Saturday 30 March 2019

Asheville lawmakers: Ban ‘conversion therapy’ in North Carolina

Asheville area lawmakers have proposed a North Carolina ban on conversion therapy, a practice critics say puts LGBTQ people at risk of addiction, depression and suicide.

The ban was one of three proposed laws to grow LGBTQ discrimination protections and repeal remnants of the "bathroom bill." The trio of bills were introduced March 28 by Buncombe County Democrats Rep. Susan Fisher and Sen. Terry Van Duyn, also a candidate for lieutenant governor.

Van Duyn, speaking at a morning press conference in Raleigh, said if passed the laws would ensure "there are no second class citizens in North Carolina."

One proposal, House Bill 514 "Equity for all," would offer protections against discrimination in housing, employment, public accommodations, credit, insurance and education.

House Bill 515 would repeal the amended House Bill 2. That 2016 law, also known as "HB2" prevented local governments from approving LGBTQ anti-discrimination ordinances and directed transgender people to use public bathrooms that match the gender on their birth certificates. The Republican-controlled General Assembly in 2017 repealed portions of the measure with House Bill 142, but some restrictions remain in place.

The conversion therapy ban, Senate Bill 426 — also introduced as House Bill 516 — would outlaw state-licensed counselors, social workers and psychiatrists from engaging in professional efforts to alter a youth’s sexual orientation.

"We believe that members of the LGBTQ community are children of God, as are we all, and call out the dangerous and discredited practice of so called ‘conversion therapy,’" Van Duyn said.

In Asheville, local faith leaders and activists gathered at a "Born Perfect" press conference at First Congregational United Church of Christ to support the legislation.

"I can think of no better place than a house of worship to announce the good news that there are now before our state legislature three bills affirming the dignity and beauty of God’s creation in every person," said First Congregation minister Kim Buchanan, "including a proposal to ban a therapeutic practice designed not to affirm, but to do violence to the image of God in some of God’s children."

The American Psychological Association has come out against the practice, but versions are still used by about a dozen therapists and organizations in the state, said the Rev. Jasmine Beach-Ferrara, director of the Campaign for Southern Equality who is also an elected Buncombe County Commissioner.

In July the Ridgecrest Conference Center in eastern Buncombe will host Hope for Wholeness, a South Carolina religious group that promotes "Freedom from homosexuality through Jesus Christ."

Nylene Wilds, an office manager for the group, said they do not consider what they do conversion therapy but do use licensed therapists and believe they could be affected by the bill.

"People come to us and say we struggle with homosexuality," Wilds said.

The Rev. Tom Cash of Asheville, said he experienced conversion therapy when he was in his 20s living in Southern California.

"At that time I was involved in the fundamentalist church. And I thought I was living in sin and was going to hell so I thought I better check in," said Cash, who is gay.

For four years Cash was under the 24-hour, seven-day-a-week house program of Deliverance Ministries that used "a lot of verbal abuse" and told him gay people have demons, he said.

At one point, Cash said program leaders tried to arrange his marriage to a woman to change his sexual orientation. He left after an argument with the leadership and suffered for years with alcoholism and PTSD.

"Because I believed what they told me about myself and the hate I had for myself and the hate I thought God had for me."

Cash said he found respite and acceptance at another California church open to LGBT members.

Now Cash leads 11 a.m. Sunday services at the Jesus People and Arts Worship Center at 278 Haywood Road in West Asheville, a ministry, "for anyone" he said, including people "who have been disenfranchised for any reason from the church."

Efforts to end conversion therapy have met success but also resistance. Fifteen states and the District of Columbia already have laws designed to protect children from the practice. Legislatures in Colorado and Massachusetts passed measures not yet signed by their governors. Bills have already been filed in three other southern states: Georgia, Virginia and Florida.

The bill’s fate is uncertain in North Carolina’s General Assembly with the GOP majority having passed laws to restrict, rather than enlarge LGBT protections.

Republican Sen. Chuck Edwards, whose Henderson County based District 48 includes part of Asheville and Buncombe, didn’t respond to an email seeking comment.

Fellow Henderson Republican, Rep. Chuck McGrady said he wouldn’t comment on legislation he hasn’t read.

Republicans no longer have veto-proof control, as they did when the legislature approved HB2. That now provides more negotiation tools for Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper, who has said his long-term goal is a statewide nondiscrimination law.

Support for such measures may grow with more LGBT lawmakers in Raleigh. Rep. Marcia Morey of Durham County said as a legislator she hadn’t talked publicly about being a lesbian until the morning Legislative Building news conference.

A District Court judge before joining the House in 2017, Morey recalled "listening to cases affording people’s rights, when my rights couldn’t be afforded and the hypocrisy of that."

In Asheville, Commissioner and minister Beach-Ferrara said she believes "minds and hearts" can be changed even just by introducing such measures.

"Laws even when they are bills that have been introduced have a teaching effect."

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

This article originally appeared on Asheville Citizen Times: Asheville lawmakers: Ban ‘conversion therapy’ in North Carolina

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Sunday 17 March 2019

Asheville Airbnb real estate broker’s license revoked; kept property owners’ money

Entrepreneur Shawn Johnson speaks during a Citizen Times-sponsored event in 2016 on the challenges and benefits of building jobs from scratch in Asheville’s evolving economy.

(Photo: Colby Rabon/CITIZEN-TIMES)

ASHEVILLE – A celebrated entrepreneur has had his real estate license stripped after keeping "at least" tens of thousands of dollars owed to Airbnb owners whose properties he managed, state regulators said.

Shawn Johnson has been known as a hard-working handyman whose praises were sung on social media. As a real estate broker, he ran a business based on managing local short-term vacation rentals through Airbnb.

But in February, the North Carolina Real Estate Commission permanently revoked his broker’s license after Johnson admitted to multiple violations, including running an unlicensed real estate firm; putting Airbnb owners’ money into his own bank accounts instead of trust accounts; and breaking a city ban against most short-term vacation rentals. Johnson made those and other admissions in a Feb. 13 consent order negotiated with commission attorneys in which he also said he neither admitted nor denied forging bank loan documents as alleged by the commission.

The license action was regulatory and outside any criminal or civil proceedings, though Johnson is also involved in lawsuits over ownership of Airbnb properties.

What’s behind the license revocation?

A license is needed to sell or buy real estate for others or to manage property — though Johnson’s had been limited because of a past federal conviction. Revocations are rare, happening about a dozen times a year, but Johnson’s case stood out because of its "scope and breadth," said Rob Patchett, a commission attorney.

Because Johnson agreed to the revocation, the commission didn’t delve into exactly how much he wrongfully kept, Patchett said.

In interviews Wednesday and Thursday with the Citizen Times, Johnson gave mixed messages about the revocation. He said there was no need for him to keep trust accounts for the Airbnb earnings because he was partners with the owners, an arrangement that doesn’t trigger the same requirements as a broker-client relationship.

That explanation runs counter to the consent order in which he admitted he broke state regulations by not keeping trust accounts and wrongfully kept other people’s money.

"I’m not disagreeing with anything I signed in that document," he told the Citizen Times when asked about the apparent contradiction. "But I’m saying I didn’t feel like fighting it."

The revocation hasn’t hurt his business, Johnson said.

Sara Davis, who said Johnson owes her "thousands" of dollars in unpaid Airbnb rental fees, said he had a pattern in how he operated that "results in people losing money and results in him gaining control of other peoples’ property." She says she believes she was conned.

The commission alleged Johnson tried to fraudulently take Davis’ property, where she lives outside Asheville in the Emma area. But Johnson did not admit to that in the consent order. He’s suing Davis, saying he’s an owner of the property which Buncombe County records show belongs to her. Davis has brought counterclaims.

Johnson said he doesn’t owe money because he wasn’t acting as a property manager, but rather as a partner, something contested by those with whom he dealt. "I screwed up by not having written agreements," Johnson said, though with Davis he said he did have a written agreement.

Social media and real estate

Before he was a broker Johnson worked as a handyman. He was known for his can-do attitude and strong opinions aired in places like the West Asheville Exchange Facebook page, or "WAX."

He applied for a broker’s license in 2014, but was denied because of a 2010 federal counterfeiting conviction. Johnson requested a special hearing, and in 2015 the commission granted him a license but restricted him from managing anyone else’s property for seven years except under supervision of a broker-in-charge.

It was on WAX that Davis said she learned about Johnson, "so, I reached out to him and said I was interested in buying a house."

In April 2016, Johnson was picked as one of the featured speakers at a local economy forum, hosted by Western Carolina University and the Citizen Times. The same year, the commission received a complaint about him, setting off a multiyear investigation, Patchett said.

In January, the commission sent him a notice that it planned to hold an evidentiary hearing looking into multiple allegations. The trial-like procedure can result in a revocation, one of the commission’s most serious disciplinary actions.

The commission oversees nearly 107,000 brokers. From 2016-18 it revoked 10-14 licenses annually. None involved Asheville brokers.

Patchett said in most cases the commission attempts to negotiate a consent order, as it did with Johnson. Among his admissions were specific statutory violations including "pursuing a course of misrepresentation or making of false promises through agents, advertising or otherwise."

How much is involved?

Johnson collected $428,788 for nine or more Airbnbs he managed from December 2016 to November 2018, according to commission allegations. In terms of how much Johnson wrongfully kept, Patchett said it was "at least" tens of thousands of dollars.

"We believe it was a significant amount of money. I can’t put a dollar amount on it for sure for a couple of reasons," the attorney said.

One reason is that Johnson didn’t have written agreements with property owners as required by state rules. He also didn’t keep records, another state requirement.

And Airbnb’s system does not make it easy to discern payment histories, Patchett said

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Like Davis, Carl Woerman did Airbnb business with Johnson and said he had a similar experience.

"It’s like, ‘Hey, let’s buy a house with your money,’" Woerman said.

Johnson would then suggest he rent the property via Airbnb, Woerman said. "Then you say, ‘Hey, where’s the money?’"

Woermann brought a civil suit against Johnson for rental proceeds and Johnson brought counterclaims saying he didn’t owe money because they were partners. The case has not gone to trial, but Buncombe County Superior Court Judge Marvin Pope in a Sept. 29, 2017, preliminary injunction order said Woermann was likely to prevail, so he ordered Johnson for the time being to stay away from the property and stop making claims he was an owner.

In a separate civil case, Woerman in October won a $50,000 judgment against Johnson and builder Whit Rylee for not paying money owed in another business deal.

Rylee, who has been recognized for his local historic preservation work, declined to comment. County records show he owns 72 Tremont St., one of the properties the commission alleged Johnson managed in violation of state and city rules.

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The city has tried to take action against the short-term vacation rentals Johnson acknowledged operating counter to the city ban at 72 Tremont, 16 Upstream Way and 64 Pine Cone Drive. But when city staff tried to send notices of violation or collect fines for the three as well as two other unpermitted Airbnbs with which they say Johnson is involved they’ve hit roadbloacks, said Shannon Tuch, principal city planner and zoning administrator.

"It is unclear what Mr. Johnson is responsible for and what…the property owners are responsible for," Tuch said. "We will need to sit down with them to review their respective cases further."

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Monday 4 March 2019

Limestone professor’s art to be exhibited at museum in Asheville, NC

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Limestone College art professor Carolyn Ford is one of 50 artists who have been selected for the Asheville, N.C. Art Museum’s inaugural contemporary exhibition, “Appalachia Now!”

The Interdisciplinary Survey of Contemporary Art in Southern Appalachia will be held in its expanded and renovated facility that opens in the spring of this year. The exhibition is comprised of works in a variety of media including dance, film, new media, painting, poetry, and sculpture.

Ford attended Middle Tennessee State University, where she earned her Bachelor of Fine Arts with an emphasis in ceramics, drawing, and painting. She received her Master’s in Fine Arts from Washington State University in ceramics and drawing. Ford has been the Chair of the Art Department at Limestone since 2010.

The exhibition in Asheville explores the union of tradition and modern perspectives through contemporary artistic voices of this region. “Appalachia Now!” situates artists not only within a regional and national dialogue but also within the rich history of creativity and making it historically associated with Appalachia. Whether works are personal or universal in theme, the cross-disciplinary exhibition invites visitors to participate in the individual experiences that make this part of the world unique.

The 50 artists represent a diverse group currently living and working in towns and cities in western North Carolina and its bordering areas, which include southern Virginia, eastern Tennessee, western South Carolina, and northern Georgia.

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Tuesday 19 February 2019

‘New Normal’ ICE Action Leads To At Least 200 Detentions In North Carolina

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Last week U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents detained at least 200 people in enforcement actions around the state. Officials raided a gun manufacturing plant in Sanford and arrested people at traffic stop check points in various cities.

Atlanta field officer director Sean Gallagher oversees ICE’s operations in the Carolinas and in Georgia, and he told journalists at a press conference that the increased enforcement is a direct consequence of county sheriffs’ choice to not cooperate with the agency.

In December, sheriffs in Durham, Mecklenburg, and Wake counties all ended their cooperation with ICE. Host Frank Stasio talks about this “new normal” with Tina Vasquez, a senior reporter on immigration for Rewire.News.

CORRECTION: A previous version of this post incorrectly described the traffic stops as "random."

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Wednesday 6 February 2019

These 5 Asheville historic relics have new ‘permanent’ protections

ASHEVILLE — Five historic Asheville properties received permanent protections in 2018 under a local program aimed at preserving the area’s history.

The sites include downtown’s Windsor Boutique Hotel, the Kent Building in the city’s River Arts District and a former church on South French Broad Avenue, the Preservation Society of Asheville and Buncombe County said this week. They’re being protected under the organization’s preservation easement program, allowing it to work with current and future property owners to protect the "historic integrity" of notable sites in the community.

Jack Thomson, executive director of the preservation society, said the program has been a "big focus" of the organization, particularly in recent years as Asheville has seen a prolonged development boom. He said it has come on strong of late as locals continually are "embracing how important historic architecture is to Asheville."

The organization currently has 24 deed-protected properties in the county within its preservation easement program, which first launched in 1979. Its first one was the historic Gudger House on Montford Avenue.

"We like (the program) because it’s kind of surgical" Thomson said. "It’s not a huge, broad overlay. Local historic districts are great. They serve a really great function. But in our downtown, we have some that don’t necessarily need to be protected. We’re not here to save every single thing.

"We want to save the places that are important to the community."

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Here’s a bit about each of the newly preserved properties:

The Kent Building

The five-story property at 95 Roberts St., which now backs up to a gravel lot and railroad tracks, was built in 1923 — and later rebuilt several years later after being damaged by a fire. It is named for Fred Kent, who was the secretary and treasurer of Biltmore Wheathearts Co., a breakfast cereal company and the longtime primary tenant of the facility.

Its other major tenant was Ebbs Bros and Co., created by Madison County natives Cauley and Plato Ebbs, biography information provided by the preservation society shows.

Asheville City Council voted 5-2 in 2017 to clear the way for a 70-unit boutique hotel at the property.

The Windsor Hotel

The Windsor Boutique Hotel at 36 Broadway St. opened its latest iteration in 2014 after undergoing a rehabilitation by MRK Investments. It dates back to the early 20th century, having operated as a hotel, apartment building and a boarding house.

The property now offers 14 luxury suites featuring private bedrooms, fully equipped kitchens and living rooms for between $179 and $329 a night, its website shows.

It was named among Southern Living magazine’s picks as The South’s Best New Hotels of 2015 and its renovation effort also saw it take home the preservation society’s Griffin Award the previous year.

Christian & Missionary Alliance Church

The two-story church at 16 S. French Broad Ave. was built in 1929 and served as the longtime home of the Christian & Missionary Alliance Church congregation. It is described as a "large, rectangular-plan building" constructed primarily with stone and resting on a full basement.

Buncombe County property data shows it is owned by Charlotte-based 16 S. Broad Street LLC, which took control of the site in November from South Atlantic District of the Christian & Missionary Alliance Inc.

The preservation society said future plans for the site are not yet known, but the easement means "it will be cared for into the future."

The Beaufort House Inn

A Queen Anne-style home, the house was built in 1895 by former North Carolina Attorney General and Asheville Mayor Theodore Davidson. In his time, Davidson was one of the Buncombe County Rifleman who, at age 16, "marched away from Asheville" in April of 1861 to join the Confederate Army in the Civil War, the preservation society said.

It now operates as an 11-room bed and breakfast owned by Jim and Christina Muth.

Cedar Crest

The longtime hotel at 647 Biltmore Ave. has been in operation since the late 1930s, the preservation society said. It was built as a 20-room home for $10,000 in 1891 by William E. Breese Sr., who’d moved to Asheville from South Carolina to open First National Bank.

Positioned about three blocks from the Biltmore Estate, Cedar Crest now is marketed as Asheville’s "bed and breakfast of choice," offering rooms from between $165 to $285 a night, its website shows.

It has rooms named for Breese and its second owner, Arthur F. Reese, as well as a number of other bedrooms and suites.

This article originally appeared on Asheville Citizen Times: These 5 Asheville historic relics have new ‘permanent’ protections

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Thursday 24 January 2019

An Award-Winning Bartender Tells Us Where To Drink In Asheville, NC

Via Natalie Migliarini

You know how to EAT THIS CITY. With top chefs as tour guides, you’ve learned how to scout out hot spots for breakfast and brunch, where to go for a delicious date night, and how to feast like a local liege in the cities you love. But where do you wash it all down? Do you know how to find the best brewpub? Uncover who makes the meanest bloody marys and the most sparkling mimosas?

This week we’re in Asheville, North Carolina, famed for its national parks, thriving art scene, incredible architecture, and its vibrant cocktail culture. Our guide is award-winning bartender and bar consultant Joe Nicol, whose cocktail pedigree speaks for itself!

In 2018, Joe won NCRLA’s Mixologist of the Year award, no small feat. He’s also conquered an impressive number of state and national cocktail competition; including Fernet, Ketel One, Old Forester, and Jameson. The man knows his way around a bar.

This success is exactly why Nicol is in hot demand around the nation, consulting, training, and inspiring, then off to the next destination, like a young, gin-appreciating, bartending Gandalf. (He’s also a brand ambassador for Sutler’s Gin.). If Nicol’s at the helm, your drink is going to be something special.

https://www.instagram.com/joe_nicol/

Ready to clink some glasses with Joe Nicol in Asheville? Let’s go Drink This City!

BRUNCH COCKTAIL OR HAIR OF THE DOG

A post shared by overeasyasheville (@overeasyasheville) on Oct 25, 2018 at 8:06am PDT

For me nothing “beets” Over Easy downtown on Broadway. Pun intended. It’s a great locally sourced breakfast joint that does a variety of fresh pressed juices and I always get the fresh pressed beet, apple and ginger juice with tequila. Their Bloody Mary is fantastic too, but I really enjoy the freshly pressed options!

MARGARITA

A post shared by Elissa G. (@ninthflr) on Sep 26, 2018 at 7:48pm PDT

Best margarita hands down is En La Calle! Great local Spanish tapas place I recommend to all my visiting friends.

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Friday 11 January 2019

Opinion Roundup: Tim Moore’s private land deal, DMV closes Asheville office, flu death toll and more

House Speaker Tim Moore

Friday, Jan. 11, 2019 — A round up of opinion, commentary and analysis on: Friendship Trays fills a niche in Charlotte’s support system, Speaker’s aide buzzed DEQ staffers about boss’ chicken plant deal, giving HB2 an early sunset, gerrymandering lawsuits linger as next redistricting nears, how the government shutdown is affecting thousands in NC and more.

REAL ELECTION FRAUD?
MILES PARKS: ‘Whatever It Took’: Republican Mark Harris’ Path To The Election That Won’t End (NPR reports) — Today, Mark Harris is at the center of an election that just won’t end in North Carolina’s 9th Congressional District. The outcome remains up in the air pending an investigation into allegations of election fraud by an operative hired by the Harris campaign. It’s the only remaining uncalled election of the 2018 midterms, but it’s just the latest bump in a half decade of setbacks as Harris has had his eyes set on joining Congress.

JOE BRUNO: Man who signed affidavit in 9th District investigation arrested on drug, weapons charges (WSOC-TV reports) –Chris Eason, a man who swore he gave his incomplete ballot to the central figure in an ongoing investigation of 9th Congressional District election was arrested earlier this month on marijuana charges. He is the brother of Ginger Eason. Ginger Eason told media outlets that McCrae Dowless hired her to collect absentee ballots.

GENERAL ASSEMBLY 2019
TRAVIS FAIN: Speaker’s aide buzzed DEQ staffers about boss’ chicken plant deal (WRAL reports) — A senior aide to House Speaker Tim Moore reached out to at least two state Department of Environmental Quality staffers about department actions that impacted a private land deal the speaker was involved with in 2016. Moore, R-Cleveland, denied knowledge of the conversations, saying that if now former senior policy adviser Mitch Gillespie intervened, he didn’t know about it.

LAUREN HORSCH: Bell Perspective (The Insider reports) — While the House Republican Caucus hasn’t set its agenda for the upcoming session starting on Jan. 30, the caucus is working to build rapport with its new members and work across the aisle. The caucus is holding a retreat at the end of the month to "lay out all the issues that we not only dealt with before we came in this session, but any new issues," House Majority Leader John Bell, R-Wayne, said. Once the retreat is over, he’ll be able to unveil the caucus’ priorities.

Senate Committee Appointments (The Insider reports) — Senate Leader Phil Berger, R-Rockingham, today announced the following appointments to Senate standing committees for the 2019-2020 biennium:

Let’s give HB2 an early sunset (Fayetteville Observer) — It is the gift that keeps on giving. Unfortunately, it’s not a gift many of us want, because it’s a mix of job losses, public relations disasters and a host of other unintended consequences. It’s House Bill 2, the legislation our General Assembly passed amid raging controversy nearly two years ago. At its core was a provision requiring people who use public restrooms to use the facility that corresponds with the gender listed on their birth certificate.

POLICY & POLITICS
EMMA DUMAIN & BRIAN MURPHY Graham meets with White House on controversial judicial picks, including Thomas Farr (McClatchy DC reports) — New Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Lindsey Graham met for the first time this year with White House officials on Thursday to discuss the fate of judicial nominees that languished in the previous Congress. That list included Thomas Farr. A candidate for a North Carolina federal district court judgeship, Farr’s chances of being confirmed last year ended because of concerns about his involvement in efforts to suppress African American turnout in North Carolina elections.

DAVID LIEB: Gerrymandering lawsuits linger as next redistricting nears (AP reports) — As the 2019 state legislative sessions get underway, a busy year of legal battles also is beginning over lingering allegations that hundreds of electoral districts across the country were illegally drawn to the disadvantage of particular voters or political parties.

WILL DORAN: Gay people can’t get restraining orders against their partners in NC. But that may change (Charlotte Observer reports) — Here’s one area where NC stands alone: It’s the only state in the country that won’t let people in same-sex dating relationships get a domestic violence protective order. Now, N.C. Attorney General Josh Stein is taking the rare step of calling the law unconstitutional in an effort to get it overturned in court.

A 63-year injustice (Fayetteville Observer) — Gov. Roy Cooper visited Pembroke earlier this week to speak at the inauguration ceremony for Lumbee tribal leaders. In his opening remarks, the governor said what many others have said before him: “It is high time that Congress and the federal government give full recognition to the Lumbee tribe. We know this would mean more important resources here.”

JIM MORRILL & MICHAEL GORDON: How the government shutdown is affecting thousands in NC (Charlotte Observer reports) — Sharda Lloyd is one of more than 6,300 North Carolinians who work for airport security, federal courts, national parks and other federal agencies who won’t be paid this week, according to the office of U.S. Rep. Alma Adams of Charlotte.

N.C. DMV closes Asheville office for probe, audit (AP reports) — The N.C. Division of Motor Vehicles has closed a license plate office in Asheville to investigate "possible violations of state law" and audit the office.

CHARLES DUNCAN: NC county fought for public prayer, and lost. Now it has to pay the ACLU $285k (Durham-Herald Sun reports) — A federal judge found the way the Rowan County Commission prayed before public meetings unconstitutional. An appeals court eventually agreed and the Supreme Court last summer declined to hear the case brought by the American Civil Liberties Union, federal court records show. Now the county will have to pay the ACLU’s legal bills for the five-year legal fight: $285,000.

DEON ROBERTS: How did NC lure Honeywell to Charlotte? It was all about the money, records show (Charlotte Observer reports) — Changing N.C. law to vastly expand corporate relocation incentives was a critical move for Honeywell before the manufacturing tech giant would commit to moving to Charlotte, newly released documents from the state show.

TIM FUNK: Why hasn’t Charlotte Catholic diocese released list of priests accused of sex abuse? (Charlotte Observer reports) — Dozens of Catholic dioceses and religious orders across the country have, in recent months, released lists of priests who have been credibly accused of child sex abuse over the years. In NC, the 54-county Raleigh diocese published its list in October. But the Charlotte diocese, which includes the rest of the state, hasn’t yet.

MINDY HAMLIN: North Carolina’s airports pack big economic impact (WRAL-TV/TechWire reports) — North Carolina airports are big business for the state. According to a new report from the N.C. Department of Transportation’s Division of Airports, the state’s public airports contribute more than $52 billion to the economy and support 307,000 jobs.

EDUCATION
LIZ SCHLEMMER: Statewide "Read to Achieve" Intervention Still Shows Few Gains (WUNC-FM reports) — North Carolina’s Read to Achieve program, enacted by the General Assembly in 2012, is continuing to get lackluster results. The program is a statewide intervention for third grade students who are not proficient in reading. Struggling students are placed in summer reading camps, receive other specialized instruction, and could be held back if they do not pass an alternative test.

NC won’t take over low-performing school. District has 2 years to turn things around. (Durham Herald-Sun reports) — The State Board of Education reversed its decision to take over Carver Heights Elementary in Goldsboro. Wayne County Public Schools has two years to improve the school’s performance or else the Innovative School District will take it over.

FERREL GUILLORY: In quest for bright ideas, don’t stint on fundamentals (EdNC column) — Today’s society promotes and rewards innovation, creativity, entrepreneurship, discovery, reinvention; and, especially in education, reform. In politics and public life, the quest is often for the next bright idea, the program or project that promises a solution to a confounding problem — and a measure of credit to an elected official. As the great debate over education proceeds through 2019, NC will face the challenge of blending new ideas and enduring fundamentals.

HEALTH
YEN DUONG: Friendship Trays fills a niche in Charlotte’s support system (NC Health News reports) — Charlotte’s main Meals on Wheels program, Friendship Trays, brings nutritious meals to people who cannot prepare their own and serves as part of a social support network.

Death toll from flu in NC climbs to 16 (AP reports) — The N.C. Division of Public Health said Thursday four of the six flu victims were ages 65 and older, with the other two in the 50-to-64 age group. Of the total, 12 flu victims were 65 and older.

ENERGY & ENVIRONMENT
MARK HIBBS: Spate of Fed, State Bills Would Block Drilling (Coastal Review Online reports) — As the Trump administration continues its push to open more U.S. coastal waters to offshore drilling, House Democrats introduced this week a barrage of bills that together would block new drilling for oil and natural gas on nearly all of the outer continental shelf.

ANTIONETTE KERR: Task Force Seeks Input on NC’s Climate Plan (Public News Service reports) — With a charge to take immediate action from the governor, the NC Climate Change Interagency Council wants the state’s plans to fight climate change to be a household discussion.

TAFT WIREBACK: Residents, environmentalists push for coal ash landfill (Greensboro News & Record reports) — Advocates for entombing Belews Creek Steam Station’s submerged coal ash in a lined landfill turned out in force Thursday at a meeting about the fate of the Stokes County power plant’s ash basin. The meeting hosted by the state Department of Environmental Quality at Walnut Cove Elementary School drew a crowd of about 150 to talk with regulators about how the Duke Energy plant’s basin should be closed.

BRYAN MIMS: No longer able to command top dollar for recyclables, some communities cut back collections (WRAL-TV reports) — The marketplace is overflowing with recyclable stuff, thanks in large part to China, meaning prices have hit the floor. One solid waste director said that while the recycling market is expected to rebound, it will never be what it was five years ago.

ADAM WAGNER: What do Wilmington’s state reps think about the GenX order? (Wilmington Star-News reports) — A pair of second-term representatives from New Hanover County are emblematic of the split in opinion over the order, which calls on Chemours to pay a $12 million fine, take actions to clean up GenX contamination around its Fayetteville Works plant, and prevent additional chemicals from reaching the environment.

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