in the final round, he played the last 22 holes of regu-

lation without a bogey, saving par from a greenside bunker on the 17th hole and closing with a twoputt par from 65 feet to shoot 71.

Then came his pressure-packed putt on the first extra hole.

“Surprisingly, I felt no nerves standing over that putt and poured it right in the middle,” McGirt said, whose only other pro victory came in the 2007 Cabarrus Classic on the Tar Heel Tour.

Nicklaus named his event the Memorial Tournament in honor of four close friends from his hometown of Columbus, Ohio, who were killed in a plane crash en route to Augusta, Ga., for the 1966 Masters, which the Golden Bear won. The victims included his childhood golfing buddy, Bob Barton.

Each year, the tournament honors people who have made a lasting contribution to the game of golf, and this year one of the honorees is Norman, the Aussie won claimed 91 victories worldwide, including two majors, and was atop the Official World Golf Ranking for 331 consecutive weeks.

Being honored posthumously are Tony Lema, Ken Venturi and E. Harvie Ward.

Norman captured the Memorial Tournament in 1990 by one stroke over Payne Stewart, and in 1995 by four shots over Mark Calcavecchia, David Duval and fellow Aussie Steve Elkington, in addition to finishing second in 1994 and 1997.

With all the big names, the Memorial seldom disappoints when it comes to excitement, but McGirt made last year’s edition one of the most memorable.

Big recruiting news is made in November, during college basketball’s early signing period, and May, when the top unsigned prospects choose schools after seeing who left for the NBA. The announcements and hat ceremonies are the endpoint of a journey that starts in the summer, at the various shoe camps. That’s where prospects make their names and coaches make sure they’re seen watching the top targets for their program.

Nike, UnderArmour and Adidas all sponsor summer leagues, which have been going for more than a month. All three had major events over Memorial Day weekend.

With school years just now ending, there’s plenty of summer ball still to play, but here’s an early look at which players fans of the Triangle teams will be monitoring, as decision time looms near a few months from now.

Marvin Bagley III: The power forward is the top prospect in the 2018 class and has Duke as one of his final six, along with usual suspects Kentucky, Kansas and UCLA. He’s been one of the top scorers of the summer, but there are also a few red flags. While not a Lavar Ball, Bagley’s father is a bit of a character and heavily involved in his son’s basketball career. The former NC A&T football player is very demonstrative and vocal on the sidelines, even making noise to distract opposing free throw shooters, and he hasn’t been shy about pulling the trigger on high school transfers for his son.

Bagley’s AAU team also lost its first dozen summer games and went into the final weekend of the EYBL season before recording its first win, an odd track record of losing for a Duke prospect.

Other top Duke targets: Point guards Darius Garland and Tre Jones (brother of former Blue Devil point guard Tyus Jones), small forward Cameron Reddish (who has Duke in his final eight). Top 2019 prospect, small forward R.J. Barrett, may consider reclassifying to the class of 2018.

Nazreon Reid: The power forward has UNC in his top 10, and Roy Williams was a frequent spectator at his summer league games.

Reid impressed observers and appears to be rapidly rising in the prospect rankings after a strong performance on the shoe tour.

Other top Carolina targets: The Heels have a head start to the recruiting cycle, with combo guard Coby White and point guard Rechon Black already committed.

White will also enjoy a boost in the rankings after his strong summer play. The Heels have also been watching point guard Devon Dotson, although they’ll have some instate competition for the Charlotte standout. Carolina would also love to land small forward Zion Williamson, the No. 2 prospect in the 2018 class. Duke is also heavily recruiting the five-star.

Carolina is also making inroads in the class of 2019. It’s early, but the Heels lead NC State and others for shooting guard Josh Nickelberry of Oak Hill and lead Duke for Concord small forward Wendell Moore. The Heels and Pack have also been very diligently watching summer games for Fayetteville small forward Joey Baker, who has turned heads in the summer.

Nahziah Carter: Hip-hop artist J. Cole was a frequent visitor to PNC Arena last season, watching top NC State freshman Dennis Smith Jr. The Pack could be upgrading their arena star power. Kevin Keatts and his staff have been watching the small forward from upstate NY, as has his famous uncle—Jay Z. Carter initially committed to Dayton but opened things up after Archie Miller left to coach Indiana. Carter also still isn’t sure whether he’ll reclassify to 2017 or remain in the class of 2018. In the meantime, he’s earning a name of his own, including a highlight-film dunk over Bagley.

Other top State targets: New head coach Kevin Keatts appears to have targeted Devon Dotson. The Charlotte point guard had attracted attention from former coach Mark Gottfried, but Keatts has been keeping tabs on his summer games.

That could boil down to a head-tohead battle against UNC, as could 2019 prospects Baker and Nickelberry and 2018’s Nazreon Reid.

Keatts was spotted at Fayetteville power forward Immanuel Bates’ games, and the NC State coach offered 2019 small forward Christian Brown a scholarship recently.

North State Journal for Wednesday, May 31, 2017

B8

Runners on a mission 17 runners passed through Raleigh over Memorial Day weekend raising money to treat service members with Traumatic Brain Injury and PTSD

By Donna King North State Journal RALEIGH — Jerrod Turner was a combat army medic for ten years. He planned on it being a 20year career before he was medically discharged.

“I’m a medic, they called me Doc — broken bones, gunshots, I can take care of all that,” Turner said. “But when it happens to you, on the inside, invisible injuries, the pain the inability to sleep, the TBI (Traumatic Brain Injury) you’re like ‘what the heck?’”

Turner was one of seventeen runners that passed through Raleigh over Memorial Day weekend on the way from Shankesville, Penn. to Atlanta, Ga. working to raise money to treat service members with Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). The group left on May 22 running 22 kilometers a day for eight days, wearing 22-pound flack jackets. The number 22 is critically important to these runners.

“Twenty-two veterans of the United States military commit suicide everyday. Our mission is to reduce that to zero,” said Glenda Thor, one of the organizers of the Shepherd’s Run. Shepherd’s Men and their annual east coast run is the primary fundraising effort for Atlanta-based Shepherd Center’s SHARE (Shaping Hope and Recovery Excellence) Military Initiative.

“The program saved my life,” said James Peterson, who graduated from SHARE in 2015. “Prior to entering, I was ready to be one of the 22 who killed themselves. I had committed in my head that I was going to be one of them. My wife would have been a widow, raising my boys without their father. But at that point I thought they were

better off without me ... Everyone’s trauma is different, everyone’s injury is different. For eleven weeks I focused on what worked for me and my family.”

The SHARE program welcomes veterans suffering from TBI and PTSD. It provides 12 weeks of in-house comprehensive rehabilitation for veterans and their families, providing housing and the confidence and tools to move forward, plus a “life coach” for one year to keep them on track. The first step they say is a two-week assessment where they often have to explain to clients what PTSD is and what is happening to them.

“I didn’t even believe it, but coming to the Shepherd’s Center they show it to you. They say, ‘Look, this is what is going on with your brain, it just makes sense.’ I needed someone to put the pieces of the puzzle together for me and they did.”

The program has been operating for eight years and served 300 service members, focusing on just ten at a time. The longer treatment time and personalized approach is key to its success say some of it graduates who are running to support it.

“I truly believe that the people who work there could work anywhere in the world and they choose to be there, making a difference for veterans one person at a time. That makes a huge difference, knowing that your occupational therapist wants to be there helping you, not just because it’s their job,” said Peterson.

SHARE at the Shepherds Center has served military members from all over the country, including N.C. These runners hope that pounding N.C.’s pavement doesn’t just drum up donations, it reaches potential patients who could benefit from the program.

“We run also to find those who are affected and let them know that there is hope. They are not alone. They are not pariahs. There is a community that loves them and wants to take care of them.

When you think about the military assets in N.C. with Camp Lejeune and Fort Bragg, they’ve engaged in the war fight as much as anyone,”

said Travis Ellis, Shepherd Run’s founder.

“It’s incumbent upon all of us to share the burden and we encourage the Raleigh community to do that with us,” he added.

Runners in Raleigh jumped in to run with the group and helped line up sponsors as they passed through the state. Ellis said that since they founded the run three years ago, the runners have logged 2,000 miles and raised $1.3 million. But they say the toll of their burden and the reward in the run can’t be measured.

The nonprofit program is run completely on donations. It costs $40,000 per client, about $1.2 million a year, to operate, but the patients pay nothing. This year they hope to raise $2.2 million. Paul Vandrie graduated from SHARE four years ago, but ran this weekend for a friend named Brittney.

She was a service member who took her own life just a month ago.

He wore a photo of her taped to his chest throughout the grueling run.

‘Unfortunately it hits everyone,” said Vandrie. “We’ve got to get the word out. You think it’s normal, everything is fine, but then it just hits you.”

From downtown Raleigh the

PHOTOS BY CHRISTINE T. NGUYEN | North State Journal

Top, Tim McComis, a U.S. Marine based in Georgia, runs past the Old State Capitol building on May 25. The Shepherd’s Men ran 22km through downtown Raleigh to raise awareness of the 22 deaths by suicide of U.S. veterans each day. Bottom, James Peterson, a graduate of the SHARE program, wears a flak vest with armored plates.

runners headed to Asheville, N.C. then on to Nashville, Tenn. The run wrapped in Atlanta on Memorial Day where they were welcomed by crowds lining Peachtree Avenue near the Shepherd Center.

“Everyday that we go out we talk to people about this program,” said

Jamie Terry, who is running the Shepherd’s Run for the third year.

“Hearing their stories and knowing what a difference this SHARE Military Initiative has made in their lives and how it has brought their families back together, it’s amazing and worth every step.”

Warriors from page B1

Eamon Queeney | North State Journal

Dale Earnhardt Jr. poses for a photograph with the McClamrock family on pit road before the start of the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Coca-Cola 600.

EArnhardt from page B1 special.

“He is from Huntersville and its real meaningful for all the drivers and the teams,” Earnhardt, a Kannapolis, N.C. native, said. “We get to meet the family of the individual and represent that person and their family throughout the race and the race weekend. It is just a great opportunity, I think, to get to know one of these guys. ...

“All the drivers take a little bit of a responsibility to try to win the race and take that name to Victory Lane. That is a little added pressure in a good way.”

Earnhardt wasn’t able to steer the No. 88 car into Victory Lane, but still came away with a respectable 10thplace finish. While the result is important for the driver, it was more about the experience and getting a chance to honor their son in a unique way.

Nationwide not only took the McClamrock family out to the race on Sunday, but gave them a true Junior experience. After touring the Hendrick Motorsports shop on Saturday, the 13-person unit was given the keys to Dirty Mo Acres, Earnhardt’s property with a western feel and NASCAR graveyard.

“They have pulled out all the bells

and whistles for our family,” Susan said.

“I was just figuring we would come to the race at 6 o’clock, watch Dale race and that would be it. But no. They are so comforting and compassionate.

“It’s not like, ‘Oh, we’re doing you a favor, so whatever.’ That has been just exceptional.”

James never met a stranger. He was always outgoing and made sure everyone felt welcome, regardless of who they were. He was raised that way and his mother was still beaming from ear to ear describing her son the day before Memorial Day. “Speaking as a soldier mom of someone who died on a battlefield 7,000 miles from here who had no parents there — no mom to love him or father to say, ‘It’s OK, son,’ — you never want him to be forgotten,” Susan said, fighting back tears. “Because when we forget and people stop talking and the honors stop coming, he will truly die.”

In order to preserve the memory of his life, Susan and Mark have an entire room devoted to his accomplishments and mementoes from his life. One of the newest additions to that room will be a Lionel diecast of an exact replica from the Coca-Cola 600 car Nationwide had specially made for the family.

Though they were admittedly nev-

er NASCAR fans, Susan and the family were completely wrapped up in the race, the atmosphere and the hospitality shown by Nationwide. However, Susan couldn’t help but be reminded of what’s still taking place overseas with all of the active soldiers at the track.

“There are people fighting right now.

Right now! There are people dying and getting injured,” Susan said. “We’re thinking about what type of food are we going to get? James, on the day he died probably had an MRE for breakfast, probably didn’t eat during the day on a terrorist mission, drank some water out his Camelbak, sat down and was killed by an insurgent with seven bullets to his body.”

While most forget about the sacrifices of our soldiers overseas, Susan simply can’t.

“I think about what did you think when you were dying?” she explained.

“What did you think when your best friend was holding you and trying to do everything he could to keep him alive and get him to the airbase. Once they got him in the ambulance, he just said, ‘Pray for me.’ Those were his last words.”

The McClamrock family still does.

And every American should on Memorial Day for the soldiers that fight for their freedom every single day.

technicals and ejections. Chalk that up to all the blowouts. But now it’s high-tension time, so it is worth noting: Durant, Stephen Curry and Shaun Livingston were all ejected from playoff games last season; Draymond Green drew a league-high five technical fouls and 10 other participants in this year’s Finals got nailed with at least one in the 2016 postseason; and Green’s momentum-turning flagrant foul wasn’t the only one detected among current Warriors and Cavaliers last spring — Durant, Kevin Love and J.R. Smith crossed that line as well.

3-point defense. Forget Kyrie Irving vs. Curry.

Irving had 34- and 26-point games in losses in last year’s Finals. Curry had 11- and 18-point games in wins. They have, and quite possibly will, offset each other. More significant in this matchup will be which team defends the perimeter the best. The final stats show the Warriors outshot the Cavaliers 37.3 percent to 32.9 percent on 3-pointers last year, but don’t be misled. It was 37.6 percent to 34.0 percent for the Cavaliers in their wins, 42.7 percent to 26.1 percent for the Warriors in the Golden State wins.

Shoe wars. James vs. Curry is Nike vs. Under Armour. And then there’s Big Baller. Or haven’t you noticed that LaVar Ball is everywhere, and the NBA Draft is just four days after a possible Game 7 is scheduled?

Tyronn Lue vs. Mike Brown. Lue seemed to have the Steve Kerr offense figured out by their seventh meeting last June, a 93-89 Cleveland win that ended with Golden State missing its final nine shots and going scoreless over the final 4:39. Lue has more weapons at his disposal this time around, and the Warriors will have one fewer with Kerr relegated to watching on television from the locker room due to a back ailment.

Kyle Korver. One of the great chess matches in the series will be how Lue uses arguably his best long-range shooting weapon, and how Brown attacks arguably the series’ worst defensive player. When Cleveland is on defense, the 6-foot-7 Korver would seem to match up best with the Warriors’ 6-7 Shaun Livingston, a stand-still shooter who likes to use a height advantage to shoot over smaller guards.

Akron, Ohio. Will we be able to see the lights of Akron, 39 miles to the south, when ABC gives us an aerial view of the Quicken Loans Arena? You better believe we’re going to find out given the link between Ohio’s fifth-biggest city and the Finals. Both Curry and James were born there. Are there vacancies at the Timber Top Apartments complex on the north side of town, where Curry first lived? Is James’ first house, in the Akron inner city and condemned when he was 5 years old, still standing? Stay tuned.

Celebrities. There is more than Drake (Curry) and Dr. Dre (James) to this series. It’s Jim Brown and Joe Montana. Nine Inch Nails and the Grateful Dead.

The Cleveland Clinic and Kaiser. And then there’s Tom Hanks, born in Oakland but having adopted the Indians in last year’s World Series. Too bad there’s no Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier. After all, this is the most highly anticipated best-of-three rubber match since the Thrilla in Manila.

Tacos. The most likely person to get fired after the Finals? The promotions director at Taco Bell. In a matchup of teams undefeated (13-0) on the road in the playoffs, Taco Bell is offering “Steal a Game, Steal a Taco” — one free taco to everyone interested should either team win a road game in the Finals.

WEDNESDAY

Evil weevils:

05.31.17

NORTH

How farmers, scientists and legislators fought off the cotton-eating menace Page 4

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the good life IN A NORTH STATE OF MIND

frolic! | summer music series

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May 26 - Aug. 19 The Lost Colony kicks off Manteo Nestled along the shores of America’s most historic and mysterious island, “The Lost Colony” sees more than 100 professional actors, technicians and designers gather every summer since 1937 to honor the memory of the brave people who came here to build a new country.

The production is as epic as their story. Written by Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Paul Green, “The Lost Colony” is America’s longest running outdoor drama.

May 31 - June 3 Cape Fear Blue Marlin Tournament Wrightsville Beach The Cape Fear Blue Marlin Tournament welcomes all fishermen, participants and spectators for a weekend of fishing fun. The venue has parties, excellent food and topnotch marinas with the one of the best deepwater inlet in the state.

June 2-3 Brevard Blues Festival Brevard

PHOTOS BY EAMON QUEENEY | NORTH STATE JOURNAL

The band 14 Karat Gold performs during the Midtown Beach Music Series at North Hills in Raleigh on May 25. The summer music series is celebrating it’s 10th anniversary this year with free music every Thursday evening through Aug. 17.

Summer concert series brings live music to venues throughout NC

By Cory Lavalette North State Journal RALEIGH — In a time when the music industry is trying to find its way in a digital world, live performances might be bigger than ever. That’s especially true in the summer when big acts join forces for traveling music festivals and outdoor venues do their best business.

But there’s also been an explosion in summer music series that feature local acts and provide a family-friendly environment to see live music.

“We see more and more popping up at shopping centers, small town centers around the city, as well as more just popping up at new multi-use developments within the city itself,” said Hank Patterson, a Charlotte agent with East Coast Entertainment. “All these bordering towns — Indian Trail, Matthews, Pineville — all of those have them, as well.”

East Coast Entertainment is the largest, full-service entertainment agency in the country and represents everything from wedding bands to major acts. With offices in Raleigh, Charlotte and Asheville, ECE offers its services across North Carolina.

That includes assisting groups across the state with lineups for a summer music series.

“I think it’s a sense of community. … Giving appreciation and value to the small cities,” Patterson said as a reason for the growth in local concert series. “I think there’s a huge rush recently of people moving to big cities, and the small towns are still trying to show they can do as much, have as much fun and give us much back to their citizens as the big cities can.”

Janine Powell said Airlie Gardens in Wilmington, where she is director of donor relations, started its concert series about 15 years ago as a jazz music showcase. That drew enthusiastic, but smaller, crowds. Airlie Gardens then brought in in more varied acts and the popularity exploded.

“Over the years it’s evolved into a really popular concert series throughout the summer,” Powell said. “We have about 3,000 people attend our concerts.”

Airlie Gardens’ series features bands playing See MUSIC, page C2

The Brevard Blues Festival is a two-day family-friendly jubilee filled with hours of the blues, BBQ and brews. Chow down on some of the best barbecue in town as competitors compete for top prize while enjoying the soothing sounds of local, regional and legendary blues artists.

June 3 NC Gold Festival Old Fort The annual event features gold exhibits, gold mining techniques and demonstrations, treasure and scavenger hunts, geocaching, gold panning, and numerous vendors along with arts and crafts and raffles. Friday night kicks off the festival.

Blues-n-Brews Festival Fayetteville

The band 14 Karat Gold performs during the Midtown Beach Music Series at North Hills in Raleigh on May 25.

Airlie Gardens Summer Concert Series

City of Asheboro Summer Concerts ’17

1st & 3rd Fridays, 6-8 p.m.; free with membership, otherwise $9 adults/$2 children

Six remaining dates during the summer, 6-8:30 p.m.; free

June 2: Bad Disguise (Classic Rock) June 16: Jack Jack 180 (Pop/Rock/Alternative) July 7: The Wilmington Big Band (Big Band) July 21: L Shape Lot (Americana) Aug. 4: Signal Fire (Reggae) Aug. 18: The Midatlantic Band (Folk/Americana) Sept. 1: Boba Funk (Funk/R&B) Sept. 15: Jim Quick & Coastline (Beach Music)

June 4: The Legacy with Sound Express (Motown) June 8: Band of Oz (Beach Music) July 2: Sand Band (Beach Music) July 16: Eric & the Chill Tones (Beach Music) Aug. 20: Summerdaze (Dance/Party) Sept. 4: Blackwater Rhythm & Blues (Beach/Blues/Funk)

Cape Fear Regional Theatre presents the 15th Annual Blues-n-Brews Festival, a oneday event featuring 100-plus different beers from more than 20 breweries, with live blues music, local food vendors and games.

in business All of the latest local and global market news, as well as our recent discussion with N.C. Military and Veterans Affairs Sec. Larry Hall about viable jobs for our state’s veterans.

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North State Journal for Wednesday, May 31, 2017

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NeCessities! dig in!

history marked May 28, 1900 Wadesboro prime viewing for solar eclipse For the total solar eclipse that occurred May 28, 1900, scientists determined Wadesboro in Anson County as the best place in North America to view the phenomenon. The Anson Independent reported the public flocking in to view the eclipse, including a special train from Charlotte bringing hundreds. As the eclipse’s effects began to take hold around 7:30 a.m., the streets were packed with people searching for better spots on tops of buildings and out of windows. While the total eclipse lasted for less than a minute, the paper reported total silence during this time with a significant drop in temperature caused by the shadow.

May 29, 1888 First Belk department store opens In Monroe, the first Belk department store opened under the name of “New York Racket.” Founded by William Henry Belk, who was just 25 at the time, he used all $750 in his savings, a $500 loan and $3,000 in consigned merchandise to launch the store. It opened early and closed late to accommodate the working class as well as incorporating clearly labeled prices to prevent haggling. The store saw success and eventually William’s brother, John, joined the operation and the store was renamed “Belk Brothers.” Throughout the late 1800s and early 1900s new locations opened in the Charlotte region and is now a large retail chain throughout the Southeast.

Cars in front a Belk store in the 1930s in Brevard.

NORTH STATE JOURNAL FILE

Two hot Britt’s donuts on the counter at the historic donut shop on the Boardwalk at Carolina Beach, N.C.

holey holiday NORTH CAROLINA ARCHIVES

May 29, 1831 Fayetteville ‘burns to the ground’ A fire started in a kitchen on the northwest corner of Market Square and destroyed much of Fayetteville. The townspeople tried to extinguish it but the fire spread rapidly, destroying downtown landmarks and buildings, including one where the state ratified the U.S. Constitution. Even the town’s fire engine was destroyed in the process of trying to extinguish the flames. The streets became a chaotic mess and in four hours the fire destroyed 600 buildings including homes, schools, two hotels, 105 stores, two banks and all but one of the city’s churches. While buildings were destroyed and almost everyone displaced, there were no casuatlies.

National Doughnut Day, June 2, dates back to 1938 when the Chicago Salvation Army designated the first Friday in June as a day to celebrate the holey-ist of confections.

While the event started as a fundraiser, the day has turned into a giveaway from large chains like Dunkin’ Donuts and North Carolina’s own Krispy Kreme. This year Dunkin’ Donuts is offering a free classic doughnut with any beverage purchase on June 2. Krispy Kreme is the doughnut of your choice without any additional purchase. North Carolina is, among many things, a leader in doughnuts. With Krispy Kreme dating back to 1937 and Carolina Beach one-shop sensation Britt’s Donut Shop to 1939, the Old North State has a long and proud history of doughnuts that date back to the founding of National Doughnut Day.

May 31, 1870 Cotton planter patented Cotton planter and North Carolina inventor James Lytch was awarded a patent for the Eclipse Lytch Cottonseed Planter. Originally exhibited at agricultural fairs throughout the Southeast, Lytch’s planter became the go-to instrument in the South. The planter was purchased for a mere $12 and Lytch received a medal from the Cape Fear Agricultural Association as well as an award at the International Cotton Expo in Atlanta in 1881. By 1880, a thousand of the planters were in use. Lytch’s other inventions included a cotton scraper, cider mill and fertilizer distributor. After his death in 1890 his son continued production of the cotton planter at a manufacturing facility in current day Scotland County.

June 2, 1935 Duke Chapel Dedicated The chapel’s iconic design was the work of Julian Abele, a prominent African-American architect from Philadelphia who designed much of Duke’s West Campus. Construction began on the building in October 1930 and it took five years and cost $2.3 million.

The bluestone of the building’s exterior was quarried near Hillsborough. Though not officially dedicated until June 1935, the chapel’s first major use was for Duke’s 1932 commencement ceremony. At that point, many of the windows had not been installed and the interior was largely unfinished. Today, Duke Chapel stands a majestic 210 feet at the center of West Campus. A 5,200-pipe Flentrop organ and 50-bell carillon, both added since the first round of construction was completed, are two of the building’s most distinctive features.

MUSIC from page C1

Americana, big band and funk to rock, reggae and beach music.

“We’re just looking for the acts that are a good for us that have a strong following and that we know our crowd is going to like,” Powell said. “We get a lot of repeat people because it’s free for members. But then the crowd does change a little bit depending on what the band is. We get a very strong crowd no matter who’s playing.”

Airlie Gardens’ $64.20 family membership includes admission to all of the summer concert series shows (the first and third Friday of each month through Sept. 15). Admission for nonmembers is $9 for adults and $2 for children.

The City of Asheboro puts on

its own summer concert series in Bicentennial Park free of charge, offering up beach music on seven dates (the first was May 21) starting at 6 p.m.

Pam Hester, a facilities maintenance office assistant with the city, finds advertisers to fund the series and scopes out bands that will fit the event. She said the concerts have drawn as many as 4,000 people, though 1,500 is more of an average crowd. While many cities and towns use a company like ECE to help them book bands, Hester does it herself.

“I just listen to a lot of music on my own time,” she said.

“I think it’s best to see them in person, to see how they interact with the crowd and how the crowd interacts with them before we bring them in.”

Many of the bands play all

around the state and beyond, popping up at the beach one day and in the Triad the next. Outdoor ampitheaters like at the North Carolina Museum of Art in Raleigh hosts some national acts for its series, and a quick online search for summer concert series shows a wide variety throughout the state.

Patterson said the emergence of all the smaller concert series hasn’t hurt the ticket sales of the bigger acts coming through during the summer.

“I think it’s just an urge and a need for folks to see live music,” Patterson said. “And it’s a wonderful thing, because as a person working the business and just a person who is passionate about live music, I think it’s great to see that that’s kind of making a comeback.”

North State Journal for Wednesday, May 31, 2017

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thrive | WRAL Freedom Balloon Festival

PHOTOS BY CHRISTINE T. NGUYEN | NORTH STATE JOURNAL

Balloons are inflated during the WRAL Freedom Balloon Festival on May 26 at Fleming Loop Park in Fuquay-Varina. The four-day event features live music, games, tethered balloon rides and food.

Up, up and away!

By Donna King North State Journal FUQUAY-VARINA — The sky was a kaleidoscope over eastern Wake County for Memorial Day weekend. The annual Freedom Balloon Fest, put on by Project Uplift USA, Raleigh Jaycees and WRAL, welcomed an estimated 80,000 visitors lining country roads and spreading out thousands of blankets. Fleming Park in Fuquay-Varina was suddenly full of families, food trucks and flags as the hot air balloons took to the sky.

“It’s amazing when you get up there. It’s just peace, but you can see for miles and miles and miles,” said John Usedom, one of the organizers of Project Uplift. “It just makes people realize you can do so much more than what you think you’re capable of.”

It’s one of the biggest events of the year for Fuquay-Varina and for Project Uplift USA. An N.C.based nonprofit, Project Uplift USA was founded with the idea of bringing a unique hot air balloon experience to wounded veterans and their families as they try to assimilate back into their lives.

The group has one of just 10 handicapped accessible balloon baskets in the world so wounded veterans and their families can get a bird’seye view together.

“Once they get up into the air they can see that the sky’s the lim-

Joel and Owen Grimes of Holly Springs watch the mass ascension during the WRAL Freedom Balloon Festival.

it in what you can do no matter what’s wrong or what’s happened to you,” said Usedom.

Balloon Fest 2017 featured 37 balloons, with bands throughout the day, food trucks, a beer garden, merchants and displays. Tethered balloon rides were around $20, but the festival was free to attend and volunteer-run. There were mass liftoffs every morning that weather would allow and a stunning nightly glow show.

Balloon pilot Patrick Grogan of Treetop Flyers in Mooresville was there drawing a crowd with his colorful balloon. He is looking forward to having his ballooning business take off after he retires from N.C.’s Department of Environmental Quality next month.

He’s worked for 33 years in public water supply, but started flying balloons for fun after discovering them at the 1990 Statesville Balloon Rally.

Balloons light up the night sky during the WRAL Freedom Balloon Festival hot air balloon glow in Fuquay-Varina on Friday.

Iliana Powell, 5, holds a flag after visiting the Field of Flags with her grandfather Buck Morrow during the WRAL Freedom Balloon Festival in FuquayVarina on Friday. Morrow is a Vietnam War veteran who served in the U.S. Army for four years.

“It’s a full-time hobby for us, but right now I do enough to pay for it,” said Grogan. “Brand new, a 90,000-cubic foot balloon like this one will run you about $30,00035,000. All the triangle-shaped baskets you see here are made in Statesville, N.C. The Balloon Works is the only manufacturer in the work to make triangle-shaped baskets.”

The Wonder Bread balloon appeared at Balloon Fest as part of a promotional tour and was giving $5 to Project Uplift USA for every social media post of the balloon that used #spotthewonder. The packaging of Wonder Bread was designed in 1921 to reflect the beauty of a sky full of hot air balloons.

The average hot air balloon measures about 90 feet high and 70 feet wide with enough volume inside for 90,000 basketballs.

Grogan said a balloon can use 43 million British thermal units (BTU) an hour. Science aside, it was the size of these beauties that kept the crowds enthralled and

ready to come back next year.

“I’ve never seen anything like this — it’s amazing!” said Alexis Sales, 19, from Southern Pines. “I would love to go up in one.”

If you missed Balloon Fest 2017 but still want to mark hot air ballooning off your bucket list this summer, it’s not too late. Throughout the summer these pilots will be visiting festivals across the state and offering private balloon rides. For now, this is one of the only places in N.C. where you can see them all at once in a memorable kaleidoscope of color. Project Uplift and the Balloon Fest organizers say it’s also a gentle reminder to honor Americans who have given their lives in defense of the nation.

“We have 12 military nonprofits here and we are helping them raise awareness and funds for their missions working with disabled veterans, those still in the military or coming back,” said Usedom. “This is really to bring attention back to what Memorial Day is really about.”

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North State Journal for Wednesday, May 31, 2017

Memorial Day weekend box office slowest in almost two decades

Boll weevils once threatened cotton across U.S.

Movie industry looks to “Wonder Woman” to lead the charge in June

The boll weevil is not much to look at — a grayish, small beetle with an impressively long snout.

But this beetle’s hunger for cotton was powerful enough to forge an unprecedented partnership between farmers, legislators and scientists. And that partnership showed how much can be accomplished when scientists and farmers work together.

Boll weevils entered the U.S. from Mexico in the late 1800s, when they were first spotted in Texas. By the 1920s they had spread through all of the major cotton-producing areas in the country. The scope of the damage was breathtaking, as were the control efforts thrown at this insect. At one time, one-third of the insecticide used in the U.S. was used to combat boll weevils.

In 1903, the chief of the U.S. Department of Agriculture testified before Congress that the insect’s outbreaks were a “wave of evil,” and that afflicted areas in Mexico had abandoned cotton production altogether. Indeed, many scholars agree that the impact was so great on the rural South’s cotton-dependent economy that it was one of the causes of the “Great Migration,” when African-Americans moved en masse to the northern U.S. during the early 1900s.

Despite the arrival of the boll weevil, cotton production grew in the U.S. because the price of cotton increased as the boll weevil ran some cotton growers out of business. Cotton production moved in advance of the weevil, creating a boom in cotton plantings in weevil-free areas. But as the cotton spread, so did the boll weevil — costing cotton growers billions in revenue.

By Seth Kelley Reuters LOS ANGELES — This Memorial Day weekend signals a sluggish end to a dreary summer box office start. This four-day weekend’s total domestic earnings ($172.3 million) are the lowest recorded since 1999 ($142.5 million) when “Star Wars: Episode I — The Phantom Menace” opened in first place.

The lone bright spot of this summer so far is Disney and Marvel’s “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2” which is holding on to second place over the holiday weekend, earning an additional $25 million from 3,871 locations. Its total domestic haul stands at more than $338 million, and worldwide it’s made more than $788 million, passing the original “Guardians” movie ($773 million worldwide).

Disney also took the top slot this weekend with “Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales,” the fifth installation in the franchise starring Johnny Depp. The swashbuckling adventure picked up $77 million over the four-day weekend from 4,276 locations. However, most of the film’s sales are coming from overseas markets — the title will easily pass $300 million worldwide by the weekend’s end.

Paramount’s “Baywatch,” however, is another story. The splashy summer comedy starring Dwayne Johnson and Zac Efron, which carries a production budget well above $60 million, got only a sprinkling of audiences to buy tickets. By the end of the weekend it will have earned $23 million domestically from 3,647, far below earlier expectations.

Fox’s “Alien: Covenant,” which opened to a disappointing $36 million last weekend, is sliding to fourth place with $13.15 million from 3,772 locations. Rounding out the top five, the YA adaptation “Everything, Everything” looks to have been a wise, albeit low budget, investment. The movie is in fifth place during its second weekend, and is adding $7.4 million to its total from 2,801 theaters.

“It’s crunch time for the industry after a lackluster May and a dismal Memorial weekend,” said Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst at ComScore. “The good news is that June looks to deliver the goods and no movie is better suited to lead the cavalry charge than ‘Wonder Woman’ later this week. The pressure is certainly on for the final three quarters of the season to get us out of this downturn.”

North Carolina played a key role in eradicating one of the agriculture’s most persistent pests

By Dominic Reising For the North State Journal

Declaring war on the weevil In 1958, the National Cotton Council of America unanimously agreed, for the first time ever, on a piece of farm legislation. That legislation included a call for more cotton research and the boll weevil to be eliminated.

This was an unusual step for many reasons. First, efforts had been made to eradicate insects in livestock before, but no one had ever tried it with a crop pest.

Second, the high cost would require the support of the federal government. Third, there was not yet a proven way to eradicate the insect. Finally, once eradication began, the process would become a common resource. Because of this, cooperation would be vital, given that there would be a temptation for individuals, or whole regions, to get a free ride, relying on the contributions of their neighbors to the eradication effort.

Mandatory farmer participation was a must. One by one, each of

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

A boll weevil (Anthonomus grandis), also known as a cotton boll weevil.

the challenges were addressed.

Insect eradication was not an entirely new concept. The promoter of eradication was a USDA Agricultural Research Service scientist named Edward Knipling, who pioneered an eradication technique for the screwworm, a damaging livestock pest.

The sterile insect technique relies on flooding the environment with lots of sterile males. Those males then mate with females, but don’t produce any offspring.

Unfortunately, the sterile insect technique in the weevil population failed. One million sterile boll weevil males were released in a trial. But the sterile males couldn’t compete with their virile wild counterparts and the trial was unsuccessful.

Congress funded laboratories in many states to create new tools for the eradication effort. The researchers faced a significant challenge up front. They knew that for eradication to be successful there had to be a very effective method of controlling boll weevils — one with a success rate of close to 100 percent. And that would require a significant leap over the available control techniques.

During the 1950s, controlling boll weevil infestations required multiple applications of very harsh and toxic insecticides. But a separate scientific advance was just around the corner.

New weapons In the 1960s, researchers were just beginning to understand the importance of insect pheromones, the chemicals produced by insect species that change behavior of other individuals in the species.

USDA scientists discovered the sex attractant pheromones of the boll weevil — the combination of chemicals that allowed male boll

weevils to find female boll weevils. These researchers were able to perfect a synthetic attractant pheromone blend, creating a lure that could be used to trap the amorous boll weevils. This advance would prove to be the linchpin for successful eradication, as weevils could be attracted, trapped and monitored.

Another major breakthrough was a new technique of making multiple insecticide applications at short intervals during the autumn, reducing the last reproductive generation of weevils that might survive the winter. This method of control increased success from 85-90 percent control to 98-99 percent.

The combination of the pheromone traps and autumn insecticide treatments meant that, given cooperation on an area-wide basis, the boll weevil might be eradicated. Plus, the pheromone traps could also be used to confirm whether eradication efforts were successful. This one-two punch was tested in a pilot program in Alabama, Mississippi and Louisiana during the early 1970s.

The program couldn’t prove conclusively that the method would eradicate boll weevils, but there was enough data to attempt a much larger field trial, including ones in North Carolina and Virginia.

The federal government came through with enough funding to support 50 percent of the trial, while the state of North Carolina agreed to pick up another 25 percent of the cost. North Carolina’s cotton growers agreed to fund the remaining 25 percent.

Meanwhile, a new insecticide had become available, diflubenzuron, which proved to make the eradication even more successful.

After three years, the method proved so successful that only one

weevil was trapped in the North Carolina/Virginia eradication area and that weevil was thought to be left over in a contaminated trap that hadn’t been cleaned properly. By 2009, the boll weevil was declared eradicated from all U.S. cotton-producing states except Texas, the nation’s largest cotton producer.

A fragile victory Which brings us to 2017. Eradication efforts have been stalled at the Texas-Mexico border, largely due to the instability created by illegal drug trafficking. That instability has effectively made large cotton farms in Mexico inaccessible for treatment, creating a welcoming habitat for boll weevil populations to rebound.

Another problem in Mexico is the presence of non-cotton plant species that can host boll weevil. As a result, there is a continuing battle to keep boll weevils in check in the Lower Rio Grande Valley of Texas, funded by an ongoing annual assessment from cotton-producing states, which is aimed at preventing — and tracking — the spread of boll weevil populations.

But this story also highlights the fact that the boll weevil has been largely conquered in the U.S., thanks to cooperation among growers, scientists and government. A boll weevil has not been captured in a pheromone trap in the South in more than 14 years. The investments made by government and the industry continue to pay dividends across the South in the form of new projects, which now tackle today’s native and invasive insects. No one wants to fight another hundred-year war with a plant pest.

Dominic Reisig is an associate professor of entomology and plant pathology at NC State.

THE BRIEF

WEDNESDAY, MAY 31, 2017

Tobacco Industry under renewed scrutiny by WHO

EAMON QUEENEY | NORTH STATE JOURNAL

Secretary for the North Carolina Department of Military & Veterans Affairs Larry Hall speaks during the opening ceremony of the Valor Games at the DoubleTree Hotel near RTP, on May 22.

BUSINESS TECH TITAN An Amazon Prime Air Flying Drone is displayed during the “Drones: Is the Sky the Limit?” exhibition at the Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum in New York City on May 9.

BRENDAN MCDERMID | REUTERS

Analysts see more gains as Amazon shares break $1,000 “The $1,000 is a bit of a psy­ chological barrier for any stock, but it is just another number and we’re still big believers in it.”

Tim Ghriskey, chief investment officer of Solaris Asset Management in New York

With a gain of 33 percent in 2017, Amazon bests largecap rival Google to hit $120 billion market value

By Rodrigo Campos Reuters NEW YORK — Amazon.com on Tuesday became the second of the current S&P 500 components to hit the $1,000 price mark, beating Google parent Alphabet to the punch and underscoring a massive rally in large-cap technology-related stocks.

Shares of Amazon have risen 33 percent so far in 2017 alone, adding roughly $120 billion to its market value. Priceline was the first S&P 500 stock to hit $1,000, doing so in September 2013. Analysts on average expect Amazon to rise another 10 percent according to the median price target of $1,100.

“The world is becoming more and more aware of how unstoppable the business plan is,” said Tim Ghriskey, chief investment officer of Solaris Asset Management in New York. He said Amazon accounts for 3.5 percent to 5 percent of the firm’s portfolios.

“The $1,000 is a bit of a psychological barrier for any stock, but it is just another number and we’re still big believers in it.”

Among the other four largest

U.S. companies by market cap, Apple and Facebook share prices have also risen nearly 33 percent this year while Alphabet has gained 26 percent and Microsoft has added 13 percent.

The combined market cap of the top five is near $3 trillion, or more than 13 percent of the S&P 500 index stocks’ capitalization.

Amazon, the only one of the top five not in the technology sector, accounts for 17 percent of the market cap of the S&P 500 consumer discretionary sector.

In terms of stock prices, Amazon’s high of $1,001.20 is second among the S&P 500 behind Priceline, which recently hit $1,850.50.

Priceline’s near $92 billion market cap, however, runs far below Amazon’s $476 billion.

Apple dominates that metric with a capitalization of more than $800 billion.

Amazon beat Alphabet, which recently hit $994.32, in a race to $1,000. The other S&P component above $900 per share is Intuitive Surgical, at $912.80.

Apple three years ago split its stock in seven. If it had not, its current stock price would be about $1,080.11.

Amazon is ahead of Facebook in the race to become the fourth U.S. company with a market cap of more than half a trillion dollars, joining Apple, Alphabet and Microsoft.

FIGHTING FOR OUR VETS

Getting veterans the pay they deserve Department of Military and Veteran Affairs Secretary Larry Hall pushes to increase salaries

By Mollie Young North State Journal DURHAM — Larry Hall spent years in the state legislature, but said his new role as secretary of Gov. Roy Cooper’s Department of Military and Veterans Affairs (DMVA) is even more challenging.

The department is in its infancy, having been established at the request of former Gov. Pat McCrory in 2015. The stated goals are to help military families and veterans get access to support and services, connect veterans with jobs, and advocate for North Carolina’s military installations.

“It’s budget time, and trying to make sure we have enough support for our agency to move forward is key,” said Hall, who said the new department is lacking the staff and funding “In many to support its mission. instances, we One of Hall’s priorities is are competing to continue vital services at state-run military facilities, in the [private] which in large part includes market ... so increasing the pay of their employees, many of whom we’ve had to are veterans themselves. ask for an The state manages four assisted living homes for increase to try veterans with 449 skilled to bring those care beds at Fayetteville, people closer Salisbury, Black Mountain, and Kinston locations. The to market homes employ more than rates, so we 750 North Carolinians, with employment preference giv- can provide en for prior military service. services Hall said they hope to open two new facilities over the to veteran next four years, located in families.”

Winston-Salem and Raleigh-Durham.

Sec. Larry Hall Hall said there are only approximately 20 workers at each of the state’s four military cemeteries located in Jacksonville, Goldsboro, Black Mountain and Fort Bragg. Staff consists primarily of groundskeepers and site managers, which Hall said are often hard to recruit and retain.

“In many instances, we are competing in the market against golf courses, Parks and Recreation, private landscaping services,” said Hall. “So we’ve had to ask for an increase [in funding] to try to bring those people closer to market rates, so we can provide services to veteran families.”

The cemeteries often pay their employees from the federal burial benefits available for most veterans who are laid to rest at one of the four state cemeteries, allowing the burial to come at no cost to the veterans’ families.

But state Rep. Grier Martin (D-Wake) said that paying workers through the receipt system is See HALL, page C7

Geneva Tobacco growing causes “massive harm” to the environment through extensive use of chemicals, energy and water, and pollution from manufacturing and distribution, the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Tuesday. The United Nations agency called for the tobacco industry to compensate for its products that contribute to greenhouse gases blamed for climate change, but gave no estimate of damage. The ecological footprint goes far beyond the effects of cigarette smoke, the WHO said in its first report on tobacco’s impact on the environment.

“From start to finish, the tobacco life cycle is an overwhelmingly polluting and damaging process. We’ve not estimated the full economic impact of what’s happening to the environment, that will require more studies,” Vinayak Prasad, WHO tobacco control coordinator, told a news briefing. Tobacco use kills 7 million people a year, according to the WHO, which marks World No Tobacco Day on Wednesday.

U.S. may put emergency tariffs on solar imports Geneva The United States has notified the other 163 members of the World Trade Organization that it is considering putting emergency “safeguard” tariffs on imported solar cells, according to a WTO filing published on Monday. The move raises the stakes in a global battle to dominate the solar power industry, which has grown explosively in the past five years. As production has increased, prices have tumbled, favoring producers who can take advantage of economies of scale. Under WTO rules, countries can impose temporary safeguard tariffs to shield an industry from a sudden, unforeseen and damaging surge in imports.

The U.S. International Trade Commission will recommend

by Sept. 22 whether to go ahead with the tariffs, the filing said. The United States, China and India are vying to be the market leader, and are looking out for any perceived breach of the international trade rules by their rivals. The United States’ ability to attract renewable energy investment has been tarnished by the shift in energy policy under President Donald Trump, putting China and India on top, a report

by British accountancy firm Ernst & Young said earlier this month.

Coca-Cola Bottling tops Carolinas-based market index Charlotte Coca-Cola Bottling Consolidated was the best performer in the Capital Investment Cos./Nottingham Index of Carolinas-based public companies for the week ended May 26 among companies with shares trading for at least $10. Over the last five years, shares of Charlottebased Coke Consolidated have gained 265 percent (while drink-maker Coca-Cola Co. has increased 17 percent).

CEO Frank Harrison and his family control 86 percent of voting power at company, which has market value of $2.1 billion. The company recently announced plans for new 135,000-square-foot expansion at its Greensboro plant.

North State Journal for Wednesday, May 31, 2017

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The Economic Development Partnership of North Carolina’s Go Global Road Show, an annual seminar series on exporting, just wrapped up its statewide tour. This program is designed to provide all the information you need to sell products and services to customers worldwide, or take your exporting program to the next level. During this Road Show seminar series, foreign-based trade experts associated with the N.C. Department of Commerce International Trade team come to you, offering a rare opportunity to gain insights into key markets you may be considering.

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• N.C. Foreign Trade Representatives come to your region to meet with you.

• Meet with experts from some of the world’s most developed and fastest growing markets, as well as North Carolina-based trade consultants to achieve your international potential.

• Hear from N.C. companies experienced in exporting to these markets and learn of the assistance they received from Commerce and other state agencies to be successful.

• Assess your company’s market opportunities through one-on-one meetings with foreign trade representatives from Europe, Hong Kong, Canada, Mexico, Japan and Korea.

U.S. top court tightens patent suit rules in blow to ‘patent trolls’ In an 8-0 ruling, the decision seeks to discourage frivolous, settlement-based infringement lawsuits

By Andrew Chung Reuters WASHINGTON — The U.S. Supreme Court has tightened rules for where patent lawsuits can be filed in a decision that may make it harder for so-called patent “trolls” to launch sometimes dodgy patent cases in friendly courts, a major irritant for high-tech giants like Apple and Alphabet’s Google.

The justices sided 8-0 last week with beverage flavoring company TC Heartland in its legal battle with food and beverage company Kraft Heinz, ruling that patent infringement suits can be filed only in courts located in the jurisdiction where the targeted company is incorporated. Justice Neil Gorsuch did not participate in the decision.

The decision overturned a ruling last year by the U.S. Court of

Appeals for the Federal Circuit, a Washington-based patent court, that said patent suits are fair game anywhere a defendant company’s products are sold.

Individuals and companies that generate revenue by suing over patents instead of making products have been dubbed “patent trolls.”

The ruling is likely to lessen the steady flow of patent litigation filed in a single federal court district in rural East Texas because of its reputation for having rules and juries that favor plaintiffs bringing infringement suits.

The dispute began when Heartland, a subsidiary of Heartland Consumer Products Holdings, sought to transfer a patent infringement suit Kraft filed against it in Delaware federal court to Heartland’s home base in Indiana.

Heartland said it has no presence in Delaware and 98 percent of its sales are outside of that state, but the appeals court denied the transfer last year.

Even though the lawsuit was not filed in Texas, the arguments in the case touched on the peculiar fact that the bulk of patent litiga-

YURI GRIPAS | REUTERS

The Supreme Court’s unianimous decision tightens jurisdiction requirements in patent lawsuits.

tion in the United States flows to the Eastern District of Texas, far from the centers of technology and innovation in the United States.

More than 40 percent of all patent lawsuits are filed in East Texas.

Of those, 90 percent are brought by “patent trolls,” according to a study published in a Stanford Law School journal.

Limiting patent lawsuits to where a defendant company is incorporated would potentially make it harder to get to trial or score lucrative jury verdicts.

The Federal Circuit denied the transfer by relying on one of its precedents from 1990, which

loosened the geographic limits on patent cases. Heartland urged the Supreme Court to overturn that decision, arguing that the high court’s own precedent from 1957 held that patent suits are governed by a specific law allowing suits only where defendants are incorporated.

On Monday, the Supreme Court agreed with Heartland. Writing the opinion for the court, Justice Clarence Thomas said that, contrary to the Federal Circuit’s rationale, the U.S. Congress did not change the rules over where patent suits may be filed since the 1957 decision.

TECH BEAT

Britain’s real-life ‘Iron Man’ has high hopes for jet suit Inventor Richard Browning of technology startup Gravity wears his Daedalus jet suit after flight tests at Henstridge airfield in Somerset, Britain, on May 25.

By Mark Hanrahan Reuters SOMERSET, ENGLAND — The British inventor of an “Iron Man”-style jet suit has lofty hopes that his project, which started out as fun experiment, could become a practical tool for industries ranging from entertainment to the military.

Richard Browning, a 38-yearold former commodities trader with little experience of engineering, developed his jet suit with the help of friends over the last 18 months. It is powered by six gas turbine engines which combined generate 800 horsepower.

“We didn’t set out to build an ‘Iron Man’ suit — it’s just accidental,” Browning said, in reference to the highly successful trilogy of superhero films starring Robert Downey Jr. The suit’s engines are mounted on the pilot’s lower back and on each arm. It powers up using a hand-held throttle. Browning said the suit is capable of carrying a person thousands of feet in the air, and in theory could attain a speed of around 280 mph.

For safety reasons, however, Browning hovers just a few feet off the ground.

Browning, who first developed the suit in his garage, describes it as a cross between a jet ski and a Formula One car. He believes it can be adapted to be used in the military, search and rescue, and theme parks — or in fact anyone who has the funds to buy one.

MARK HANRAHAN | REUTERS

Browning showed off his piloting skills at a flight test last week, breaking his record for speed by traveling over 30 mph, covering a distance of several hundred meters.

Browning said he has received investment from a venture capitalist and has also secured interest from entertainment giants and the British and U.S. militaries.

If man hours were taken into account, he said the suit would have cost “millions” to develop,

and that the hardware alone cost a six-figure sum.

However, he said flight costs are low as around 12 liters of standard diesel is used.

Browning is not the only person to have pursued dreams of jet-powered glory. In Dubai, firefighters have showcased jet boots that allow the wearer to rise high into the air using water pressure, and French inventor Franky Zapata has created a jet-powered hoverboard.

The next step in Browning’s

project is the Genesis suit which he is developing with the aid of experts and investors, but challenges still remain. Specifically, how to ascend safely from the ground to a height that a parachute could be deployed.

“It’s a real challenge if you have an engine failure at 50-60 feet.

You’re going to really do yourself a mischief,” Browning said. “We’re working on a whole bunch of technology to address that, and until we do, we keep pretty low.”

Want to learn more about North Carolina Agriculture?

The First Furrow www.FirstFurrow.com

North State Journal for Wednesday, May 31, 2017

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Breast cancer treatment costs higher for younger women RTI International releases study highlighting evidence of faster growing cancers and high-intensity treatment for younger patients

By Lisa Rapaport Reuters DURHAM — Younger women may face higher costs for breast cancer care than older patients at least in part because they’re diagnosed when tumors are more advanced and require more aggressive treatment, a recent U.S. study suggests.

For younger women aged 21 to 44, average treatment costs in the first year after a breast cancer diagnosis were $97,486 higher than average medical costs for similar women who didn’t have breast cancer, the study found.

By contrast, older women aged 45 to 64 had average treatment costs in the first year after a breast cancer diagnosis that were $75,737 more than their peers without breast cancer spent on health care in a year.

About 40 percent of the young cancer patients were diagnosed with what’s known as stage two tumors, when cancer has spread to lymph nodes surrounding the breast, while just 34 percent of older women were diagnosed when cancer had reached stage two.

“Some of the difference in costs may be due to younger women being diagnosed at a higher stage of disease,” said Stacie Dusetzina, a pharmacy and public health researcher at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill who wasn’t involved in the study.

“However, younger patients may also be more likely to have faster growing cancers or to have more intense treatment,” Dusetzina said by email. “They may also receive higher intensity treatment because they are generally healthy and their doctors may be less concerned about the impact of treatment on other conditions.”

For the study, Benjamin Allaire of RTI International in Durham and colleagues examined data from the North Carolina cancer registry linked to claims data from private health insurers from 2003 to 2010.

CAYLOR ARNOLD | USA TODAY SPORTS IMAGES

Chicago Cubs second baseman Javier Baez (9) poses with a breast cancer survivor before the game against the New York Yankees at Wrigley Field on May 7 in Chicago.

The analysis of treatment costs in the first year after a breast cancer diagnosis included 955 women with these tumors who were under age 45 as well as 134,427 similar women who weren’t diagnosed with breast malignancies.

It also included 4,082 women aged 45 to 64 with breast cancer and a comparison group of 299,663 similar women who weren’t diagnosed with these tumors.

Regardless of age, the cost of physician office and hospital outpatient visits accounted for roughly 90 percent of the difference between costs for women with and without breast cancer, researchers report in Breast Cancer Research and Treatment. Inpatient treatments and prescription drugs contributed just a small portion of the excess costs.

One limitation of the study is that researchers only examined data from one state involving women with one type of health benefit, the authors note. Results might look different for women in other parts of the U.S. or for patients with government health coverage like Medicare or people who were uninsured.

Researchers also didn’t have

Breast cancer stats: In 2017, it’s estimated that among U.S. women there will be:

252,710

new cases of invasive breast cancer

63,410

new cases of in situ breast cancer

40,610 breast cancer deaths

SOURCE: SUSAN G. KOMEN

enough data on women with the most advanced types of breast cancer to compare costs by age for these malignancies.

Costs might also be higher for younger women because they’re more likely to choose a mastectomy to remove the breast, partic-

ularly if they have a genetic risk, said Dr. Anees Chagpar, director of the Breast Center at Smilow Cancer Hospital at Yale-New Haven in Connecticut. Younger women may also be more likely to opt for breast reconstruction surgery, Chagpar, who wasn’t involved in the study, said by email.

“When you add up the costs for aggressive chemotherapy, surgery, reconstruction, and potentially radiation as well, this adds up to significant financial toxicity,” Chagpar said.

Beyond getting more intense care, younger women may also face higher out-of-pocket costs because they’re more likely to opt for insurance plans with lower monthly premiums and bigger co-payments or deductibles, said Dr. Alana Biggers, a researcher at the University of Illinois-Chicago College of Medicine who wasn’t involved in the study.

“Women should look for insurance that will pay for preventive measures such as mammograms,” Biggers said by email. “Also, women can reduce their risk of breast cancer by eliminating smoking, maintaining a healthy weight and exercising.”

HALL from page C5

probably a bit outdated.

“The receipts come in when a veteran is buried there, I believe it is essentially a one-time fee,” said Martin, a veteran of Afghanistan who currently serves in the U.S. Army Reserves. “But once you plant the veteran in the cemetery, the need to maintain that space continues.”

A superintendent at a military cemetery makes somewhere in the $40,000-a-year range, while private cemetery superintendents make upward of $55,000-a-year. A recent posting for a groundskeeper at the Jacksonville site has a range of $24,000 to $36,000, based on experience.

Cooper’s budget proposal to the General Assembly included $578,854 to create 10 new salaried positions at the military cemeteries, and funding aligned with his 2 percent state employee pay increase, but nothing specifically carved out for current nursing home or cemetery employees.

The Senate budget released earlier this month did not include Cooper’s 10 positions, and allocates only $20,521 in recurring funds to increase DMVA employee salaries, which aligns with their overall 1.5 percent salary bump for all state employees.

“We’re basically flatlined or at zero,” said Hall about the Senate budget proposal, “We have no margin of error.” The House only released highlights of their budget by press time, with no mention of an increased budget for DMVA employees.

However, Senate leaders also provide $10 million in the biennium toward hard-to-hire positions across state government, such as health care technicians and nurses, and designates roughly $4 million to “allow Cooper to increase the base salary ranges for many state workers”, according to Senate Leader Berger’s office.

Ultimately, it may be up to Hall to lobby the governor to use his discresionary funding for positions and salary bumps within DMVA. “It’s simply not sustainable with the increasing number of veterans who need services,” said Hall.

MARKET WATCH

Stocks dip as bonds, yen rise on cautious outlook Safe-haven demand lift bonds, yen, other low-risk assets Gold prices reach onemonth peak before hitting resistance Oil market flounders on oversupply worries despite OPEC deal

By Richard Leong Reuters NEW YORK — World stock prices slipped on Tuesday on concerns about the political outlook in Europe and U.S. economic growth, and nervous investors piled into yen and low-risk U.S. and German government bonds.

Oil prices declined on worries about global oversupply despite OPEC’s pact last week to extend its crude output cut until the first quarter of 2018.

Gold rose to a one-month high of $1,270 an ounce on safe-haven

demand before it ran out of steam.

“There is a whiff of risk aversion about the markets,” said Shaun Osborne, chief FX strategist at Scotiabank in Toronto.

The MSCI world equity index, which tracks shares in 45 nations, fell 0.28 points or 0.06 percent, to 464.01.

On Wall Street, The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 35.68 points, or 0.17 percent, to 21,044.6, the S&P 500 lost 1.57 points, or 0.06 percent, to 2,414.25 and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 4.30 points, or 0.07 percent, to 6,205.90.

Recent U.S. economic reports have supported a growing view that the world’s biggest economy is not recovering from an anemic first quarter as vigorously as some traders had thought.

Data on Tuesday showed U.S. consumer confidence fell in May and a gauge of core U.S. inflation retreated on a year-over-year basis.

The lack of progress on tax cuts and other stimulus measures from Washington has also weighed on the outlook for company profits and broader economic activity, analysts said.

“There have been some softness in U.S. economic data, and there are some less market-friendly policies in the U.S. on the margin,” said Stephen Wood, chief market strategist with Russell Investments in New York.

Most Federal Reserve policymakers have not backed away from their expectations of two more rate increases by the end of 2017 as they see the U.S. economy near full employment and are confident inflation would reach its 2-percent goal.

However, Fed Governor Lael Brainard said on Tuesday a rate hike may occur soon, while the central bank may want to refrain from further increases if inflation remains soft.

Secretary Larry Hall of the NC Department of Military and Veterans Affairs regularly meets with NC Veterans and members of the US Military on NC Bases.

For more information contact the Department of Military and Veterans Affairs at 984-204-8330 or https://www.milvets.nc.gov/

North State Journal for Wednesday, May 31, 2017

C8

pen & Paper pursuits

JANRIC CLASSIC SUDOKU

6. COLOR YOUR STATE!

The North Carolina freshwater trout: Southern Appalachian Brook Trout

SOLUTIONS FROM 5.24.17