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Troopers, Road And Utility Crews Busy With Storm
North Carolina troopers, transportation workers and electric utilities have been busy responding to a winter storm that dropped more snow than anticipated in some parts of the state.
Highway Patrol Commander Col. Glenn McNeill said at a weather briefing Wednesday that the patrol had responded to about 1,600 automobile collisions and 2,200 calls for service. Gov. Roy Cooper said no one had been seriously hurt in weather-related traffic accidents but cautioned that road conditions would turn treacherous overnight and into the Thursday morning commute and encouraged people to stay at home.
From Charlotte to Raleigh, North Carolina's five most populous cities all saw significant snow from a system that followed an atypical west-to-east path across the state. By Wednesday afternoon, Winston-Salem, Greensboro and Durham each had more than 6 inches, while some places saw as much as 10 inches.
North Carolina Gerrymander Suit Plaintiffs Want New Map Now
Voter advocacy groups and Democratic voters want the U.S. Supreme Court to force North Carolina Republicans to redraw the state's congressional districts by next week because they say it's clear the lines are tainted by over-the-top political bias.
The plaintiffs in North Carolina's partisan gerrymandering lawsuit filed briefs Wednesday with Chief Justice John Roberts. They're responding to GOP legislative leaders' request for Roberts to delay enforcement of a three-judge panel's ruling declaring their congressional map unconstitutional.
Democrats: Judge Primaries The GOP Canceled Must Be Restored
The Democratic Party in North Carolina says a law by the Republican-dominated legislature to cancel judicial primaries this May is "entirely unprecedented," so a federal judge must restore those elections.
Attorneys for the state party and several county parties filed a brief Wednesday explaining further why they want the law eliminating the primaries blocked while their lawsuit continues. The legislative leaders and state officials last week filed their own arguments against the Democrats' request for a preliminary injunction.
The judge will hear oral arguments next week.
NC Parks See Record Attendance
It's been a record year for number of visitors to North Carolina state parks, with new trails, improvements, and social media efforts cited as the reasons for the increase.
Half a million more people visited the parks in 2017. This is the fourth year in a row of record breaking attendance.
Officials say they're proud of the numbers, but they're focused on the quality of the parks, not the quantity of visitors. As improvement efforts continue, they've recently acquired nearly 2,100 acres of land that will be added to existing parks, including the Mountains-to-Sea Trail.
Last Of 10 Wanted In Fish Market Child Labor Case Arrested
Authorities say the last of 10 people wanted in connection with a religious organization that police say forced children to work in North Carolina fish markets has been arrested.
The Fayetteville Observer reports that the Cumberland County Sheriff's Office said 64-year-old Earlene Elizabeth Hayat surrendered to deputies on Tuesday.
Hayat had been wanted in connection to an operation which investigators say forced children to work for little or no money. She is charged with engaging in a continuing criminal enterprise.
Investigators say she was a follower of John C. McCollum, who they said also threatened the children with violence or loss of their food if they refused to work. McCollum is jailed on a $1.1 million bond.