VOLUME 10 ISSUE 7 | THURSDAY, APRIL 10, 2025
NSJONLINE.COM
Going to the dogs A Great Dane stands in the sun at the American Kennel Club’s Canines at the Capitol Day in Raleigh last week. See more photos on A3.
PJ WARD-BROWN / NORTH STATE JOURNAL
the
House bill seeks to extend parent rights over K-12 curriculum, books
BRIEF this week
Measmer picked to take over Newton’s state Senate seat Raleigh The Cabarrus County Executive Committee of the Republican Party selected Christopher Allen Measmer to complete the remainder of Sen. Paul Newton’s term representing the 34th Senate District. Newton resigned in April and was later named vice chancellor and general counsel at UNC Chapel Hill. Newton had been the majority leader in the Senate; Sen. Michael Lee (R-New Hanover) was chosen to succeed Newton in that role. Measmer currently serves as chairman of the Cabarrus County Board of Commissioners. A Central Cabarrus High School graduate, Measmer has a political science degree from George Washington University.
Deputies kill armed man inside Elizabeth City emergency room Elizabeth City Deputies fatally shot a man inside an Elizabeth City emergency room Tuesday after authorities said he pointed a gun at them. Law enforcement officers arrived at Sentara Albemarle Medical Center at 1:18 a.m. in response to a call about a man who had entered the hospital’s emergency room with a handgun, according to the Pasquotank County Sheriff’s Office. The man had pointed his gun at several staff members, and a security guard tried to restrain him before law enforcement arrived, according to authorities. Authorities found the suspect in the emergency triage room, and three of the deputies fired at him after he pointed his weapon at them, officials said. The man received medical treatment but was later pronounced dead at the scene.
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Back and forth in NC Supreme Court case continues The state’s high court stayed last week’s Court of Appeals ruling By Gary D. Robertson The Associated Press RALEIGH — North Carolina’s Supreme Court temporarily halted enforcement on Monday of an appeals court
decision that favored Republican candidate Jefferson Griffin in an unresolved November election for a seat on the state’s highest court. In a pair of one-sentence statements without objections, the Supreme Court issued a temporary stay of Friday’s order by a Court of Appeals panel that See SUPREME, page A3
The legislation would tighten obscenity statutes surrounding books By A.P. Dillon North State Journal RALEIGH — A bill filed in the North Carolina House seeks to extend parental rights over K-12 public school curriculum and challenges to books or materials. House Bill 595 was filed last week by Reps. John Torbett (R-Gaston) and Hugh Blackwell (R-Burke). Most provisions in the bill, if enacted, would take effect for the 2025‑26 school year. In a statement to North State Journal, Torbett said the bill “aims to better empower parents by implementing several changes to the state’s educational framework concerning
Bill banning discrimination in relief aid passes House “This came about after an incident that occurred following Helene, and word was getting out that FEMA was actually discriminating against people based on their political speech.” Rep. Kelly Hastings (R-Gaston)
The vote was 106-10; the legislation heads to the state Senate By A.P. Dillon North State Journal RALEIGH — A North Carolina House bill making it a felony to discriminate when deploying disaster aid or assistance based on political affiliation or speech passed the chamber April 1 and will be taken up by the Senate. House Bill 251 was introduced in late February by Rep. Kelly Hastings (R-Gaston). Under the bill, “No United States citizen, United States national, or qualified alien as defined in 8 U.S.C. § 1641 shall be denied or discriminated against by the State or its agencies and employees for disaster recovery assistance on the basis of political
affiliation or political speech.” “This came about after an incident that occurred following Helene, and word was getting out that FEMA was actually discriminating against people based on their political speech,” Hastings said during floor discussion on the bill. “So that’s when we decided we might want to send a clear message about discriminating against someone based on their political speech, being that political speech is, under our constitutional jurisprudence, maybe the highest protected.” The bill passed the House on April 1 by a vote of 106-10. The 10 who voted no were all Democrats: Reps. Amber Baker (Forsyth), Mary Belk (Meck lenburg), Terry Brown (Mecklenburg), Deb Butler (New Hanover), Maria Cervania See AID, page A8
age-appropriate health education, instructional materials, and library resources.” The legislation would prohibit instruction on gender identity, sexual activity or sexuality in K-6 grades and require parental consent on an annual basis for such topics in grades 7-12. The bill also would establish specific requirements for human growth and development education in grades 4-5, mandating “age-appropriate” content taught in single-sex groups with parental consent. Students can be given information on contraception with written parental consent. Language in the bill replaces “local board of education” with “governing body.” The change is significant because it would broaden the scope to book review panels or committees See BOOKS, page A2