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City May Use School Officers To Fill Police Force Shortage
The city of Winston-Salem may shift its school resource officers back to the streets. The idea is to plug gaps in a police force plagued by vacancies.
The Winston-Salem Police Department currently has 28 employees assigned to local schools. Police Chief Catrina Thompson says she'd like to use those officers to fill vacant patrol and investigator positions.
The Winston-Salem Journal reports the shift would end city involvement in providing SROs, a policy that began almost 10 years ago.
The change would cost Winston-Salem about $2.4 million dollars that the schools pay toward the officer's salaries. But the city would save about a million dollars currently being put toward police overtime costs.
The Forsyth County Sheriff's Office says it has had “preliminary conversations” with the city about providing school resource officers if needed.
Pittenger Backs Former County Official In Congress Primary
The former North Carolina Republican congressman for a district where a re-do election will be held because of evidence of illegal absentee ballot manipulation in the fall has endorsed a potential successor.
Ex-Rep. Robert Pittenger confirmed Tuesday he backs former Mecklenburg County Commissioner Matthew Ridenhour, one of 10 candidates running in May's Republican primary in the 9th District.
Pittenger lost to Mark Harris in last spring's GOP primary. Several people working for Harris' campaign were indicted last month involving ballot handling during that primary.
North Carolina Democrats' Top Administrator To Step Down
The veteran political activist who runs the North Carolina Democratic Party's day-to-day operations is leaving after nearly four years on the job.
Party Executive Director Kimberly Reynolds announced Tuesday she would step down April 1. She said she'll stick around as a senior adviser until the party hires her replacement.
Reynolds helped lead the party while it made political inroads following setbacks earlier this decade. Roy Cooper was elected governor in 2016 and Democrats earned enough seats in 2018 to end the Republicans' veto-proof majorities in the state House and Senate.
Court: Online Free Speech Rights Trump Stalking Conviction
A man imprisoned for stalking has had his conviction overturned after North Carolina's Court of Appeals ruled the social media posts underpinning the charges were protected by free speech rights.
A three-judge panel ruled Tuesday for Brady Lorenzo Shackelford, who was sentenced to more than two years for stalking a woman he met at church in 2015. Court documents say Shackelford repeatedly called her his "soul mate" and future wife in Google Plus posts. He also sent handwritten letters and cupcakes, despite her turning down a dinner invitation, according to court documents.
The ruling says Shackelford's conviction was primarily based on social media posts, and thus violated his First Amendment rights.
Wake Forest To Redirect $50K From Scandal To Program
Wake Forest University says it will redirect $50,000 it received from a California foundation linked to a national college admission bribery scandal.
University president Nathan Hatch announced Monday the money will go to the Magnolia Scholars program for first-generation college students.
Wake Forest suspended volleyball coach Bill Ferguson after he was accused of accepting $100,000 to recruit a student on a waiting list. Ferguson's set to appear in federal court Monday, charged with one count of conspiracy to commit racketeering.
Baby Chimpanzee Born At North Carolina Zoo
A baby chimpanzee has been born at the North Carolina Zoo, adding to a trickle of such births at U.S. zoos.
The zoo announced that the healthy baby was born Monday to a chimp named Gerre, and started nursing quickly. The baby's gender hasn't been determined.
The announcement said there have been only two other successful chimpanzee births in the past two years at Association of Zoos and Aquariums zoos. Since 2010, three have been born at the North Carolina Zoo.
Gerre is around 20 years old and came to North Carolina in 2012 from the Dallas Zoo.
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