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Cooper Names Final Elections Board Member
Gov. Roy Cooper has gone with the head of a nonprofit foundation to fill out the North Carolina elections and ethics board.
Cooper announced late Wednesday that Damon Circosta of Raleigh is his ninth and final appointment to the board.
Circosta is executive director of the A.J. Fletcher Foundation. The state Republican Party called Circosta a "far-left liberal activist." Circosta previously worked for Republican Sen. John McCain and for an election reform group.
Speakers Urge Panel To Leave 3 North Carolina Monuments In Place
A committee that will recommend whether Confederate monuments on North Carolina's Capitol grounds should be moved is hearing from residents, the majority of whom say they want the monuments to stay where they are.
About 60 people spoke Wednesday at a committee meeting of the North Carolina Historical Commission, which is considering a request from Gov. Roy Cooper to move the monuments.
Cooper has proposed that the monuments be moved to the Bentonville Battlefield, a Civil War site less than 50 miles from Raleigh.
Experts Give School Safety Recommendations
North Carolina House leaders say they're ready to listen to experts, educators and children about what can be done to prevent and combat school violence. Those lawmakers already have gotten suggestions at Wednesday's first meeting of a school safety committee.
Committee speakers say there isn't enough personnel and structure to provide mental health services for at-risk students. Jim Deni with the North Carolina School Psychology Association says it's thus very easy for a student to fall through the cracks. He says there should be one school psychologist per 700 students, but today the ratio is one to 2,100 students.
Legislators on Wednesday asked about expanding an electronic-based anonymous tip line that now covers a handful of counties. They also asked about making it easier for rural areas to access state funds to hire law enforcement officers in schools.
Report: North Carolina Cities Need State's Help To Expand Broadband
The association representing North Carolina's cities and towns says new legislation is needed to develop partnerships between local governments and private broadband providers so areas still lacking high-speed internet are covered.
The North Carolina League of Municipalities released a report Wednesday recommending changes to get more fiber-optic cable installed in the state, particularly in rural areas.
The report says at least 637,000 people lack broadband-speed internet, and the private sector won't be able to fill coverage gaps because of population densities too low to attract capital. The paper says commerce, health care, education and agriculture are hurt because of it.
The league wants the General Assembly to approve laws making clear local governments can enter public-private partnerships to expand coverage, and invest in projects through borrowing, taxes or economic incentives.
New Display Honors Winston-Salem Women In The Arts
City officials in Winston-Salem are dedicating a new display honoring women in the arts. The four selected women all have strong local ties to the Triad.
Among the artists highlighted is award-winning actress Rosemary Harris. Her career spans over sixty years. She's most well known to modern audiences as Aunt May in the original Spider-Man trilogy of films.
Actor and educator Flonnie T. Anderson was the first African-American to act and direct in the Little Theatre. She also taught for over 30 years in local schools.
The display also honors Nell Davis Britton - an author and slam poet who scores musicals, including one about the master brickmaker George Henry Black, whose Winston-Salem property is in the National Register of Historic Places.
It also includes sculptor Earline King, who died in 2011, whose work appeared in galleries across the globe.
Mayor Allen Joines will reveal the display at Winston Square Park at 11:30 a.m. on Thursday.
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