POLICY & POLITICS
N.C. revenues are $410 million behind last year and $190M short of forecast (AP) — The gap between predicted and actual North Carolina state revenues is widening because of continued tepid personal income tax collections, but improving sales tax collections approaching the holidays helped keep it spreading further. The monthly report on state revenues issued by the Office of the State Controller says revenues are running $410,1 million behind what was collected a year ago. The legislature's top economist confirmed this week revenues are about $190 million below expectations for the first five months of the fiscal year ending Nov. 30. The first-quarter gap through September was $62 million. The rate of revenue collections is also running behind the pace set a year ago. Last year, by the end of November, the state collected 39.6 percent of the total revenues collected for the fiscal year. Currently, the state has collected just 36.9 percent of the revenues it anticipates for the 2014-2015 fiscal year. The critical culprit has been collection of individual income taxes. Not only did the General Assembly cut the tax rate, but the recession and skyrocketing unemployment in North Carolina, which has lagged the nation in recovery, has resulted in many workers returning to the workforce in jobs that pay significantly less then the jobs they held previously. Last summer, a decline in withholdings in the first half of the 2014 calendar year contributed to a $450 million gap in the last fiscal year, making decisions for the current budget written by lawmakers last summer more difficult.
http://www.reflector.com/ap/staten/north-carolina-state-revenues-are-190m-short-forecast-2732391

When Richard Burr takes over as chair of the Senate Intelligence Committee next year, a quintessential oxymoron will step into the spotlight, showcasing North Carolina once again as a state filled with idiots and assholes. Mr. Burr, who famously created his own run on banks at the height of the financial crisis, continues to embarrass us all with every utterance he makes. His comments yesterday about torture and the war crimes of George W. Bush leave no doubt about his loyalties.

U.S. Sen. Richard Burr said the report by the Senate Intelligence Committee on the CIA’s use of torture released Tuesday “only endangers our officers and allies in a blatant attempt to smear the Bush administration.” The Republican U.S. senator from Winston-Salem will become chairman of the Intelligence Committee in January. He said on Tuesday that he would not hold hearings on the report.

“I just don’t know what you would accomplish with hearings,” he said in an interview. Asked if he saw any kind of follow-up, Burr said, “No. Put this report down as a footnote in history.”

As a veteran and former special operations officer in the US Navy, I find Mr. Burr's cavalier observations about CIA torture practices mind-boggling. This is not about smearing anybody, this is about integrity, which is definitely not Mr. Burr's strong suit. If we can't count on the United States Senate to exercise is authority to hold the executive branch accountable for proven war crimes, we are well and truly screwed.

So yeah, let's show Mr. Burr the respect he deserves. Exactly none.

PS Rob Schofield has a slightly more gentle take on Burr's outrageous statements.

The Spill at Dan River (60 Minutes-CBS News) -- Every year coal-burning power plants generate not only electricity, but a staggering amount of leftover coal ash that contains heavy metals unhealthy to humans. Yet due in part to intense industry lobbying, there are no federal regulations on its disposal. It's left to the states to oversee some of the most powerful utility companies in the country. So coal ash is often just dumped into giant pits that are dug by rivers and lakes, where toxins can leach into nearby water and soil. There are over 1,000 ash pits or ponds dotting the nation, many of them old, poorly monitored, all but forgotten. But every few years we are reminded that the status quo can lead to disaster --like the coal ash spill this past February into North Carolina's Dan River at a power plant owned by Duke Energy, the biggest utility company in the country. The spill at Dan River happened when a drainage pipe that ran underneath an ash basin and dam, collapsed, sucking out six decades of waste and spewing gunk directly into the river. … LESLEY STAHL: So that first report urging Duke to watch that pipe was 30 years ago. But there were others: 1996, 2001, 2006, advising you to keep watching that pipe, over and over. 2009, the EPA warned about the pipe. LYNN GOOD: Most of those-- LESLEY STAHL: How could you neglect those? … Duke closed the Dan River plant in 2012 - and that perplexed the governor. PAT MCCRORY: When I heard about the Dan River plant having a coal ash spill, my first reaction was, "Wait a minute. That plant's been closed for years. Why are we having a spill at a plant that's not even opened?" … Just this year Gov. McCrory cut the budget and staff of the specific department that inspects the ash ponds. The state legislature did pass a law in August, requiring Duke to clean up its plants, but only after the company had already volunteered to do that. Earlier, when Holleman tried to sue Duke, he was thwarted by the state which stepped in and negotiated a settlement that allowed Duke -- you guessed it -- more time to study, and imposed only a paltry fine. LESLEY STAHL: Tell everybody how much the fine was. PAT MCCRORY: I don't have that list, but again-- LESLEY STAHL: It was $99,111--
http://www.cbsnews.com/news/duke-energy-on-coal-ash-waste-at-dan-river/

Cooper calls immigration lawsuit 'partisan' in letter to Lt. Gov. Forest (Raleigh News & Observer) -- N.C. Attorney General Roy Cooper said in a letter on Friday that the multistate coalition challenging President Obama’s immigration plan filed a “partisan lawsuit” that “adds to the divisiveness that has prevented meaningful immigration reform.” The five-paragraph letter was sent to Lt. Gov. Dan Forest in response to a request on Thursday for the N.C. attorney general to join the suit.
http://www.newsobserver.com/2014/12/05/4379582/cooper-calls-immigration-lawsuit.html

GSK to eliminate 900 positions at its Research Triangle location (WNCN-TV) -- GlaxoSmithKline will eliminate about 900 positions from its Research Triangle Park location, and a significant number of those jobs will be in its research and development division. The drug maker said Wednesday that it has begun notifying employees of corporate restructuring that will occur during 2015. Most employees will be notified in early 2015 of the status of their jobs, the company said. In a filing with the N.C. Department of Commerce, GSK said about 350 positions will be eliminated in the first quarter, followed by 450 more positions during the second quarter. The company said the remaining 100 positions will be eliminated by the end of 2015.
http://www.wncn.com/story/27538355/gsk-restructuring-to-impact-rd-division-at-rtp?clienttype=mobile