(C) Daily Kos This story was originally published by Daily Kos and is unaltered. . . . . . . . . . . North Carolina Open Thread: Power and Pollution [1] ['This Content Is Not Subject To Review Daily Kos Staff Prior To Publication.', 'Backgroundurl Avatar_Large', 'Nickname', 'Joined', 'Created_At', 'Story Count', 'N_Stories', 'Comment Count', 'N_Comments', 'Popular Tags'] Date: 2023-04-09 Cotham could be a key vote on abortion restrictions, education policies NC Newsline, Lynn Bonner, 4/5/2023 Rep. Tricia Cotham formally announced she is switching parties to become a Republican, giving the GOP a veto-proof majority in the state House. Cotham bashed Democrats at a news conference Wednesday morning where Republicans welcomed her to the GOP. Cotham said Democrats had bullied her, shunned her, tried to tell her what to do, and called her a traitor when she was selected to co-lead a House education committee. “They have pushed me out,” she said. “They have made it very clear they don’t want me.” Cotham said she had only attended one House caucus meeting this session. Democrats used to be a “big tent” party, she said, but now discourages independent thought. “The Party wants to villainize anyone who has free thought, free judgment, has solutions, who wants to get to work and better our state, and not just sit in a meeting and have a workshop after a workshop.” House Democratic leader Robert Reives’ office did not respond to an email Wednesday morning seeking comment. But anticipating what Cotham would say, the NC League of Conservation voters sent an email Tuesday night saying Cotham betrayed the voters of her heavily-Democratic district. “Tomorrow Tricia Cotham is going to lie to the voters in House District 112 and claim a political party betrayed her and gave her no other choice,” said the statement from director of government relations Dan Crawford. “However, Tricia is the one committing an act of betrayal and that is to the voters who fulfilled their civic duty to vote, and chose to vote for her. Turncoat Tricia needs to have the courage of her convictions and resign and let the people who elected her make a worthy replacement that represents the values they voted for in November.” Cotham’s plan to switch parties was first reported by Axios. Before Tuesday’s afternoon House session, her seat on the House floor was moved to the Republican side. Business Insider, John L. Dorman, 4/5/2023 A North Carolina state representative who was elected as a Democrat announced her switch to the Republican Party, which gives the GOP a supermajority in the state legislature and allows them to override vetoes from Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper. State Rep. Tricia Cotham, a Mecklenburg County lawmaker who served in the North Carolina House of Representatives from 2007 to 2017 and again beginning in 2023 after an unsuccessful congressional bid in 2016, blasted her former party while a group of legislative Republicans stood behind her at a Wednesday press conference. "The party wants to villainize anyone who has free thought, free judgment, has solutions and wants to get to work to better our state," Cotham said. "Not just sit in a meeting and have a workshop after a workshop, but really work with individuals to get things done, because that's what real public servants do." Such a dramatic move by Cotham will empower the GOP to pass a swath of conservative-oriented legislation over the objection of Gov. Cooper if the party remains united on all of its votes. Cooper, a former state legislator who also served as the state's attorney general for 16 years, is a moderate but has clashed with North Carolina Republicans on issues including abortion policy, voting rights, gun rights, and appointment powers. The Daily Tarheel, Maya Ticku and Mary Thomas Watkins, 4/2/2023 When a train operated by Norfolk Southern carrying toxic chemicals was derailed in eastern Ohio, nearly 2,000 residents of East Palestine were told to evacuate due to the threat of an explosion. There were 150 railcars en route to Conway, Pa., 20 of which carried hazardous materials such as vinyl chloride, butyl acrylate and ethylene glycol. After 38 cars derailed and 12 more were damaged, chemicals were released into the air and diverted into a nearby trench. That was in early February. It’s been nearly two months since the train derailed — and the environmental repercussions of the incident have continued to come to light. While officials reported no clear evidence of groundwater contamination due to the incident, residents who have returned to the area have reported symptoms such as headaches and vomiting. The clean up of the crash sites involves shipping millions of gallons of wastewater and contaminated soil out of state. It hasn’t been made entirely clear to what extent the derailment was due to gross negligence of Norfolk Southern or the train operators – in fact, the preliminary findings from the National Transportation Safety Board seem to dismiss this case as nothing more than a fluke accident. But we’ve seen these “fluke” accidents happen before – caused by a lack of regulation and oversight, ultimately leading to dangerous environmental disasters. WRAL, Liz McLaughlin, 4/6/2023 Much of North Carolina doesn't have good air quality. Many cities, including Raleigh, have a moderate or yellow designation. According to AirIQ, the Air Quality Index on Thursday in the Triangle showed a concentration of fine particles of pollution called PM2.5 that was more than three times higher than the World Health Organization guideline. Dr. Aaron Levy, an Atrium Health pediatrician, says that particulate matter or soot comes from burning fossil fuels and can be dangerous. "When it's in the orange, it's an early indicator of when children and other vulnerable populations may experience poor health effects," Levy said. Levy was the keynote speaker at the eighth annual NC BREATHE conference, an event that brings together health professionals, researchers, students, frontline communities and policymakers to discuss clean air in the state. His talk mainly focused on how climate change and air quality impact health, particularly children. "It increases use of rescue medicines for asthma, increases emergency room visits and hospitalizations," Levy said. WNCT, Cheyenne Pagan, 4/7/2023 JACKSONVILLE, N.C. (WNCT) – A local environmental group is raising concerns about a new bill that they say could have negative implications on the North Carolina coast. North Carolina House Bill 488 was introduced in March and has to do with state building codes and land development regulations. It’s a long and complex bill, but the group Coastal Carolina Riverwatch has several concerns that they hope will get addressed going forward. “It’s really difficult to put that sort of knowledge and requirements on the local individual who doesn’t have experience implementing these sorts of stormwater protections. So, putting it on the local level could cause more stormwater and more pollutants getting into our local waterways,” said the White Oak Waterkeeper at Coastal Carolina Riverwatch, Riley Lewis. Lewis added they believe Section 10 will take away funding from local governments. “Local jurisdictions are delegated authority over these programs by the Sedimentation Control Commission because they understand their local needs. So, leaving the fees imposed to the applicant, which this bill would do, rather than the local government could lead to insufficient funds to implement stormwater programs in the future,” said Lewis. Group officials also said they’re worried about Section 8 which will prohibit energy conservation amendments until 2031. Thanks for reading and contributing, wishing all a good week. [END] --- [1] Url: https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2023/4/9/2162966/-North-Carolina-Open-Thread-Power-and-Pollution Published and (C) by Daily Kos Content appears here under this condition or license: Site content may be used for any purpose without permission unless otherwise specified. via Magical.Fish Gopher News Feeds: gopher://magical.fish/1/feeds/news/dailykos/