VOLUME 6 ISSUE 4
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WWW.NSJONLINE.COM
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WEDNESDAY, MARCH 24, 2021
the Wednesday
NEWS BRIEFING
State officials urge review of Metropolitan Statistical Areas Raleigh A letter sent by representatives of Gov. Roy Cooper’s office urges the Office of Management and Budget to delay action on a recommendation to increase the minimum population of cities that constitute the core of Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MSA) from 50,000 to 100,000. “This recommendation reduces the funding and data available for MSAs, complicates data analysis, and is not following a standard, deliberative process for such a change, in addition to compounding existing concerns regarding the 2020 Census,” the letter says. Three metropolitan areas in the state: Goldsboro, New Bern and Rocky Mount, would be demoted to Micropolitan Statistical Areas. The letter says those areas would increase the number of nonmetropolitan areas competing for rural funding. NSJ STAFF
New homes sales plunged in February Washington, D.C. Sales of new homes plunged 18.2% in February as severe winter weather in many parts of the country and a lack of supply took a toll on the housing industry. Sales of single-family homes dropped to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 775,000 last month, the U.S. Commerce Department reported Tuesday, the slowest sales pace since May of last year. The median price of a new home sold in February was $349,400, up 5.3% from a year ago. Severe winter storms also had an impact on the sale of existing homes, which declined 6.5% in February to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 6.22 million units. THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Senate bill would shorten wait for teen driving permit Raleigh The time new teenage drivers must wait to receive a provisional license would be trimmed in legislation approved Monday evening by the state Senate and sent to the House for consideration. Current law requires young people with learner’s permits to hold them at least 12 months before seeking a license that lets them drive unsupervised. The bill would reduce that to nine months. These motorists would still have to log 60 hours behind the wheel with a supervising parent and be at least 16 years old to qualify for this “Level 2” license. THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
House bill seeks to ease building-permit burdens Raleigh Legislation that would raise the building-permit exemption from $15,000 to $20,000 passed the N.C. House unanimously last week and now heads to the Senate. The bill, sponsored by Rep. Bobby Hanig (R-Currituck), would ease the permitting burdens on homeowners and farmers to allow more constructions and repairs to be done without obtaining a building permit. NSJ STAFF
Trump backing congressman in Georgia Sec State primary Atlanta Former President Donald Trump endorsed U.S. Rep. Jody Hice in his primary challenge to current Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger. “I’ll be here in a year in a half campaigning against your governor and your crazy secretary of state,” Trump had said at a Georgia rally on Jan. 4. THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
PHOTO COURTESY N.C. DEPT. OF PUBLIC SAFETY
Gov. Roy Cooper announces more changes to state COVID-19 restrictions Citing continued improvements of key metrics, Gov. Cooper said the newest order will increase capacity to 100%, 75%, or 50% across several industries. See www.nsjonline.com for more information about the governor’s orders, which take effect on Friday, March 26.
NORTH
STATE
JOURNaL ELEVATE THE CONVERSATION
‘Say Something’ reporting app for NC schools shows high number of self-harm and suicide tips App also comes with hefty price tag By A.P. Dillon North State Journal RALEIGH — The N.C. Department of Public Instruction’s Center for Safe Schools has released tip statistics from the “Say Something” anonymous school reporting app, and the data reveals consistently high tips for bullying, self-harm and suicidal ideation. In May 2019, former state Superintendent Mark Johnson announced an agreement and contract with Sandy Hook Promise to provide a statewide “Say Something Anonymous Reporting System.” The app is intended to allow students and parents to report suspicious behavior, bullying or similar tips in an allegedly anonymous fashion. Tips can also be sent through an online portal or using a phone hotline which can include photos and videos. The app is currently available for North Carolina students in grades 6-12 but is not available for elementary students. Since the state began using the app, 5,080 tips have been logged. Of those tips, the top five made up 53% of all tips received. Bullying was the number one reported tip, followed closely by alarming numbers of selfharm, suicide risk and depression. Bullying — 813 tips (16%) Cutting/Self-Harm — 631 (12%) Suicide — 494 (10%) Depression — 483 (10%) Drug use — 298 (6%) Various studies and surveys have shown that the COVID-19 pandemic has had a negative impact on K-12 student mental health, with suicide being one of
the top concerns. Upon request, the Center for Safe Schools furnished 2020 specific data for the time frame spanning Jan. 1 through Dec. 31 of 2020. The top categories mirrored that of the overall tip counts for the app. Bullying/Cyberbullying — 95 Cutting/Self-Harm — 71 Depression/Anxiety — 42 Drug Use/Distribution — 38 Suicide/Suicide Ideation —34 A look at the top five for the month of just February 2021 revealed the top tip category was “planned school attack,” with 70 logged tips. The other top tips for February included 31 tips for suicide/suicide ideation, 26 tips for cutting/self-harm, 12 for weapons and 10 for depression/ anxiety. According to the “Say Something” app documentation, it is supported by a crisis center staffed 24/7 by trained counselors who will “triage, categorize and deliver tip information.” The person reporting a behavior or incident can include media files like photos or audio along with their tip. Tips are sorted into two groups: “life safety” or “non-life safety.” The Crisis Center is supposed to notify school or state officials after hours if a tip is deemed life threatening. In a situation of imminent threat, the Crisis Center will contact local 911 operators. While the app download itself might be free, the support for it comes with a hefty price tag. The fee schedule presented in 2019 was for a five-year term that totaled over $3.1 million. The initial costs presented in 2019 put the first year’s costs alone just under $600,000, with one-time costs to be billed See SAY SOMETHING, page A5
‘An all-hands moment’: GOP rallies opposition to Democrats’ voting bill By Nicholas Riccardi The Associated Press ON AN invitation-only call last week, Sen. Ted Cruz huddled with Republican state lawmakers to call them to battle on the issue of voting rights. Democrats are trying to expand voting rights to “illegal aliens” and “child molesters,” he claimed, and Republicans must do all they can to stop them. If they push through far-reaching election legislation now before the Senate, the GOP won’t win elections again for generations, he said. Asked if there was room to compromise, Cruz was blunt: “No.” “H.R. 1’s only objective is to en-
sure that Democrats can never again lose another election, that they will win and maintain control of the House of Representatives and the Senate and of the state legislatures for the next century,” Cruz told the group organized by the American Legislative Exchange Council, a conservative group that provides support to state legislators. Cruz’s statements, recorded by a person on the call and obtained by The Associated Press, capture the building intensity behind Republicans’ nationwide campaign for election integrity. From statehouses to Washington, the fight has See VOTING BILL, page A2
Long-term care COVID-19 restrictions eased after citizen speaks out at press event No Patient Left Alone Act filed at General Assembly prior to NCDHHS guidance changes By A.P. Dillon North State Journal RALEIGH — During a press conference on March 10 announcing an agreement on a bill to reopen the state’s schools, a citizen asked Gov. Roy Cooper a blunt question about reopening longterm care facilities. “When can we have a bipartisan effort on opening up long-term care homes?” asked Tim Wall of Kernersville. “My mom died two weeks ago.” Wall told North State Journal that his 88-year-old mother had suffered from dementia for a number of years and was placed in long-term care at Summerstone Health and Rehabilitation Center. Just after Christmas, on Dec. 28, Wall’s mother tested positive for COVID-19 but was asymptomatic. Following her positive test, Summerstone notified Wall his mother would be placed in COVID lockdown in a room other than her own. He was told he would not be able to see her despite having a compassionate care visitation exception. During the time he was separated from his mother, staff had told her “she was doing fine.” It took a slew of phone calls with facility administrators and state intervention for Wall to regain access to his mother. At that point, Wall found providers had not been following her care plan, and she was in bad shape. On a visit on Jan. 5, Wall found she had been passing blood in her stool and ended up calling 911. His mother was transported to a hospital where she was admitted for internal bleeding from a previously undiagnosed cancerous tumor. Wall’s mother was transferred
to hospice on Jan. 12, and the bleeding from the tumor eventually led to her death. She passed away on Feb. 15, and not from COVID-19. Wall went on to ask Cooper and the lawmakers present on March 10, “When is it going to change? The residents are vaccinated. The staff are not willing to be. There need to be essential caregivers. See LONG-TERM CARE, page A2