North State Journal Vol. 6, Issue 13

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VOLUME 6 ISSUE 13

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WWW.NSJONLINE.COM

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WEDNESDAY, MAY 26, 2021

MEMORIAL DAY

Remembering and honoring all who served the Wednesday

NEWS BRIEFING

NC Senate proposes tax cut package Raleigh Top N.C. Senate Republicans rolled out a comprehensive taxcut package this week, which they say would “result in a 21% income tax cut for a family of four earning the median household income.” The tax cuts for individuals included in the package are identical to that of Senate Bill 337, which increases the standard state deductions. The corporate tax rate would also be reduced by .5% beginning in 2024. That decrease will continue annually until it reaches zero in 2028. Six other states currently have no corporate income tax. Included in the package is an “automatic grant” of $18,750 to businesses that received COVID-19 Job Retention Program funds or other federally-supported funds. A.P. DILLON

Credit Karma to add 600 jobs in Charlotte Charlotte Credit Karma, a personal finance technology company, will add 600 new jobs in Mecklenburg County and invest more than $13 million to expand its presence with a new high-tech engineering hub. “North Carolina is the ideal place for technology companies to do business, thanks to our tech-savvy talent, resilient economy and great quality of life,” said Gov. Roy Cooper. “We are doubling down on the market and making this our East Coast headquarters,” said Credit Karma Founder and CEO Kenneth Lin. “The intersection of technical talent and having so many financial companies concentrated in one market makes Charlotte’s talent pool unrivaled for Credit Karma.” The new positions will include analysts, software engineers and management personnel. NSJ STAFF

Sheriff: Suspicious package at Sen. Paul’s home is non-toxic Louisville, Ky. A suspicious package sent to the Kentucky home of Republican U.S. Sen. Rand Paul appears to contain a non-toxic substance, the local sheriff’s office said. Paul tweeted that he takes any such “threats immensely seriously” and said he has been “targeted multiple times.” The FBI is providing forensic and technical assistance in working with the Warren County Sheriff’s Office and Capitol Police, Tim Beam, a spokesman for the FBI’s Louisville office, said Tuesday. The package was taken to the Bowling Green Fire Department, and a preliminary analysis identified the substance as nontoxic. The substance and package will undergo further analysis. THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Carolina Tiger Rescue takes in big cats from Tiger King Park Pittsboro A North Carolina big cat sanctuary will temporarily care for four animals seized from the private zoo in Oklahoma featured in Netflix’s “Tiger King.” Carolina Tiger Rescue said in a statement Tuesday that it worked with the U.S. Department of Justice and other accredited animal sanctuaries to rescue 68 big cats from Tiger King Park. The tigers will stay at the Pittsboro sanctuary until the DOJ finds them permanent homes. “We are glad to see the Department of Justice working hard to better the lives of big cats in captivity, beginning with Tiger King Park,” said Pam Fulk, executive director of Carolina Tiger Rescue. THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

AP PHOTO

Israel, Hamas halt fighting after 11 days Israeli Iron Dome air defense system launches to intercept rockets fired from Gaza Strip, near Sderot, Israel, Thursday, May 13, 2021.

NORTH

STATE

JOURNaL ELEVATE THE CONVERSATION

Truitt talks about Operation Polaris, literacy and inherited challenges In part two, NC superintendent talks challenges of first months in office By A.P. Dillon North State Journal RALEIGH — As the conversation with State Superintendent Catherine Truitt continued in this second part of NSJ’s exclusive interview, Truitt discussed establishing the Office of Learning Recovery (OLR) to help implement her vision for the state’s schools. This office will oversee “Operation Polaris,” which is her long-term plan to transform North Carolina’s public schools with the goal of having “a highly-qualified, excellent teacher in every classroom.” “I created what’s called the Office of Learning Recovery to not just be a compliance arm of DPI, because we’re a passthrough for that money, but also to provide technical support and assistance to some of our smaller

more, rural districts who might not have the capacity at their central office to put together a plan and might want some assistance around the best way to spend this money,” said Truitt. Operation Polaris also aims at “district and school transformation,” which Truitt said involves input from individuals who are in the field and who are education experts, former teachers and principals. “We have an incredible amount of money coming to us from the federal government that has a shelf life of about four years. And the vast majority of that money is being distributed, according to Title I population, to our districts,” Truitt said. “And districts, by law, have to submit a plan to the department of how they’re going to use that money. And 20% of that money must be used for learning recovery.” Truitt indicated that various groups involved in central offices, those supporting princiSee TRUITT, page A3

PHOTO VIA N.C. DEPT. OF PUBLIC INSTRUCTION

State Superintendent Catherine Truitt observes students working on computers in a classroom.

Where is the ReOpenNC movement today? Group’s leadership disbanded, Facebook account now reads ‘Impeach Roy Cooper’ By A.P. Dillon North State Journal RALEIGH — During the first week of April 2020, a movement called ReOpenNC launched its first protest in Raleigh against Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper’s COVID-19 executive orders. ReOpenNC began as a Facebook group that characterized itself as a “grassroots action group working towards a mutual goal to Reopen

NC by no later than May 1, 2020.” A year later, the lockdown order is gone and many restrictions have been lifted, but the statewide mask mandate for school children remains. Formed on April 7, ReOpenNC’s membership started with a few dozen but quickly climbed to nearly 87,000 at its peak in 2020. Today, the Facebook page is no longer named ReOpenNC, but has now rebranded as “Impeach Roy Cooper.” The movement’s leader, Ashley Smith, has also gone missing. Sources within the group tell See REOPENNC, page A2

Hours after GOP letter, Gov. Cooper reinstates unemployment worksearch requirements By David Larson North State Journal RALEIGH — At about 11 a.m. on Friday, May 21, North Carolina House Majority Leader John Bell (R-Wayne) released a letter, signed by 60 of his Republican caucus members, calling on Gov. Roy Cooper to reinstate work-search requirements for those on unemployment in order to encourage the jobless to return to work. Hours later, Cooper complied, signing Executive Order 216. “In our districts, we continue to hear from small business owners who are unable to fill new jobs,” the House GOP letter stated. “We believe reinstating work search requirements is a common-sense step to help connect the unemployed with new job opportunities. The letter cited data from the North Carolina Restaurant and Lodging Association saying state restaurants are 70,000 workers short compared to their workforce before the pandemic — a 17% drop overall. And that’s just one industry of many saying they are in dire need of workers. Cooper’s executive order directs the state’s Department of Commerce on June 6 to require the standard work-search criteria from those receiving unemployment benefits. In order to continue receiving benefits, the unemployed will be required to set up an account on ncworks.gov and will have to show they have applied for See WORK, page A2


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