- Election 2024
- State Govt.
NC inspectors cited daycare owned by Lt. Gov. Robinson. Now it’s the focus of new campaign ad
By Lynn Bonner and Galen Bacharier
State inspectors cited the Greensboro daycare that Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson and his wife Yolanda Hill owned years ago for falsifying credential certificates.
Now it’s the focus of a new campaign ad as Robinson, a Republican, runs for governor.
The 30-second ad from Democratic Attorney General Josh Stein’s campaign is titled “Unsafe.” It outlines an inspector’s report of Precious Beginnings — where Robinson and Hill worked together from 2000-07, he wrote in his 2022 biography. [Read more…]
Bonus read: Mark Robinson sends cease-and-desist letter to Josh Stein over campaign ad scrutinizing his daycare
On conservative talk show, Robinson likens DHHS review of wife’s nonprofit to Trump prosecutions
By Ahmed Jallow
Lt. Governor says agency’s finding that Balanced Nutrition, Inc. owes state $132K is “politically motivated”
North Carolina Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson said a compliance review conducted by the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) of his wife’s nonprofit is “politically motivated” and claimed the agency is being “weaponized” to target him and his family for political purposes.
Robinson made the comments during a Wednesday appearance on the conservative ‘KC O’Dea Radio Program,’ comparing the state reviews of his wife’s nonprofit to the criminal prosecutions of former President Donald Trump. [Read more…]
In a swing state, Democratic women mobilize to help Kamala Harris win North Carolina
By Clayton Henkel
On a morning typically reserved for grocery shopping, laundry and household chores, an army of women cleared their Saturday schedules to hop on a Zoom call.
More than 800 joined the first ever NC Women for Harris virtual call, riding a wave of enthusiasm that started just a week earlier when President Joe Biden announced he was withdrawing from the 2024 presidential contest and endorsing Vice President Kamala Harris for the top of the ticket.
But amid the enthusiasm, the women on Saturday’s call acknowledged that with roughly 100 days remaining until election day, they needed to be focused and united in their messaging.[Read more…]
Bonus read: The TV ad war begins in North Carolina as Harris and Trump campaigns go on air
Republicans want NC absentee ballots returned in the wrong envelopes to be rejected
By Lynn Bonner
The state Board of Elections on Monday rejected state and national Republicans’ challenges to rules for absentee ballots and voter ID.
The Republican National Committee, the National Republican Congressional Committee, the NC Republican Party, and a Pasquotank County voter want county boards of elections to reject absentee ballots if they arrive in the wrong envelope. They also object to procedures for verifying that names on voter IDs are “substantially equivalent” to the name contained in the voter’s voter registration record. Republicans claimed that procedures the state elections officials told counties to follow conflict with state statutes. [Read more..
Democrats contrast Vice President Kamala Harris’ abortion stance with that of Donald Trump
By Greg Childress
The national fight for reproductive freedom found its way to Durham on Thursday where several of the state’s top Democrats campaigned for Vice President Kamala Harris, drawing sharp contrasts between Harris’ and former President Donald Trump’s positions on abortion.
Harris is the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee in the wake of President Joe Biden’s decision to not seek reelection. Trump is the Republican candidate for president.[Read more...]
Bonus read: Gov. Roy Cooper: Donald Trump is trying to divide nation by questioning Harris’ race
Dozens testify against large liquified natural gas facility in Person County
By Christine Zhu
Each morning, Jill Hoffman and her husband wake up to the sound of Dominion Energy’s bulldozers working on the Moriah Energy Center.
They’ve lived in a home on 16 acres of wooded land for 22 years and planned to retire there.
But they’re wary now due to their proximity to the planned liquified natural gas storage facility on 485 acres in southeastern Person County, about two miles from Durham and Granville County lines. [Read more...]
UNC System President: In rebuilding trust, universities must focus on four-year graduation rates
By Clayton Henkel
UNC System President Peter Hans told members of the UNC Board of Governors last Wednesday that nationally there has been a sharp decline in trust towards higher education.
“There’s a belief that many universities have drifted far from their core mission, delivering a sound education at a reasonable cost,” said Hans.
It’s not the first time Hans has mentioned the issue of trust.[Read more.…]
If this is privatization, give us more government bureaucracy (commentary)
By Rob Schofield
Mismanagement at nonprofit led by Lt. Gov. Robinson’s wife raises important questions about the delivery of public services
If there’s a most persistent and destructive myth that’s permeated American public policy debates in recent decades, it is the fable of privatization.
You know how this goes: “Once upon a time there was a wasteful public program that was turned over to hardworking private entrepreneurs who ‘ran it like a business’ and transformed it into a dynamic and efficient enterprise that delivered more and better services at a lower cost.”
The truth, of course, is that such descriptions are very frequently bogus. [Read more…]
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