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Committee Leader Promises Careful Review
Republicans on a new Senate committee examining changes regarding North Carolina's judicial election districts and the selection of judges say they're committed to a careful review of all possible options.
The Senate panel met for the first time Wednesday. The Republican-controlled committee is charged with weighing whether to go along with the House's proposed redrawing of election boundaries for trial court judgeships and districts. But senators also want to look at whether current head-to-head elections for judgeships should be eliminated. The General Assembly reconvenes in early January.
NC Fracking Meeting Uncertain With Late Cancellation
A member of a recently retooled panel regulating North Carolina's fracking industry says its first meeting is on even though Gov. Roy Cooper's administration canceled it.
The state Oil & Gas Commission scheduled an organizational meeting Thursday in Sanford. The commission was supposed to meet in September, but that got postponed after questions over whether it could lawfully meet before ethics reviews of board appointees were completed.
Late Wednesday, the Department of Environmental Quality said the meeting wouldn't happen because of a staffing vacancy and three other environmental panels meeting Thursday. But Commissioner Jim Womack says the commission meeting will happen unless half of the commission's nine members don't show up.
Charlotte Mayor-Elect Upset Over Negative Campaign Ads
The mayor-elect of North Carolina's largest city says she was upset by negative campaign ads used by her opponent and the groups that backed him.
The Charlotte Observer reports Democrat Vi Lyles told a news conference on Wednesday following her election as Charlotte's new mayor that she was disappointed over the way the ads portrayed her.
Republican Kenny Smith's campaign said Lyles was "lining her own pockets" by voting for a convention center construction contract that included a firm that employs Lyles' son. The city attorney said she didn't have a conflict and couldn't have recused herself under state law.
Ads also targeted Lyles on the city's controversial non-discrimination ordinance regarding gay and transgender residents and a rising homicide rate.
App State Athletics Promised $10M Gift
Appalachian State University's athletics department will be receiving a $10 million donation.
App State alumnus Mark Ricks is donating the money to support the school's Mountaineer Impact Initiative. Ricks graduated from App State in 1989.
A university press release says the donation is the largest outright gift in the school's history.
The funds will be applied to scholarships, academic programs and the construction and enhancement of facilities.
Gupton Sentenced To Life In Prison Without Parole
Gary Gupton has been sentenced to life in prison without parole for a savage murder in a Greensboro hotel.
The News and Record reports the 29-year-old had been found guilty last week of first-degree murder in the death of Stephen White. Gupton was also found guilty of first-degree arson for the fire he set at the Battleground Inn, where the attack took place three years ago.
Gupton testified he met White at a gay bar and they had a sexual encounter at the hotel. He said he beat and strangled the 46-year-old White before setting the fire.
The sentencing came after two days of deliberations.
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