Law Banning Sex Offenders From NC State Fair Sought
State Agriculture Department officials say North Carolina needs tougher laws that will ban registered sex offenders from the N.C. State Fair.
The News & Observer of Raleigh reports that policy analyst Joy Hicks raised the issue Thursday with a legislative agriculture study committee.
While she says Wake County Sheriff Donnie Harrison is aggressive about fair security, she also called on lawmakers to do more.
State law now bans offenders from "any place where minors gather for regularly scheduled educational, recreational or social programs." It doesn't specify whether the definition includes the State Fair.
Sex offenders were arrested around the State Fairgrounds twice during last year's fair.
An update to the sex offender law could come in the legislature's short session, which begins in late April.
Public Safety Secretary Defends Agency Leadership Shakeup
North Carolina's public safety secretary is defending a recent department shakeup that left two top leaders out of a job.
Secretary Frank Perry spoke to a General Assembly committee Thursday about a staff reorganization announced in October. It came weeks after the legislature passed a state budget that eliminated the post of law enforcement commissioner Gregory Baker.
Perry decided to retain Baker in a new position within the agency to lead department operations. But he also declined to keep the positions of Chief Operating Officer Lorrie Dollar and Administration Commissioner William Crews. Dollar's husband is House chief budget writer Nelson Dollar.
Perry says the changes saved money that helped provide more training for school resource officers. He says he needed to keep Baker to emphasize core department operations.
Panel Admonishes Lawyer For Ethics Violation
The North Carolina State Bar has admonished a lawyer who was found to have committed an ethical violation while trying to prove the innocence of a client.
A state bar disciplinary panel ruled Thursday against Chris Mumma, director of the North Carolina Center on Actual Innocence. The panel, which could have disbarred her, chose simply to admonish her.
Mumma was accused of taking a water bottle from someone without permission and having it tested for DNA. Mumma was trying to prove the innocence of Joseph Sledge, who served almost 40 years for a double murder until he was proven innocent.
The panel dismissed claims that Mumma was dishonest or deceitful or acted in a way prejudicial to the administration of justice.
Reynolds American Sells International Rights To American Spirit
Tobacco company Reynolds American says it's sold the international rights to it's Natural American Spirit brand. The sale is worth about five billion dollars in cash.
The sale means Reynolds now mostly has its hands out of the international cigarette business. Reynolds says the company can now focus on grabbing more of the U.S. market.
NC State University economist Blake Brown says simplifying can make sense. Reynolds will have to deal with regulations in fewer countries, and international growth markets are scarce anyway.
Brown says in some sense, this isn't a new trend. Reynolds is following its competition. Philip Morris spun off its international branch years ago.
NC Weighs Community Colleges Offering 4-Year Nursing Degree
North Carolina is confronting a chronic nursing shortage by considering whether its network of two-year community colleges should break with the past and offer four-year nursing degrees.
The state's community college board could take the next step Friday by launching a feasibility study into the pros and cons. Almost half the states in the country offer advanced nursing education at community colleges.
A study by community college leaders and health-industry groups said the idea is one way to reach a goal of 80 percent of the country's nurses holding four-year degrees by 2020 as the health care environment gets more complex.
The committee said an in-depth study is needed because community colleges accredited to offer four-year nursing degrees could then offer bachelor's degrees in other fields, blurring the line with universities.
Woman With Greensboro Roots Will Lead American Ballet Theater
A woman with Greensboro roots will take a top management role at one of the world's leading classical ballet companies.
Kara Medoff Barnett will take over as the executive director of the American Ballet Theater in New York.
The 37-year-old is currently with the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts.
Barnett tells the News and Record of Greensboro that her formative years were spent performing with the Greensboro Ballet.
She went on to a career in theater production and arts management in New York City.
Barnett begins her new role at ABT February 16.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.