Receive the morning news briefs delivered to your email inbox every morning. Click here to sign-up.
Parties Say No Uncontested Legislative Elections
The filing deadline for North Carolina congressional and legislative seats passed with Democrats and Republicans making good on goals to compete in every corner of the state.
The filing period closed at noon Wednesday at the state elections board office in Raleigh and in all 100 counties. And both the state Democratic and Republican parties say they have candidates to support for every one of the 170 General Assembly seats.
GOP Executive Director Dallas Woodhouse says that includes the GOP backing an unaffiliated candidate in one eastern North Carolina seat.
Legislative Leaders Back Volunteer School Officer Program
North Carolina's top legislative leaders believe communities should consider a 2013 state law allowing retired police officers to provide additional armed protection at schools.
The News & Record reports House Speaker Tim Moore, Senate leader Phil Berger and Rockingham County Sheriff Sam Page were among speakers at a news conference Wednesday promoting volunteer school safety resource officers.
The program was approved following the Sandy Hook school shooting in Connecticut and is getting attention after the Florida high school shooting. The plan lets school districts reach agreements with law enforcement for volunteer officers with arrest powers. They must meet gun proficiency and other standards.
Audit Show North Carolina Has 15K Untested Sexual Assault Kits
North Carolina's attorney general says the state has more than 15,000 untested sexual assault kits, a number that one national advocacy group called "significant."
Attorney General Josh Stein released the numbers at a news conference Wednesday. A new state law required all law enforcement agencies to report their numbers of untested rape kits, and 92 percent of the 563 agencies responded.
Stein is proposing a bar code tracking system for future kits, and he's seeking legislative help in determining which kits to test first. The cost of testing a kit is about $700, meaning a total cost of about $10 million.
Calls For Resignation: Harassment Charge Linked To Lawmaker
Gov. Roy Cooper and other Democrats want a state representative to resign after a media report in which people alleged the legislator used sexual innuendo and made unwanted sexual advances.
Cooper, state Democratic Party Chair Wayne Goodwin and colleagues of Democratic Rep. Duane Hall said Wednesday that Hall should step down. NC Policy Watch identified a Democratic campaign aide and others making accusations against Hall.
Cooper says in a release the allegations are "disturbing" and that a culture should be created "where harassment of any kind is unacceptable."
Jury Duty Anyone? Forsyth County Finds Few Takers
When the judges, deputies and clerks showed up for court, they were missing one key element — the jurors.
The Winston-Salem Journal reports that North Carolina's fourth-largest county failed to mail notices to the 1,700 or so prospective jurors needed to hear cases this week.
After no one showed up for jury duty Monday, Forsyth County officials made a plea through a local television station for any volunteers willing to fulfill their civic duty.
But only 19 people showed up Tuesday. One judge in the county of 370,000 residents even sent deputies to a mall to seek volunteers, but found no other takers.
With the jury still out, some trials had to be postponed until next week and new notices were sent out to hundreds of prospective jurors.