VOLUME 8 ISSUE 23
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WWW.NSJONLINE.COM
WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 2, 2023
AP PHOTO
North Carolina state Senate leader Phil Berger, R-Rockingham, speaks with reporters on the Senate floor at the Legislative Building in Raleigh, on Monday, July 31, 2023.
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Local areas want say in casino debate
BRIEF this week
By Matt Mercer North State Journal
Josh Stein’s gubernatorial campaign says it lost $50,000 through scam that targeted vendor Raleigh The gubernatorial campaign of Attorney General Josh Stein lost over $50,000 from a “sophisticated scam” that targeted a campaign vendor, a Stein spokesperson said on Monday. The incident was disclosed after a Stein campaign finance report covering the first six months of the year and filed late last week cited a “fraudulent wire transfer payment.” The transaction was dated Jan. 25, a week after the Democrat announced his run for governor. “A campaign vendor fell victim to a sophisticated scam. The vendor has consulted law enforcement, filed a report with the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and taken precautionary measures,” Stein campaign spokesperson said Kate Frauenfelder wrote in a text message. She declined to identify the vendor. Stein’s campaign raised nearly $6 million during the first half of the year and spent over $1.3 million on expenses during that period, according to the campaign finance report. The loss “serves as an important reminder that fraud happens every day and that people and companies should ensure that they know who they are dealing with when exchanging money online,” Frauenfelder said. THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Biden belatedly acknowledges 7th grandchild, the daughter of son Hunter and an Arkansas woman Washington, D.C. President Joe Biden for the first time publicly acknowledged his seventh grandchild, a 4-year-old girl fathered by his son Hunter with an Arkansas woman, Lunden Roberts, in 2018. Hunter Biden’s paternity was established by DNA testing after Roberts sued for child support, and the two parties recently resolved outstanding child support issues. The president’s son wrote about his encounter with Roberts in his 2021 memoir, saying it came while he was deep in addiction to alcohol and drugs, including crack cocaine. The president, who has made a commitment to family central to his public persona, has faced increasing criticism from political rivals and pundits for refusing to acknowledge the granddaughter. THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Moore County school board removes, censures vice chair Hensley claims Levy scheduled meeting knowing he could not attend By A.P. Dillon North State Journal RALEIGH — At a special meeting on July 19, the Moore County School Board voted 6-0 to remove David Hensley from his vice chair position and all committee assignments. The board also voted unanimously to censure and remove committee assignments from Hensley, who was absent from the meeting. Including the removal of Hensley as vice chair, board member Philip Holmes also
made both of the motions to remove Hensley from “any and all committees” that he serves on as well as the motion to censure. Holmes described his colleagues as handling Hensley’s “attacks” with “dignity and grace.” Of the censure motion, Holmes said it was “based on inappropriate behavior, his lack of civility which is inconsistent with board policies requiring civil behavior and respectful dialogue with fellow board members on matters being considered by the board at all times.” Later in the meeting, Robert Levy explained he could have removed Hensley through his powers as board chair, but the board See MOORE, page A8
RALEIGH — Proposals to add casino gambling in North Carolina are met with anticipation from state leaders and trepidation from some in the expected landing spots of the projects. Throughout the summer, details of state-sanctioned casino projects trickled out through various news reports, coalescing around a draft bill that would place casino projects in Anson, Nash and Rockingham counties. A fourth project would also be authorized pending federal recognition of the Lumbee Tribe around Robeson County. A study authorized by Greater Carolina, a free-market policy organization, with Spectrum Gaming Group found ample data backing the casino projects as economic boons for the state. In one statistic, the study found that gross gaming revenue could reach $1.3 billion with casino gaming in the three counties. One of the core arguments in addition to the economic windfall of the projects is the threat to current revenues from ongoing casino construction in Virginia. In 2020, four Virginia cities placed referendums on the ballot in Bristol, Danville, Norfolk and Portsmouth. A fifth, in Richmond, could be on the ballot in 2024. The Greater Carolina study found that the projects specifically in Nash and Rockingham counties would restrict “leakage” of gaming revenues to the Virginia locations. “Based on the locations of the
Virginia casinos and the total casino gaming potential in the areas within 90 minutes of the casinos, Spectrum estimates a potential leakage to Virginia of $259 million in gross gaming revenue after the permanent Virginia casinos are open,” the study says in its analysis. That has state leaders concerned, including Senate Leader Phil Berger (R-Eden). On July 13, Berger said proposals adding casino gaming were “Better than 50-50.” In an Associated Press interview, Berger said he estimated nearly 80% of vehicles in the Danville casino parking lot had North Carolina license plates based on a trip he made himself to investigate. “The gaming is already taking place in North Carolina, and gaming is taking place on the border of North Carolina that is pulling money out of North Carolina,” Berger said to the AP, adding that a new additional revenue stream “has multiple benefits.” Yet in Berger’s home county and elsewhere, residents are either opposed to the projects or want to decide for themselves whether to move them forward. A Rockingham County rezoning request in the western side of the county along Highway 220/73 with ties to a Maryland sports and entertainment company has some residents rallying to oppose the project. A Change.org petition has more than 2,200 signatures and a meeting about how to coordinate See CASINOS, page A2
Truitt describes NC pandemic recovery successes before congressional committee By A.P. Dillon North State Journal RALEIGH — Appearing before a congressional committee on July 26, State Superintendent Catherine Truitt described some successes the state has had when dealing with learning loss and educational pandemic recovery. Truitt gave testimony before the U.S. House Subcommittee on Early Childhood, Elementary, and Secondary Education as part of a panel on “Generational Learning Loss: How pandemic school closures hurt students.” In addition to Truitt, other panel members testifying includ-
ed Nat Malkus, senior fellow and deputy director of education policy studies at American Enterprise Institute; Mary-Patricia Wray, parent; and Derrell Bradford, president of 50CAN: the 50-State Campaign for Achievement Now. At the onset of the hearing, various lawmakers asked panel members about the impact of school closures and the role of teachers unions in keeping schools closed. Committee Chair Rep. Aaron Bean (R-FL) asked Bradford about “the truth” of teachers unions claiming they had pushed to reopen schools. Bradford responded with “that depends on the definition of true,” before
offering Chicago schools as an example where trying to reopen schools was criticized as “sexism, misogyny and racism,” and where teachers used “coffins” during protests. Wray called school closures the “least American decision we could make in generations,” while Malkus brought up the point some private schools and countries that stayed open or that opened earlier seem to have had a lesser degree of learning loss issues. Following those remarks, some Democratic members of the committee complained the hearing See TRUITT, page A2
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