News

JLF Expert Urges N.C. to Replace Existing State Income Tax

(Carolina Journal) North Carolina would boost economic growth and wealth creation by replacing its existing income tax with a new “flat-rate consumed income tax.” That’s the prescription the John Locke Foundation’s top economist offers in a new Spotlight report.  “The state’s current income tax penalizes work, saving, investment, and entrepreneurship,” said report author Dr. Roy Cordato, JLF Vice President for Research and Resident Scholar. “Those are the very income-generating activities that lead to the production of goods and services that spur economic growth. If you’re interested in growth, a flat-rate consumed income tax is a much better option.” As its name implies, a flat-rate tax would apply just one tax rate, regardless of the amount of income taxed, Cordato said. “Unlike our existing system, a flat-rate tax offers no disincentive for people to work overtime, take a second job, or make other decisions that generate additional income. The next dollar of income is taxed at the same rate as the previous dollar.” Focusing taxation on consumed income would remove the existing bias against saving and investment, said Cordato, a Ph.D. economist.

Read more HERE>

Romney sweeps D.C., Maryland and Wisconsin

(USA Today) Former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney swept three Republican presidential primaries Tuesday, winning contests in Wisconsin, Maryland and the District of Columbiaand tightening his grip on the nomination. “Thank you to Wisconsin, Maryland and Washington, D.C. We won them all!” he told supporters in Milwaukee. “This really has been quite a night. We’ve won a great victory tonight in our campaign to restore the promise of America.” Rick Santorum did not strongly contest Maryland, but did campaign in Wisconsin. He was not on the ballot in Washington, D.C. Santorum, speaking to supporters in his home state of Pennsylvania, said he was carrying on his campaign despite the setback in Wisconsin. Santorum said the race for the GOP nomination is at halftime, with more than 50% of nominees selected, and said he is “ready to charge out of the locker room for a strong second half.”

Read more HERE.

Firefighters donate Mega Millions winnings

(Yahoo news) Five Albuquerque Station Eight firefighters who won a $10,000 share of the Mega Millions jackpot last week have decided to donate an unspecified part of their winnings to fellow fireman Vince Cordova, who is suffering from a life-threatening tumor. “We decided to get tickets ten minutes before the sales closed,” said Capt. Jed Hyland told local news affiliate KOB. “I ran in shouting that we hit 5 of the 6 numbers.” After convincing their fellow firemen that it wasn’t an April Fools’ joke, Hyland and his four fellow winners (Steve Keffer, Paul McClure, Clinton Anderson and Si Do) decided to donate part of their winnings to the local firefighters Survival Fund. “Everybody at the station agreed that this would be a good opportunity,” Hyland said. KOAT reports that Cordova, 24, has a rare aggressive tumor that puts pressure on his brain. He’ll die if the tumor isn’t removed, but life-saving surgery from a specialist in Los Angeles costs several hundred thousand dollars.

To read the full story, click HERE.

Contributions for Firefighter Vince Cordova can be sent to:

IAFF Local 244
Firefighter Survivors Fund
C/O Vincent Cordova
P.O. Box 25602
Albuquerque, NM 87125

OR http://firefightercordova.blogspot.com/

Thank you!
- Matt and Agnes

Supreme Court OKs strip searches for any offense

(Tennessean) Jailers may perform invasive strip searches on people arrested even for minor offenses, an ideologically divided Supreme Court ruled Monday, the conservative majority declaring that security trumps privacy in an often dangerous environment.

In a 5-4 decision, the court ruled against a New Jersey man who was strip searched in two county jails after his arrest on a warrant for an unpaid fine that he had, in reality, paid.

The decision resolved a conflict among lower courts about how to balance security and privacy. Before the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks, lower courts generally prohibited routine strip searches for minor offenses. In recent years, however, courts have allowed jailers more discretion to maintain security, and the high court ruling ratified those decisions.

Read more here.

Henderson County Commissioners take prayer outside

(Hendersonville Times-News) Henderson County commissioners received support Monday in their new practice of praying outside the Historic Courthouse before meetings.  About 15 members of the public and numerous county staff joined commissioners at the flagpole a few yards from the courthouse steps to pray together before filing back inside for the 5:30 p.m. meeting. Commissioners began the routine in February, after the U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear an appeal of the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeal’s ruling last year that bans sectarian prayer at government meetings. The suggestion came from County Manager Steve Wyatt. “I don’t really like it,” Hendersonville resident Mildred Mari, who attended the brief prayer with her husband, Frank, said of the courts’ decision. “It’s a shame that (commissioners) have to pray outside like this, but hey, as long as we’re praying, that’s all that matters.”

Read more HERE>

Tiny towns go up for sale

(USA Today) For the right price, you can own what is billed as America’s smallest town — Buford, Wyo., pop. 1. The minimum bid of $100,000 in Thursday’s national auction wouldn’t buy you a townhouse in many cities.

Whoever buys the 10 acres of commerce and history, owner Don Sammons says, “I just hope their dream continues to keep Buford moving in the 21st century.”

Sammons and auctioneers are unsure what Buford will bring, but there is interest. Amy Bates, senior vice president at Williams & Williams, the Oklahoma-based auction house offering the property, says people from more than 70 countries have checked the listing on the company’s website.

Read more here.

Hagan wants to reduce paperwork for small businesses

(Blue Ridge Now) U.S. Sen. Kay R. Hagan (NC), a member of the Senate Small Business Committee, announced Monday that she’s introducing legislation that will reduce paperwork burden on small businesses, freeing them to concentrate on growing the economy and creating jobs.

Hagan made the announcement during the eighth stop on her North Carolina Back to Work Jobs Tour.

“My Small Business Common Application Act will reduce barriers that you, as small businesses, face when applying for federal assistance by establishing a common application that meets your needs,” said Hagan at a Regulatory Fairness Forum for Small Business, co-sponsored by Hagan and the Small Business Administration in conjunction with the Winston-Salem Chamber of Commerce.

The legislation aims to aid small businesses that face layers of paperwork when they apply for a grant, seek technical assistance or bid on a contract from the federal government. An SBA study revealed that businesses with less than 20 employees may spend more than $10,500 per employee to comply with federal regulations.

Bennett Aerospace Inc. CEO Julia Bennett also participated in the forum.

“Any legislation that makes the Small Business Administrations job more efficient and effective, such as the legislation proposed by Senator Hagan, is a positive move that will enhance the ability of U.S. small businesses to compete in the world,” she said.

Read more here.

Apple plans nation’s biggest private fuel cell energy project at N.C. data center

North Carolina will be home to the nation’s largest private fuel cell energy project, a nonpolluting, silent power plant that will generate electricity from hydrogen.

Apple (yes, that Apple) filed its plans with the N.C. Utilities Commission last week to build the 4.8-megawatt project in Maiden, about 40 miles northwest of Charlotte. That’s where Cupertino, Calif.-based Apple has built a data center to support the company’s iCloud online data storage system and its Siri voice-recognition software.

The fuel cell project, the nation’s largest such project not built by an electric utility company, will be developed this year. It will be located on the same data complex that will host a planned 20-megawatt solar farm – the biggest ever proposed in this state.

But it’s the fuel cell project that’s generating buzz, eclipsing anything ever dreamed of in California, the nation’s epicenter for fuel cell projects.

Read more here.

Benton to run unemployment benefits office

Governor Bev Perdue’s administration chose a career government bureaucrat Monday to run North Carolina’s unemployment insurance agency, which has been criticized for administrative mistakes and the $2.7 billion debt owed to the federal government for benefits.

Dempsey Benton, who was brought in by Perdue and preceding Gov. Mike Easley for key short-term state government positions over the past five years, will be the next assistant secretary in charge of the Division of Employment Security within the Department of Commerce.

Benton will succeed Lynn Holmes, who announced last month she was leaving the job she had held for two years. Holmes had been the subject of scrutiny by Republican legislative leaders over the past year — and even the subject of an unusual legislative subpoena.

Read more here.

Students Suspended After Demanding ‘An Education’

(Huffington Post)  About 50 students were suspended Thursday from the all-boys Frederick Douglass Academy in Detroit, Mich. for walking out of classes in protest, demanding “an education.” Among their complaints: a lack of consistent teachers, the reassignment of the school principal, educators who abuse sick time and a shortage of textbooks.  “We’ve been wronged and disrespected and lied to and cheated,” senior Tevin Hill told the Detroit Free Press. “They didn’t listen to us when we complained to the administration. They didn’t listen to the parents when they complained to the administration, so I guess this is the only way to get things solved.”

One math teacher, parent Sharise Smith tells WJBK-TV, has been absent for more than 68 days.  The students marched outside the school and chanted, “We want… education! When do we want it? Now!” Students and parents became increasingly alarmed when Frederick Douglass was no longer listed as an application school in the district — current students had to apply to attend. Smith told the Free Press that her son was given an A in geometry without taking a final exam.  “It was by default, just for showing up. It wasn’t because he earned an A,” she said.

Read more HERE.

Feds applaud NC town’s ban of hands free cel calls in cars

(Rocky Mount Telegram)  After two-years of debate, Chapel Hill’s town council this week narrowly approved outlawing anyone talking on a phone while driving within the town of 57,000 people. Cellphone use would be a secondary offense, meaning an officer must first stop a vehicle for another reason before issuing a citation for violating the ban. Violators would be fined $25. Chapel Hill is the first U.S. community to ban everyone from using a mobile phone even in hands-free mode. “We understand that a ban on personal electronic devices is the kind of thing that represents a significant change in our culture. And that’s the reason that we identify and applaud Chapel Hill, as they’re the first one literally in the nation, to take this on,” National Transportation Safety Board member Mark Rosekind said.

Read more HERE.

NBC bets a little Palin is a cure for Katie Couric

(USA Today) Sarah Palin is going rogue and infiltrating the “lamestream” media. The one-time Republican vice-presidential candidate and ex-governor of Alaska pops up tomorrow on NBC’s “Today” (on WHDH, Ch. 7) as a guest cohost for the 8 a.m. hour. When was the last time “Today” had a guest co-host – outside its own ranks – for the 8 a.m. hour? You’re not alone if you’re feeling stumped.

It’s just a sign of how frightened NBC is of ex-”Today” anchor Katie Couric, who returns – this week only – to guest-host ABC’s “Good Mornng America.” And it’s a sad turn for the peacock network. Its No. 1 morning show takes another lurch into infotainment territory. Palin called into the show this morning, promising to talk up the issues affecting the nation, like energy.

Read more HERE.

Bill would yank benefits for failed drug tests

(The State) Someone collecting unemployment would lose their benefits if they fail or refuse to take an employer’s drug test under a bill approved Thursday by the South Carolina House. The House voted 70-24 on a bill allowing an employer to report such a failure to the state’s unemployment agency. It does not require them to do so. The measure represents a back-door way of yanking unemployment benefits for failed drug tests. A bill up for debate on the Senate floor would require every applicant to pass a drug test to get benefits. But unemployment officials have told senators such a mandate conflicts with federal law.

Read more HERE.

Town’s cellphone ban effectiveness questioned

(Rocky Mount Telegram) As a real estate broker and building contractor, Harry McLean is on his cellphone constantly as work shuttles him around his hometown of Chapel Hill. But he supports the town, maybe best known for its powerhouse basketball teams, becoming the nation’s first to ban any cellphone use by drivers, including hands-free sets. After two-years of debate, Chapel Hill’s town council this week narrowly approved outlawing anyone talking on a phone while driving within the town of 57,000 people. Cellphone use would be a secondary offense, meaning an officer must first stop a vehicle for another reason before issuing a citation for violating the ban. Violators would be fined $25.

Read more HERE.

Federal judge says N.C. can’t ban all citizens’ guns during emergencies

(Winston Salem Journal) When winter storms slammed North Carolina in early 2010, Gov. Bev Perdue declared a state of emergency. The city of King followed on Feb. 5 with its own declaration of emergency that included — as allowed by state law — a ban on the possession of alcohol and firearms except at a person’s own home. A Stokes County man, two other people and two gun-rights organizations sued the state, King and Stokes County that summer, claiming that their rights under the Second Amendment of the U.S. Constitution were violated. The amendment protects citizens’ right to bear arms.

Now, a federal court has agreed, ruling that state law can’t make a blanket ban that keeps the plaintiffs from carrying or buying guns and ammunition during an emergency. “While the bans imposed … may be limited in duration, it cannot be overlooked that the statutes strip peaceable, law-abiding citizens of the right to arm themselves in defense of hearth and home, striking at the very core of the Second Amendment,” Senior U.S. District Judge Malcolm J. Howard wrote in his order.

Read more HERE.