Opinion Roundup: Rally for Respect, teachers share personal struggles, N.C. legislature opens and more

Thursday, May 17, 2018 -- A round up of opinion, commentary and analysis on: Thousands of teachers march on state Capitol in support of increased school funding, N.C. General Assembly convenes for annual work session, Apple negotiating deal on Triangle campus, federal regulators decline to stop work on Atlantic Coast Pipeline and more.

Our teachers deserve help (Greensboro News & Record/Winston-Salem Journal) -- Thousands of teachers dressed in red marched on. Today they will be back in their classrooms. The paychecks they will get at the end of May will be the same as the ones they received in April. Whether they will get more respect remains to be seen.

Teachers March is already rattling NC Republicans (Charlotte Observer) -- NC Republicans are combative, as usual, about Wednesday's march, but they're also showing some nervousness

'Rally for Respect' concludes day of activism in downtown Raleigh (WRAL-TV reports) -- Thousands of teachers, parents, students and advocates marched through the streets of downtown Raleigh Wednesday in a historic rally for N.C. public education.

KELLY HINCHCLIFFE: 10 things we learned shadowing a lawmaker during the NC teacher rally (WRAL-TV reports) -- Rep. Craig Horn, R-Union, didn't sleep much Tuesday night, maybe three hours. The next morning, thousands of teachers headed his way, marching to the N.C. General Assembly to push him and other lawmakers for more education funding. "I don’t believe the teachers’ best interests are being served by this day. I don’t believe the kids’ best interests are being served by this day."

Timelapse: #Red4Ed rallies in Raleigh (WRAL-TV reports) -- Teachers and their supporters rallied to get the attention of lawmakers, whom they were lobbying for more funding for education.

MATTHEW BURNS& LAURA LESLIE: Teachers playing long game with rally (WRAL-TV reports) -- "Remember, remember, we vote in November," waves of teachers roared as they descended on the Legislative Building to press state lawmakers for more education spending.

EMERY DALESIO & GARY ROBERTSON: Thousands of N.C. teachers marched. Now what? (AP reports) -- Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper had just cheered the packed block of red-clad teachers by urging his Republican rivals running North Carolina's legislature to pay more for public school upgrades and teacher salaries. "What are you prepared to do?" the woman in the red "RESPECT public education" T-shirt shouted into the microphone Wednesday afternoon. "Whatever it takes!" thousands of educators shouted back.

VALERIE BAUERLEIN: N.C. Teachers Protest (Wall Street Journal reports) -- Thousands of teachers marched on the state Capitol in support of increased school funding on trying to harness momentum from protests in other states to draw attention to deteriorating buildings, fewer counselors and nurses, and salaries that lag the national average. Teachers from across the state converged on downtown streets here in an intermittent rain, wearing red T-shirts as part of the “RedForEd” movement. They juggled umbrellas and signs with slogans such as, “You know it’s bad when librarians are shouting.”

DANA GOLDSTEIN: Teacher Walkouts Spread to N.C., but the Movement Has Limits (New York Times reports) -- The nationwide teacher protest movement spread to a sixth state on Wednesday as thousands in North Carolina rallied at the Capitol for higher pay and more money for schools. It was the first mass walkout for teachers in the state.

MORIAH BALINGIT: N.C. schools close as teachers confront lawmakers at state capitol (Washington Post reports) -- The state's teacher union said more than 20,000 teachers gathered at the state capitol in Raleigh.

MICHAEL BRAGG: Thousands congregate in Raleigh to demand more funding for education (Winston-Salem Journal reports) -- Thousands of people descended on downtown Raleigh on Wednesday to march and rally for more funding and resources in North Carolina’s public schools — blanketing the state’s capital in red T-shirts and homemade signs. Three busloads of educators left Winston-Salem just after dawn Wednesday morning, along with multiple carpools of people representing Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools, to join their peers in Raleigh.

LIZ BELL, ANALISA SORRELLS, ROBERT KINLAW & LAURA LEE: Teachers march and rally for increased pay and funding on first day of session (EdNC) -- The rain ceased, and the rally on Bicentennial Plaza concluded with remarks and calls for action from teachers, parents, and other staff from across the state.

BRYAN MIMS: Johnston County teacher: Living a dream to teach should mean earning a living (WRAL-TV reports) -- A 24-year-old in her first year of teaching in Johnston County said she is living her dream as a teacher. But she's living it on $35,000 a year.

CANDACE SWEAT & JANINE BOWEN: Teachers share personal struggles at 'Rally for Respect' (WRAL-TV reports) -- As teachers marched in downtown Raleigh to urge lawmakers to increase state funding for education, many from across the state spoke about what they hope to achieve.

PAUL WOOLVERTON: Teachers’ rally: ‘The schools, they don’t get what they need’ (Fayetteville Observer reports) -- Thousands of teachers, other school personnel and their supporters filled the public spaces around the N.C. legislature to tell lawmakers to give more resources to public education. The March for Students and Rally for Respect drew so many teachers that at least 41 school districts throughout the state canceled classes, including those in Cumberland, Hoke and Robeson counties.

MYRON PITTS: On the bus with Fayetteville teachers (Fayetteville Observer column) -- A little after 7 o’clock in the morning, schoolteacher Stephanie DuPree got ready to board a bus. On a normal Wednesday, she would be driving on N.C. 87 from her home in Gray’s Creek to T.C. Berrien Elementary School in Fayetteville. Not this Wednesday. She and more than 150 teachers from Cumberland and surrounding counties were taking two buses to Raleigh for the Rally for Respect, where they would join as many as 20,000 other teachers, mostly wearing red. DuPree has taught for 24 years. She said her sons, who are 17 and 24, were surprised she would take part in such a large event.

GREGG CHILDRESS, JIM MORRILL & T. KEUNG HUI: Thousands of NC teachers rally in Raleigh for more education funding (DURHAM HERALD-SUN reports) -- Downtown Raleigh filled with thousands of teachers who marched in the morning and rallied in the afternoon rain as they demanded that lawmakers do more to raise teacher pay and education spending. The "March for Students and Rally for Respect" — the largest act of organized teacher political action in state history — was organized by the N.C. Association of Educators.

ALEXANDERIA BORDAS: Historic teachers rally in Raleigh draws thousands, sights set on November elections (Asheville Citizen-Times) -- Thousands of teachers marched and rallied for more than eight hours on the lawns and steps of the legislative buildings in a historic gathering to express worries over the state's commitment to public education. The March for Students, Rally for Teachers event was organized by the N.C. Association of Educators and drew a crowd of nearly 20,000, double the number anticipated by the association earlier this month.

CAMMIE BELLAMY: Wilmington-area teachers rally in Raleigh for funding, support (Wilmington Star-News reports) -- Like many teachers, Erin McDaniels does not get a break when the school year ends. On top of writing lesson plans and getting her classroom ready for new students, the Williams Elementary School first-grade teacher heads to her second -- and third -- jobs. During the days she teaches surfing lessons and at night she waitresses. McDaniels has taught at Williams for three years, and she says the extra work something she and many colleagues have to do. As a sign she held pointed out, the starting salary for a North Carolina teacher is $35,000.

DREW WILSON: ‘Not just a meeting, it’s a movement’: Teachers rally for more resources (Wilson Times reports) -- As more than 15,000 teachers marched to the state legislature, Diedra Kenely, a Vick Elementary School teacher from Wilson, felt a sense of unity with other educators.

BRIAN WUDKWYCH: Teachers demand better funding in large march (Greenville Daily Reflector) -- Hundreds of teachers from eastern North Carolina joined thousands of their peers from across the state to fill the main street of the state capital, demanding better pay and more funding for public schools from legislators.

Area representatives meet with teachers in Raleigh (Jacksonville Daily News reports) -- Thousands of North Carolina public school teachers gathered in Raleigh clad in red shirts and united in a mission to be heard by state legislators. General Assembly Rep. Phil Shepard, R-Onslow, said a couple teachers from Southwest Elementary School and the pastor of a Holly Ridge church visited his office.

LAVENDRICK SMITH: Educators rally in Charlotte, 'Because of teacher pay, ramen noodles are my bae' (Charlotte Observer reports) -- While thousands of teachers and educators convened at the state Legislature in Raleigh, Dwayne Simmons, a 7th grade teacher at AshlepPark, joined educators in the Charlotte region who stood in solidarity by having a demonstration of their own. They were all raising awareness for higher pay for teachers and more funding for education.

ANDREW MUNDHENK: Local teachers, supporters rally at Historic Courthouse (Hendersonville Times-News reports) -- Following the thousands who marched in Raleigh, more than 100 public school supporters gathered at the Historic Courthouse for a rally for better teacher pay and working conditions.

GARY ROBERTSON: With teachers, new security, N.C. legislature opens (AP reports) -- The N.C. General Assembly convened its annual work session amid thousands of teachers descending on the Legislative Building to lobby for more school funding and higher salaries.

Legislators Gavel In Amid #RedForEd Marchers (WUNC-FM reports) -- The General Assembly opened its annual session with thousands of teachers and their allies inside and outside the Legislative Building. The gavels went down on the House and Senate shortly after noon Wednesday, amid galleries full of teacher support clad in red shirts. Just outside the galleries, hundreds more teachers in the building chanted "Remember, remember, we vote in November." They quieted down after a warning by General Assembly police.

DOT KEARNS & WILLIE TAYLOR: Backpacks full of public money are going to private schools (Greensboro News & Record column) -- Article IX of The North Carolina Constitution states: “The General Assembly shall provide by taxation and otherwise for a general and uniform system of free schools, … wherein equal opportunities shall be provided for all students."

TRAVIS FAIN & RICK SMITH: N.C., Apple negotiating deal on Triangle campus (WRAL-TV/TechWire reports) -- Officials say Apple may invest $1.5 billion to $2 billion, creating jobs that pay an average of $130,000 a year.

Top GOP Senator Says ‘No Reason to Dispute’ That Russia Favored Trump (New York Times reports) -- The Republican at the helm of the Senate’s investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election backed the assessment by American intelligence agencies that Moscow favored Donald J. Trump in the race, contradicting both the president and fellow Republicans in the House. Sen. Richard Burr, N.C., chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, said he saw “no reason to dispute” the intelligence assessment, which was delivered in the final weeks of the Obama administration.

MARY CLARE JALONICK & DEB RIECHMANN: Senate panel backs intelligence agencies on Russian meddling (AP Reports) -- The Senate intelligence Committee let by Sen. Richard Burr, R-NC, said it agrees with the U.S. intelligence agencies' assessment that Russia intervened in the 2016 presidential election to hurt the candidacy of Democrat Hillary Clinton and help President Donald Trump. The conclusion is at odds with GOP members of the House intelligence committee, who said that while they agreed that Russian President Vladimir Putin wanted to hamper Clinton's campaign, that didn't mean he wanted to help Trump. Burr said his staff spent 14 months "reviewing the sources, tradecraft and analytic work" conducted by the intelligence agencies and uncovered no reason to dispute the conclusions of the intelligence assessment released in 2017.

KAROUN DEMIRJIAN: Russia favored Trump in 2016, Senate panel says, breaking with House GOP (Washington Post reports) -- The clash could complicate Republican messaging surrounding the Russia probe as the parties head into the 2018 election season.

BYRON TAU, REBECCA BALLHAUS & ERICA ORDEN: Russia Tried to Promote Trump, Senate Panel Says (Wall Street Journal reports) -- A Senate committee backed U.S. intelligence’s finding that Moscow attempted to boost Donald Trump’s presidential campaign, breaking with a GOP-led House panel that examined the same material.

Mark Meadows' appalling attack on the rule of law (Asheville Citizen-Times) -- We are routinely appalled by the views of Mark Meadows, the Transylvania County Republican who represents most of Western N.C. in the U.S. House of Representatives and heads the far-right Freedom Caucus. Now, however, his actions have gone beyond simply appalling. In his attacks on the Department of Justice, Meadows is targeting the rule of law for political advantage.

Our too-slow recovery from Matthew (Fayetteville Observer) -- It was good to see Gov. Roy Cooper come down to Robeson County Tuesday to take a look at Hurricane Matthew recovery efforts. That’s what a governor should do. But then, if we ponder the calendar for a minute, other questions come quickly. Didn’t Matthew’s devastating flooding hit this region going on two years ago? Why are we still waiting for funding to repair or replace residential and commercial structures damaged so long ago?

State auditor: More than 1,900 computers unaccounted for (AP reports) -- A report from the state auditor says more than 1,900 computers bought by the N.C. Department of Public Safety over two years ago are unaccounted for.

SARAH RANKIN: Most pipeline work can go on despite tossed permit (AP reports) -- Federal regulators declined to stop work Wednesday on the Atlantic Coast Pipeline after an appeals court invalidated a key permit for the multistate project.

ADAM WAGNER: Why does Chemours want a groundwater standard for GenX? (Wilmington Star-News reports) -- The company has asked for a standard of 70,000 parts per trillion.

Algae bloom, not chemical killed fish in NC lake (AP reports) – N.C. officials have concluded an algae bloom killed fish in a swimming and fishing lake, not the chemical used to treat the outbreak.

JENNIFER ALLEN: Marine Debris Program Inspires Students (Coastal Review reports) -- Several hundred Carteret County fourth- and fifth-graders learned about marine debris during the interdisciplinary Duke University Marine Lab Community Science program, including Tiller School students who presented their research and art last week.

Roadway is sticky, sweet after big rig spills cookie dough (AP reports) -- A truck carrying cookie dough created a sticky situation when it had lost some of its load on a Pender County highway. Pender County officials said the truck's cargo was sent onto U.S. Route 17 northeast of Wilmington near the New Hanover-Pender county line. The spill happened shortly before noon Tuesday and delayed traffic into the evening rush hour