Up To 10 Inches Of Snow, Sleet Possible In NC Mountains
Forecasters say a winter storm could bring snow and sleet accumulations of up to 10 inches in North Carolina's mountains and freezing rain to the eastern part of the state.
The National Weather Service issued a winter storm warning for western North Carolina counties, forecasting the highest accumulations of 5 inches to 10 inches in Alleghany, Ashe and Watauga counties. Up to 6 inches of snow and sleet are possible in other parts of western North Carolina.
Forecasters say ice also could accumulate with sleet and snow.
Freezing rain also is possible in eastern and southern North Carolina.
Guilford Redistricting Hearings Canceled Due To Weather
The General Assembly may have to approve a new map refitting North Carolina's congressional districts by the end of the week. So lawmakers are taking public comments following a recent federal court ruling striking down some of the boundaries.
A special redistricting committee scheduled seven public hearings Monday, stretching from Asheville to Wilmington.
A three-judge panel called the 1st and 12th Districts illegal racial gerrymanders and demanded a conforming plan by Friday.
Republican lawmakers say those districts are legal and asked the U.S. Supreme Court to block that mandate and allow House primary elections March 15 under the current boundaries.
The hearings are part of a backup plan should the Supreme Court refuse that request. The plan includes Gov. Pat McCrory reconvening the full legislature Thursday.
One of those redistricting meetings was planned for Guilford Technical Community College. But it was cancelled due to the snow and will not be rescheduled. Residents can submit their comments to the General Assembly by mail or email.
NC Supreme Court To Hear Eminent Domain Case
The North Carolina Supreme Court is set to hear arguments centered around the Winston-Salem Northern Beltway Tuesday. At issue is whether the state Department of Transportation should pay landowners who are in the path of construction.
Hundreds of residents hope a ruling will bring an end to more than two decades of waiting for compensation.
The case hinges on whether the state Department of Transportation had the right to place hundreds of Forsyth County properties in a protected corridor along the proposed Beltway.
The landowners claim that in addition to not being compensated, the designation has depressed their property values and limited the use of their land.
There are more than 2,000 properties in the road's pathway. The state has bought some of them over the years, but hundreds more remain.
NCDOT was contacted, but couldn't provide comment on the hearing before our deadline.
The Supreme Court's ruling is expected to take several months.
NC High Court To Decide If Teaching Vets Earned Job Security
A North Carolina law that sought to strip job protections from public school teachers is being attacked by groups representing police officers and state government retirees.
The state Supreme Court today hears arguments on whether the 2013 law violated the constitutional rights of veteran teachers by gutting job protections they'd earned. A lower court ruled the General Assembly could cut off so-called career status for newer teachers, but that the state had made a deal with veteran teachers it couldn't revoke.
Groups representing other public employees and retirees say their benefits are at stake unless the Supreme Court sticks to that principle.
The challenged law ends protections for veteran teachers against subjective decisions of administrators. Teachers still can be fired for reasons including poor performance, immorality and insubordination.
Barber Says Civil Rights Movement Will Win
A leader of North Carolina's civil rights movement says bad election laws from the General Assembly ultimately will be overcome as people opposed to Republican tactics keep showing up to vote.
The Rev. William Barber of the state NAACP delivered the keynote address Saturday at the 10th annual march and rally of the "Forward Together" movement. The size of the gathering in sub-freezing temperatures reached into the thousands but didn't appear to match crowds from the past two years.
Barber talked about a federal court's redistricting decision that struck down two majority-black congressional districts as racial gerrymanders. He says the map's authors need to repent for boundaries that suppress voting. A federal judge also is weighing the legality of a new voter identification.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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