This is a weekly feature of North Carolina Blue. The platform gives readers interested in North Carolina politics a place to share their knowledge, insight and inspiration as we take back our state from some of the most extreme Republicans in the nation. Please stop by each week. You can also join the discussion in four other weekly State Open Threads. If you are interested in starting your own state blog, weekly to occasionally, I will list your work below.
Colorado: Mondays, 7:00 PM Mountain Michigan: Wednesdays, 6:00 PM Eastern North Carolina: Sundays, 1:00 PM Eastern Missouri: Wednesday Evenings Kansas: Monday Evenings
I hope you find the following links interesting and relevant.
NC attorney general candidates on opposite sides of TikTok vote
Last fall, U.S. Rep. Dan Bishop told Raleigh’s News & Observer that TikTok is “a Chinese Communist Party-owned social media platform,” and called his colleague U.S. Rep. Jeff Jackson a “Chinese social media star” for using it.
On Wednesday, Bishop and Jackson — the Republican and Democratic nominees, respectively, to be North Carolina’s next attorney general — cast opposing votes in Congress to ban TikTok unless it’s sold by its Chinese-controlled parent company.
But their votes were the opposite of what you might expect, given their histories. Jackson, a TikTok star, voted for the bill. Bishop, the TikTok skeptic, voted against.
The proposal now heads to the Senate, where its future is uncertain.
After the vote, Jackson took to X, formerly known as Twitter, to explain the bill and clear up misconceptions. The controversy over banning TikTok stems from concern over the Chinese government accessing Americans’ data using the app. But Jackson said their legislation wouldn’t outright ban the app; it would just force a sale to an owner less threatening to American interests.
“I don’t think TikTok is going to be banned. There was a bill to ban TikTok last year, but it didn’t pass,” Jackson said. “TikTok may be sold to another company, but it will continue to operate.”
Tribe responds to Senators’ letter regarding cannabis operation
Cherokee, NC (EBCI)
Senators Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) and Ted Budd (R-N.C.) sent a letter to various state and federal officials on Friday, March 1 regarding the cannabis operation of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians. Qualla Enterprises, LLC, an entity of the EBCI, operates a cannabis farm currently and is set to open the first dispensary in North Carolina on Saturday, April 20.
The letter was addressed to the following: Alejandro Merrick B. Garland, U.S. Attorney General; Ann Milgram, U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration administrator; Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland; Andrea Gacki, U.S. Treasury FinCEN director; Ashley Hornsby Welch, District Attorney; Jeannie Hovland, National Indian Gaming Commission vice-chair; Swain County Sheriff Curtis A. Cochran, and Bob Schurmeier, N.C. State Bureau of Investigation director.
The letter begins, “In recent months, we have heard directly from North Carolinians who have communicated their concerns about the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians and Qualla Enterprises, LLC establishing an operation to produce, cultivate, and sell marijuana. As our nation is facing an unprecedented drug crisis that is harming our communities, it is vital to learn what measures your departments and agencies are taking to uphold current federal and state laws.”
The letter asks 19 questions about various aspects of the cannabis operation. One question states, “If the Qualla Enterprises, LLC or EBCI is determined to have transported marijuana on a state road to the reservation, will you enforce the law?”
Runoff elections will keep NC primary season alive until May 14
In North Carolina the primary election season isn’t over yet, but will continue for the next two months with some contested races going to runoff elections on May 14. Early voting for those contests runs from April 25 to May 11.
North Carolina is one of just 10 U.S. states that require a candidate to win a primary with a certain percentage of the votes cast. If no candidate reaches that level, the top two advance to a second primary, also called a runoff election.
•What is a runoff election •Who votes in second primary •Races affected
A push for IVF protections in North Carolina
Lauren Garrett said she and her husband were able to start their family with the help of in vitro fertilization and called it a profound privilege “to embrace the journey of IVF” without interference from the government.
Garrett was one of three North Carolina women who spoke at a news conference Thursday about how IVF was critical in their journeys to motherhood.
“IVF has not only granted us the gift of parenthood, but also elevates each moment with our children with profound gratitude,” Garrett said of her and her husband.
Parents who used IVF and fertility specialists are speaking up about the importance of the procedure as they see looming dangers to its legality.
The Alabama Supreme Court ruled last month that embryos created through IVF are children under state law. Several IVF clinics in that state paused services. The ruling stunned families who had used or wanted to use IVF and the medical professionals who provide it.
Call it Strike Three:' Mission Hospital faces 2 more federal violations for patient care
ASHEVILLE, N.C. (WLOS) — A new letter dated March 14 from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) states Mission Hospital is in violation of two requirements of the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act, also known as EMTALA.
EMTALA was created by Congress in 1985, and it prevents hospitals from transferring any patient to a "charity" or "county" hospital based on their inability to pay for the care they receive or because they are covered by Medicare or Medicaid programs.
MISSION HOSPITAL UNDER THREAT OF LOSING MEDICARE FUNDING DUE TO NON-COMPLIANCE ISSUES
Federal officials conducted inspections of Mission last year but the latest violations are new information tied to the ongoing investigation and scrutiny of Mission’s Emergency Department and hospital operations by CMS and federal healthcare officials. The March 14 letter lists two violations that include a violation regarding an emergency room patient's “Medical Screening Exam.” The second violation is listed as a number, 489.20, and doesn’t state details of the violation.
NC House members consider the health challenges from an animal sedative mixed with fentanyl
Jacksonville Police Captain Richard Kellum asked state legislators to consider adding a powerful animal sedative that’s frequently mixed with fentanyl to the state list of controlled substances.
Xylazine is not approved for human use. Called “tranq,” xylazine is used to cut other street drugs, including the synthetic opioid fentanyl. “Xylazine depresses the heart rate, slows breathing, and can even stop both,” Kellum told members of the House Select Committee on Substance Abuse on Wednesday. House members are considering ways to ban certain harmful substances. Last month, the committee talked about ways to ban tianeptine or “gas station heroin.”
Several states are considering xylazine-related bills, Stateline reported. Some states have classified it as a controlled substance.
Xylazine intensifies the effects of fentanyl. Repeated use can cause open wounds, whether or not it’s injected.
The presence of xylazine in North Carolina was first detected and linked to a skin wound in 2021 according to information the UNC Street Drug Analysis Lab provided the House committee. Since then, the lab has detected the sedative in 21 of 48 counties where it has tested samples. Of 516 fentanyl samples, 42% contained xylazine, the lab reported.
Music, skaters & 'lots of dogs': Raleigh St. Patrick's Day Parade rolls on despite new restrictions
The city of Raleigh celebrated St. Patrick's Day with its annual parade on Saturday.
The event, which started at 10 a.m. in downtown this year without motorized vehicles, in response to the death of an 11-year-old girl while dancing in the 2022 Raleigh Christmas Parade.
The city has responded to this devastating incident by putting a new safety protocol in place at this year’s parade that prohibits motorized vehicles.
Dianne Enright, the St. Patrick’s Day Parade Director, has been a part of the parade’s volunteering committee for 23 years, and Director for 14 years.
"Just because it is a non-vehicle parade, it does not mean it won’t be fun. There will still be marching bands, music, and dancers," Enright said.
The 2023 Raleigh St. Patrick's Day Parade had motorized vehicles, but new restrictions were put in place – including requiring any drivers to be at least 21 years old and have only one passenger over the age of 18. All children had to be supervised, and parade vehicles had to be up to date with licenses, registration and insurance.
NC State stuns UNC to claim first ACC Tournament title since 1987, earn NCAA bid
Tenth-seeded NC State completed its stunning five-game run through the ACC Tournament on Saturday night, defeating top-seeded North Carolina 84-76 in Washington, D.C.
It is the Wolfpack's first ACC Tournament title since 1987 — and it sends NC State to the NCAA Tournament for the second consecutive season.
"We've been getting crushed – when I say we, NC State – by not delivering any championship in 37 years," NC State coach Kevin Keatts said. "Well, they can't say that now because we got one."
It all seemed inconceivable Tuesday when NC State opened its tournament. But, perhaps, not to the Wolfpack, who asked "Why not us?" before the event began.
"Like I said from the jump, why not us?" NC State's DJ Horne said after the game on ESPN. "Just a week ago it was looking like our season was about to be over, and here we are now, man, on top of the world."
Thanks for stopping by, wishing you a fine week.