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VOLUME 3 ISSUE 52
WWW.NSJONLINE.COM |
WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 20, 2019
Sports Charlotte shines hosting NBA All-Star Weekend, B3
CHUCK BURTON | AP PHOTO
Golden State guard Stephen Curry, who played at Davidson, smiles on the court during the NBA All-Star Game on Sunday in his honetown of Charlotte.
the Wednesday
NEWS BRIEFING
Sanders launches 2020 campaign Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, whose insurgent 2016 presidential campaign reshaped Democratic politics, announced Tuesday that he is running for president in 2020. A progressive who embraces proposals ranging from Medicare for all to free college tuition, Sanders’ 2016 campaign laid the groundwork for the leftward lurch that has dominated Democratic politics in the Trump era. His campaign raised $1 million in three and a half hours on Tuesday morning, according to an AP source.
Ginsburg returns to Supreme Court bench Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg is back on the Supreme Court bench eight weeks after surgery for lung cancer. The 85-year-old justice walked unassisted to her seat beside Chief Justice John Roberts when the court began its public session Tuesday. She had returned to the Supreme Court building on Friday for the first time since her surgery in December. Ginsburg missed the court’s arguments in January as she recovered from the surgery.
INSIDE Gov. Roy Cooper appoints poet laureate Jones & Blount
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JOURNaL ELEVATE THE CONVERSATION
General Assembly debates education funding plans By A.P. Dillon For the North State Journal RALEIGH — Schools across North Carolina are in desperate need of repair due to age, or in need of new construction due to attendance growth or class size changes. After two hurricanes ravaged schools in the eastern part of the state within the last four years, some of the repairs and new construction are particularly urgent. The North Carolina House and Senate are running competing plans on the best way to fund school construction and capital needs. Both contain funds around the $2 billion mark, but legislators are debating over which model is the best. House Speaker Tim Moore (R-Cleveland) is backing a statewide bond proposal. Senate Majority Leader Harry Brown (R-Onslow) has a bill that would draw from an existing fund. Moore, other House Republicans and Gov. Roy Cooper are backing the issuance of a $1.9 billion bond that is specifically for education construction and capital needs. $1.3 billion of the total $1.9 billion would go to K-12 capital construction needs, while the community college and the university systems would receive $300 million each. There are potential roadblocks for a bond. For one, a bond issuance could take several years and has no guarantee
Trump says he has ‘absolute right’ to declare emergency By Catherine Lucey The Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump declared Tuesday that he would prevail over a multistate lawsuit challenging his emergency declaration to pay for a U.S.-Mexico border wall. Speaking to reporters at the White House, Trump said he expected to do “very well,” against the suit, adding that he had an “absolute right” to make the declaration. “I think in the end we’re going to be very successful with the lawsuit,” Trump said. “I actually think we might do very well, even in the 9th Circuit, because it’s an open and closed case.” A group of 16 states, including California, New York and Colora-
do, filed a lawsuit Monday against Trump’s emergency declaration. The lawsuit filed in the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco alleges Trump’s declaration is unconstitutional. All the states involved in the lawsuit have Democratic attorneys general. Using a broad interpretation of his executive powers, Trump declared an emergency last week to obtain wall funding beyond the $1.4 billion Congress approved for border security. The move allows the president to bypass Congress to use money from the Pentagon and other budgets. Democrats have seized on the move as an example of executive See TRUMP, page A2
Bipartisan group in NC House propose end to partisan gerrymandering
it will be passed by the voters of the state. In addition, a bond comes with debt attached. According to the Fiscal Research Division of the legislature, the bond will cost the taxpayer $3.1 billion over 30 years in interest payments, Speaker Moore and many House Republicans have engaged in a statewide listening tour and forums on the bond. The idea that the bond money might be used for more than construction was mentioned in a press release by Speaker Moore during a tour stop in Columbus County. “A key reason counties need a statewide school bond is school safety,” said Moore. “It’s so much easier to give our [school resource officers] what they need in newer buildings. It’s easier to keep students safe in newer schools.” The other option for funding school construction is a legislative one. Senate Bill 5 is titled “Building North Carolina’s Future” and it proposes to make available over $6 billion over a nineyear period for school construction needs as well as funding to community colleges, the university system and address other state needs. The bill, put forth by Sen. Brown, is more of a “pay-asyou-go” plan that relies on funding from the State Capital and Infrastructure Fund (SCIF) which was established in 2017.
RALEIGH – In the wake of years-long court battles about the level of partisan influence on North Carolina election maps, members of both parties proposed a bill last week to completely overhaul the manner in which the maps are drawn. Reps. Chuck McGrady (R-Henderson), Robert Reives (D-Durham), Jon Hardister (R-Guilford) and Brian Turner (D-Buncombe), the four primary sponsors, held a press conference to announce the legislation. “The question I have for the people who don’t support this effort, is, ‘Why?’” said Turner at the press conference. “What is it about independent redistricting that scares you? Why would you stand in the way of returning a sense of fairness and confidence in our elections?” House Bill 69 would still require the final maps to be approved by the legislature in an up-or-down vote, but the process that produces the maps would be in the hands of an 11-member “citizens commission.” Supporters of the bill say the commission would
See SCHOOLS, page A2
See REDISTRICTING, page A2
By David Larson North State Journal