REPUBLICAN FORMER DISTRICT ATTORNEY CONVICTED IN WIFE-HIRING SCHEME: A former prosecutor in North Carolina has been convicted of providing a no-show job for a colleague's wife. News outlets reported a jury convicted former Person and Caswell County District Attorney Wallace Bradsher on Monday of obtaining property by false pretense, assisting in obtaining property by false pretense, felony and misdemeanor obstruction of justice and failure to properly perform his job. Former Rockingham County District Attorney Craig Blitzer testified he and Bradsher agreed in 2015 to hire each other's wives to get around state ethics rules against prosecutors hiring their own spouses. Bradsher said the case was just administrative failure. Jurors return Tuesday on factors to be considered in Bradsher's sentence.
https://www.wral.com/ex-north-carolina-da-convicted-of-hiring-fellow-da-s-wife/17638217/

BY NOT EXPANDING MEDICAID, LEGISLATORS FAIL THOSE WHO MOST NEED THEIR HELP: If ignorance is bliss, the state Senate might be the happiest place on the planet. It also may be where the largest number of President Barack Obama haters hang out. The logical conclusion: It is not about state money since the state’s hospitals have agreed to a plan that would cover the 10 percent cost of Medicaid expansion that isn’t being paid for through federal funds. That’s the only way to comprehend the unrelenting opposition to even study, much less expand, health care coverage to more than half-a-million citizens who don’t have it now. It is hatred of Obama. Period. It is far past time that North Carolina expands health coverage, as have 34 other states including most recently, Virginia. Does anyone care that refusal to expand Medicaid coverage is, truly, a life and death matter?
https://www.wral.com/editorial-by-not-expanding-medicaid-legislators-fail-those-who-most-need-their-...

COOPER OPPOSES GOP PLAN TO BLACKMAIL STATES WHO OPPOSE OFFSHORE DRILLING: The Democratic governors of five Atlantic states are calling on Congress to reject a proposal to impose heavy fees on states that oppose offshore drilling for oil and natural gas. North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper joined the governors of Virginia, New Jersey, Connecticut and Rhode Island in signing a letter to party leaders urging a halt to the plan. "North Carolina should not have to pay a ransom to protect our beaches from the dangers of offshore drilling," Cooper said in statement released Thursday. "Our coastal communities generate more than 30,000 jobs and the risk posed by offshore drilling simply isn't worth it." Cooper says North Carolina would have to pay more than $500 million in order to protect its coastline. The proposal would also establish a plan for states that permit drilling to share in the revenue the drilling generates.
http://www.newsobserver.com/news/politics-government/state-politics/article213209204.html

NC REPUBLICANS CONTEMPLATE AMENDMENT TO GRAB MORE POWER FROM GOVERNOR: Legislative leaders are considering a constitutional amendment that would limit Gov. Roy Cooper's power over the state elections board. House Rules Chairman David Lewis, a Harnett County Republican, confirmed the possibility Monday but said details of the amendment are still being worked out. "The elections and ethics board is something that we are indeed looking at in terms of its structure," Lewis told reporters. "I believe that the people of the state are committed to having elections administered in a free and fair way, and that includes free from influence from the chief executive." Lewis wouldn't say who'd appoint elections board members under a constitutional amendment, but said the language would make clear that "it is not an executive agency, it is a quasi-judicial agency that is not subject to the whims of one person."
http://www.newsobserver.com/news/politics-government/article213072239.html

NC TOWN FLOODED BY HURRICANE STILL REELING FROM DAMAGE: Before the flooding caused by Hurricane Matthew, the population of this Columbus County town along the banks of the Lumber River was estimated at 900 to 950 people. After the flood, the number plummeted dramatically, and the town now counts about 600 residents. The flooding, which devastated much of Fair Bluff on the heels of Hurricane Matthew in October 2016, significantly altered the landscape. As of late May, the rebuilding efforts had barely begun. Leonard said 111 residences were flooded out. Though he notes that "a lot" of federal and state grant money has been awarded, most of the property owners have not received the financial assistance to date. The town's water and sewer system was substantially impacted by the extensive flooding, Leonard said. One of the town's two wells remains out of commission. "We believe we were ground zero. We believe no municipality was hit harder than us," he said from Town Hall. "We think we were the most impacted community in the state."
https://www.wral.com/20-months-after-matthew-fair-bluff-like-a-ghost-town-/17613827/