TENURE DISPUTE-SLAVERY PROJECT

University trustees to vote on Nikole Hannah-Jones’ tenure

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. (AP) — Trustees at the flagship school of North Carolina’s public university system are holding a special meeting during which they’re expected to vote on the issue of tenure for investigative journalist Nikole Hannah-Jones. The board of trustees at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill meets Wednesday, but the school’s announcement only said the board would go into closed session. NC Policy Watch reported based on sources that a tenure vote will be held. The meeting comes a day before Hannah-Jones was to start work at the UNC school of journalism and media before she announced last week that she would not report for work without tenure. Hannah-Jones is a key architect of The 1619 Project for The New York Times Magazine that explored the bitter legacy of racism.

JUVENILE JUSTICE

North Carolina bill aims to stop prosecuting 6-year-olds

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — North Carolina sets the lowest minimum age in the country by law for a child to be prosecuted, allowing 6-year-olds to be tried in juvenile court. Now, the state is looking to raise the age to ensure children under 10 don’t have to appear before a judge. Many of the more than 2,000 reported complaints in recent years emerged in schools and were disproportionately made against Black boys. Racial justice advocates support the bill but want to see more systemic changes to the state’s juvenile justice system. Three other states allow 7-year-olds to face prosecution while 28 others have no laws specifying a minimum age of delinquency.

RESIGNATION-FACEBOOK POST

Professor resigns from nonprofit board after Facebook post

WILMINGTON, N.C. (AP) — A University of North Carolina-Wilmington professor who posted a Facebook status that said “Blow up Republicans” has resigned from the board of a nonprofit he founded. Wilmington StarNews reports that Dr. Dan Johnson left Accessible Coastal Carolina Events, Sports and Services of Wilmington on Monday. Johnson is an associate professor of recreation therapy. His university biography says he was a liaison between the university and the nonprofit. The university said the since-deleted post from May was “free speech protected by the First Amendment” after it was written about on a conservative website last week. Woody White, who serves on the university’s board of trustees, has asked the chancellor to investigate.

AP-NC-EVICTION MORATORIUM-NORTH CAROLINA

Tenants still protected as NC eviction moratorium nears end

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — Many North Carolinians facing the threat of eviction can still remain in their homes through July 31. This comes despite state leaders voting on Tuesday to let a statewide eviction moratorium directive lapse at the end of June. Eligible renters can fill out a form from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and give it to their landlord if they face eviction because they are unable to pay their rent. The expiration of Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper’s moratorium is unlikely to cause mass eviction but could lead to some people being kicked out of their homes prematurely.

HOG FARMS

NC farm bill, with biogas permit changes, heads to Cooper

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — The North Carolina General Assembly’s annual farm bill has received final legislative approval. The Senate voted on Tuesday for House changes to the measure and sent the bill on to Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper’s desk. The most contentious provision left in the final measure directs state environmental regulators to develop a “general permit” for animal farm operations that want to collect methane gas from waste ponds for energy. The permit would created a streamlined process for such systems. Environmental groups and some residents in hog-intensive areas oppose the provision. The groups urged  Cooper to veto the bill.

AP-US-VIRUS-OUTBREAK-RENTAL-ASSISTANCE

Rental assistance fell victim to politics, bureaucracy

A rental crisis spurred by the pandemic prompted many states to make bold promises to help renters, but most failed to deliver on them after Congress passed the sweeping CARES Act in March 2020. A handful of states, many led by Republicans, offered little to no assistance. State leaders set aside at least $2.6 billion from the CARES Act’s Coronavirus Relief Fund in 2020 to prop up struggling renters, but more than $425 million of that — or 16% — never made it into the pockets of tenants or their landlords, according to an investigation by the Center for Public Integrity and The Associated Press. A federal eviction moratorium, which was set to expire June 30, has been extended to July 31. It is threatening millions with losing their homes.

BC-NC-POLICE CHASE-JUVENILE KILLED

Juvenile killed in crash after trying to flee traffic stop

WILMINGTON, N.C. (AP) — One person was killed and a second person was injured after a police chase in North Carolina in which a suspect tried to flee pursuing officers. The Wilmington Police Department said in a news release that officers stopped a car Monday evening that was reported to be stolen, but the driver fled and ran two stop lights before crashing into a flatbed tow truck. According to the news release, officers pulled the driver from the car and performed CPR until emergency workers arrived. The driver died at a local hospital, while a passenger in the car suffered non life-threatening injuries.

CHILDREN SHOT

Police: Girl killed, 2 boys wounded in 2 drive-by shootings

STATESVILLE, N.C. (AP) — Police say a 9-year-old girl was killed and two other children were wounded in a pair of drive-by shootings that happened blocks apart on Monday night in Statesville. News outlets report that the first shooting happened as the girl and a 7-year-old boy were playing in the yard outside a home. Statesville police say responding officers found two children with gunshot wounds. Both were taken to a hospital, but police say the girl died. The boy is hospitalized, but police didn’t release details of his condition. Officers at the scene of the first shooting heard gunfire blocks away. Police say officers found a 10-year-old boy with a non-life threatening gunshot wound.

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