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Sen. Tillis Testifies In North Carolina Legislative Bias Case
North Carolina Sen. Thom Tillis left his seat on Capitol Hill briefly for one on a witness stand in an employee discrimination case from his time as a top state legislative leader.
Tillis testified under oath Friday in a federal courtroom about why as state House speaker in 2011 he decided to force out the director of the General Assembly's nonpartisan fiscal analysis office.
Marilyn Chism is a black woman who accused legislative leaders of illegally sacking her because of her race and gender. An administrative law judge could direct the legislative branch to pay her monetary damages.
Tillis says Chism was asked to resign because she wasn't doing a good job leading the agency. He says the decision came after input from staff and fellow House Republican lawmakers.
Standards Panel Requiring Training By School-Based Officers
The panel that sets education standards for North Carolina law enforcement has decided all officers assigned to public schools must complete training about their on-campus work.
Attorney General Josh Stein's office said the state Criminal Justice Education and Training Standards Commission voted Friday to require the specific training for all school resource officers.
Stein's Department of Justice provides staff to the commission. Stein asked the panel to consider mandatory training, the details of which will now be worked out by a committee within the commission, then carried out by the North Carolina Justice Academy.
New Historic Marker Unveiled In Winston-Salem
Winston-Salem has a new historic marker at the corner of Wiley Avenue and Holiday Street. It commemorates the African-American neighborhood of Silver Hill.
City officials unveiled the marker on Saturday.
Silver Hill was established in the 1880s by African-Americans working in Winston-Salem's tobacco factories and as domestic workers.
The L-shaped neighborhood included a church and a cemetery. The community housed approximately 12 families through 1952. None of the original homes remain.
During the first decades of the 20th century, the area was surrounded by new developments in Buena Vista and West Highlands.
North Carolina Sends Emergency, Fire Officials To Help In Hawaii
North Carolina officials say 10 emergency managers and fire service officials will work in Hawaii on the response to the erupting Kilauea volcano.
The state Department of Public Safety said in a news release that the 10 left Saturday after Hawaii's state emergency management agency requested help.
The North Carolina team will work in Hilo and will support the Hawaii County Civil Defense agency.
Team members come from emergency management agencies in Bladen, Gates, Lee, McDowell, Moore and Onslow counties; fire departments in Cary, Charlotte and Greensboro and from N.C. Emergency Management.
North Carolina Officials Assess Damage From Fatal Mudslides
Officials in one North Carolina county are assessing damage from floods and mudslides in hopes of qualifying for federal disaster aid.
The Times-News of Hendersonville reports Polk County crews and engineers with the state Transportation Department were assessing damage to homes, roads and bridges.
One person died in the storms, which dumped up to 6 inches of rain in three hours Friday night.
Plaintiff In North Carolina Same-Sex Marriage Case Dies
Pearl Berlin, who challenged North Carolina's refusal to recognize same-sex marriages, has died. She was 93.
Berlin died Thursday, said Matt Hirschey, head of special projects for Equality NC.
Berlin married Ellen Gerber in a synagogue in Greensboro in 2013 and followed with a civil ceremony in Maine that year, but their marriage remained legally invalid in North Carolina.
With Berlin suffering health problems in 2014, the couple rushed to join the vanguard of efforts to strike down the state ban, so that Gerber could have spousal rights over decisions about her care.
The American Civil Liberties Union urged a federal judge to quickly negate the ban, which was deemed unconstitutional that same year.
Berlin's memorial service will be held at UNC Greensboro on June 14.
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