VOLUME 3 ISSUE 51
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WWW.NSJONLINE.COM |
WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 13, 2019
Sports High Point lacrosse earns breakthrough win at Duke
ANDREW HARNIK | AP PHOTO | FILE
Rep. Walter Jones, R-N.C. poses for a portrait in his office on Capitol Hill, Wednesday, Oct. 25, 2017, in Washington.
the Wednesday
NEWS BRIEFING
3 rare black coyotes killed during hunt in North Carolina Charlotte Three rare black coyotes were among the nearly 150 coyotes killed during a massive hunting tournament near Charlotte over the weekend. Tournament organizer 704 Outdoors TV says on its web site there were a total of 107 hunters and 149 coyotes killed. The state Wildlife Resources Commission says black coyotes are uncommon. Tournament spokesman John MacPherson says black coyotes are highly sought after by hunters. The state wildlife commission says predatory coyotes were first documented in North Carolina in 1938 and they are increasingly searching for food in urban areas.
New York Mexico’s most notorious drug lord, Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman, was convicted Tuesday of running an industrial-scale smuggling operation after a threemonth trial packed with Hollywood-style tales of grisly killings, political payoffs, cocaine hidden in jalapeno cans, jewel-encrusted guns and a naked escape with his mistress through a tunnel.
INSIDE Gov. Cooper is invited to speak at a joint legislative session Jones & Blount
20177 52016 $2.00
STATE
JOURNaL ELEVATE THE CONVERSATION
Loosening state control of liquor considered again By Gary D. Robertson The Associated Press
Notorious drug lord Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman convicted
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RALEIGH — The General Assembly is weighing anew whether changing how liquor sales have been regulated for decades is worth boosting the number of retail outlets selling spirits with what critics call the risks of increased alcohol consumption. The General Assembly’s government watchdog agency released a study Monday advising lawmakers on the implications of ending or shifting the state’s current liquor operations away from government-run stores and wholesale operations. A renewed interest in privatization also comes amid a recent separate state audit scrutinizing costs in a key state Alcoholic Beverage Control Commission contract. North Carolina is one of 17 states that directly control the sale and distribution of spirits. About 170 local ABC boards sell liquor at more than 430 stores, which by law can’t stay open past 9 p.m. or on Sunday. The state ABC Commission also runs a state warehouse, where wholesale liquor from distillers is shipped to ABC stores for sale. Beer and wine are sold by licensed conventional retailers. State and local governments take in various alcohol-related tax revenues. Some lawmakers and at least one trade group consider the current system archaic and espouse a more market-based ap-
Eastern NC political champion Jones dies on 76th birthday By Gary D. Robertson North State Journal RALEIGH — Republican U.S. Rep. Walter B. Jones Jr. (R-N.C.), a political maverick and advocate for eastern North Carolina, died Sunday on his 76th birthday. The 3rd District congressman’s office confirmed his death in a statement, saying Jones died in Greenville. His health declining in recent months, Jones entered hospice care in January after breaking his hip. He had been granted a leave of absence from Congress in late 2018 and was sworn in for his last term back home. Jones was a political maverick unafraid to buck his own party. He was one of the first Republicans to reverse direction on the war in Iraq, even as his North Carolina district included the sprawling Marine installation Camp Lejeune. His ultimate opposition to
proach that would treat liquor like other sold alcohol. “North Carolina residents have been saying it for years — they just want to purchase a bottle of liquor at the nearest grocery store like it’s done in most every other state,” the North Carolina Retail Merchants Association said in a release Monday. The statement highlighted a poll showing support for selling liquor like beer and wine. But others consider liquor consumption a health and safety issue that warrants the current government restrictions. They cite figures in the Program Evaluation Division’s report that said North Carolina, among all Southeastern states, collects the most public revenue per gallon of liquor sold and has the second lowest per-capita liquor consumption. “Why would we ever want to be like those other Southeastern states?” asked Rep. Pat Hurley (R-Randolph), a member of the legislative oversight committee hearing the report’s presentation. She’s also worried increased consumption could lead to more impaired-driving charges. The report doesn’t give an opinion on whether to shift from the control system, saying it should be considered by a separate House-Senate study panel. In a divided vote, the oversight committee did back a bill also proposed by the report’s authors with incremental chang-
RALEIGH — As Winston-Salem, UNC Chapel Hill and others debate long-standing Confederate memorials, legislative Democrats believe eliminating a 2015 law would allow more flexibility for local control over these monuments. They point to violence in Charlottesville, Va., and unrest in Chapel Hill over “Silent Sam” as evidence officials need more control over symbols at the center of public discontent. Senate Bill 22, the 2015 law in question, was passed unanimously in the Senate, by both Democrats and Republicans. Upon reaching the House though, S.B. 22 began picking up opposition, with only two votes for and 37
See LIQUOR, page A2
See MONUMENTS, page A2
the Iraq War came with the irony that he instigated a symbolic slap against the French when their country early on opposed U.S. military action. Jones was among the House members who led a campaign that resulted in the chamber’s cafeteria offering “freedom fries” and “freedom toast” — instead of French fries and French toast. Jones said he introduced legislation that would have required President George W. Bush’s administration to begin withdrawing troops in 2006 because the reason given for invading Iraq, weapons of mass destruction, had proved false. “If I had known then what I know now, I wouldn’t have supported the resolution” to go to war, Jones said in 2005. Jones took heat for his reversal from GOP colleagues. He ultimately signed well See JONES, page A2
Dems in NC legislature seek to overturn 2015 monuments law Reversal would eliminate need for approval by NC Historical Commission when removing controversial monuments By David Larson North State Journal