Tag search result

A NEW DIX DEAL: Gov. Pat McCrory and Raleigh Mayor Nancy McFarlane will hold a joint news conference this morning to discuss the Dorothea Dix lease. A state House committee approved a new version of a bill Wednesday that would revoke Raleigh’s disputed lease on the Dorothea Dix property near downtown. The compromise bill comes with a sweetener that has the support of city leaders and the governor’s office.

But the question is whether the Senate will go along. Sen. Ralph Hise, a Spruce Pine Republican, said the Senate remains committed to its version of the bill. "As we've clearly seen, the lease was entered into by the state illegally, it is substantially different than what even the Council of State had approved, and it's in the bad interest of the state," he said. "If they need to start, we'll start from scratch. But you can't begin on a foundation that's that weak."

GOP LAWMAKERS REACT TO BRAWLEY LETTER: “If you have a disagreement, that's not how one handles it and I'm saddened," said Rep. Craig Horn, a Weddington Republican. "We don't need distractions." Other Republican lawmakers refused to talk about it. "I don't have anything to say," said House Majority Leader Edgar Starnes. Rep. Ruth Samuelson, a Charlotte Republican and top GOP leader, said she was surprised by the letter read on the floor. "I thought it was an inappropriate use of the floor by Rep. Brawley." If anything, Samuelson said, "I think it will help bring us together more because it doesn't represent the majority of the caucus."

***Thanks for reading the Dome Morning Memo -- congrats to the NCGA team on the big win against South Carolina last night. More North Carolina political news below. ***

WASHINGTON - Charlotte Mayor Anthony Foxx, who has been nominated by President Barack Obama to be U.S. Transportation Secretary, has so far had an easy confirmation hearing before the Senate’s Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee Wednesday afternoon, The Charlotte Observer's Steve Harrison reports.

Foxx has discussed issues such as the furloughing of air-traffic controllers, tolling interstates and replacing old bridges. Senators from both parties have so far praised Foxx.

Republican Senator Tim Scott of South Carolina said the hearing was a “most amazing confirmation process.” He added he has heard nothing but “kind comments.”

The mayor was introduced by N.C. Democratic Senator Kay Hagan and Republican Senator Richard Burr.

Congressman G. K. Butterfield will be holding a political fund raiser along the coast – well, actually, way off the coast, in Bermuda.

Butterfield, the Wilson Democrat, plans a fund raiser for Friday through Sunday at the Fairmount Southampton in Bermuda. Cost is $2,500.

Back at the USA, Sen. Richard Burr, a Republican from Winston-Salem, held a fund raiser Monday at the Robert Trent Jones Golf Club at Gainesville Virginia for his Next Century Fund political committee. The cost for the outing ranged from $1,000 to $2,500.

Hat tip: The Sunlight Foundation.

ENERGY COMPANY THWARTS FRACKING RULE: After more than six months of congenial meetings, the N.C. Mining & Energy Commission was set to approve its first fracking rule Friday, perhaps the most important of all the safety rules the commission will write to protect the public and safeguard the environment. The standard spells out which chemicals fracking operators have to publicly disclose when drilling natural gas wells in North Carolina.

But commissioners learned Thursday the proposal they had approved in committee in March is on ice. The problem: Fracking giant Halliburton has told North Carolina’s environmental regulators the rule goes too far. The N.C. Department of Environment and Natural Resources is working to get the rule changed.

The developments raise questions about the independence and integrity of the Mining & Energy Commission, a panel created by the state legislature last year to create safety rules for shale gas exploration. Fracking refers to fracturing shale rock formations using high-pressure water and chemicals to release the natural gas trapped inside. Full story.

***Thanks for reading the Dome Morning Memo -- more news and analysis from the North Carolina political arena below. Send news and tips to dome@newsobserver.com.***

Republican U.S. Sen. Richard Burr congratulated Anthony Foxx on becoming the latest Obama cabinet appointee.

The president announced Foxx, the Democratic Charlotte mayor, as transportation secretary Monday afternoon.

“I am pleased to see the president look to North Carolina to fill this important cabinet position, and I congratulate Mayor Foxx on this honor," Burr said in a statement. "I look forward to introducing Mayor Foxx to my colleagues and working with him as his nomination moves through the Senate. I believe he will ably serve North Carolina and our nation as the next Secretary of Transportation.”

Democratic U.S. Sen. Kay Hagan echoed the sentiment: "This is great news for North Carolina and our country, and I look forward to a swift confirmation for Anthony," she said in a statement.

Sen. Richard Burr is hosting a fund raiser Friday and Saturday at the Pine Needles Lodge and Golf Club for his political committee, the Next Century Fund.

Burr, a Republican, has used the fund to contribute to other congressional candidates to try to help elect a GOP majority. The event costs $1,500 per person or $2,500 for a political action committee.

STATE ELECTION OFFICIALS TO INVESTIGATE GAMBLING DONATIONS: State elections officials are calling for an investigation of $235,000 in political donations to dozens of North Carolina candidates from an Oklahoma sweepstakes operator, contributions that they say may have violated state campaign finance laws, AP reported. Gov. Pat McCrory, state House Speaker Thom Tillis and Senate leader Phil Berger are among those who received the checks, many of them mailed from a Charlotte lobbying firm where McCrory worked until just before he took office.

TODAY AT THE STATEHOUSE: The House will consider three highly contentious measures Tuesday: first, a sweeping immigration bill at 10 a.m. in House Judiciary Subcommittee B and a gun bill at the same time in House Judiciary Subcommittee A, and then, at 2 p.m., the full House convenes to hear a voter ID measure. Immigration advocates are expected to appear in full force at the legislative building today to lobby. Also today: a House panel will also consider a bill to adopt a state marsupial, among other state symbols, and a Senate committee will hear a bill to make hospitals more transparent in their billing.

Gov. Pat McCrory -- and legislative leaders -- will attend the NFIB meeting in Raleigh at 11:30 a.m. Wednesday. Later in the day, the governor will sign Kilah's Law (HB75) at a 4:30 p.m. ceremony at the Capitol.

Thanks for reading the Dome Morning Memo -- our thoughts are with Jamie and Nation Hahn's family and friends today. More North Carolina political news and analysis below.

***And with that, Dome's Morning Memo says, let the games begin. Welcome to Wednesday, an action-packed day for politicians on Jones Street and beyond. Here's our look at the day ahead and a round-up of what's being said.***

U.S. Sen. Richard Burr's vote to allow debate on the gun bill has drawn a protest from the pro-gun group Grass Roots North Carolina, which will demonstrate outside Burr's Winston-Salem office Tuesday morning.

Grass Roots North Carolina labels Burr a "sellout" for voting for the motion to allow debate on the bill that will expand background checks for gun purchases. Burr had threatened to vote against the motion, but changed his mind. He was one of 16 Republican senators who joined 50 Democrats and two independents in the 68-31 vote last week.

Burr has an A-plus rating from the National Rifle Association.

UNC-CHAPEL HILL TO GET FIRST WOMAN CHANCELLOR: As first reported by The News & Observer, UNC system officials will name Carol Folt, the interim president of Dartmouth College, as the next chancellor at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Folt, 61, would be the first woman to lead the campus in Chapel Hill, where the 29,000-member student body is 58 percent female. She will succeed Holden Thorp, who is stepping down by July 1 to become provost at Washington University in St. Louis. Full story.

McHENRY WON'T CHALLENGE HAGAN: N.C. Congressman Patrick McHenry took his name out of the crowded field of potential challengers to Democratic U.S. Sen. Kay Hagan, who faces re-election in 2014. Polls put McHenry in the top half of Republicans. "I'm grateful for the good numbers, but I think I've got a better opportunity to make a difference here in the House," McHenry told the Mountain Xpress in Asheville. "I want to end the distraction about this potential Senate run so I can get back and focus on the work that I need to be doing to help get this economy going."

***Good morning. Thanks for reading the Friday edition of the Dome Morning Memo. Much more N.C political news and analysis below.***