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- wcti12.com Debates over ending inshore shrimp trawling to protect marine life
Inshore shrimp trawling in North Carolina might soon come to an end if the North Carolina Wildlife Federation (NCWF) succeeds in its call for a ban to protect o
TL;DR: Inshore commercial shrimp trawling is devastating our marine fisheries by causing by-catch (untargeted marine animals trapped and killed in the nets) at a rate of 4 to 1 by weight.
North Carolina is the only state that still allows inshore shrimp trawling.
Here’s what the North Carolina Wildlife Federation has to say on the topic. It bugs me that they’re framing it as the loss of recreational flounder fishing being the primary consequence, but I suppose whatever brings more attention to the issue is a good thing.
The NC Wildlife Commission is holding a meeting Tonight at 7:00pm at the New Bern Community College
- It’s worth noting that the linked article is to WCTI which is a Sinclair station.
- truthout.org North Carolina GOP Is Trying to Corner Prosecutors Into Charging Protesters
The new proposal is yet another disturbing development in the criminalization of dissent that has swept across the US.
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12-year-old's death at North Carolina wilderness camp ruled a homicide
A 12-year-old boy who died at a North Carolina wilderness camp was smothered, according to an autopsy that was released on Monday.
The autopsy shows the boy's death is now being reported as a homicide. The child was found dead at Trails Carolina on Feb. 3. The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services revoked the facility's license in May, saying it failed to comply with state regulations. The department said the camp failed to follow state law regarding the rights for people living with mental illness, developmental disabilities or substance abuse.
An April report by the state found that the camp failed to check if the boy was breathing while requiring him to sleep in a "bivy," a small sleeping-bag-like tent, that was covered by a plastic sheet. At some point, staff determined "there was an issue" with the zipper, according to NBC News. An unidentified staff member assigned to sleep next to the boy heard someone "breathing heavily" at one point, but couldn't determine if it was the boy or another employee.
Staff members called 911 when the boy did not respond to attempts to wake him and emergency personnel were unable to revive him, the camp said at the time.
In the wake of the boy's death, Trails Carolina was barred from taking in new admissions and all existing children were removed from the facility. Amidst the investigation, a former student sued the program, claiming staff members dismissed her claims of sexual assault by another camper in 2016.
- www.newsweek.com Joe Biden makes aggressive play to take North Carolina from Trump
The president appears to be stepping up his campaigning in the swing state.
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GOP pick for N.C. governor downplayed Weinstein allegations, assault by Ray Rice
> Mark Robinson, the firebrand Republican nominee for governor in North Carolina, has for years made comments downplaying and making light of sexual assault and domestic violence.
> A review of Robinson’s social media posts over the past decade shows that he frequently questioned the credibility of women who aired allegations of sexual assault against prominent men, including Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein, actor Bill Cosby and now-U.S. Supreme Court Justice Brett M. Kavanaugh. In one post, Robinson, North Carolina’s lieutenant governor, characterized Weinstein and others as “sacrificial lambs” being “slaughtered.”
> Robinson has drawn scrutiny for his incendiary remarks on other issues, including about LGBTQ+ people, religion and other political figures. But his comments on domestic violence and sexual assault stand out for their tone and frequency, as well as Robinson’s repeated questioning of accusers.
> While Robinson is, in some ways, emblematic of the Republican Party’s turn under Donald Trump toward rewarding inflammatory, sexist language, his dismissals of women threaten to test Robinson’s appeal with voters troubled by that history, in particular female voters.
- www.propublica.org North Carolina Supreme Court Secretly Squashed Discipline of Two GOP Judges Who Admitted to Violating Judicial Code
The decisions came despite the Judicial Standards Commission’s recommendations to publicly reprimand the judges, and these are likely the only times in more than a decade in which the court didn’t follow the commission’s guidance.
> Last fall, out of public view, the North Carolina Supreme Court squashed disciplinary action against two Republican judges who had admitted that they had violated the state’s judicial code of conduct, according to three sources with direct knowledge of the decisions.
> One of the judges had ordered, without legal justification, that a witness be jailed. The other had escalated a courtroom argument with a defendant, which led to a police officer shooting the defendant to death. The Judicial Standards Commission, the arm of the state Supreme Court that investigates judicial misconduct by judges, had recommended that the court publicly reprimand both women. The majority-Republican court gave no public explanation for rejecting the recommendations — indeed, state law mandates that such decisions remain confidential.
> Asher Hildebrand, a professor of public policy at Duke University, explained that in the 2010s, North Carolina had policies designed to keep the judiciary above the political fray, such as nonpartisan judicial elections. However, the gradual dismantling of these policies by the Republican-controlled legislature has driven the court’s polarization, according to Hildebrand.
- www.wral.com Voters have no right to fair elections, NC lawmakers say as they seek to dismiss gerrymandering suit
North Carolina's political maps are expected to give Republicans majorities in the state legislature, and the U.S. House of Representatives delegation, even if Democrats win a majority of the statewide vote.
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Year after year, NC legislators use state budget to weaken environmental protections
> Preventing local governments from reducing plastic waste is just one recent example of the many ways Republican lawmakers have used the state budget, theoretically a fiscal document, to weaken existing environmental regulations or prevent more.
> Since taking power in 2011, GOP leaders have introduced dozens of environmental provisions in state budgets, rather than standalone bills. That includes 2023 provisions preventing North Carolina from joining a cap-and-trade program that could have limited greenhouse gasses released by the state’s power plants and stymieing Gov. Roy Cooper’s efforts to shift trucks across the state from diesel fuel to electric power.
> Since 2017, state environmental officials have been grinding their way toward regulating these per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS. While scientists know of thousands, DEQ identified eight present here that it intended to regulate in ground- and surface water.
> But in April, the N.C. Chamber, the state’s powerful business interest group, urged the N.C. Environmental Management Commission to slow down and conduct more research before approving rules for the substances. Much of Chamber President Gary Salamido’s argument to delay setting new limits focused on new drinking water rules the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency finalized this year for six of the eight PFAS the state is considering limiting.
> He also pointed to the renewed Hardison Amendment, writing that regulators need to consider whether they are going further than the EPA’s rules.
- www.vox.com The North Carolina town that's scared of solar panels, revisited
Remember that kooky little town where people were scared that solar panels would suck up all the sun? Turns out there's more to that story.
- electrek.co Finland's Kempower just opened a DC fast charger factory in North Carolina
Finnish EV charger manufacturer Kempower officially opened its first US DC fast charger factory in Durham, North Carolina.
- apnews.com North Carolina driver's license backlog may soon end, DMV commissioner says
The backlog for North Carolina driver’s license and identification cards could be coming to an end soon.
- www.wral.com Cornel West, RFK Jr. submit signatures to get on NC ballot
Voters appear willing to consider options other than Trump or Biden for president. In March a WRAL News poll found that most likely North Carolina voters said they'd prefer different candidates to be nominated.
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Space debris from SpaceX Dragon capsule crashed in the North Carolina mountains.
www.space.com Space debris from SpaceX Dragon capsule crashed in the North Carolina mountains. I had to go see it (video)"It was just wild. It was crazy-looking. I really didn't know what to think."
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Another N.C. beach house just fell into the ocean. Others may follow.
> Another home has crumbled into the sea in Rodanthe, N.C., the scenic Outer Banks community where rising seas and relentless erosion have claimed a growing number of houses and forced some property owners to take drastic measures to retreat from the oceanfront.
> “Another one bit the dust,” David Hallac, superintendent of the Cape Hatteras National Seashore, said in an interview. And it probably won’t be the last, as many homes in the area are perilously close to the surf. “This situation will continue.”
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Environmental Management Commission stalls PFAS standards, members own stock in companies lobbying against regulation
> The Environmental Management Commission is a 15-member body appointed by the governor, General Assembly leaders, and the agricultural commissioner. It is charged with reviewing and enacting rules for the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality.
> DEQ requested the EMC begin the rulemaking process to adopt PFAS surface water and groundwater standards at its May 10 meeting. Commissioners declined the request, citing the need for more time to study the financial implications of the proposal, namely costs associated with requiring companies to install filtration technology.
> A Port City Daily review of EMC financial disclosures found at least three commissioners own stock in companies that have either directly lobbied against PFAS and 1,4-dioxane regulation or pay lobbying dues to organizations that lobby on their behalf, such as the Chamber of Commerce and the American Chemistry Council. Both organizations sent letters to the EPA opposing recent regulatory actions on PFAS and 1,4-dioxane.
- www.thedailybeast.com This QAnon Candidate Could Cost Trump a Key Swing State
Trump loves this gubernatorial candidate, despite the liability he poses from his well-documented history of bonkers comments. “It’s not great,” a Trumpworld source fretted.
- apnews.com GOP candidate for NC governor blasts public spending as his family nonprofit rakes in taxpayer funds
In his bid to become North Carolina’s first Black governor, Republican Mark Robinson assails government safety net spending as a “plantation of welfare and victimhood” that's mired Black people in “dependency” and poverty.
- apnews.com After the only hospital in town closed, a North Carolina city directs its ire at politicians
After one North Carolina city's only hospital closed, residents there say they're not only worried about their health but they've lost trust in politicians.
cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/15610251
> Weeds have punctured through the vacant parking lot of Martin General Hospital’s emergency room. A makeshift blue tarp covering the hospital’s sign is worn down from flapping in the wind. The hospital doors are locked, many in this county of 22,000 fear permanently. > > Some residents worry the hospital’s sudden closure last August could cost them their life. > > “I know we all have to die, but it seems like since the hospital closed, there’s a lot more people dying,” Linda Gibson, a lifelong resident of Williamston, North Carolina, said on a recent afternoon while preparing snacks for children in a nearby elementary school kitchen. > > More than 100 hospitals have downsized services or closed altogether over the past decade in rural communities like Williamston, where people openly wonder if they’d survive the 25-minute ambulance ride to the nearest hospital if they were in a serious car crash.
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North Carolina sports wagers well over $1 billion in first months under new law
www.wbtv.com Report: North Carolina sports wagers well over $1 billion in first months under new lawGamblers wagered $1.026 billion on sports activities from smart phones and desktops from March 11 through April 30.
- www.salon.com Mark Robinson said Obama was "cousins" with ISIS, falsely blamed Muslims for burning down Notre Dame
Robinson, North Carolina's lieutenant governor, frequently posted Islamophobic and homophobic content on Facebook
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Republicans make masking illegal, create exemption for KKK
> Any of the following are exempted from the provisions of G.S. 14-12.7, 14-12.8,21 14-12.9, 14-12.10 and 14-12.14: > > 5) Any person or persons, as members or members elect of a society, order or organization, engaged in any parade, ritual, initiation, ceremony, celebration or requirement of such society, order or organization, and wearing or using any manner of costume, paraphernalia, disguise, facial makeup, hood, implement or device, whether the identity of such person or persons is concealed or not, on any public or private street, road, way or property, or in any public or private building, provided permission shall have been first obtained therefor by a representative of such society, order or organization from the governing body of the municipality in which the same takes place, or, if not in a municipality, from the board of county commissioners of the county in which the same takes place. > > 6)
Any person wearing a mask for the purpose of ensuring the physical health or safety of the wearer or others.ITT: How the right shifts goalposts and gaslights the left
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North Carolina commission strips long-standing protections from Jockey’s Ridge
www.outerbanksvoice.com Rules Review Commission rescinds Coastal Review Commission temporary rulesMove puts environmental protections for Jockey’s Ridge in limbo By Kip Tabb | Outer Banks Voice The North Carolina Rules Review Commission (RRC) voted unanimously at it April 8 meeting to disallow …
The North Carolina Rules Review Commission (RRC) voted unanimously at it April 8 meeting to disallow the temporary rules the Coastal Review Commission (CRC) put into place in February—a move that puts the status of Jockey’s Ridge environmental protections in limbo.
Included in the rules the RRC ordered dropped was the Area of Environmental Concern (AEC) language for Jockey’s Ridge State Park, a designation that protects the park from development in areas immediately adjacent to its boundaries and includes a prohibition on removing sand from the area.
- thinkbigpicture.substack.com Joe Biden Is Betting He Can Flip North Carolina Blue
Can demographic shifts and MAGA extremism help deliver Joe Biden a victory in North Carolina this year?
- ncnewsline.com As millions lose federal help to pay for internet, some areas aim to fill the gap • NC Newsline
millions of low-income Americans could lose internet access if Congress does not extend the pandemic-era Affordable Connectivity Program
The federal Affordable Connectivity Program, launched at the end of 2021, has provided a discount of up to $30 per month toward internet service for eligible low-income households and up to $75 for households on qualifying tribal lands.
Now, without additional funding from Congress, more than 23 million households across the country have begun to lose the aid. April was the last fully funded month, with some households receiving partial benefits from their internet service provider through May. Several congressional bills have been introduced to extend the program, but none has advanced yet.
As Newsline reported in early April, more than 900,000, or 1 in 5, households in North Carolina will be negatively impacted.
- www.wral.com PFAS pollution standards delayed after pushback from NC Chamber
After pushback from the NC Chamber, two Republican-appointed members of the Environmental Management Commission are delaying the rulemaking process to limit ground and surface water pollution of PFAS, also known as forever chemicals.
The NC Chamber is pushing to delay the progress of proposed limits of forever chemical pollution in ground and surface water.
The North Carolina Environmental Management Commission declined to start the rulemaking process for PFAS pollution standards Wednesday, after Republican-appointed EMC members Tim Baumgartner and Joseph Reardon stalled a vote.
Baumgartner and Reardon said DEQ had not provided adequate information for a vote, including a fiscal analysis. "The lack of respect by DEQ for this commission is evident by lack of communication and disregard for providing documents to the EMC for review in a timely manner," Baumgartner said.
Elizabeth Biser, the secretary of the NC Department of Environmental Quality, said in a letter that she is "deeply disappointed" that the Groundwater and Waste Management Committee is "refusing to hear" the proposed standards.
- www.foxcarolina.com Wildlife officials give update on bear cub pulled from tree in viral video
A group was caught on camera picking up the cub from a wooded area in Asheville to take a picture with it before dropping it.
- www.foxcarolina.com CAUGHT ON CAM: No charges after bear cub ‘photo op’ near Asheville
North Carolina Wildlife Officials said a bear cub is heading to a rehabilitation center after a group recently disturbed two cubs for a picture in the Asheville area.
- abcnews.go.com Bankruptcy documents detail how GOP NC governor nominee Mark Robinson failed to file federal income taxes for 5 years
Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson has campaigned for N.C. governor by promoting personal fiscal responsibility, but records detail how he failed to file income taxes for five years.
- www.thedailybeast.com Who’s Behind Those Mysterious Trump-Epstein Billboards?
Someone wants to remind voters that the two notorious New Yorkers used to be pals.
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The Pollening
Just moved from VA last year where we also had pollening, but nothing like this. My lord.
Video is from my security camera which apparently the IR light does a fantastic job of illuminating the pollen that is just thick in the air here.
- www.bpr.org Common ground between NC-11 Republican candidates on border security
Representative Chuck Edwards debated challenger Christian Reagan, a mortgage broker from Texas, during the first and only GOP primary debate of the season for the NC-11 congressional seat.
- www.vice.com Neo-Nazi With Felony Convictions Cleared to Remain on GOP Ballot
The North Carolina Board of Elections ruled that Joseph Gibson III is eligible to run for a state House seat.
- www.huffpost.com MLK Was An Inferior Pastor And ‘Communist,’ Said Top GOP Candidate For N.C. Governor
In unearthed Facebook posts, Mark Robinson also called the civil rights movement “crap” and vowed to work on MLK Day because he’s “not a leach."
- www.dailykos.com North Carolina Democrats' road back to Supreme Court majority starts with next year's race
Candidate filing closed this past Friday for the March 5 primaries in North Carolina, a perennial swing state that will host closely watched races up and down the ballot. Not to be overlooked, though,