NC lottery money an education lifeline, not a jackpot

(WRAL) Since its inception, the North Carolina Education Lottery has brought in $2.45 billion for the state, including $457 million this year. However, $2.45 billion is not even a third of this year’s education budget. While the lottery is having an impact, it has become more of an education lifeline than a jackpot.

The WRAL Investigates team went through six state budgets to examine pre-kindergarten through high school spending and scholarships, both from the general fund and lottery revenue.

Ben Matthews, director of school support for the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction, says there’s a misconception about the lottery’s impact on the classroom. It’s just a fraction – between 4 and 5 percent – of the overall school budget this year, he said.

“There was never any conversation that the lottery would completely fund or totally solve the education needs in North Carolina,” Matthews said.

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Less school, more vacation time?

(News-Record) A one-word change nestled into a 7,000 word bill that passed in the waning hours of the recent legislative session lets local school boards slice 20 days off their annual school calendars.

This seems to be at odds with the Republican legislative majority’s push over the past year-and-a-half to add an extra five days to those calendars, and one educational group has suggested that it might violate the state constitution.

The General Assembly voted to require the extra days last year, agreeing to fund them in this just-ended session. That seemed to set the typical K-12 public school year at 185 days of class time.

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Watch for buses (perhaps with envy) on I-40 shoulder

(Raleigh News-Observer) Interstate 40 commuters should not be surprised on Monday to see the occasional Triangle Transit bus rolling past them on the freeway shoulder – while cars and trucks are stuck in the latest traffic jam.

North Carolina’s “bus-on-shoulder” pilot program gets under way today on I-40 in Durham County. It will give bus riders a new advantage over other commuters.

Whenever the traffic stops or crawls as slowly as 35mph, transit bus drivers will have the option to drive slowly on the shoulder – something that remains illegal for other vehicles. Bus drivers will be allowed to drive on the shoulder no faster than 35mph, and no more than 15mph faster than I-40 traffic.

The initial program will be in effect for a 10-mile section of I-40 in both directions between U.S. 15-501 and N.C. 147 (the Durham Freeway and Triangle Expressway), and in the eastbound direction for two miles from N.C. 147 to Page Road.

Drivers on these Triangle Transit routes will have the bus-on-shoulder option:

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Governors put off health care questions, for now

(Blue Ridge Now) Millions of uninsured people may have to wait until after Election Day to find out if and how they can get coverage through President Barack Obama’s health care law.

More than two weeks after the Supreme Court gave the green light to Obama’s signature legislative achievement, many governors from both parties said they haven’t decided how their states will proceed on two parts under their control: an expansion of Medicaid, expected to extend coverage to roughly 15 million low-income people, and new insurance exchanges, projected to help an additional 15 million or so purchase private insurance.

In some states, such as Colorado, Oklahoma and Wyoming, governors said they’re crunching the numbers to determine what’s best for their residents. But in other states, including Virginia, Nebraska and Wisconsin, Republican governors said not to expect a decision before Obama and Republican challenger Mitt Romney square off in November.

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State waited too long to set up health insurance marketplace

(Raleigh News Observer) North Carolina legislators have taken so long to set up a mandated marketplace where uninsured people and small businesses can shop for health insurance that the federal government will have to do it for them.

They’re not alone. About one-third of the states are also still trying to decide whether to establish the health benefits exchanges or let federal officials run them, or do it together. Another third have already established exchanges, and the rest have decided not to or have done nothing at all about it.

Republican governors and legislators across the country have balked at provisions of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, especially the added expense of expanding Medicaid benefits and mandating that everyone carry health insurance. But states that want to retain control of the exchanges are still facing a mid-November deadline to apply to have detailed plans approved by January so they can begin operating a year later.

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Rural areas lead in concealed weapons permit rates

(WRAL) “We get women who are terrified, who come in and say, ‘My husband said I need to learn to shoot this,’” Elrod said, demonstrating how some first-time shooters hold a gun by its butt end between his thumb and index finger.

Elrod sells and repairs guns at the Bear Creek Gun Shop, tucked inside NC Hunter Supply on Millbrook Road in Raleigh. Along with his wife, he also teaches gun safety classes. Among the couple’s most popular is the class required for those who want a concealed weapons permit to stow a handgun in their purse or under a suit coat.

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NAACP to hold news conference today in Hendersonville

(Blue Ridge Now) North Carolina’s NAACP is calling attention to complaints of police gunfire that led to one Hendersonville police officer being fired and another suspended for two weeks without pay.

The civil rights organization holds a news conference Monday near where stray police bullets hit several homes and a church in March.

Police Chief Herbert Blake said last month the officers will not be charged in connection with the shooting of a fleeing burglary suspect. The district attorney says the officers did nothing criminal and won’t face charges.

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Judge Rules Terms Of Rick Davis Settlement Must Be Released

(WHKP) Former Henderson County Sheriff Rick Davis must release the legal settlement from a case involving inappropriate behavior with a female employee.

Superior Court Judge Mark Powell signed an order Friday that Davis and the N.C. Association of County Commissioners, which carried the insurance on the Sheriff’s Office, must give the settlement agreement to the Citizen-Times.

The newspaper sued Henderson County, Davis and the association earlier this year seeking the document’s release under state open records laws.

All parties will have 45 days from Friday to file an appeal. If no appeal is filed during that time, the Citizen-Times will get the settlement.

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On the other UNC scandal, the NCAA is quiet

(Raleigh News Observer) The NCAA and UNC-Chapel Hill spent countless hours investigating the improper money, perks and tutoring football players received, eventually levying sanctions that will cost the team a bowl opportunity and athletic scholarships.

But there’s little indication the NCAA is investigating another scandal that arguably paints a much darker picture: dozens of bogus classes largely attended by athletes that were offered by the longtime chairman of the Department of African and Afro-American Studies.

The NCAA has said practically nothing about the academic fraud. UNC-CH officials have said it does not constitute an NCAA violation because nonathletes also had been enrolled in the bogus classes and were not treated differently. They have consistently said the bogus classes were not hatched to keep athletes eligible to play.

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Facebook and other social platforms are watching users’ chats for criminal activity and notifying police if any suspicious behavior is detected, according to a report. The screening process begins with scanning software that monitors chats for words or phrases that signal something might be amiss, such as an exchange of personal information or vulgar language. The software pays more attention to chats between users who don’t already have a well-established connection on the site and whose profile data indicate something may be wrong, such as a wide age gap. The scanning program is also “smart” — it’s taught to keep an eye out for certain phrases found in the previously obtained chat records from criminals including sexual predators.

(Mashable) Facebook and other social platforms are watching users’ chats for criminal activity and notifying police if any suspicious behavior is detected, according to a report.

The screening process begins with scanning software that monitors chats for words or phrases that signal something might be amiss, such as an exchange of personal information or vulgar language.

The software pays more attention to chats between users who don’t already have a well-established connection on the site and whose profile data indicate something may be wrong, such as a wide age gap. The scanning program is also “smart” — it’s taught to keep an eye out for certain phrases found in the previously obtained chat records from criminals including sexual predators.

Read the rest HERE!

Secret Service seeks barriers for DNC

(Charlotte Observer) Two miles of concrete barriers. More than five miles of 9-foot “anti-scale” steel fence.

Nearly eight miles of lightweight metal barriers, and portable vehicle barriers designed to withstand the impact of a 15,000-pound vehicle at 50 mph.

These are some of items the Secret Service is seeking to protect the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte, according to a federal government contract request released this week.

The Secret Service’s proposal lists four Charlotte sites that will be secured for the convention, to be held Sept. 4-7.

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Lawmakers Want ‘Made in China’ U.S. Olympic Uniforms Burned

(abc news) Lawmakers were outraged Thursday after an ABC World News report revealed that the U.S. Olympic team’s opening ceremony outfits are made in China. Some suggested making a bonfire with the outfits, which include berets and blazers.

“I think they should take all the uniforms, put them in a big pile and burn them and start all over again,” Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., said when asked by ABC News today, “If they have to wear nothing but a singlet that says USA on it, painted by hand, that is what they should wear.”

Get the latest news on the U.S. Olympic uniforms Thursday night on World News with Diane Sawyer.

Team USA will be marching into the 2012 Olympic Opening Ceremony wearing Ralph Lauren blazers and berets, much as they did four years ago when Lauren dressed them. ABC’s Sharyn Alfonsi reported Wednesday evening that every clothing item that the U.S. athletes will be wearing at the opening ceremony in London will carry an overseas label.

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Rep. Heath Shuler releases statement on ACA repeal bill vote

(Mountain Xpress) Washington, DC — Today U.S. Representative Heath Shuler (D-NC) released the following statement following the vote on H.R. 6079, a bill to repeal in full the Affordable Care Act :

“I see today’s vote as a pro-life issue and one of great moral consequence. Do we turn our backs on the 17 million children with pre-existing conditions who were once denied health care coverage but now receive treatment? Should we say ‘tough luck’ to the 6.6 million young adults who now have health care under their parents’ insurance plans but would lose their eligibility under a full repeal? And what of the over 5 million seniors who have saved an average of $650 annually through addressing the ‘donut hole,’ – do we ask them to forego their savings and give it back to the government? Over two million employees now receive health coverage because their small business employer was able to take advantage of tax credits – do we also ask them to return their health care coverage?

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Scranton’s Public Workers Now Paid Minimum Wage

(NPR) The city of Scranton, Pa., sent out paychecks to its employees Friday, like it does every two weeks. But this time the checks were much smaller than usual. Mayor Chris Doherty has reduced everyone’s pay — including his own — to the state’s minimum wage: $7.25 an hour.

Doherty says his city has run out of money.

Scranton has had financial troubles for a couple of decades — the town has been losing population since the end of World War II. But the budget problems became more serious in recent months as the mayor and the city council fought over how to balance the budget.

Doherty wants to raise taxes to fill a $16.8-million gap. The city council wants to take a different approach and borrow money. City council members did not respond to NPR’s requests to discuss the dispute.

“I’m trying to do the best I can with the limited amount of funds that I have,” Doherty says, “I want the employees to get paid. Our people work hard — our police and fire — I just don’t have enough money and I can’t print it in the basement.”

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Low Flying Plane Is On A Mosquito Mission

(CBS Local) Skeeters a problem? Lots of people think so, so Miami-Dade officials are calling in the cavalry;well, actually, the Air Force to kill the biting pests and their breeding grounds. However, the attack may come as a surprise because of how low the spraying planes fly.

The county and the Air Force announced the plans Monday as complaints continue to rise. Recent rainy weather has caused the mosquito population to bloom, something that can cause problems to people headed to cookouts and 4th of fireworks celebrations.

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