(C) Daily Kos This story was originally published by Daily Kos and is unaltered. . . . . . . . . . . North Carolina Open Thread: Convict’s cheerleaders, Josh Stein, Triangle Pride, Gone DEI [1] ['This Content Is Not Subject To Review Daily Kos Staff Prior To Publication.'] Date: 2024-06-02 Welcome. This is a weekly feature of North Carolina Blue . The platform gives readers interested in North Carolina politics a place to share their knowledge, insight and inspiration as we take back our state from some of the most extreme Republicans in the nation. Please stop by each week. You can also join the discussion in four other weekly State Open Threads . If you are interested in starting your own state blog, weekly to occasionally, I will list your work below. Colorado: Mondays, 7:00 PM Mountain Michigan: Wednesdays, 6:00 PM Eastern North Carolina: Sundays, 1:00 PM Eastern Missouri: Wednesday Evenings Kansas: Monday Evenings Please jump the fold for links to a few North Carolina stories I found useful. Hours after a New York jury found Donald Trump guilty on 34 felony counts of falsifying business records to ultimately influence the outcome of the 2016 presidential election, Republicans politicians in North Carolina continued to defend the former president. Gubernatorial candidate Mark Robinson, who Trump has endorsed, called the trial a sham. “The Democrats know they can’t beat President Trump at the polls so they weaponize our government against him,” said Robinson on his Twitter/X account. U.S. Senator Thom Tillis said he was ‘shocked’ by the verdict. “From the beginning, it was clear that a radical, politically-motivated state prosecutor was using the full weight of his office to go after President Trump at the same time he turned a blind eye to violent criminals,” said Tillis. Tillis also questioned whether the Manhattan D.A. had jurisdiction on a federal election matter. “A total disgrace” is how North Carolina’s junior Senator Ted Budd summed up the proceedings. Congresswoman Virginia Foxx (NC-05) said the District Attorney engaged in “brazen legal alchemy.” In remarks prepared for Saturday's North Carolina Democratic Party Convention, Josh Stein, the Democratic nominee for governor, says North Carolina shouldn't be "a state that drives people away." Years of economic and social progress are on the line in North Carolina’s gubernatorial race. That’s the message Attorney General Josh Stein has for Democrats, who were scheduled to meet Saturday in Jamestown for the 2024 state Democratic Party convention. Stein, the Democratic nominee for governor, was scheduled to speak briefly at the hybrid convention — at Ragsdale High School and online — where multiple candidates were scheduled to talk in part about the stakes of the November election. Stein faces Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson, the Republican gubernatorial nominee, in a race that some polls suggest is neck-and-neck. In remarks prepared ahead of the convention, the state’s top prosecutor laid out a high-level vision for how he’d govern the Tar Heel state. June 1 marks the first day of Pride Month. Officially recognized in 1999 by the federal government to celebrate gay and lesbian people, communities throughout the United States have since come together throughout June to celebrate LGBTQ+ rights and visibility. Here’s a list of Pride Month festivities happening throughout Chapel Hill, Carrboro, Durham and Raleigh this June: Orgullo Latinx Pride | June 8 from 5-9 p.m. Carrboro — El Centro Hispano is hosting its fourth Orgullo Latinx at the Carrboro Town Commons to celebrate LGBTQ+ folks in the local Latinx community. The event will include drag shows, food trucks, prizes and a DJ. Pride Night Market | June 8 from 5-10 p.m. Durham — The Glass Jug Beer Lab is hosting its first ever Pride Night Market, with the Fae & Ghoul Collective. The market will include art and vintage vendors, live music and a Gator on the Grill food truck, all located in the beer garden. Run for Love 5K | June 8 at 9 a.m. Raleigh — Trophy Brewing Co. is hosting their annual Run for Love 5K benefitting Raleigh Pride and the LGBTQ+ Center. The race will start at Biggs Drive at the Dorothea Dix Park. After the race, Trophy Brewing & Taproom will host an afterparty with Trophy beer, food trucks and a drag show. The top three winners will win cash prizes of $300, $200 and $100. UNC Board of Governors removes DEI requirements from UNC System schools On Thursday morning, the UNC Board of Governors voted to repeal Section 300.8.5 of the UNC Policy Manual, which required diversity and inclusion services and officers for all 17 UNC System institutions. The section of the policy manual, adopted in 2019, required a designated UNC System Office diversity and inclusion liaison and a D&I officer to be appointed at each UNC System institution as well as being a part of a UNC System D&I council. At UNC-Chapel Hill, D&I initiatives include programs like Carolina Covenant — a need-based financial aid package and support network — and identity-based groups for students in STEM and business fields. According to Beth Lutz, the media relations manager at UNC, financial aid programs like Carolina Covenant will not be affected because the funding comes from federal, state and University funds, not DEI funding. The motion to repeal passed by a majority vote with only two members, Joel Ford and Sonja Phillips Nichols, voting against removing the policy. NC Attorney General brings $12M suit against Illinois owner of closed Canton paper plant Attorney General Josh Stein is suing the Illinois-based corporate owner of Canton's now shuttered paper mill, saying that by closing the century-old Haywood County operation and throwing more than 1,000 people out of work, Pactiv Evergreen violated the terms of a $12 million state economic incentives grant that it has refused to return. “Taxpayers in North Carolina invested in Pactiv Evergreen to bolster our state’s economy,” Stein, who is also the Democratic candidate for governor, said in a May 23 statement. “We held up our end of the bargain, and we cannot let Pactiv cut and run away with our state’s money. My office has been working with Pactiv over the last year to address the company’s obligations under the JMAC agreement, but it has become clear that legal action was necessary to hold Pactiv accountable.” What you will and won't see from June's planetary parade Six planets will link up before dawn on June 3 in what’s known as a planetary parade. But the spectacle won’t be as eye-catching as expected: Only two planets will be visible to the naked eye. Our solar system’s planets zip around the sun at an angle. Every once in a while, several align on the right side of the sun to be visible across a narrow band of Earth's sky. How common the phenomenon is depends on how many planets align and whether or not they are visible without binoculars or a telescope. A handful of planets are usually in the night sky at any given time, though they can be obscured below the horizon or blocked out by the sun’s light. Unfortunately, this planetary parade of Mercury, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune won’t offer much of a view. “The sun’s going to be photobombing the parade,” said Ronald Gamble, a theoretical astrophysicist at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center. Early risers can still look to the east to spot a waning crescent moon on the lower left, followed by a faintly red Mars and pale yellow dot of Saturn. Both planets are already visible in the early mornings and will be for much of the summer. Thanks for stopping by, wishing you a fine week. [END] --- [1] Url: https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2024/6/2/2244285/-North-Carolina-Open-Thread-Convict-s-cheerleaders-Josh-Stein-Triangle-Pride-Gone-DEI?pm_campaign=front_page&pm_source=latest_community&pm_medium=web 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/