TRICEEDNEYWIRE -
CASH IN THE APPLE FOR
10-6-16
By Cash Michaels
LARRY
STOGNER – Many of us associated with the news media in the Triangle and across
the state were saddened to hear of the passing of longtime WTVD-TV former
anchorman Larry Stogner.
Stogner
died Sunday of ALS at the age of 69. He left the air in January 2015.
When I
first arrived in North Carolina in 1981, Stogner ruled the roost on the Durham
television station, along with co-anchor Miriam
Thomas. He previously worked at WRAL-TV in Raleigh with Oscar Smith, the
first black news reporter in the Triangle market.
The last
time I spoke to Mr. Stogner was the day Oscar died. He promised that he would
make note of it on that evening’s newscast, and he did. If fact, Stogner paid
tribute to his old friend an colleague.
The last
time I saw Mr. Stogner was at the public memorial service of ESPN sportscaster Stuart Scott, who had died of cancer.
Stogner, who was over six feet tall, walked in, and went to the front, where he
was warmly greeted by Scott’s family. Stogner had been Stuart’s mentor when
Scott interned at WTVD.
Our
condolences to all of Larry Stogner’s family, friends and colleagues. He is
certainly missed.
HURRICANE MATTHEW – If you’re any
where near the expected area of impact for Hurricane
Matthew, a monster Category 4 storm that at press time maul Haiti and other
islands in the Caribbean, I hope you’ve taken all precaution to protect you and
your family. Don’t wait if you haven’t. Fill up the gas tank, fresh batteries
for the flashlights, keep the smartphone charged, and get plenty of plastic
jugs of water and dry snacks that can get you through in case (in all
likelihood) your electricity goes out.
As North
Carolinians, many of us have been through rough hurricanes and tornadoes before,
so surviving these storms is almost second nature. But SAFETY FIRST, especially
if you have a family. Better that you over prepare and have little to happen,
the under prepare and be at the mercy of fate.
Use your
head, and good luck!
EARLY
VOTING IN TWO WEEKS – That’s right, our long, national nightmare will soon be
over on Nov. 8th, but our early voting in North Carolina begins on
Thursday, Oct. 20th, and we finally get a chance to go to the polls
and weigh-in on our considered choices for president, governor, etc.
I’ll be
frank with you… the tone and tenor of this presidential campaign makes you want
to leave the country on vacation until it’s over. Problem is if some foreigner
realizes you’re an American, and begins questioning you about what in the world
is going on with Trump and Clinton, do you really want to get into THAT
conversation while you’re trying to get away from this mess?
I didn ‘t
think so.
So get
ready for early voting, and don’t forget, NO voter ID.
Cash in the Apple - honored as the Best
Column Writing of 2006 by the National Newspaper Publishers Association.
Columnist Cash Michaels was also honored by the NNPA for Best Feature Story
Journalist of 2009, and was the recipient of the Raleigh-Apex NAACP’s
President’s Award for Media Excellence in Sept. 2011.
Until
next week, keep a smile on your face, GOD in your heart, and The Carolinian in
your life. Bye, bye.
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PRES. OBAMA TAKES PART IN
ESPN FORUM
TUESDAY AT NC A&T
UNIVERSITY
Special to The Carolinian/Wilmington
Journal
ESPN’s The
Undefeated will present A Conversation with The President: Sports, Race and
Achievement – a student forum with President Barack Obama, on Tuesday, Oct.
11 at 10 p.m. ET (ESPN and WatchESPN) from North Carolina A&T State
University in Greensboro, N.C.
The
one-hour program will be taped earlier that day in front of a live audience
consisting of students and invited guests at the Alumni Foundation Event Center
on the campus of North Carolina A&T, a leading Historically Black College
and University established in 1891. SportsCenter anchor Stan
Verrett, a Howard University graduate, will host and moderate the
forum.
President
Obama will discuss lessons in leadership; the “My
Brother’s Keeper” Initiative, which aims to address opportunity gaps
faced by all youth including boys and young men of color; the current role and
legacy of Historically Black Colleges and Universities; athletes and social
activism; the Obama Administration’s actions to provide opportunity for
students and more. The President will also take questions from the
audience.
A
Conversation with The President is being convened by The Undefeated, ESPN’s content initiative
focusing on the intersection of sports, race and culture.
“We are honored
to host this town hall featuring the president at one of the leading
historically black universities in the country,” said Kevin
Merida, ESPN Senior Vice President and Editor-in-Chief of The Undefeated.
“We expect a vibrant conversation about the present and the future, and about
the challenges facing black students."
As one of the
nation’s most highly respected land-grant, doctoral, higher research activity
universities, N.C. A&T has maintained a rich tradition in academics,
research, discovery and outreach. With more than 55,000 alumni, A&T
continues to produce dynamic, strategic and forward-thinking leaders across
diverse disciplines poised for the global marketplace.
“It is a
privilege to host President Obama on our campus for meaningful dialogue on a
number of diverse and impactful topics that are critically important to address
opportunities for growth for the young people in our nation,” said Chancellor Harold L. Martin Sr. “As the nation’s largest
HBCU, it is our responsibility to ensure they have the support and resources
they need to become global leaders.”
North
Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University is the nation’s largest historically
black university. It is a land-grant, doctoral, higher research activity
university and constituent member of the University of North Carolina system.
A&T is known for its leadership in producing graduates in engineering,
business, agriculture and other STEM fields. The university was established in
1891, and is located in Greensboro, North Carolina.
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JUDICIAL CANDIDATES
VIE
FOR STATE’S HIGH
COURTS
By Cash Michaels
Contributing writer
As the
pivotal November 8th general l election draws near, with Early
Voting beginning Thursday, October 20th and ending Saturday, Nov. 5th,
African-American voters have a large slate of candidates vying for statewide
judicial seats to consider.
With over
26 years on the North Carolina bench, Wake Superior Court Judge Michael Morgan,
a Democrat, is running to oust incumbent state Senior Supreme Court Associate
Robert H. Edmunds Jr., a Republican for an eight-year term. If Judge Morgan
were to win the Edmunds seat, that would
immediately shift the balance on the 4-3 Republican-majority court.
Judge
Morgan would also join Associate Justice Cheri Beasley as the second
African-American serving on the state’s seven-member High Court, and the
court’s only black male.
“Supreme
Court justices review the courts’ records that are generated in the lower
courts. They are a reviewing court to see what errors have been committed
potentially in the courts below,” he says.
Morgan has
served as state administrative law judge for five years; district court judge
for ten years; and his current position of superior court judge for eleven
years.
A native of Cherry Point, NC, Mike
Morgan is the oldest of five children. He
graduated from New Bern public schools. Morgan got his B.A.
in both History and Sociology from Duke University in 1976. He earned his Juris
Doctor Degree with honors from North Carolina Central University in 1979. From
1983 to 1989, Morgan was an assistant state Attorney General in the NC Dept of
Justice. From 1989 to 1994, he served as a NC administrative law judge; from
1994 to 2004 a district court judge; and from 2005 to the present a Wake County
superior court judge.
“This [NC
Supreme Court] seat must be guaranteed to be fair and impartial, and the fact
that I’ve been elected and re-elected by the great citizens of Wake County
shows that I have that capacity,” Judge Morgan, who proudly adds that he has
been rated high for his professionalism and integrity by his legal peers, says.
Wake County
trial attorney Abraham Penn Jones, who previously served as a Superior Court
judge for many years, is vying for the NC Court of Appeals.
“While there is an
abundance of legal talent in our state, I believe it would be difficult to find
a candidate with the extent of my experience, say Jones.
Jones
served on the bench in the Tenth Judicial District from 1995 to 2012, presiding
over civil and criminal trials, among other duties. Previous to that, Jones
headed up his own law practice for five years after working as an associate at
Adams, McCullough and Beard Law Firm from March 1987 to May 1990.
Jones was
elected to the Wake County Board of Commissioners from Dec. 1990 to Dec. 1994.
Atty Jones
served as a NC administrative law judge from June 1986 to Feb.1987; was an
associate attorney general in the NC Attorney General’s office handling
Medicaid fraud cases from Oct. 1984 to March 1986; worked as an of NC associate
with the law firm of Kirby, Gillick,
Schwartz and Tuohey from Sept. 1983 to Oct. 1984; and was assistant US attorney
for the Eastern District from May 1979 to August 1983.
After
graduating Harvard Law School in 1977, Jones served as law clerk in the US
District Court and the US Court of Appeals of the District of Columbia from
Sept. 1977 to May 1979.
“These perspectives give
me the balanced, practical skills that are necessary to fulfill the duties of
an Appeals Court judge,” says Jones, who is challenging incumbent Judge Robert
Hunter Jr.. “Fairness, honesty, intellectual capacity, a working knowledge of
the law, and a strong work ethic are qualities that I value and possess.”
The Wake
county native graduated William G. Enloe High School in 1970 and attended
Harvard College from 1970 to 1974 before moving on to law school.
The father
of two daughters, Jones is a member of Martin Street Baptist Church in Raleigh.
Another
jurist vying for the NC Court of Appeals is Wake District Court Judge Vince
Rozier of the Tenth Judicial District, challenging incumbent Appellate Judge
Richard Dietz . He was appointed to the District Court bench in 2006, when he
was the youngest judge ever sworn to the seat in Wake County history at age 29.
He lost re-election in 2010, was re-appointed in 2014, and won re-election in
2014. Rozier has ruled in criminal, child support and juvenile delinquency
cases.
Judge
Rozier has served as ombudsman for the State Bureau of Investigation in 2011.
From 2001 -2006 Rozier was a prosecutor in the Wake District Attorney’s Office.
Judge
Rozier is an alum of UNC-Chapel Hill in 1998, graduating North Carolina Central
University’s School of Law in 2002.
“My
years of real courtroom experience have equipped me well to serve on the Court
of Appeals,” Judge Rozier says. “This is experience that our Court is currently
lacking.”
The
list of candidates seeking election to the NC Court of Appeals also includes
Mecklenburg County District Court Judge Rickeye McKoy-Mitchell of the 28th
Judicial District. Judge McKoy Mitchell was first elected to the bench in 1998.
and has presided over criminal, civil and juvenile cases.
With 14 years of legal experience
in state and federal courts, Judge McKoy-Mitchell earned her BA and law degree
from UNC-Chapel Hill.
Prior to being appointed to the
bench, McKoy-Mitchell served as staff attorney for Legal Services of the
Southern Piedmont; attorney advisor for the Office of Hearings and Appeals of
the Social Security Administration; senior trial attorney for the Equal
Employment Opportunity Commission; and assistant district attorney in the 26th
Judicial District.
“I am well-prepared to serve
on the North Carolina Court of Appeals. It is my distinct honor and privilege
of having the longest tenure among those currently serving as a District Court
Judge in the 26th Judicial District.” Judge McKoy-Mitchell seeks to unseat
incumbent Appellate Judge Valerie Zachary.
Finally, Winston-Salem Attorney
Donald R. Buie is also seeking a seat on the NC Court of Appeals, vying to
succeed Judge Martha Geer, who stepped down from the court last May. Buie has
unsuccessfully run for judicial seats in both the 21st and 18th
Judicial Districts in 2012 and 2014 respectively.
Buie has been an attorney in
Winston –Salem since 1981, after he earned his law degree from NCCU School of
Law that same year. Buie got his BA from UNC-Chapel Hill in 1978.”I believe my wide range of experience as a
practicing attorney uniquely qualifies me for this position.”, says attorney
Buie. “Having experience in the preparation and presentation of cases at the
trial court levels naturally gives me a better understanding when reviewing at
the appellate level. “
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BUSINESSES CALL FOR END
OF NC GERRYMANDERING
Special to The Carolinian/Wilmington Journal
RALEIGH
– More than 50 locally owned businesses have joined the call to end
gerrymandering in North Carolina.
The
new coalition "NC Business
Leaders for Accountability" argues that partisan gerrymandering
is polarizing North Carolina’s politics and undermining the state’s business
climate as politicians cater to a narrow set of interests.
These
business owners are calling for an independent redistricting process that ends
partisan gerrymandering and creates voting districts that better reflect North
Carolina’s population.
"Gerrymandering
undermines competition in North Carolina's elections, which allows candidates
to have views that don't represent the public — and that's bad for business in
our state," said David Meeker, a Raleigh small business owner who helped
organize the coalition. "We need an impartial redistricting process that
allows citizens to have a real voice in choosing their representatives. In turn,
our elected officials will be more accountable to the people and the business
community in North Carolina."
More
information on NC Business Leaders for Accountability, including a full list of
the coalition’s members, is available at NCAccountability.org.
Comprised
of a wide variety of businesses that include local restaurants, gift shops,
clothing stores and breweries, the coalition is working with the nonpartisan
public-interest group Common Cause North Carolina in its effort to end
gerrymandering.
"Redistricting
reform is essential to strengthening our democracy," said Bob Phillips,
executive director of Common Cause NC. "The business community’s voice is
vital to help us end gerrymandering in North Carolina once and for all."
North
Carolina has long felt the negative impact of partisan gerrymandering. Since
1992, nearly half of all legislative races have had just one candidate on the
ballot, leaving millions of voters with no choice at the ballot box. Similarly,
the state's congressional maps have been gerrymandered by the legislature in
such a way as to minimize competition, undermining the right of voters to have
a voice in who represents them.
In
the face of ongoing gerrymandering, there has been growing bipartisan support
for reform. Last year, a majority of NC House members co-sponsored
House Bill 92, which would have taken the power of redistricting out
of the hands of partisan legislators and given it to nonpartisan legislative
staff. However, that bill was not given a vote in the legislature.
At
the same time, over 240 civic leaders across North Carolina have signed a
petition calling on the legislature to pass independent redistricting reform.
And both Gov. Pat McCrory and his 2016 gubernatorial opponent, Attorney General
Roy Cooper, are on record opposing gerrymandering, as are former governors Jim
Martin and Jim Hunt.
In
August, Common Cause filed a
potentially landmark lawsuit in federal court challenging the
constitutionality of partisan gerrymandering.
Common
Cause North Carolina is a nonpartisan and nonprofit organization dedicated to
encouraging citizen participation in democracy, and is part of the national
Common Cause grassroots network of over 625,000 members and supporters in 35
states.
Common Cause North Carolina is a
nonpartisan and nonprofit organization dedicated to encouraging citizen participation
in democracy, and is part of the national Common Cause grassroots network of
over 625,000 members and supporters in 35 states.
-30-
STATE NEWS BRIEFS FOR 10-6-16
GULLAH GEECHEE
COMMISSION REAUTHORIZED BY SENATE
[WASHINGTON,
D.C] The US Senate has reauthorized the Gullah Geechee Cultural Heritage
Commission, which preserves Gullah heritage and traditions in North and south
Carolina, as well as Florida and Georgia. The Gullah culture is derived from
generations of former African slaves who lived on the isolated Sea Islands. SC
Rep. Jim Clyburn, the original sponsor of the 2006 bill creating the
commission, also sponsored the measure reauthorizing it.
MCCRORY DECLARES
STATE OF EMERGENCY AS HURRICANE LOOMS
[WILMINGTON]
Gov. Pat McCrory declared a state of emergency earlier this week in
anticipation of Hurricane Matthew, the monster Category Four storm projected to
cause massive damage along the North Carolina coast, even if its downgraded.
Evacuations have been ordered up and down the coast. UNC-Wilmington evacuated
students from campus on Tuesday. The state of emergency covers over 50 counties
across North Carolina.
NEW ELON POLL HAS
CLINTON, COOPER IN THE LEAD STATEWIDE
[RALEIGH]
The top Democrats on the general election ticket have taken the lead in North
Carolina. According to the latest Elon University poll of likely voters.
Presidential candidate Hillary Clinton leads her GOP opponent, Donald Trump by
six points, 44 to 39 with just over a month before Election Day. Meanwhile
State Attorney General Roy Cooper has jumped ahead of incumbent Republican Gov.
Pat McCrory in the gubernatorial contest, 48-44. McCrory was leading by 3
points two weeks ago.
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