The North Carolina Department of Environment Quality is expected to issue a water quality permit today for the controversial Atlantic Coast Pipeline, according to an email from the environmental advocacy group Appalachian Voices. If issued, the permit would be a huge coup for pipeline developers and a blow for the various environmental organizations that have […]
Erica Hellerstein
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North Carolina’s Gerrymandering Saga Had a Wild Ride Last Week
Last week capped off another eventful week in North Carolina’s redistricting sagaand what a wild ride it’s been. It started Thursday evening, when the U.S. Supreme Court overturned a lower court’s decision that ordered the state to redraw congressional maps found to be partisan gerrymanders. SCOTUS’s decision effectively blocked the state from drawing new maps […]
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Atlantic Coast Pipeline Unlikely to Bring Economic Development to Three Eastern North Carolina counties, Report Finds
The Atlantic Coast Pipeline, a $5 billion infrastructure project, is unlikely to bring economic development to three eastern North Carolina counties, according to a new report. The report was authored by Nancy LaPlaca, an energy consultant who previously worked for the advocacy group NC Warn, and published by the Alliance to Protect our People and […]
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Federal Court Orders Lawmakers to Use Special Master’s Redistricting Plan
A panel of federal judges ruled this afternoon that lawmakers must use a redistricting plan created by a special master in upcoming legislative elections. The plan comes after a court ruled last year that twenty-eight of the state’s legislative districts were illegal racial gerrymanders. In response, a legislative redistricting committee this summer came up with […]
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Oops, They Did it Again. Federal Panel Throws Out North Carolina’s Congressional Maps As Partisan Gerrymander
A panel of federal judges struck down North Carolina’s congressional maps as unconstitutional partisan gerrymanders this evening, handing a big win to Democrats hoping to take on the Republican majority in the state’s congressional delegation. The judges gave North Carolina lawmakers until January 29 to come up with a remedial plan and file it with […]
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Triangle Immigration Advocates Condemn Trump Administration’s Decision to End TPS for Salvadoran Immigrants
The Triangle-based advocacy group El Pueblo condemned the Trump administration’s decision yesterday to end temporary protected status, or TPS, for Salvadorans living in the United States. The humanitarian program, which shields people fleeing armed conflict and natural disasters from deportation and allows them to obtain work permits, has provided legal protection for nearly two hundred […]
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Don’t Let the Cold Front Fool You: North Carolina Just Had its Warmest Year on Record
Yes, it’s been dreadfully cold the past few days. But, seriously, don’t let the cold snap fool you. North Carolina actually just had its warmest year on record, according to new data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, with an average temperature from January–December 2017 of 61.1 degrees, making it 2.6 degrees higher than […]
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Despite the Trump Administration’s Sabotage, ACA Enrollments in North Carolina Remain High
Nearly 524,000 North Carolinians signed up for health insurance through the Affordable Care Act for 2018, Governor Cooper’s press office reported yesterday, giving the state the third-highest enrollment numbers in the country. That’s despite ongoing Republican efforts to undermine Obama’s signature health care law. The Trump administration, which has repeatedly tried to repeal the ACA, […]
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As North Carolina Battles the Opioid Crisis, New Painkiller Prescription Limits Will Take Effect Monday
New rules to place limits on the number of painkillers that doctors can prescribe are slated to take effect on Monday, Governor Cooper’s office announced in a press release this afternoon. The changes are part of the state’s ongoing effort to tackle the opioid epidemic, which claims the lives of an estimated four North Carolinians […]
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With Tax Cuts Behind Them, Republicans Quietly Fret About a 2018 Bloodbath
This post is excerpted from the INDY’s morning newsletter, Primer. To read this morning’s edition in full, click here. To get all the day’s local and national headlines and insights delivered straight to your inbox, sign up here. As we’ve previously discussed, this week marked Republicans’ first big legislative victory in the Trump era— the […]