Opinion Roundup: UNC turns page on academic scandal

Monday, Oct. 16, 2017 -- A roundup of opinion, commentary and analysis on the lessons UNC learned from its NCAA academic scandal, a new turn on an old gerrymandering complaint, a view on how to better prepare for future hurricanes and more.

​Blue skies for UNC (Fayetteville Observer) -- Has the seven-year cloud that has hung over UNC-Chapel Hill and its athletics programs finally parted? We hope so. Even though some of the pain was self-inflicted, it appears the university has learned well from the mess and won’t repeat its mistakes. The problems came in two waves.

​HAROLD O. LEVY & BEV PERDUE: America's hidden gem, rural, Latinx and gifted students (Capitol Broadcasting co. column) -- Educators must not subscribe to the unfounded belief that limited English fluency denotes limited academic and intellectual potential. Missing out on identifying these high-potential students is a loss not only for the students but for economies like North Carolina's and the nation's.

​STUART EGAN: In Defense of the Arts and Humanities in Our Public Schools (EdNC column) -- There is an incredible emphasis on the STEM curriculum approach in our public schools. And I fear that because of the limiting of resources and reduction of per-pupil funding by our state government that other subject areas have and will suffer for it. We are already seeing that manifested in the class-size law that threatens specials in the K-3 grades in traditional public schools.

​ALEX GRANADOS: The role of the school nurse in public education (EdNC podcast) – EdTalk’s Alex Granados talks with Liz Newlin, president of the School Nurse Association of North Carolina, about the role of the school nurse in public education.

BRIAN CONE: Universities need revenue to provide quality education (Greensboro News & Record column) -- Last month, the UNC Board of Governors shocked the entire University of North Carolina system by passing a resolution pledging to reduce tuition and fees at all member institutions.

TRAVIS FAIN: New turn on old complaint: Partisan gerrymanders targeted in NC suit (WRAL-TV analysis) -- Advocates for change argue that the Republican majority's express push to draw maps benefiting their candidates violated the constitutional rights of voters and threw the state's congressional delegation way out of whack.

Time to reconsider how judges are selected (Greenville Daily Reflector) -- North Carolina’s system of selecting trial judges needs to be reformed, but not in the way some legislators want.

GARY ROBERTSON: Partisan gerrymandering arguments in N.C. map on trial (AP analysis) -- The redistricting practices of North Carolina Republicans are getting scrutinized yet again in court, this time in a trial in which federal judges must decide whether mapmakers can go too far drawing boundaries that favor their party.

Is gerrymandering finally obsolete? (Fayetteville Observer) -- The seemingly endless North Carolina redistricting exercise that began after the 2010 federal census was back in federal court last week and it continues to be ... endless. The hearing held Thursday in Greensboro didn’t result in an immediate decision on whether newly redrawn legislative district maps satisfied the three-judge panel that had found 19 House and nine Senate districts were illegal racial gerrymanders.

LEROY GOLDMAN: Has gerrymandering met its match? (Hendersonville Times-News column) -- Gerrymandering has turned democracy on its head. Instead of us picking our congressman, the members of Congress and their allies in the state legislatures draw the district maps so that they pick who gets to anoint them. North Carolina is a perfect example of this undemocratic stranglehold.

JOHN RAILEY: Direct line from Old South and Charlottesville to kneelers (Winston-Salem Journal column) -- It seems almost quaint now. Fifteen years ago this December, Trent Lott of Mississippi resigned his post as the Senate Republican leader after widespread criticism of his verbal salute to the early efforts of Sen. Strom Thurmond of South Carolina, then a Dixiecrat Democrat, to keep our South segregated. I doubt Lott would be forced to step down today. He might even be celebrated by some factions in this brokenhearted nation.

​JOHN HINTON: N.C. GOP congressional representatives could consider ban on bump stock devices (Winston-Salem Journal analysis) -- Republican members of Congress and the gun lobby that financially supports them say they are willing to consider a ban on “bump stock” devices that the Las Vegas shooter apparently used to kill or wound nearly 600 people two weeks ago.

ALLEN JOHNSON: ‘The Godfather’ plays on, in a legislature near you (Greensboro News & Record column) -- “Don’t let anybody kid you. It’s all personal, every bit of business.”

LAURA VOZZELLA: ‘Dark-money’ superlawyer bills herself as advocate for charities in Va. Lt. Gov.’s race (Washington Post analysis) -- Legal experts say that as managing partner of the 13-lawyer firm, Republican Virginia state Sen. Jill Holtzman Vogel – who is running for lieutenant governor -- is ultimately responsible for its actions, much as a chief executive is responsible for the activities of a corporation. Vogel’s firm was at the center of controversy last fall right after Gov. Pat McCrory of North Carolina came up short in his reelection bid.

CELIA RIVENBARK: The grand old spending party (Wilmington Star-News column) -- When did “Conservatives,” the perpetually pinch-faced, fiscally constipated buzz killers morph into Beyonce buying a multimillion-dollar “dragon egg” because she saw one on “Game of Thrones” and just had to have it? Weren’t y’all the ones who had a dying duck fit every time Obama took Michelle to dinner at a D.C. restaurant? Yes. Yes you were.

CHARLES DAVENPORT JR.: Death penalty has its place in an orderly society (Greensboro News & Record column) -- Several weeks ago, North Carolina Rep. Justin Burr took to his Facebook page and advocated for a return of capital punishment. Opponents of the death penalty have hammered Burr ever since,

CAMILA MOLINA: How REI helped the FBI identify a man accused of placing a bomb at the Asheville airport (Charlotte Observer analysis) -- The FBI identified a man accused of placing a homemade bomb at the Asheville Regional Airport and who vowed to “fight a war on U.S. soil” by tracking down the man’s REI membership, which he used to buy a backpack found in the woods near the airport.

DILLON DAVIS: Here's what we know about would-be Asheville Airport bomber (Asheville Citizen-Times analysis) -- The man suspected of leaving an explosive device at the Asheville Regional Airport had been in jail just 20 days prior. Michael Christopher Estes was incarcerated for attacking a man with a hatchet and knife in Swain County earlier this year. It's unclear why Estes would have served seven days, despite being sentenced to up to 21 months. A public information officer for the Department of Public Safety did not immediately return calls and emails requesting clarification.

RICHARD CARVER: Delay continues for eugenics victims awaiting final compensation payment (Winston-Salem Journal analysis) -- Eugenics victims have been told that it “could be several months” before state officials can determine when the third and final compensation payment will be sent. The letter was sent to compensation recipients on Oct. 5 by the N.C. Administration Department.

ASHLEN RENNER: Bridging the gap - Penick Village embarks on racial reconciliation pilgrimage (Southern Pines Pilot column) -- Penick Village will send 30 staff members and residents to Washington D.C. on a four-day journey to bridge the gap between races, cultures and generations.

JONATHAN SPALTER: Broadband for all – closing the digital divide (Durham Herald-Sun column) -- Rural communities have the most to gain from this lifeblood of the information age—from using high-speed internet to start a business or find a job, to having access to quality, affordable health care and education close to home. Broadband is an essential onramp to opportunity, and it must connect all Americans, regardless of where we live.

How to prepare for the next Matthew (Fayetteville Observer) -- A year has gone by and we’re still recovering and rebuilding, we’re still learning and we’ve only begun our planning for the next one. Hurricane Matthew devastated this region. There are homes still uninhabitable, people still displaced — living in campers, motels or with relatives.

RUSTY JACOBS: GenX, The Challenge Of Regulating Emerging Compounds (WUNC-FM analysis) -- New Hanover County Commission Chairman Woody White found out about GenX the same way many others in and around Wilmington did. It was June 8th, and he slept in a little since he was on vacation.

TIM WHITE: What if there was a safer alternative to GenX? Well, there was. (Fayetteville Observer column) -- Imagine a state where “regulation” wasn’t a cuss word, but rather the description of a collaborative process, a cooperative effort of government and industry that protects the citizenry and employees but also helps industry’s owners and shareholders run a profitable business.

Clean river crucial to our future (Hendersonville Times-News) -- The French Broad River Paddle Trail, a project to develop campsites along the region’s ancient free-flowing river, is opening new recreational opportunities along the river’s North Carolina headwaters. Staff writer Derek Lacey’s Oct. 7 article on his trip along part of the route with Riverkeeper Hartwell Carson shows the recreational potential the river, one of Western North Carolina’s often overlooked assets. That’s not to say folks have not been using the river.

TRISTA TALTON: Brunswick Seeks to Limit Size of Solar Farms (Coastal Review analysis) -- Brunswick County’s planning board is recommending rule changes that would cap the size and tighten setback requirements for solar farms.

Tax credits for solar energy a good investment (Elizabeth City Daily Advance) -- Solar energy has a way to go before it is self-staining, but the prospects are good and getting better. Forward-thinking consumers and leaders who recognize the benefits of sustainable power should be able to live with tax credits as an investment toward achieving that objective.

JOSEPH BEBON: Virginia Issues RFP for Statewide EV Charging Network (NGT News analysis) -- Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe recently announced the launch of a request for proposals to deploy an interconnected and statewide public electric vehicle charging network.

CLAY MASTERS: Patients, Health Insurers Challenge Iowa’s Privatized Medicaid (N.C. Health News/Kaiser Health News) -- Iowa is several years ahead of North Carolina in converting to Medicaid managed care. Now people in that state are suing the state over being refused care.

Trump wrong to end reimbursements (Rocky Mount Telegram) -- President Donald Trump’s reckless move on Friday to end federal reimbursement payments to health insurance companies will only exacerbate the problems afflicting the country’s health care system and likely drive insurance premiums out of reach for millions of Americans.

Shortage of mental health providers hurts us all (Wilmington Star-News) -- There is a national shortage of mental health professionals, and it’s being felt locally. With the Wilmington area particularly hard-hit by the opioid crisis, we’re seeing mental health professionals turn away people who literally are begging for help.

Mary Cochran, Dancer Who ‘Lit Up the Stage,’ Dies at 54 (New York Times obit) -- Mary Cochran, a versatile dancer with Paul Taylor’s company for 12 years and then the chairwoman of the dance department at Barnard College, has died. She was 54. For high school she went to the North Carolina School of the Arts, and at 18 she moved to New York, having been accepted at her mother’s alma mater. But a recommendation from one of her North Carolina teachers fast-tracked her career: She decided to forgo Juilliard to join Alwin Nikolais’s dance company.

Chat With MacArthur Genius, UNC Grad, Nikole Hannah-Jones (New York Times Insider) -- On Wednesday, the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation announced the 24 recipients of its annual fellowship, often called the “genius grant,” which awards $625,000, no strings attached, to “exceptionally creative people” each year. Among those who received the unexpected phone call this year was Nikole Hannah-Jones, a staff writer for The New York Times Magazine and UNC journalism grad, whose work, rooted in deeply researched historical insight, focuses on endemic racism in housing and education.

KATHERINE BROOKS: Banjo Player From N.C. Is Writing The Next ‘Hamilton’ (Huffington Post) – Rhiannon Giddens is writing a musical. The acclaimed banjoist, fiddler and founding member of the Grammy-winning Carolina Chocolate Drops was recognized by the MacArthur Foundation for her work “reclaiming African-American contributions to folk and country music and bringing to light new connections between music from the past and the present.” And she plans to continue doing just that on the stage, by bringing to life the story of the Wilmington insurrection of 1898.

MYSCHA THERIAULT: A Taste of Transylvania in North Carolina (LA Times column) -- Looking for a couple's getaway to keep you both happy? Home to world-class mountain bikers drawn to its extensive trail network and mild winters, nationally known fly fishermen and an internationally acclaimed music center, this rural getaway offers travel amenities, a publicly accessible NASA gem and an art district that's home to a Smithsonian exhibitor. Need more? There's also a blooming craft beer scene, and more waterfalls than you can shake a stick at. North Carolina's Transylvania County has much to offer lovers of music, mountain biking and Mother Nature.