North State Journal Vol. 6, Issue 42

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VOLUME 6 ISSUE 42 | WWW.NSJONLINE.COM | WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 15, 2021

$1B economic development challenge includes 2 from NC Washington, D.C. U.S. Comomerce Secretary Gina Raimondo announced 60 finalists for $1 billion in economic development grants tied to the Biden administration’s coronavirus relief package and aimed at improving job training and regional industry partnerships. The Biden administration will ultimately choose 20 to 30 regional coalitions for up to $100 million in grants that could shape manufacturing, clean energy and life sciences hubs around the country. The finalists will receive $500,000 each to help plan for the next round, with applications due in March. The deadline for choosing the winners is September. The North Carolina Biotechnology Center and Piedmont Triad Regional Council both moved to the next round for plans involving advancedmanufacturing initiatives.

PHOTO VIA N.C. DEPT. OF PUBLIC SAFETY

Gov. Roy Cooper briefs media from the Emergency Operations Center in Raleigh.

Cooper vetoes three more bills, reaching 69 total

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Panel sets dates to hear state redistricting case Raleigh A three-judge panel will soon hear a case challenging North Carolina’s legislative and congressional maps, according to court filings. Arguments are scheduled to be heard in Wake County Superior Court between Jan. 3 and Jan. 5, with closing arguments planned for Jan. 6. The N.C. Supreme Court has directed the panel to reach a decision by Jan. 11. The losing side would then almost assuredly file an appeal to the high court. Left-aligned groups argue the maps were gerrymandered for partisan advantage, while Republican legislative leaders say the maps should pass legal muster since the boundaries were drawn without looking at election or racial data. THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Court won’t allow reversal of Trump remain-inMexico policy New Orleans A federal appeals court has dealt another blow to the Biden administration’s attempt to undo former President Donald Trump’s policy requiring people seeking asylum in the United States to remain in Mexico while their asylum claims are processed. In a Monday night ruling, the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans upheld a Texasbased federal judge’s decision maintaining Trump’s policy, formally known as the “Migrant Protection Protocols.” President Joe Biden’s administration had appealed the August decision, but also began working to reimplement the policy while the legal battle continued. Earlier this month, U.S. authorities sent the first two migrants back to Mexico under the reinstated policy. Biden suspended the program on his first day in office. THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

NY ethics board tells former Gov. Cuomo to return book money Albany, N.Y. Former Gov. Andrew Cuomo was ordered by New York’s ethics commission Tuesday to give up millions of dollars a publisher paid him to write a book about his response to the coronavirus pandemic. Cuomo was directed to turn over proceeds earned from “American Crisis: Leadership Lessons from the COVID-19 Pandemic” within 30 days. The order came after the commission voted to rescind the ethics approval it had given Cuomo before he entered into the $5.1 million deal. Cuomo has acknowledged state employees helped with tasks including editing the manuscript.

Bill blocking outside money in state elections among vetoes By A.P. Dillon North State Journal

NC Supreme Court delays 2022 primaries to May By Matt Mercer North State Journal RALEIGH — The North Carolina Supreme Court ordered all of the state’s scheduled March 8 primaries to move to May 17, 2022, last week. The delay will allow an evidentiary hearing to be held by a three-judge panel on the multiple lawsuits filed in connection with the state redistricting maps. The order — which followed action earlier in the week from the N.C. Court of Appeals that first delayed filing in races for U.S. House of Representatives, N.C. Senate and N.C. House of Representatives — requires the three-judge panel in Wake County Superior Court to rule on the cases by Jan. 11, 2022. Notably, the order moved all of the scheduled primaries to May, not just those conducted under new districts following the General Assembly’s redistricting session last month. Sen. Ralph Hise (R-Mitchell), a co-chair of the Senate Elections Committee, said in response to the court’s order, “The court didn’t even articulate a legal or factual basis for suspending elections. The Democrats on the Supreme Court want districts that elect more Democrats, so they’re blocking every election in the state until they get their way.” House Speaker Tim Moore (R-Kings Mountain) said, “To throw this process into chaos in the middle of filing leaves North Carolinians with uncertainty ahead of the election. Despite this delay, we are confident that we will prevail at trial and our maps will stand.”

The state’s top elected Democrats — Gov. Roy Cooper and Attorney General Josh Stein — were pleased with the outcome. The two filed an amicus brief with the top court before the order in support of the plaintiffs’ case, urging the justices to hear and decide the cases. “Voters are stripped of their voices by technologically diabolical and unconstitutionally partisan districts,” Cooper said at the time. Following the order, the governor said, “Today’s order restores faith in the rule of law and it is necessary for the Court to rule on the constitutionality of these unfair districts before the next election.” “In a representative democracy, the voters choose their representatives,” said Attorney General Stein. “Partisan gerrymandering distorts our democracy by discriminating against certain voters based on their political views and allowing representatives to cling to power no matter the will of the voters.” The order makes clear that all candidates who filed for office Monday through Wednesday will not need to file again. The court authorized the trial court to make any administrative decisions necessary in regards to timing, filing, and withdrawal of candidates. The decision capped a tumultuous three days both in Raleigh and around the state. In an order posted minutes before the start of filing on Monday, Dec. 6, an expedited review conducted by a secret panel of See PRIMARIES page A2

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS CHRIS SEWARD | AP PHOTO

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In this June 5, 2021, file photo, former President Donald Trump, right, announces his endorsement of North Carolina Rep. Ted Budd, left, for the 2022 North Carolina U.S. Senate seat.

RALEIGH — On Dec. 9, North Carolina Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper issued three more vetoes, bringing his overall total to 69 since taking office in January of 2017. The three bills Cooper vetoed were House Bill 220 (Choice of Energy/Add’l Provisions), House Bill 294 (Sale of Salvage Vehicles) and Senate Bill 725 (Prohibit Private Money in Elections Admin.). Amid his mounting vetoes, the Democratic Governors Association (DGS) has elected Cooper to be its new chairman. The DGA announced the move in a Dec. 11 tweet. Cooper’s veto message of House Bill 220 said the measure “undermines North Carolina’s transition to a clean energy economy,” and that is “wrong-

ly strips local authority” and “hampers” the public’s access to information. House Speaker Tim Moore (R-Kings Mountain) responded to two of the governor’s vetoes, noting that House Bill 220 would “prohibit local governments from adopting any ordinance that prohibits connection, reconnection, modification, or expansion of an energy service based on the type or source of energy to be delivered to the end-user of the energy service.” Moore said the bill also would “expand an exemption from public records for detailed plans and drawings of public buildings and infrastructure facilities, and add a new exemption for specific engineering, vulnerability, or detailed design information about proposed or existing critical infrastructure for energy, water, and wastewater utilities.” “Gov. Cooper again fails to provide a substantive reason for vetoing common sense legSee VETOES page A2

Exclusive: UNC Chapel Hill responds to NC Rep Hardister on diversity training Chancellor Kevin Guskiewicz says training is ‘under review’ and ‘on hold’ By A.P. Dillon North State Journal RALEIGH — UNC Chapel Hill has responded to a state legislator’s inquiry regarding “diversity training” that took place earlier this fall. In early November, State Rep. Jon Hardister (R-Guilford) sent a letter to UNC Chapel Hill and UNC System officials inquiring about “equity, diversity and inclusion” training that members of school’s Greek System were allegedly forced to attend. Hardister’s letter describes the training as having an oppressor versus oppressed theme, which is a core tenet of the controversial Critical Race Theory. One part of the training, which went viral, was about how right-handed people are privileged while left-handed people are “disempowered.” Other topics Hardister included in his inquiry involved “white privilege” and how “whiteness” pervades society. In a Nov. 30 letter obtained by North State Journal, Chancellor Kevin Guskiewicz said the Oct. 18 event was “sponsored” by the office of UNC-CH Fraternity and Sorority Life (FSL). Guskiewicz wrote that the session “focused on intellectual wellness” and confirmed the guest speaker was Christina Parle and said she was paid “$4,000”

using FSL member fees. The chancellor’s description of See DIVERSITY, page A2


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