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Voters Head To The Polls Tuesday For Municipal Elections
Voters across the state will head to the polls for municipal elections, including some races that will shape Triad cities.
In High Point, incumbent Mayor Jay Wagner is seeking a second term. He's facing a challenge from county commissioner Carlvena Foster.
High Point voters will also consider a $50 million bond proposal to fund road improvements, parks and recreation projects, and an affordable housing plan.
In Forsyth County, there are contested mayoral races in Kernersville, Clemmons, and Rural Hall.
Judge: Redistricting Guru's Documents No Longer Confidential
RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — A North Carolina judge says more than 100,000 computer documents generated by a recently deceased Republican redistricting guru covering several states are no longer under a court's confidentiality order.
The files were subpoenaed by Common Cause and North Carolina Democrats from the daughter of Thomas Hofeller for a partisan gerrymandering trial in July.
Only a few dozen documents were used in that case, providing evidence a Republican advantage was the chief goal of redrawing General Assembly districts in 2017. Several dozen districts were thrown out.
Wake County Judge Vince Rozier wrote Monday there's no justification to keep private the work Hofeller generated as an individual and not for the company.
Representative Foxx Co-Sponsors Bill To Reinstate IFB Federal Contracts
U.S. Representative Virginia Foxx has co-sponsored a bill to restore federal contracts with IFB Solutions. The Winston-Salem-based company has made eyeglasses for the Department of Veterans Affairs for the past two decades.
The resolution addresses laws that oversee federal contracts with companies that employ the blind or severely disabled.
The Winston-Salem Journal reports IFB Solutions is fighting to keep over 100 positions following an announcement that the VA would end three optical contracts with the agency.
Foxx, a North Carolina Republican, is asking the government to review VA contracts drawn up under AbilityOne, a congressional act giving the federal government preference to award contracts to companies that employ the blind. A recent court ruling sided with veteran-owned businesses over AbilityOne nonprofits.
Former UNC Board Chairman To Step Off Board Entirely
RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — The former chair of the governing panel for the University of North Carolina system says he's leaving his spot on the board.
Harry Smith announced on Monday that he was leaving the UNC Board of Governors in February 2020.
Smith said he doesn't have time to be on the board after starting his own private equity firm. When he resigned as chairman, Smith said he stepped down because of the overwhelming demands of being the chair while running businesses.
NC Wildlife Resources Commission Buys 6,300 More Acres
MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) — The North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission has purchased an additional 6,310 acres adjacent to its North River Game Land, located in Camden and Curritick counties north of the Albemarle Sound.
A news release from Ducks Unlimited on Monday says the purchase, the first of two along the North River, was helped by donations from Ducks Unlimited and the Enviva Forest Conservation Fund.
The partnership, which helped make the purchase, will preserve forests and wetlands that furnish habitat for numerous waterfowl species, black bears, bald eagles and endangered red-cockaded woodpeckers. It also protects more than 16 miles of stream and river frontage as part of the Game Land system.