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Judges Order State To Pay For Special Master In Gerrymandering Lawsuit
A three-judge panel has ordered the state government to pay just over $124,000 to the special master in a lawsuit against racial gerrymandering.
According to the News & Record, the judges concluded that in his advisory role, Stanford University law professor Nathaniel Persily provided insights that helped them address critical issues in the case.
Persily was hired by the judicial panel after they determined state legislators failed to correct unconstitutional gerrymandering intended to benefit Republican candidates.
There may be additional financial fallout from the litigation. Lawyers who represented the voters behind the lawsuit want an additional $1.5 million from state taxpayers for the three years of work that went into the case.
Duke Energy Ties Pig Waste Gas To Lines For Power Plants
Duke Energy Corp. is finally converting methane gas from North Carolina's plentiful hog operations into gas that could be burned at electric power plants.
Duke said Tuesday that for the first time it is piping purified methane from industrial-scale hog farms into natural gas lines that supply power plants.
The milestone comes more than a decade after North Carolina legislators directed the company to start using animal waste to generate a fraction of the electricity it sells.
Child Hunger And Poverty Plague The Triad
A new report shows child poverty and hunger remain major problems for children in the Triad.
A group called NC Child recently released a variety of new metrics on how kids are doing across the state.
For example, 53 percent of Forsyth County children still live in poor or near-poor homes.
Guilford County also saw similar numbers for child poverty and hunger, according to the report.
Whitney Tucker with NC Child said many children are living on the very edge of economic stability.
Tucker says although both counties saw improvements in some areas, she hopes the report will spark conversation with lawmakers to help create policies to address the issues soon.
Family Dollar To Pay $45M In Gender Bias Lawsuit Settlement
Family Dollar has agreed to pay $45 million to settle a gender bias lawsuit that dates back 16 years.
The Charlotte Observer cites the settlement in a Wednesday report as saying 37,000 female managers of Family Dollar stores allege they were paid less than their male counterparts for doing the same job, a violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Equal Pay Act of 1963.
The discount retailer's headquarters are in Matthews, North Carolina, with over 8,000 stores throughout the country.
Contract Extension Will Keep Basketball Coach Wes Miller In Gate City Through 2029
UNC Greensboro has extended men's basketball coach Wes Miller's contract through 2029.
The deal comes after he led the Spartans to their first NCAA Tournament since 2001.
Athletic director Kim Record announced the seven-year extension that increases Miller's base salary to more than $300,000 per year. It also increases his retention bonus and other performance-based incentives.
Under the 35-year-old Miller's leadership, UNC Greensboro won a school-record 27 games, claimed consecutive Southern Conference regular season titles and advanced to the NCAA Tournament.