N. Carolina Justices Take Another Look At 2011 Redistricting

North Carolina's highest court has revisited the legality of the congressional and legislative boundaries approved in 2011 by the General Assembly in light of a separate matter ruled on by the U.S. Supreme Court.

The state Supreme Court heard an hour of arguments Monday by attorneys representing the state and those for Democratic voters and civil rights and election advocacy groups who challenged the maps.

The state court upheld the maps last December, but the nation's highest court told the justices to take a second look based on an Alabama decision. That case says it's wrong to use what it called "mechanical" percentages of black voting populations in drawing boundaries.

NAACP Branches Deliver Letters Supporting Voting Rights Act

North Carolina NAACP branches are holding 17 simultaneous news conferences and delivering letters stating their support of a proposal to restore and strengthen the 1965 Voting Rights Act.

The letters will be delivered Tuesday in Wilson, Asheboro, Greenville, Chapel Hill, Clemmons, Graham, Bolivia, Concord, Mooresville, Gastonia, Spruce Pine, Greensboro, Fremont, Wilmington, Asheville, Charlotte and Raleigh.

The project is part of America's Journey for Justice, an 840-mile march from Selma, Alabama, to Washington, D.C.

The news conferences will be held at congressional offices, followed by the delivery of letters.

DSS In Winston-Salem Forced To Close After Flooding, May Reopen Today

The Department of Social Services  in Winston Salem was forced to close yesterday after the pipe supplying emergency water to the building burst, flooding the building .

The Winston Salem Journal reports DSS hopes to reopen today, and that some services will be limited.

The break occurred on the fifth floor, sending water flowing throughout the building and flooding the ground floor. All 478 employees and customers in the building were evacuated.

 

 

Yadkin County Hospital Legal Dispute Delayed Until Next Summer

Recent court filings concerning the Yadkin Valley Community Hospital indicate the facility won't be reopening any time soon. 

Yadkin claims CAH Acquisition and other companies breached their contract by closing the hospital without warning, and interfered with the county's ability to negotiate with a new hospital operator.

The Winston-Salem Journal reports that CAH Acquisition claims that Yadkin County officials' actions led to the hospital closing, particularly entering into negotiations for a new hospital operator without giving CAH Acquisition an opportunity to sign a new lease.

County attorneys want a trial to begin by June 1, while CAH Acquisition wants it to begin two months after the end of the discovery period. Both sides expect a trial to last 10 days. Neither wants to have the case to be heard by a magistrate judge that could expedite a ruling.

Winston-Salem Working To Quicken Bond Projects

Several voter approved bond projects in Winston-Salem are moving full speed ahead.  City council held a special meeting Monday to discuss progress in 47 areas. They include renovating police and fire stations, new sidewalks and updating parks and recreational facilities.

But some concerns were raised during the meeting about the schedule for the projects.  Council member Dee-Dee Adams says the city dropped the ball in 2000 getting similar projects done. A group called the Citizen's Bond Oversight Committee has been formed to address that concern. 

Grand Jury Indicts Ex-Football Player In UNC Agents Case

A grand jury has indicted a former college football player for violating North Carolina's sports agent law by providing money to a former Tar Heels player and illegally contacting another about signing a contract.

Christopher Hawkins faces four counts of violating the Uniform Athlete Agents Act. He was arrested in May on the same charges, including two counts of inducement for providing former UNC player Robert Quinn with $13,700 and helping him sell game-used equipment for another $1,700 in 2010.

Hawkins is also charged contacting former UNC player Jabari Price through Instagram in 2013 without being registered with the state as an agent, and for intentionally failing to register as required by law.

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