Weekend reads: Thousands poised to lose insurance coverage, educators facing legislative headwinds, new efforts to protect our power grid, and calls for police accountability
Jan 29, 2023 | 9:00 am ET
In this issue:
As many as 300,000 people in North Carolina could be on track to lose their government health insurance by the middle of next year.
That estimate comes from the state Department for Health and Human Services, which is preparing plans to check Medicaid recipients’ family, health, and income information to ensure they are eligible for the insurance plan.
States must begin checking enrollees’ Medicaid eligibility for coverage in April, with the aim of removing those who no longer qualify over the next 12 months.
Before the COVID-19 pandemic, people who use Medicaid were recertified every year, with information such as income and family size verified to see if they continued to meet qualifications. People who use Medicaid can lose and gain coverage as their incomes fluctuate or family situations change. [Read more…]
This is the first in an occasional series of stories about greenhouse gas emissions and their sources. View a slideshow of emissions trends for municipal waste landfills that emit more than 100,000 metric tons of methane per year.
Twenty-five million tons of garbage is rotting in the Sampson County landfill: disposable diapers from Durham, moldy leftovers from refrigerators in Wake, face masks and old toothbrushes from Brunswick, and sundry flotsam from 44 counties statewide.Over time, the detritus of our lives, particularly food waste, breaks down in the landfill and emits methane, a powerful greenhouse gas that ranks only second to carbon dioxide in driving human-caused climate change.
Largely because of the sheer tonnage of decomposing trash, Sampson County ranks second in the nation in methane emissions:[Read more…]
3. “‘Good’ is not good enough.” UNC Board of Governors sharpens focus on literacy instruction
“Frankly this number should scare and appall everyone in this room.”
UNC Board of Governors Chairman Randy Ramsey offered a sobering assessment Thursday of recent North Carolina reading scores and the system’s efforts to improve literacy instruction.
A report released by the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) last fall showed just 32% of North Carolina’s fourth graders were at or above proficient in reading in 2022.
Ramsey told board members that students who can’t read by the end of the third grade are much less likely to graduate from high school, enroll in college, and complete a degree.[Read more…]
There are many factors that go into building and sustaining a strong and healthy democracy: free, clean and transparently funded elections; inclusive suffrage; freedom of speech and association; an independent news media; predictable and reliable law enforcement; and an absence of widespread corruption.
Oh, and at least one more: a strong and independent judiciary that prioritizes protecting citizen rights.
Across the globe – particularly in nations where democracy is fragile or struggling – the stories of corrupt and/or compromised judiciaries are sadly familiar: [Read more…]
5. Facing legislative headwinds, State Board will ask lawmakers for funds to implement Leandro plan
Request enjoys bipartisan support, but state Superintendent is notably silent
The State Board of Education has agreed to ask lawmakers to support the “full implementation” of a court-approved school improvement plan during 2023 budget deliberations.
The state board and other supporters of the Comprehensive Plan believe it can transform North Carolina’s system of K-12 education and nudge the state toward its constitutional mandate to provide children with sound basic education.
The legislative ask is supported by Democratic and Republican state board appointees. The board is also requesting money for other initiatives, among them: enhancement of digital teaching and learning, cybersecurity support, the elimination of student co-pays for reduced price meals, additional charter school staffing, early learning initiatives, and the establishment of a permanent Office of Learning Recovery and Acceleration. [Read more…]
All that separated Reece from freedom was just $300. But he couldn’t afford to post the bond, so on the morning of Jan. 25 he appeared via video, streamed from the Buncombe County Detention Center to the courtroom of Chief District Court Judge James Calvin Hill.
Reece asked the judge to make his bond unsecured, which would have allowed him to walk out of jail without having to put up any money. Hill didn’t outright reject the request but said he wouldn’t decide immediately. Hill told Reece his lawyer would visit him “probably today,” after which Hill might lower his bond.
There was silence for several seconds, long enough to make it feel like the call had been dropped. Then, an eruption. [Read more…]
As the North Carolina General Assembly begins its legislative session in earnest this week, the UNC System is requesting additional money to reduce salary costs at universities and help students graduate on time.
The UNC Board of Governors is asking for a one-time appropriation of $16.8 million to incentivize eligible professors to retire, and a recurring $7.5 million to assist students at five campuses that need to shore up their on-time graduation rates.
The money for retirement incentives would be available to all campuses, said Jennifer Haygood, the system’s chief financial officer, at last week’s board meetings. However, five campuses would be prioritized: NC Central University in Durham, UNC-Asheville, UNC-Greensboro, Winston-Salem State University and East Carolina University in Greenville. [Read more…]
8. Bill would place 24-hour security at Duke Energy substations
Rep. Ben Moss Jr., has introduced legislation directly responding to a possible terrorist attack on two Duke Energy substations in Moore County last December, as well as a recent shooting incident at a substation in Thomasville, in Randolph County.
Someone used high-powered rifles to shoot up the Moore County substations on the evening of Saturday, Dec. 3, cutting off electricity to more than 40,000 people for several days. The SBI and FBI are investigating, but have not named a suspect.
Moss is a Republican representing Moore and Richmond counties.
Although its language is still skeletal, the Energy Security Act would provide 24-hour security systems at power substations “against vandalism” and other security threats. [Read more…]
The Town of Pittsboro has sued more than 20 companies, including Chemours, DuPont and 3M, BASF and several other manufacturers of PFAS, for allegedly polluting its water supply with the toxic compounds.
The lawsuit was filed yesterday in Chatham County Superior Court. It asks the court to force the companies to reimburse the town for expenses related to reducing PFAS in drinking water, plus damages related to “loss of use” and the degradation of natural resources.
The town is requesting a trial to determine additional punitive damages, which can be assessed if a judge or jury finds the conduct was intentional, fraudulent or malicious. [Read more...]
10. Photo gallery: North Carolinians demand police accountability following death of Tyre Nichols
Dozens gathered in downtown Raleigh Saturday to call for greater police accountability in the wake of the death of Tyre Nichols in Memphis. Five former Memphis officers are facing criminal charges for the brutal beating of the 29-year-old Nichols. [View photo gallery…]
11. Weekly Radio Interviews and daily and Radio Commentaries:
Raleigh, NC
