Some raise concerns over Fayetteville’s new annexation policy regarding water and sewer lines

(FayObserver) Some elected officials and plant managers say Fayetteville’s new policy of requiring annexation as a condition to getting city water and sewer service could hurt industrial recruitment.

But Fayetteville’s mayor disagrees, saying the policy won’t end up costing companies more money.

Cumberland County Commissioner Kenneth Edge raised the concern at a recent Public Works Commission meeting.

“If they have to pay an additional tax bill, that could be a deal-breaker,” Edge said of potential industries looking to expand or build just outside the city limits.

Preston Hubble, president of the local Plant Managers Association, agreed with Edge.

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Racy yearbook photo blown out of proportion, other parents say

(WSOCTV) While many students graduating high school and moving on to the world beyond want to leave a lasting impression on their alma maters, most don’t attempt a legacy by exposing their private parts during graduation.

However, a student at Lake Norman High School’s 2011 graduation ceremony did just that, and the incident went largely unnoticed until the school issued yearbooks this year.

That’s when students and parents — who paid $100 for the book — noticed the girl on page 14 lifting her gown and exposing herself.

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Successful petition forcing Wrightsville Beach’s hand on smoking ban

(Star News Online) The Wrightsville Beach smoking ban has been reignited.

New Hanover County Board of Elections officials said Wednesday that they have validated the signatures on a petition to pass the smoke-free beach ordinance.

Marvin McFadyen, director of the Board of Elections, said the board verified 233 signatures of the 294 submitted in the petition – exceeding the 211 required to move the ban forward. That number represented 35 percent of the voters who participated in the town’s last municipal election.

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NC House wants to go slow on prisoner health care

(Star News Online) Legislators are trying to prevent North Carolina prison officials from privatizing inmate medical care for all of the state’s adult prisoners unless they get the express approval of the General Assembly.

The full House agreed unanimously Wednesday to a Senate bill designed to set aside $205.5 million to eliminate a shortfall in the state Medicaid program this fiscal year by pooling money from several government pots and some unanticipated tax collections.

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N.C. House members expected to vote on de-annexation of Gates Four

(Fay Observer) Fayetteville Mayor Tony Chavonne went to the capital Wednesday to try to stave off a law that will de-annex the Gates Four neighborhood from Fayetteville.

He and other lawmakers were in Raleigh as part of an effort by the N.C. League of Municipalities to put off another law that will effectively end involuntary annexation statewide.

The state House is scheduled to vote on the two bills this afternoon.

Chavonne said Wednesday he hopes the House rejects the de-annexation bill. If the House votes not to concur with the legislation as approved by the Senate this week, a final vote on the bill would likely be delayed by a week, Chavonne said.

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NC House panels roll out spending adjustments

(WWAY News Channel 3) A North Carolina budget subcommittee recommends a two-thirds reduction in the amount of money local school districts would be required to return to state government next year.

The House education subcommittee and similar panels that oversee spending for large government categories met Thursday and voted on changes to the second year of the two-year government spending plan. The full budget is expected to be considered next week by the House.

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N.C. approves Apple’s plans to build fuel cell center facility

(WRAL) North Carolina’s Utilities Commission has approved Apple’s plans to build a fuel cell center for renewable power generation at its data facility in western North Carolina.
The commission decision was made Wednesday.
Earlier this month, Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL), targeted by Greenpeace International over its energy consumption, said its 500,000-square-foot data center in Maiden, N.C., will be powered entirely by renewable sources by the end of the year.

The Utilities Commission had already approved Apple’s request to build a solar farm at the facility on Thursday.

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Perdue, Cherokee chief sign amended gambling pact

By Gary D Robertson The Associated Press

(WRAL) Gov. Beverly Perdue and the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians signed Tuesday an updated edition to its new agreement to allow live-dealer poker and other table games at the tribe’s casino, a move designed to ease concerns of more state lawmakers.

Perdue and Eastern Band Principal Chief Michell Hicks signed the amended compact in Perdue’s office, nearly six months after they signed one to let the tribe offer games beyond the electronic and video games now available at its western North Carolina casino.

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UNC Board of Trustees meets to discuss academic fraud

By Julie Fertig

(News 14 Carolina) he UNC Board of Trustees meets Thursday to discuss the university’s African American studies program. The program has come under scrutiny recently after findings of academic fraud.

The school launched an investigation after a former UNC football player was caught cheating in an African American studies class. That led to a 10-page report full of academic fraud allegations that the Board of Trustees will look at when they meet Thursday.

“I’m really surprised and I’m disappointed,” said UNC student Sherry Myers.

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Changes in Beer Franchising Law Have Distributors Happier Than Brewers

Written by Barry Smith

(Carolina Journal) The state House has said cheers to a compromise beer distributorship agreement that will make changes to the state’s decades-old beer franchise law.

“It gives those [beer distributing] companies greater assurance about the long-term investments they’re making in equipment, warehouses and jobs,” said Tim Kent, executive director of the N.C. Beer and Wine Wholesalers Association.

Kent likened opposition to a previous version of the bill that passed the Senate last year to a “13 1/2-month family disagreement.”

Doug Bailey, regional vice president for Anheuser-Busch, said in a statement that while not perfect, the compromise worked out with the distributors is a significant improvement over the bill that was approved by the Senate last year.

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Local residents deliver documents that may show malfeasance in CTS case

By Margaret Williams and Bill Rhodes

(Mountain Xpress) A notebook of recovered documents may show how federal officials mishandled a contaminated site on Mills Gap Road in 1999, say a group of residents who held a press conference at the federal building in downtown Asheville today, May 23.

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N.C. pastor: Lock up gays, let them die out

(The McDowell News) A Catawba County pastor is drawing national headlines, and ire, for a sermon where he advocates corralling gays and lesbians behind an electric fence as a way to exterminate homosexuality.

Charles Worley delivered the controversial sermon at Maiden’s Providence Road Baptist Church on May 13. A video of the sermon surfaced Monday on YouTube. The video was edited and posted by Catawba Valley Citizens Against Hate. A more complete video of the sermon was not available.

“I figured a way to get rid of all the lesbians and queers,” Worley said in the clip. “Build a great, big, large fence — 150- or 100-mile long — put all the lesbians in there . . . do the same thing for the queers and the homosexuals, and have that fence electrified so they can’t get out.

“Feed ’em, and you know what?” Worley continued. “In a few years, they’ll die. Do you know why? They can’t reproduce.”

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NC amendment banning same-sex marriage in effect

(AP via Hendersonville Times News) North Carolina’s constitutional amendment slamming the door on same-sex marriages is now in effect.

But the debates on its full meaning continue.

The State Board of Elections on Wednesday certified the results of North Carolina’s May 8 primary elections, including the constitutional amendment defining marriage solely as a union between a man and a woman. That step means the ban is added to the state constitution, which makes it much harder for lawmakers to change in the future.

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Raise for city employees becomes major issue; tax increase narrowly fails

Written by David Forbes

(Mountain Xpress) Police and firefighters packed Asheville City Council chambers tonight, demanding a higher raise than the 1 percent set forth in the proposed budget. A suggested property-tax hike to pay for the increase failed 4-3, with Council members asserting that it needed more consideration.

Representatives of city firefighters and police officers said that while there hasn’t been a raise for staff in three years, they hadn’t pressed the issue, knowing the city was facing financial challenges. But they felt that the prposed 1 percent cost-of-living increase wasn’t sufficient, and instead asked for a 4 percent pay increase.

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Asheville Police chief takes evidence room plan to Council; Council still not asking for audit it funded

Written by Jon Elliston

(Carolina Public Press) Asheville’s new police chief, William Anderson, spoke to Asheville City Council Tuesday about his plan to repair the damage wrought by the controversy surrounding the police department’s evidence room.

He described measures he’s taking “to try to get us back on the right track and moving forward” more than a year after news broke that an unspecified amount of guns, drugs, money and valuables had gone missing.

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