Legislature Starts Drawing New Maps
The district map-drawing ball is back in the legislature’s hands, and both the state House and Senate are scrambling to draw new maps under the court’s rules before the clock runs out this Thursday, September 19. Those rules made for an exceptionally open and publicly transparent process, in which private partisan caucuses and use of […]
Override by Ambush
In a move that shocked the world early last Wednesday morning, a narrow quorum of the state House voted to override Gov. Roy Cooper’s veto of the anti-environment state budget. The vote occurred just after 8:30 a.m., almost exactly 18 years to the day after planes struck the Twin Towers and the Pentagon. Immediately after […]
Dorian Blasts Past
Residents across North Carolina shuddered last week when they learned that another slow-moving category…
Vote Now in Special Congressional Races
It’s down to the wire in two special North Carolina congressional elections, including a nationally watched contest featuring an environmental champion. Special elections for two vacant congressional seats wrap up tomorrow (Tuesday, September 10) in North Carolina’s Third and Ninth Congressional Districts. The Ninth District contest has drawn particular nationwide interest. The Ninth is the […]
Victory for Democracy
North Carolina’s state legislative maps are unconstitutional partisan gerrymanders, said a special three-judge panel last week, and must be redrawn immediately to fix that bias. Partisan gerrymandering is when districts are drawn specifically and systematically for the purpose of elevating candidates of one political party over all opponents. The case, Common Cause v. Lewis, challenged […]
Trump Drops Methane Emissions Controls
As if his plans to increase carbon dioxide emissions won’t be bad enough already, the Trump Administration now wants to eliminate controls on emissions of methane, an even more powerful greenhouse gas pollutant than CO2. Last week, Trump’s Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) proposed to undo the Obama EPA’s tightened restrictions on methane emissions from the […]
Duke Told to Act Faster to Replace Coal
Last week, the North Carolina Utilities Commission (NCUC) told Duke Energy…
Support Cooper’s Clean Energy Plan
Gov. Roy Cooper continues to draw strongly positive reviews from national analysts…
LCV Speaks Out in Special Election
In the special election for North Carolina’s Ninth Congressional District, a national environmental group is making a large investment in voter education. Last week, the League of Conservation Voters (LCV) Victory Fund announced it will spend $250,000 on digital ads and direct mail to support their endorsed candidate Dan McCready. The ads and mailings will […]
Duke’s Rate Hike Scheme Stripped from Bill
Legislation which would have smoothed the way for Duke Energy to win electric rate hikes over multiple years with diminished public scrutiny has been amended to remove that provision. Senate Bill 559 contained a section which would have allowed Duke to seek several years of rate hikes in a single case. Right now, they have […]
