VOLUME 6 ISSUE 47 | WWW.NSJONLINE.COM | WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 19, 2022
NC Senate Republicans will vote to move state primaries to June 7 Raleigh N.C. Senate Republicans on Monday said the legislative chamber will vote on Wednesday to move the state’s primary elections this year to Tuesday, June 7. The move would be the third, following a state Supreme Court order that moved the date to May 17 in order to hear consolidated cases on the state’s new congressional and legislative boundaries. “State law requires the legislature to have at least 14 days to draw new districts if existing ones are struck down by a court. The case schedule adopted by the state Supreme Court provides as little as 12 days for the court to decide, write a decision, and draw new districts if the Supreme Court strikes down the current ones,” the statement reads. Any change in the election calendar must also be agreed to by the N.C. House of Representatives and signed by Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper.
Ice covers holly near the 15th green of Pinehurst No. 3 in Pinehurst. Following the weekend winter storm, another winter weather event is expected to hit the state on Friday
Battle over recusals colors NC Supreme Court cases on redistricting, voter ID
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John Harris, son of Rev Mark Harris, running for state House Apex Attorney John Harris, the son of former U.S. Senate and U.S. House candidate Mark Harris, announced on Tuesday he is seeking election to a suburban Wake County state House seat. Harris says his campaign is about serving his community, bringing conservative competence to state government and helping restore a political system that prioritizes the public good over personal or partisan interest. His opponent is expected to be two-term Democratic state Rep. Julie von Haefen, who first won in 2018 over Republican Nelson Dollar. NSJ STAFF
Tesla inks deal to get key battery component outside China London Tesla is turning to Mozambique for a key component in its electric car batteries, in what analysts believe is a first-of-its-kind deal designed to reduce its dependence on China for graphite. Elon Musk’s company signed an agreement with Australia’s Syrah Resources, which operates one of the world’s largest graphite mines in the southern African country. Tesla will buy the material from the company’s processing plant in Vidalia, Louisiana, which sources graphite from its mine in Balama, Mozambique. The Austin, Texas-based electric automaker plans to buy up 80% of what the plant produces — 8,000 tons of graphite per year — starting in 2025, according to the agreement. THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
State leaders applaud effort to expedite statue at US Capitol Washington, D.C. Efforts to install a statue honoring the late Billy Graham at the U.S. Capitol continue to receive support from state leaders. U.S. Rep. Ted Budd issued an update on the effort, which included an update from Illinois U.S. Rep. Rodney Davis, who sits on the Joint Committee on the Library. “It is inexcusable that the Joint Committee on the Library has delayed the approval process for over six years. I’m excited to support legislation that will put deadlines on the JCL to take action,” Davis said. NSJ STAFF
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DAVID SINCLAIR | FOR THE NORTH STATE JOURNAL
Frozen on the green
By David Larson North State Journal
NC Commission for Public Health to take up requiring COVID vaccine for students 17 and up By A.P. Dillon North State Journal RALEIGH — Students ages 17 and up could be required to get a COVID-19 vaccination in order to attend secondary schools in the state, depending on the actions of a state commission. The N.C. Commission for Public Health (NCCPH) is the body considering such a move. The commission is housed under the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services (NCDHHS) and is the only body other than the legislature that can amend vaccination laws for students in the state. It is a 13-member body, nine of which have been appointed Gov. Roy Cooper. The other four were appointed by the N.C. Medical Society. During its meeting held on Nov. 3, 2021, the NCCPH addressed a “petition” that had been entered into the rulemaking process for NCCPH. Chairman Ronald May did not cite the topic of the petition but said they were reviewing it. At that meeting, May said they have 120 days before they would need to make any decisions and that “very likely at the next meeting” the commission would act. North State Journal inquired with NCDHHS about the unnamed petition and discovered it was sent to State Health Director Dr. Elizabeth Cuervo Tilson last October. The petition, submitted by four professors from Appalachian State University (ASU), requested that the “Commission for Public Health issue a COVID-19 vaccine requirement for all NC college students.” The quartet’s petition proposes changing state immunization requirements to include COVID-19 vaccinations for “individuals 17 years of age or entering the 12th grade, whichever comes first, on or after July 1, 2022.” The ASU professors who submitted the request include Stella Anderson, with the Department
of Management; Nancy Love, with the Department of Government and Justice Studies; Martha McCaughey, from the Sociology Department; and Emily Dakin, from the Department of Social Work. Dakin was the first signatory on an open letter published on Aug. 23, 2021, pushing for remote instruction at the collegiate level until the county where ASU is located reached a less than 5% positivity rate and at least 70% of ASU students were vaccinated. The letter garnered 233 signatures from ASU staff and faculty. Citing various Food and Drug Administration approvals for children 16 and up, the petition says, “the Commission should consider the COVID-19 vaccine age-based requirement with existing approval and, as additional approval is granted, expand the requirement for those ages.” The petition goes on to say the “proposed implementation date (July 1, 2022) would accommodate the existing age-based FDA approval without requiring current high-school-aged students to comply.” A letter attached to the petition is signed by 225 UNC system employees, the vast majority of which are affiliated with ASU. Both Cooper and then-NCDHHS Secretary Mandy Cohen were copied on the letter. The letter cites state law and the authority of the NCCPH to alter vaccination requirements for students in North Carolina. “In short, our call for the Commission to require COVID-19 vaccination among NC college and university students is supported by overwhelming evidence, precedence, law, and the authority of the Commission itself,” the letter to NCCPH reads. “Thus, we respectfully request that the Commission issue an order declaring that the COVID-19 vaccine be required of all college students attending NC colleges and universities.” See VACCINE, page A3
RALEIGH — Republican leaders of the N.C. General Assembly filed motions on Jan. 6 calling for two state Supreme Court justices, Sam Ervin IV and Anita Earls, to recuse themselves from the court case deciding whether the redistricting maps created by the General Assembly can stand and be used in the 2022 elections. This motion came a day before two Republican justices announced they would not recuse themselves in a case over voter ID, after similar recusal demands from liberal groups. In a series of press releases, from Jan. 7 through Jan. 18, Republican state House and Senate leaders made the case that Ervin and Earls have conflicts of interest that should disqualify them from hearing the redistricting case. In regards to Ervin, Republi-
can leaders argued that because he is the only one currently running for office out of the justices, he may be unable to set aside campaign considerations as he decides. Ervin is running for reelection to his state Supreme Court seat, while the other six justices still have time in their terms or are not running again. “Justice Ervin participated in a decision that halts candidates from filing for office against him, moves his opponents’ primary election back two months, and authorizes a truncated filing period for any more opponents when, and only when, this Court enters its final order on the proceedings,” the motion for Ervin to recuse read. “Accordingly, Justice Ervin should follow the examples of other jurists and recuse himself from consideration of these matters.” Their complaint concerning See RECUSALS page A2
Burr, Tillis among senators questioning Biden ed chief over controversial letter By A.P. Dillon North State Journal RALEIGH — North Carolina U.S. Sens. Richard Burr and Thom Tillis are among the two dozen Republican senators who want answers from Biden Education Secretary Miguel Cardona over his apparent solicitation of a letter from the National School Boards Association (NSBA) that compared school parents to domestic terrorists. “Parents are not ‘domestic terrorists’ and it is appalling that anyone would suggest that exercising the constitutionally protected freedoms of speech and assembly would be characterized as a threat,” the senators’ letter to Cardona reads. “Parents across the country are outraged that their children’s education has been disrupted, delayed, even denied over the past two years.” The letter to Cardona was announced in a press statement by U.S. Sen. Tim Scott (R-South Carolina), who is leading the effort. “While we knew early on that White House staff were complicit in the creation of this letter, it is only recently that information See PARENTS, page A2