VOLUME 5 ISSUE 42
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WWW.NSJONLINE.COM
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WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 9, 2020
the Wednesday
NEWS BRIEFING
Foxx, Budd return to Washington after positive COVID tests RALEIGH — Two members of N.C.’s congressional delegation have returned to work in Washington, D.C., after both tested positive recently for COVID-19. U.S. Rep. Virginia Foxx tested positive the week of Nov. 23, communications director Alex Ives said on Monday. Rep. Ted Budd said last week he also tested positive. Ives said it’s highly likely the 77-year-old Foxx became infected after she was exposed to her immediate family, particularly since a COVID test that Foxx took earlier that week was negative. Foxx was asymptomatic and stayed clear of the public and staff during her quarantine period, Ives wrote. She was cleared by health department officials and resumed her duties in Washington on Monday, according to Ives. In a video message, Budd said he had been medically cleared by the attending physician of Congress to return to Washington. “I can’t wait to get back to the people’s work,” Budd said. THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
NCDHHS announces applications open for pilot program of COVID-19 rapid testing in K-12 public schools RALEIGH — The N.C. Department of Health and Human Services is launching a pilot program to deploy COVID-19 testing in K-12 public schools to quickly identify students and staff who may have the virus and to help slow its spread. Local education agencies including public school districts, charter school networks or individual charter schools currently offering any in-person instruction — either Plan A or Plan B — are eligible to apply. Pilot sites will receive federally funded rapid antigen tests to be used for students and staff with COVID-19 symptoms or who are close contacts of someone who has tested positive for COVID-19. “Having rapid tests available in our schools in another important tool to both slow the spread of the virus and keep our children in the classroom,” said NCDHHS Secretary Mandy Cohen. NSJ STAFF
Buncombe County commissioners vote to remove Confederate monument ASHEVILLE — The Buncombe County commissioners voted unanimously to remove a Confederate monument from a downtown square, following a recommendation from a task force. The commissioners voted 7-0 on Monday to remove the obelisk erected more than a century ago in an Asheville square to honor Zebulon Vance, a Civil War officer and North Carolina governor who owned slaves, local news sources reported. In November, nine of the 12 members of the Vance Monument Task Force voted to remove the Vance monument. Two of the task force members called for repurposing the monument. In June following protests against law enforcement stemming from the death of George Floyd, the county and city voted to create the 12-member task force and instructed members to recommend whether to remove or repurpose the marker. THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
PHOTO VIA N.C. DEPT. OF PUBLIC SAFETY
Cooper: Statewide curfew to begin Friday Gov. Roy Cooper speaks during a COVID-19 media briefing at the Emergency Operations Center in Raleigh.
NORTH
STATE
JOURNaL ELEVATE THE CONVERSATION
With sunset of ‘bathroom bill’ compromise, progressives begin push to pass local LGBTQ ordinances By David Larson North State Journal RALEIGH — After the Dec. 1 expiration of a key part of 2017’s House Bill 142, billed as a compromise to end the controversy around H.B. 2, often called the “bathroom bill,” progressive groups are openly organizing to restart the fight. H.B. 142 aimed to “reset” state law to the status quo before the controversy arose by repealing H.B. 2, reserving all jurisdiction to regulate public restrooms to the General Assembly, and prohibiting local governments from passing any ordinance “regulating private employment practices or regulating public accommodations.” But this last section, Section 3, had a sunset clause, as Section 4 states, “Section 3 of this act expires on December 1, 2020.” And now Dec. 1 has come and gone, which in the view of progressive groups means they can begin pushing for local ordinances that include sexual orientation and gender identity as protected classes in employment and public accommodations. Then-state Sen. Dan Bishop (R-Mecklenburg), who is now a U.S. congressman, was one of 10 Republican senators to vote against the compromise. Bishop’s vote was especially noteworthy since he had been the primary sponsor of H.B. 2 when he was in the state House. Bishop vot-
ed against H.B. 142 as a compromise because he said the sunset was simply a “punt” until 2020. At the time, Bishop said, while speaking against the compromise on the Senate floor, that it “inescapably implies that 32-months hence, handfuls of local officials can use government power to coerce people to embrace an ideology of sexual ethics contrary to their values. It is in that sense a declaration of surrender, albeit, three years in advance.” Progressive groups seem to agree. On Dec. 1, 2020, the day of the “sunset,” EqualityNC hosted an online “HB142 Sunset Townhall,” with elected officials Durham Mayor Pro Tem Jillian Johnson, state Rep. Susan Fisher (D-Buncombe) and Buncombe County Commissioner Jasmine Beach-Ferrara. Beach-Ferrara is also the executive director of the Campaign for Southern Equality. Other top staff of both CSE and ENC were also on the call. Beach-Ferrara said with the sunsetting of H.B. 142, “One of the things we are hoping to do tonight is kick off a season of coordinated action across the state.” Johnson agreed, saying, “I’m really excited now to use the power of local government to expand people’s rights.” Fisher, the only member of the state legislature present, said, “With this section of H.B. 142 fiSee HB2, page A2
EMORY P. DALESIO | AP PHOTO
In this March 24, 2016, file photo, people protest outside the North Carolina Executive Mansion in Raleigh
Gov. Roy Cooper announces new stay-at-home order By Matt Mercer North State Journal RALEIGH — Gov. Roy Cooper on Tuesday announced what he called a “modified stay-athome order” that will take effect on Friday, Dec. 11. “We already have strong safety protocols and capacity limitations in place — including a statewide mask requirement. With this additional action beginning Friday, we hope to get these numbers down,” Cooper said from the Emergency Operations Center in Raleigh. “Our new modified stay-at-home order aims to limit gatherings and
get people home where they are safer, especially during the holidays. It’s also a reminder that we must be vigilant the rest of the day — wearing a face mask when we are with people we don’t live with, keeping a safe distance from others and washing our hands a lot.” Under the order, North Carolinians are required to stay at home and travel only for work or to obtain essential goods or services during the hours of 10 p.m. and 5 a.m. through Jan. 8, 2021. Worship, religious and spiritual gatherings, funeral ceremonies, See CURFEW, page A2
ReOpenNC holds rally supporting Wendell business cited for non-compliance Wendell General Store signage does not require mask, but says people can wear one By A.P. Dillon North State Journal WENDELL — ReOpenNC held a rally in support of a Wendell area business which has been cited for not complying with Gov. Roy Cooper’s latest mask mandate. Members of ReOpenNC met on Saturday, Dec. 5 in front of the Wendell General Store, located on North Main Street in Wendell. According to a press release, ReOpenNC co-founder Ashley Smith organized the rally to “challenge Gov. Cooper’s and Wake County Sheriff Department’s illegal and unconstitutional actions against the small business owner.” The business in question is owned and operated by Regina Harmon, a member of ReOpenNC. Harmon’s store was targeted over a sign previously posted in the store window about masks which ultimately resulted in Harmon being given a criminal citation for one count of “aiding and abetting the violation of an executive order.” “This all over a sign Regina pinned on her door stating that masks were not required-brought to light by an article posted by the News And Observer on Tuesday and quickly discovered and escalated by the Wake County District Attorney,” a ReOpenNC Facebook post reads. “Regina has no plan to mandate masks in her business. Let’s get behind Regina as she continues to defy unconstitutional mandates infiltrating our beloved NC municipalities. WE CAN’T ALLOW THIS TO HAPPEN IN OUR STATE.” The Facebook post was accom-
panied by an image of the sign, which reads, “Wendell General Store Face Covering Policy. You do not have to wear one in Wendell General Store. Exceptions to every rule!” On the bottom of the sign in smaller lettering states “If you would like to wear one you can, but those who do not wear one I will not ask why.” According to Executive Order See RALLY, page A2