|
VOLUME 3 ISSUE 25
WWW.NSJONLINE.COM |
WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 15, 2018
Inside Competition continues to be Wake QB, B1
NORTH
STATE
JOURNaL ELEVATE THE CONVERSATION
Gene-editing startups ignite the next food fight By Rod Nickel Reuters DURHAM — A relatively small company in Durham is part of a growing group of startups delving into the field of genetic modifications to food. Benson Hill, founded in 2012 and named after two scientists, mainly licenses crop technology to other companies. But it decided to produce its own higher-yielding corn plant because of the low development costs, said Chief
Executive Matt Crisp. Developing and marketing a traditional genetically modified crop might easily cost $150 million, which only a few large companies can afford, Crisp said. With gene-editing, that cost might fall as much as 90 percent. “We’re seeing a huge number of organizations interested in gene-editing,” Crisp said, referring to traditional crop-breeding companies, along with technology firms and food companies. “That speaks
to the power of the technology and how we’re at a pivotal point in time to modernize the food system.” Seed development giants such as Monsanto, Syngenta AG and DowDuPont have dominated genetically modified crop technology that emerged in the 1990s. But they face a wider field of competition from startups and other smaller competitors because gene-edited crops have drastically lower development costs See GENE EDITING, page A2
the Wednesday
NEWS BRIEFING
Trump campaign files arbitration against former aide Omarosa Washington, D.C. President Donald Trump’s campaign has filed an arbitration against former White House aide Omarosa Manigault Newman for allegedly violating a nondisclosure agreement. Their escalating feud this week was sparked by the release of her tell-all book, “Unhinged,” by the former contestant on Trump’s “The Apprentice,” describing her year at the White House before her firing last December. In recent days, she has released audio of her firing by White House Chief of Staff John Kelly recorded secretly in the secured White House situation room.
It’s not too late, or as difficult as you think Winston Salem A new study of older people found that just 30 minutes of moderate exercise, plus cutting 250 calories a day, can reduce disability in senior years. Researchers at Wake Forest School of Medicine studied 180 obese adults ages 65 to 79 and found that those assigned to do a half-hour of aerobic exercise four times a week and cut one snack a day improved their cardiorespiratory fitness. Good cardiorespiratory performance boosts the odds of maintaining health and independence in later years.
LAUREN ROSE | NORTH STATE JOURNAL
Former Governor Mike Easley (D) addresses reporters with former governors Jim Hunt (D), Jim Martin (R), Beverly Purdue (D) and Pat McCrory (R) as they voice their opposition to proposed constitutional amendments on Monday, August 13 in Raleigh.
Governors oppose constitutional amendments A bipartisan group of former N.C. governors are organizing opposition to proposed amendments that transfer some appointment power to the legislature
Federal grant will fund history center on early African-American education Elizabeth City Elizabeth State University was awarded a $350,000 federal grant to create a cultural heritage center out of a 1920s-era school for AfricanAmerican children. ECSU still needs to raise another $1.5 million for the project to renovate the Rosenwald School building into the Northeastern North Carolina African-American Research and Cultural Heritage Center. The grant came from the National Endowment for the Humanities.
In Jones and Blount, three members of the State Board of Education resign before their term is up. Jones & Blount
20177 52016 $2.00
8
efficiency and helping our farmers with higher profit margins. The legislation also implements national E-Verify, a legislative priority for Congressman Walker.” Use of the H-2A guest worker program, which solely certifies agricultural employment, has tripled in the past decade, and North Carolina’s farm-heavy economy often appears near the top in states using the system. The Center for Immigration Studies, a think tank focused on reducing migration, issued a press release last week outlining the growth of the program. Their data, gleaned from the Department of Labor, found around 56 percent of H-2A workers were occupied in five U.S. states — North Carolina, Washington, Florida, Georgia and California. North Carolina topped the list with about 33,000 followed by Washington with 29,000 workers. While the program, initially intended to reduce the necessity for illegal agricultural workers, has grown, critics say it hasn’t reduced
RALEIGH — On Monday at the old state Capitol House chambers in Raleigh, the state’s five living former governors gathered to oppose two proposed constitutional amendments from the state legislature. The measures, directed to go on November ballots statewide, take some appointment power from the executive branch and reassign it to the legislative branch. “It’s really about whether a few politicians in the legislature want to increase their power at the expense of the people of North Carolina,” said former governor Jim Hunt, a Democrat. Former Gov. Jim Martin, a Republican, organized the gathering which included Hunt, along with former Democrats and Govs. Mike Easley and Bev Purdue. Current Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper was not present, but his predecessor, Republican former Gov. Pat McCrory, joined the group of leaders in saying that the legislature’s amendments were a power grab. “My advice to the hard-working legislators — and they are extremely hard-working for little pay — is that if you want to take on the responsibility of the governor, then have the courage to run for office and win. Earn it. Don’t highjack our state constitution,” said McCrory. The General Assembly’s Senate Leader Phil Berger (R-Rockingham) and House Speaker Tim Moore (R-Cleveland) responded, “While it’s not surprising former governors oppose checks and balances on the unilateral authority of their office, we are confident the people will support a more accountable approach to filling judicial vacancies and approve a bipartisan balance on critical boards like the state’s ethics and elections commission over a system of purely political control.” One of the amendments in question would put the power to appoint the State Board of Elections, among other boards, to the legislature. The other would change the way judicial vacancies are filled. “They would impair the governor’s ability to appoint judges to fill vacancies in our courts
See H2A WORKERS, page A2
See GOVERNORS, page A2
ALEXANDREW MENEGHINI | REUTERS | FILE
New measure would overhaul ag worker rules Farmers say an updated guest worker program will provide reliable labor By David Larson For the North State Journal
INSIDE
5
By Donna King North State Journal
RALEIGH — A bill to scrap the present guest worker visa process for agricultural workers was introduced in the U.S. Congress in late July, co-sponsored by two N.C. Republicans, Mark Meadows (N.C.-11) and Mark Walker (N.C.-6). The bill would swap the tighter restrictions of the H-2A certification and the paper-based I-9 worker verification system with a new system called H-2C that would employ the digital E-Verify system and would allow freer movement for guest workers. “H.R. 6417 addresses H-2A visas by bringing more opportunities for our farmers to hire employees,” Walker’s communications director, Jack Minor, told the North State Journal. “The legislation reduces regulatory and bureaucratic requirements, allowing for more
“We respectfully disagree with these governors that the people deserve no input on the filling of judicial vacancies, and that our state’s elections and ethics board should be a partisan controlled body despite its key role in our democratic process.” House Speaker Tim Moore and Sen. Leader Phil Berger