SOME ADULT BEHAVIOR AT BOARD OF ED MEETINGS WOULDN'T BE TOLERATED IN SCHOOLS: Berating, belittling, cursing and threatening. Seeing and hearing it from audiences has become all-too-common at local government meetings – particularly at local school boards. It is the kind of behavior we’re sure -- if any of those speakers saw it on a visit to a public school among students or teachers – would ignite justifiable shock and concern for decorum and safety. At a recent Wake County Board of Education meeting a woman crossed a security barrier to “serve” legal papers on the board members threatening court action unless they reversed school staff and student protective health mask mandates and stopped testing for COVID-19 infections. “Don’t make me come back here,” she threatened. A short while later, another speaker addressed the board’s attorney as “homeboy.” Wake School Board member Jim Martin termed the speaker’s reference as “hate speech.” There’s certainly no abridgement of free speech on display. Does this behavior get anyone to listen? It's no coincidence that threats and intimidation at local government meetings increased in the year following Trump's attempted coup. It's taken way too long for the wheels of justice to punish those traitors, and we're seeing the effects of that delay on Main Street USA.
https://www.wral.com/coronavirus/editorial-some-adult-behavior-at-board-of-ed-meetings-wouldn-t-be-t...

WALKER ON THE VERGE OF DROPPING OUT OF GOP SENATE PRIMARY: A candidate seeking North Carolina's Republican U.S. Senate nomination for over a year says he'll now reveal whether he'll stay in the race. Former U.S. Rep. Mark Walker scheduled a Thursday evening announcement in Greensboro, much of which he represented in Congress for six years through 2020. Walker fell behind nomination rivals Ted Budd and former Gov. Pat McCrory in campaign fundraising in 2021. Budd — a current congressman — received President Donald Trump's endorsement in June. That's made it harder for Walker to win over Trump loyalists, especially among conservative Christians. Walker's campaign says he was offered the ex-president’s endorsement if he ran instead for a House seat in central North Carolina. The Trump effect: when a gun dealer steals the Christian vote from a Baptist Minister.
https://www.newsobserver.com/news/state/north-carolina/article257766498.html

SCOTUS SHARPENS ITS KNIVES FOR AFFIRMATIVE ACTION: The U.S. Supreme Court will weigh in on whether colleges and universities can consider race in admissions as it agreed to hear a case brought by an anti-affirmative action group against UNC-Chapel Hill. The group, Students for Fair Admissions, alleges UNC-CH discriminated against white and Asian American applicants by using race as a factor in its undergraduate admissions process. The justices will also hear a similar case against Harvard University brought by the same group. The court consolidated the two cases Monday, allotting a total of one hour for oral arguments. The outcome of these cases could have sweeping implications for affirmative action in higher education and diversity of student bodies on campus. And with the court becoming more conservative in recent years, the fate of race-conscious admissions is in doubt. UNC-CH has defended its admissions process in this legal battle for several years. Funded by right-wing dark money, of course. Seven Degrees of Sarah Scaife. I need to take another shower.
https://www.newsobserver.com/news/local/education/article257655768.html

DELTA FLIGHT SLIDES OFF RDU RUNWAY DUE TO SNOW: The airfield at Raleigh-Durham International Airport reopened after being closed for a little more than an hour Friday night when a plane landed safely but rolled into mud while taxiing, the airport announced on Twitter. Delta Flight 5501 from Washington, D.C., landed safely and rolled off runway 5L/23R, an RDU spokesperson told The News & Observer. A total of 19 passengers were onboard, the spokesperson said, and no injuries were reported. All passengers were safely transported to Terminal 2, the spokesperson added. Airport crews removed snow from alternate runway 5R/23L, the spokesperson said. Runway 5L/23R remains closed while the aircraft is safely towed off the tarmac, the airport said. A total of 10 incoming flights had been diverted to other airports, and four were delayed, according to the airport’s website. I hate when that happens...
https://www.newsobserver.com/news/weather-news/article257578408.html

RESIDENCY CHALLENGED FOR AFRICAN-AMERICAN WAKE SCHOOL BOARD APPOINTEE: Artis, an educator and former teacher, won over most of the board members last week with a promise to make equity issues a focus if he was appointed. But Artis’ educational views and whether he can legally serve in District 4 was questioned Tuesday on social media and at the school board meeting. People pointed out that Artis’ education consulting business still lists his District 1 address on his state business records and that his wife is still registered to vote at the prior address. Artis said Wednesday that he no longer lives with his wife. “Provide proof of Mr. Artis’ residency immediately if you plan to proceed to appoint him to District 4 — and residency as in now, not that he plans to move there some time soon,” Becky Lew-Hobbs said during public comments at Tuesday’s board meeting. Apparently she's miffed because Wake Schools no longer wants her volunteering. And I can see why...
https://www.newsobserver.com/news/local/education/article257480139.html