NC REPUBLICANS REDRAW MAPS TO STACK THE COURTS WITH FRIENDS: North Carolina House Republicans pressed ahead Monday with legislation redrawing electoral boundaries for trial court judges and district attorneys that its author said was months in the making but surfaced with the days left in this year's session quickly dwindling. The updated maps for Superior Court, District Court and prosecutors' districts, combined with the lack of formal input by judicial groups, only raised misgivings among Democrats that the altered boundaries are designed largely to benefit Republicans. "They're trying to rig the courts because they've lost," Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper told reporters earlier Monday. "This is an attempt to threaten the judiciary and to rig the judiciary in their favor."
http://www.wral.com/judicial-da-boundary-line-changes-approved-by-house-panel/16786679/

Because you better believe Republicans are looking at this:

North Carolina’s two largest metropolitan statistical areas – Charlotte-Concord and the Triangle (Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill) – have driven much of North Carolina’s total growth since 2010, accounting for 72% of the state’s 611,000 person growth. For every one-year period since the last census (e.g. 2010-2011, 2012-2013, etc.), the cities of Charlotte, Raleigh, Durham, and Cary have reported the largest numeric gains in population, typically in that order. Greensboro and Winston-Salem of the Triad, and the port communities around Wilmington, have also made significant gains since 2010.

Granted, this is no "stunning revelation," it aligns with previous growth numbers and forecasts. But much of the discussion (I've read/heard) on tactics to strengthen the Democratic Party has focused around energizing rural Democratic operations into a viable alternative in deep-red territory. And that should be done. But the infusion of large numbers of "new" people (not native North Carolinians) into metropolitan zones, provides not only a lot of potential voters, but also a lot of potential grass roots volunteers. But before we do what I heard somebody suggest recently, "Send them out to the rural areas to spread the messages," the real work that needs to be done is a lot closer to home:

SUPREME COURT AGAIN, TO NC: DON'T PLAY POLITICS WITH THE CONSTITUTION: It is becoming all too familiar. If it’s Monday, the U.S. Supreme Court will declare another North Carolina law unconstitutional. It’s no joke. Since a new majority took control in 2011, more than a dozen laws passed by the General Assembly have been struck down by the federal courts. It is a sorry record that reflects a reckless disregard for our Constitution in favor of petty partisanship and the unbending desire to impose a rigid ideology on the state. It is a wasteful pastime that gains nothing and leaves innocent victims in the wake. If the politicians in office cannot restrain themselves from enacting unconstitutional laws, voters need to pick new ones who can.
http://www.wral.com/editorial-supreme-court-again-to-n-c-don-t-play-politics-with-the-constitution-/...

OIL & GAS INDUSTRY MOGULS WRITING THEIR OWN TICKET IN TRUMP ADMINISTRATION: Just four days after he was inaugurated, President Donald Trump delivered a clear message that he would use his office to help industry friends and political allies. He signed a Jan. 24 executive order that assured completion of the Dakota Access pipeline, which will transport oil fracked by various companies, including one owned by Oklahoma oilman Harold Hamm, his longtime friend and energy adviser. Since that day, the president has tapped various friends and supporters to help shape his infrastructure agenda, including CEOs who have a financial interest in the regulatory relief Trump is promising and implementing. These include Stephen Schwarzman, who heads the New York-based Blackstone equity firm, which has multi-billion-dollar investments in infrastructure nationwide.
http://www.newsobserver.com/latest-news/article157881244.html