Opinion Roundup: Botched budget; back to court for Silent Sam; Mars rover; and more.

Wednesday, Jan. 15, 2020 -- A round up of opinion, commentary and analysis on: Botched budget; Silent Sam back in court; county upholds 2nd amendment rights; fact checking Pence; CSX hub on schedule; naming the next Mars rover; and more.

Governor, Vidant leaders urge legislators to add Medicaid expansion to state budget (Greenville Daily Reflector reports) -- Nearly a dozen officials from Vidant Health, the business community and elected leaders joined Gov. Roy Cooper to talk about the need for Medicaid expansion

COLIN CAMPBELL: Medicaid compromise (The Insider reports) -- Only one bill got filed during Tuesday's one-day session: An attempt at a Medicaid expansion compromise from Rep. Billy Richardson, D-Cumberland. House Bill 1032 calls for a scaled-back expansion of the Medicaid program using no federal funding. Richardson said Tuesday that the idea stemmed from Senate leader Phil Berger's concerns that Medicaid expansion would be a risky proposition because the federal government could stop paying its share of the program. Richardson said he concedes that Berger's argument is "somewhat valid."

TRAVIS FAIN: Teacher, school worker raises on hold as Cooper veto holds (WRAL-TV reports) -- Status quo reigns in state's long-running budget fight. New raises are on hold indefinitely for N.C.'s teachers and other school workers after the state Senate failed to override Gov. Roy Cooper's veto on a budget bill.

Impasse continues over state budget, pay after brief session (AP reports) -- Republicans in the General Assembly fell short trying to overturn Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper's vetoes on teacher pay and the budget, ensuring their spending impasse will extend into spring and perhaps longer.

RUSTY JACOBS: NCGA Ends Session Without Budget, But Clear 2020 Battle Lines (WUNC-FM reports) -- State lawmakers adjourned today without taking up a vote on overriding Governor Roy Cooper's budget veto. Senate Leader Phil Berger (R-Rockingham) made it clear that come November he and fellow Republicans would remind voters of the Democrats' position.

No raises for NC teachers. Vote upholds Cooper veto; legislature goes home until spring (Durham Herald-Sun reports) -- It's a new year, but the state budget stalemate is the same as in 2019. In Raleigh for a one-day session of the legislature, the state Senate failed to override Gov. Roy Cooper's veto of a teacher pay raise bill, with Cooper's fellow Democrats saying it wasn't enough money.

Senate leader predicts: No new state budget next year either (WRAL-TV reports) -- The state budget standoff that has delayed teacher raises, building projects around the state and a tax cut for businesses will likely continue into the next fiscal year, the Senate's top Republican predicted.

North Carolina lawmakers pass a fix to under-funded military family scholarships (Durham Herald-Sun reports) -- Many children of military veterans receive college scholarships in N.C. But late last year, some of them found themselves suddenly hit with an unexpected bill from their schools, after the scholarship funding ran out. The state addressed that problem for last semester by taking money from this semester's scholarship fund. But since that was only a temporary fix, state lawmakers approved more than $2 million in new funding for the scholarships

Redistricting power at stake in 2020 legislative elections (AP reports) - The reins of political power in the U.S. for the next decade could be determined in this year's elections — not necessarily by who wins the presidency, but by thousands of lower-profile contests for state legislative seats across the country. Four of the biggest redistricting prizes in the 2020 legislative elections are North Carolina, Texas, Florida and Georgia. Those states combined account for 90 U.S. House seats, one-fifth of the nationwide total, and Republicans currently hold more than 60% of them. North Carolina, Texas and Florida all are projected to gain congressional seats because of their population growth, which would give the party in power an opportunity to shape new districts to their liking.

New Voting Systems To Be Used In Some NC Counties In 2020 (WUNC-FM reports) -- Michael Dickerson’s voice rippled with the excitement of someone showing off a new sports car. "This screen will now come up with every ballot, every precinct, every ballot style on it, and I can tap that screen and that gives that person that ballot," he said, his voice trailing off to a hush full of wonderment.

Students back in court over Confederate statue case (AP reports) -- A national civil rights organization filed an appeal on behalf of UNC students who want to intervene in a settlement that gives $2.5 million and a Civil War commemorative statue to a Confederate heritage group.

LEE SANDERLIN: Davidson County Commissioners unanimously vote to become Second Amendment protection county (Winston-Salem Journal reports) -- Davidson County gun owners can claim a victory as the Board of County Commissioners voted unanimously to make the county a Second Amendment protection county.

N.C. county approves Second Amendment resolution (AP reports) -- In front of a standing-room-only crowd, commissioners in a North Carolina county unanimously passed a resolution Tuesday night to support gun rights.

Fact check: Pence claims Soleimani helped 9/11 terrorists (PolitiFact/WRAL-TV reports) -- In a series of tweets justifying the U.S. killing of Qassem Soleimani, Vice President Mike Pence said that among the Iranian military leader's "worst atrocities" was helping 9/11 terrorists. PolitiFact decided to take a closer look at Pence’s claim that Soleimani assisted the men who carried out the terrorist attacks on 9/11. There’s no evidence to support his statement, and his press secretary did not provide information that directly tied Soleimani to the travel of the 9/11 terrorists.

Could Changes to Fair Housing Rules Weaken Them? (Public News Service reports) -- The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development is accepting public comments on its proposal to change a rule related to fair housing. The change, which redefines a policy known as "Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing," would remove certain requirements put in place in 2015 that housing authorities and other recipients of HUD money must take proactive steps to identify and eliminate barriers to fair housing. Jack Holtzman, senior attorney at the N.C. Justice Center, said he doesn't think the change is needed, adding that the current regulations strengthen enforcement of the Fair Housing Act.

Army Corps to award North Carolina $281M for storm damage (AP reports) -- The Army Corps of Engineers will award $281 million to a N.C. city and county heavily impacted by Hurricanes Matthew and Florence. $237 million goes to Surf City/ North Topsail Beach and $44.5 million to Carteret County to pursue damage reduction projects, according to an announcement by U.S. Sens. Thom Tillis and Richard Burr. The new round of funding comes one week after the Corps announced $39.6 million to Princeville for a flood mitigation project.

WILLIAM WEST: Area ready to welcome DMV facility (Rocky Mount Telegram reports) -- Plans are in the works for a kickoff gathering later this month for the future state Division of Motor Vehicles headquarters north of downtown.

CSX rail hub construction remains on track (Rocky Mount Telegram reports) -- Construction of the future CSX intermodal facility is on schedule to be complete by the end of the year.

Currituck looks to slow growth in Moyock area. (The Daily Advance reports) -- Currituck County officials are thinking about tapping the brakes on future residential development in the northern end of the county.  If any regulations for the Moyock area are adopted it could spur development south of the Coinjock Bridge.

Education staffer: NC superintendent's participation in reading contract process was odd (Education/WRAL-TV reports) -- Day two of a hearing about which company should have been awarded a contract to test North Carolina public schools' youngest students began with testimony from a state education staffer who helped review the vendors competing for the multi-million dollar contract.

NC superintendent responds after state IT chief threatens to cancel his 'emergency' Istation contract (WRAL-TV reports) -- State Superintendent Mark Johnson sent a six-page letter to the state's IT chief defending his decision to sign a late-night "emergency" contract worth $928,570 to keep a controversial reading program in schools.

New Istation allegation: DPI spied on retired director (Notes from the Chalkboard column) -- New allegations were revealed by Amplify’s attorney at this week’s hearing on the Istation contract: A text message at the center of the months-long controversy was intercepted by DPI staff who used the laptop of the former Director of K-3 Literacy to monitor her personal communications for more than a year after her retirement.

TONY RICE: NC students among semi-finalists to name NASA's new Mars rover (WEATHERCENTER/WRAL-TV reports) -- Three N.C. students were selected as semi-finalists in a contest to name the Mars 2020 rover vying for the grand prize trip to the Kennedy Space Center for them and their family for the July 2020 launch. Savita Oldham of Apex suggested 'Determination.' Duha Khan of Morrisville chose 'Pyassa.' Ankit Biswas of Waxhaw selected 'Emergence.'

FCC broadband plan could mean faster access for 169,000 NC households, businesses (WRAL-TV/TechWire) -- Some 169,000 households and small businesses across N.C. that lack access to high-speed internet could be provided with faster speeds if a new federal program is approved by the Federal Communications Commission.

Wilson County receives $174K for safe schools (Wilson Times reports) -- Wilson County Schools has received $174,066 in Safe Schools grants in from the N.C. Department of Public Instruction. The district will use the funds for an additional part-time school resource officer, safety equipment, training and Crisis Services.

ECU’s master’s programs listed among the nation’s best by U.S. News and World Report (WNCT-TV reports) -- Online graduate programs at East Carolina University have been recognized among the nation’s best in a new ranking by U.S. News & World Report. ECU’s master’s programs in business, criminal justice, education, and nursing received high marks in U.S. News’ 2020 Best Online Programs.

N.C. has one of the highest STD rates in the country, study says. Here’s why (Durham Herald-Sun reports) – N.C. is among the worst states when it comes to rates of sexually transmitted diseases, a study found. The study, done by Innerbody.com, used 2018 data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to rank states with the highest and lowest rates of STDs in the country. N.C. ranked No. 6 among the 10 states with the highest rates, the study found. The state had a total of 91,376 reported cases of STDs, the study says. With a population of nearly 10.3 million, that's 889 cases per 100,000 people.

State health experts ask Congress for help combating opioid crisis (N.C. Policy Watch reports) -- N.C. and other states need sustained, flexible federal funding to support programs working to reduce deaths and addiction from opioids and other drugs, state health officials told Congress.

CULLEN BROWDER & SLOANE HEFFERNAN: Crews start checking carbon monoxide levels at other Durham housing complexes (WRAL-TV) -- Contractors have finished inspecting apartments at the McDougald Terrace housing complex in Durham, which has been plagued by carbon monoxide problems in recent weeks, and on Tuesday began checking levels of the deadly gas at other public housing complexes in the city, officials said.

15 states oppose Trump plan to allow LNG shipments by rail (AP reports) -- The attorneys general of 15 states including North Carolina said they oppose a Trump administration proposal to allow rail shipments of liquefied natural gas, arguing the trains will share tracks with passenger trains and travel through congested areas. The protesting states included Pennsylvania and New Jersey, where the Trump administration issued a special permit in December to ship LNG by rail.

An assault on environmental sense (Winston-Salem Journal) -- The Trump administration says that its latest assault on the nation’s environmental regulations will promote “commonsense decision-making.” In reality, the proposed changes defy common sense. President Trump, who’s never met an environmental regulation he likes, is now trying to make it easier to build pipelines, mines and big fossil-fuel infrastructure projects without regard for how they will contribute to climate change or affect nearby communities.

North Carolina marine debris action plan made public (WNCT-TV reports) -- Taking out the trash that litters and degrades the state's coast is the goal of a new action plan developed by a diverse group of partners. The N.C. Marine Debris Action Plan includes a number of tangible steps that need to be taken over the next five years to both prevent and remove marine debris along the coast. The plan was developed by the N.C. Coastal Federation, N.C. Coastal Reserve, N.C. Division of Coastal Management, N.C. Sea Grant, N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission, Coastal Carolina Riverwatch and N.C. Marine Debris Symposium.

'Forever chemicals' found in foam from 2 Twin Cities creeks (AP reports) -- Minnesota pollution regulators have found foam containing potentially harmful “forever chemicals” from two creeks in the eastern Twin Cities.

WESLEY YOUNG: Children's Home farmland gets permanent protection through Piedmont Land Conservancy and $6.5M in fundraising (Winston-Salem Journal reports) --The Piedmont Land Conservancy has announced a win on its effort to permanently preserve 92 acres of farmland near downtown Winston-Salem. The group said its Peace of Land campaign had raised the $6.5 million it needed to buy a conservation easement from Crossnore School & Children's Home that will protect the northern end of the institution's property and allow for the construction of a walking trail across it.

JOHN HINTON: $1,000 a day prize goes to Winston-Salem lottery winner (Winston-Salem Journal reports) -- A Winston-Salem woman has won the state lottery’s top prize. Damian Zepponi bought three $2 Quick Pick tickets at the Food Lion grocery on Yadkinville Road last Thursday, the day of the drawing, the N.C. Education Lottery said. Zepponi’s second ticket matched all six winning numbers, beating odds of one in 30.8 million. The contest is part of the lottery’s $1,000 a day for life prize.

Raleigh resident, ex-Green Beret admits to scheme to take government cash (AP reports) -- A former U.S. Army Green Beret pleaded guilty to his role in a conspiracy while deployed to Afghanistan to steal about $200,000 from government funds meant for purposes ranging from humanitarian efforts to base construction, prosecutors said.