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First Week Over In North Carolina Gerrymandering Trial
Challengers of North Carolina legislative districts say the computer files of a deceased Republican mapmaker show how GOP legislators approved boundary lines with illegal political bias.
The partisan gerrymandering trial's first week in state court is complete. Democrats and the group Common Cause want judges to order 2017 House and Senate maps be redrawn for 2020.
Western Carolina University Professor Chris Cooper testified on Friday about maps from late redistricting guru Tom Hofeller's files. Cooper says they show partisanship was "front and center" in Hofeller's work, with lines benefiting one party at another's expense.
North Carolina Judges Keep Lawsuit Against Voter ID Law Alive
North Carolina judges are keeping alive a lawsuit that challenges the state's new photo voter identification law as discriminating against racial minorities, but the court won't stop IDs from being required in upcoming elections as the case grinds ahead.
Voters last November passed a constitutional amendment requiring voter ID. A three-judge state panel ruled Friday that the six voters challenging the resulting law presented enough evidence to keep going.
Guilford County Board Of Elections Hosts Seminar On New Voter ID Requirements
State election officials will be in Guilford County tonight to educate voters on upcoming changes as new voter ID requirements in North Carolina will go into effect in 2020.
The seminar is at North Carolina A&T State University and is free and open to the public.
Each county board of elections is required by state law to hold two of these meetings before September of this year.
Officials will review which IDs satisfy the new requirements including a driver's license, passport, certain student IDs and tribal cards, among others.
Other topics for the seminar include provisional ballots and information on registering to vote.
NC Traditional Public Schools Losing Students, While Charters, Others See Gains
New data shows enrollment in charter schools and other education sources continues to grow in North Carolina, while enrollment in traditional public schools is falling.
The state's traditional public schools educate just a hair under 80 percent of K-12 students. That's around 6 percent less than they did nearly a decade ago. Meanwhile, enrollment in other school options is on the rise.
Charters saw the biggest bump with nearly 10,000 new students this past year. That number is expected to grow because more of them are receiving state approval and increased funding from the legislature than they did in the past.
The new statewide figures also show a rise in the number of students enrolling in home schools and private schools in North Carolina. There are now more than 142,000 students in home school and more than 102,000 students in private schools.
Stripper Sues Charlotte Exotic Dance Club Over Pay
A stripper is suing an exotic dance club in Charlotte because she contends dancers are being shorted in their pay.
The Charlotte Observer reports that Samantha Hannah argues in the federal lawsuit that Club Onyx is violating state and federal labor laws by failing to pay salaries and overtime. Hannah says the club takes the tips customers give her and other dancers, without legal justification.
The lawsuit says the club gets away with the practice by classifying its dancers as independent contractors rather than employees.
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