Morning, everyone. Let’s dive right in.

1. Did the General Assembly really not see this coming?

It’s a question worth asking. As the INDY has reported on this here blog Wednesday, it was readily apparent to anyone with eyes and a brain what would happen after the legislature rammed through the knuckle-dragging House Bill 2. Indeed, it’s happened in other states that ginned up anti-LGBT legislation. The response was utterly predictable, at least to everyone outside of 16 Jones. Businesses don’t like this—especially businesses seeking young, urban employers, which are basically the ones powering the entirety of the state’s economy right now. The people don’t like it. Local governments don’t like it. Duke and Google (as in Google Fiber, coming soon to the Triangle) and the NCAA and the NBA don’t like it.




The revolt has begun. The only question now is whether the legislature backs down or digs in, prompting an exodus of businesses and investment and conferences and sporting events. Either way, it should be readily apparent, just forty-eight hours later, how epic a disaster this was.

One example, from a Wake County commissioner.


Here’s some more, from the N&O.

Major Triangle employers joined big business across the state and nation in pushing back against a new North Carolina law that invalidates Charlotte’s new legal protection for LGBT individuals.

Red Hat, Bayer and Biogen took to their Twitter accounts to denounce the bill signed into law Wednesday by Gov. Pat McCrory.

Sports organizations said they’re taking the legislation into consideration as they schedule events in the state.

The NCAA, which has men’s basketball tournament games planned in North Carolina in 2017 and 2018, said it is monitoring the situation. And cable network ESPN, which is looking for a new home for its summer X Games, said it embraces “diversity and inclusion and will evaluate all of our options as we seek a new city for the X Games.”


And more.



And more.

DURHAM, NC – Duke University says activities on its campus will not be impacted by a new state law that prevents local governments from opening bathrooms for people to use based on their gender identity. The school released the following statement about the law, which was enacted Wednesday night:

“Duke University values every individual. We are committed to equality, diversity and inclusion, which makes us a better and stronger community. For that reason, we deplore any effort to deny any person the protection of the law because of sexual orientation or gender identity.”

And that’s not evening mentioning the potential loss of billions in Title IX funds. Think that’s not a real possibility? Let us direct your attention to section B-2 of this U.S. Department of Education guide.


To reiterate: “Title IX’s sex discrimination prohibition extends to claims of discrimination based on gender identity or failure to conform to stereotypical notions of masculinity or femininity.”

Sadly, this is only the beginning of the backlash. And even if the Neanderthals in the General Assembly come to their senses, the damage to the state’s reputation has already been done. Sigh.

On to other, less depressing news.

2. Duke’s done.

There was a time this year when Mike Krzyzewski legitimately wasn’t sure his Duke team was going to make the NCAA tournament.

Two months later, Duke had advanced to the Sweet 16. But that would be the end of the line, as the No. 4-seeded Blue Devils lost to No. 1 seed Oregon, 82-68.

There’s no shame in a team hitting its ceiling, and there should be no doubt that these Blue Devils did that.

[Box score: Oregon 82, Duke 68]

“I’m proud of my team,” Krzyzewski said. “A terrific year, and proud of them. Wish we could have played better, but Oregon didn’t let us play better.”


3. The school achievement gap—that is, the difference between low-income students’ achievements and those of everyone else—has widened faster in North Carolina than in any other state.

(Just a thought, but maybe this should constitute more of an “emergency” to lawmakers than what toilet you use.)

The achievement gap – the gap between test scores of low income students and wealthier students – widened in North Carolina more than in any other state between 2011 and 2014, according to the Education Equality Index.

The Education Equality Index is a national measure of the achievement gap that includes city and state information.

The index measured achievement gaps at schools in six North Carolina cities, Raleigh, Durham, Winston-Salem, Greensboro, Fayetteville, and Charlotte in 2014. Five of the six were determined to have “massive” achievement gaps, while Charlotte had a “large” achievement gap.

A massive gap is defined as students from low income families reaching proficiency at a lower rate than students from other low income families, on average. A large achievement gap is defined as low income students reaching proficiency at a higher rate than other low income students, but at a lower rate than all students, on average.


That’s all for today, folks. We’ll leave you with this, courtesy of the late, great Garry Shandling (along with the late, great Robin Williams).