LONG-STANDING, UNMET PRIORITIES ARE EVEN MORE CRITICAL NOW: Now, as much as ever, the legislature should take the steps to accomplish the following: Support implementation of the recommendations outlined in the report released by Superior Court Judge David Lee, so the state meets its constitutional mandate to provide EVERY student with an opportunity for a sound basic education in public schools – no matter where they live. In the more than two decades since the Leandro ruling North Carolina has, according to the report, lost ground in meeting the court order and our constitutional requirement rather than moving closer to it. Expand Medicaid to the 650,000 working North Carolina citizens who are currently denied access to health care. It is no exaggeration that this is a life-and-death matter. It is particularly critical as hundreds of thousands of newly unemployed citizens now have nowhere else to turn for healthcare coverage. Approve the requests state Board of Elections Executive Director Karen Brinson Bell presented in her March 26 letter to the governor and legislative leaders. They will help assure the fall election will be open and as many voters as possible will have the opportunity to cast ballots.
https://www.wral.com/coronavirus/editorial-long-standing-unmet-priorities-are-even-more-critical-now...

SOME REPUBLICANS IN THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY STILL NOT WEARING MASKS: State health leaders have been urging people for weeks to exercise social distancing and wear masks in public, but many state lawmakers don't seem to be following that advice. Lawmakers and staff are almost on top of each other in some committee rooms, and in the House and Senate chambers, lawmakers sit only about 3 feet apart. "There’s no way to avoid being close to somebody eventually, but I think most people are being as cautious as they can and being as respectful as they can to someone else," said Sen. Harry Brown, R-Onslow. Brown said that's more about the individual’s comfort level than about party. "I’ve got one in my pocket as well. If I’m in a big crowd, where I feel like, I’ll wear mine," he said. "So, I think it’s been left up to the individual." While kitchen and housekeeping staff wear masks, most legislative staffers and General Assembly Police officers don't.
https://www.wral.com/coronavirus/nc-lawmakers-crowding-together-often-not-wearing-masks-while-doing-...

DOMINION WANTS TO RUN GAS PIPELINE ALONG AMERICAN TOBACCO TRAIL: “What you’ll have is kind of a skinny canopy along the trail, rather than trees that go back 9 or 10 deep,” Devereux said in an interview. “It’s going to change the character of the trail markedly for a while during construction, and then the long-term change to the canopy will not be a plus.” Devereux learned of the potential use of the trail corridor for the pipeline only last week and posted an item about it on the conservancy’s Facebook page Tuesday afternoon. Dave Connelly, a long-time trail advocate and user in Durham, soon sent an email to several Triangle government officials asking how such a potentially disruptive project could have gotten this far unnoticed. “It’s incredible that neither NCDOT nor the Board of Transportation thought to mention this to people who use the ATT,” Connelly wrote. “If someone wanted to plant a pipeline on the North Carolina Railroad corridor, do you think NCRR would not mention it to Norfolk Southern?”
https://www.newsobserver.com/news/local/article242837121.html

JUDGE TEMPORARILY BLOCKS GOVERNOR'S RESTRICTIONS ON CHURCHES: The temporary order comes after two Baptist churches, a minister and a Christian revival group filing a lawsuit against the Democratic governor Thursday, saying his executive order violates their First Amendment freedom of religion and other constitutional rights, The News & Observer reported. A hearing is scheduled May 29 on whether the order will become permanent. Until that time, the judge’s order prevents Cooper from taking enforcement actions against religious worshipers, but also states they should observe recommendations for social distancing and reduce transmission of the virus when possible. “The court trusts worshipers and their leaders to look after one another and society while exercising their free exercise rights just as they and their fellow citizens (whether religious or not) do when engaged in non-religious activities,” Dever’s order states.
https://www.newsobserver.com/news/coronavirus/article242788161.html

NC'S AFRICAN-AMERICAN POPULATION ESPECIALLY VULNERABLE IN PANDEMIC: Where the state does know race and ethnicity, DHHS reports that 33% of confirmed cases are among African Americans and 29% are among Hispanics. Of N.C. deaths, 36% have been among African Americans, and 5% among Hispanics. According to U.S. Census estimates for July 2019, blacks make up 22% of the state’s population. Hispanics account for less than 10%. The incidence of COVID-19 in North Carolina tracks with national trends. A report by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in April found that blacks and Hispanics are overrepresented among hospitalizations and deaths resulting from the new coronavirus. National numbers from May show that where race and ethnicity are known, black Americans are 2.6 times more likely to die of COVID-19 than white Americans.
https://www.newsobserver.com/news/local/article242764381.html