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This week features stories and opinion from around the state. They include That Robinson Guy, RFK Jr, Wind farms, PFAS inspections, and a visit from the nation’s youngest Congressman.
Thanks for reading and sharing the following stories and links.
GOP candidate for governor stumps in eastern NC as polls show him trailing Josh Stein
For months, North Carolina Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson has campaigned for governor away from the eyes of the press and much of the public.
That changed this week, as Robinson began crisscrossing the state for a series of meet-and-greets at restaurants. His campaign has advertised it as the start of his “Statewide Tour” — a marked change after months of appearances at churches, businesses and county Republican meetings that were not publicized.
Robinson delivered brief stump speeches during stops in eastern North Carolina on Thursday, laying out his broad vision for the state and railing against his Democratic opponent before snapping photos with supporters.
And unlike some of his previous less-well-publicized speeches in which he uttered combative and controversial remarks — including at least one that critics say amounted to a call to political violence — his remarks focused broadly on the economy and schools as he pledged rapid economic growth and a “return to classical education” in public schools.
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is suing the State Board of Elections over its decision to keep him on the North Carolina ballot. The lawsuit filed Friday says forcing Kennedy to remain on the ballot violates his First Amendment rights.
The state Board of Elections voted along party lines Thursday to keep Kennedy’s name on the ballot, despite requests from Kennedy and the party that nominated him that he be removed.
Most counties had started printing ballots by Thursday as they prepared to meet the state’s Sept. 6 deadline for the first absentee ballots to be mailed to voters who requested them. The Board’s three Democrats, citing the impracticality of removing Kennedy from the ballot, voted to keep him on.
Kennedy’s lawsuit says he told the Board that he wanted off in plenty of time. Democrats based their denial on the practicality of removing him rather than on the law, the suit says. The federal deadline for the start of absentee ballot mailing is Sept. 21.
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. must stay on the North Carolina ballot, despite requests from he and his new party We the People that he be removed.
The state Board of Elections voted along party lines to keep Kennedy on the ballot, with Democrats citing the state’s Sept. 6 deadline for absentee ballot mailing to begin, and the fact that most counties had started printing ballots.
Kennedy announced last Friday that he was suspending his presidential campaign and endorsing former President Donald Trump. He said he was going to take his name off the ballot in 10 battleground states. But his decision runs up against the deadlines in several states for dropping out.
The Kennedy campaign, through the We the People party, spent months trying to get him on the North Carolina ballot.
Thursday’s Board of Elections vote represented a turnabout in the consideration of Kennedy’s candidacy. The two Republican members who argued passionately this summer for Kennedy to be allowed on the ballot fought Thursday to take him off, and the three Democrats who were skeptical about letting him on in the first place voted to keep him.
About 50 UNC students gathered on Tuesday morning at a house on Franklin Street to hear from Rep. Maxwell Frost (D-Fla.), the youngest member of the U.S. Congress.
Frost, the representative for Florida's 10th congressional district and the first Generation Z member of Congress, spoke to members of UNC Young Democrats at 11 a.m. He said his visit was part of a tour to connect with young voters and rally support behind the Harris-Walz presidential ticket in light of November's election.
After leaving North Carolina, Frost's tour will continue in Michigan, Arizona and Pennsylvania. A bigger tour will come in about a month, he said.
“The reason we're doing these smaller events with the people, the organizers, and not big stuff right now, is because y'all are the reason we are gonna win,” Frost saidto the attendees — mainly young people.
UNC Young Democrats Vice President Cecilia Derlon said the last-minute event was a pleasant surprise for the Young Democrats to host, and that she was glad to have seen a high turnout.
The Cape Fear River has been contaminated with forever chemicals, such as PFAS and 1,4-Dioxane from industrial dischargers. This pipe carries water from upstream and discharges into the Cape Fear River in Wilmington. Before Chemours stopped discharging GenX into the river, this pipe was a source of the contamination, according to a former riverkeeper. (Photo: Lisa Sorg)
The Southern Environmental Law Center is petitioning the Environmental Protection Agency to take over the state’s water permitting authority, an unprecedented move for North Carolina.
The law firm is arguing that political interference has prevented the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) from enforcing the Clean Water Act.
“The people of North Carolina deserve clean water, yet the state legislature is preventing the state from limiting toxic pollution of our waterways and drinking water,” said Mary Maclean Asbill, director of the North Carolina offices at the Southern Environmental Law Center, in a prepared statement. “Legislative-induced failure is not an option when it comes to protecting North Carolina’s water and communities, so we are asking the Environmental Protection Agency to step in.”
SELC is representing four advocacy groups: the Haw River Assembly, the Environmental Justice Community Network, MountainTrue and Cape Fear River Watch.
North Carolina's second wind energy project opened in Chowan County this July.
The new wind energy farm, created under the Timbermill Wind project, is a $300 to $400 million investment to the Chowan County area, North Carolina Sustainable Energy Association Executive Director Matt Abele said.
North Carolina currently imports all of its fossil fuels, which means that the local production of wind energy benefits the state and fuels the local economy, Chapel Hill Town Council member Melissa McCullough said.
“[Timbermill Wind] proves to the rest of the state that this is a productive and good outcome project that we should duplicate wherever we can,” McCullough said.
According to Abele, the Chowan County project also creates benefits for local landowners. Landowners received contracts that allow their property to be leased at a higher value, since it is being leased out for the purpose of clean energy generation in addition to farming.
Unlike most librarians, Jamie McCabe spends much of his day behind the wheel.
As the Avery-Mitchell-Yancey (AMY) Regional Library System bookmobile librarian, he dedicates one day per week in each county, stopping at senior centers, after-school programs, day care centers and many homeschools. The bookmobile is stocked with “a ton of Christian fiction,” McCabe says, explaining the genre is popular with older readers. One day a week, McCabe traverses all three counties in an outreach van delivering books; these are mostly large-print editions for readers who are homebound.
But his route may be shorter now that Yancey County decided to pull out of the regional system, a decision sparked by some vocal residents who objected to gay pride displays. At a June 28 meeting, which was posted 48 hours in advance, Yancey County Commission Chair Jeff Whitson made a motion to direct County Manager Lynn Austin to begin pulling Yancey County Public Library out of the AMY system, effective July 1, 2025. (The AMY system is composed of four libraries across three counties; Mitchell has two branches, and the others have one each.)
The motion was passed unanimously by the Yancey County Board of Commissioners, while AMY Regional Library Director Amber Westall Briggswas out of state, attending a library conference in California. On Aug. 2, Briggs released a public statement addressing Yancey’s commissioners.
Thanks for contributing to this effort, wishing all a fine day.
