(C) Daily Kos This story was originally published by Daily Kos and is unaltered. . . . . . . . . . . North Carolina Open Thread: Robinson’s extremism, PFAS, Banning masks again, Dem walkout, Weed [1] ['This Content Is Not Subject To Review Daily Kos Staff Prior To Publication.'] Date: 2024-06-09 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 and editorials I found useful this week. North Carolina Republicans have put forth a “compromise” to a controversial bill that would have made it illegal to wear a mask in public for health reasons. But the new version of the bill has the same old problems. The new bill, negotiated between House and Senate Republicans and introduced Thursday morning, would only allow the wearing of a “medical or surgical grade mask” for the purpose of “preventing the spread of contagious disease.” Lawmakers added a “health and safety” exception to North Carolina’s existing ban on public mask-wearing during the COVID-19 pandemic, but Republicans insist that the exception is no longer necessary and must be removed in order to prevent people who commit crimes from wearing a mask to disguise themselves. Strangely, the new bill also seems to require people to remove their mask at the request of a fellow citizen. A person wearing a mask must “temporarily remove the mask upon request by the owner or occupant of public or private property where the wearer is present to allow for identification of the wearer,” the bill states. Does that mean that someone behind you in line at the grocery store can demand that you remove your mask, just because they want to know who you are? Maybe not, but it’s just another example of imprecise language. Amendment was added to conference committee report on bill dealing with protests and mask wearing In a surprise move that caught most Legislative Building watchers off-guard, Republican lawmakers unveiled legislation on Thursday that would make significant changes to state campaign finance law. The sudden move prompted all 20 Senate Democrats to walk out of the chamber in protest when the bill was quickly brought to a vote. It was approved 28-0 by the Republicans who remained on the Senate floor. The House is expected to take up the measure next week. The proposed law changes, which were appended to a conference committee report on a controversial and much-debated bill dealing with punishment for unlawful protests and the wearing of masks (see the box below), would make it easier for big dollar donors to funnel large sums of cash in relative anonymity to support North Carolina political candidates. Republicans said the proposal was merely designed to “level the playing field” with Democrats in response to a 2020 advisory opinion from the State Board of Elections that they said benefited the Democratic Governors Association, but Democratic legislators and good government groups decried both the substance of the proposal and the process used to bring it forward. This week seven years ago, residents in the Cape Fear region learned that their drinking water supply was contaminated with GenX, a type of PFAS being released into the river by the Chemours facility, a DuPont spinoff near Fayetteville. In the time since, the state has taken steps to manage per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, also called emerging compounds, which have been linked to health effects in humans and animals. Read more at Coastal Review, coastalreview.org. Does N.C. Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson hold Donald Trump’s behavior to a lesser standard than that he expects of students in North Carolina’s public schools. During his recent trial, Trump’s repeated misbehavior resulted in holding him in contempt of court for attacking or intimidating witnesses, jurors, judges and others. Robinson, commenting on Trump’s recent conviction on 34 counts related to a scheme to hide hush money payments to a porn star, called it all a “sham” while ignoring Trump’s behavior . “The voters should decide this election and I believe we will reject this sham trial by putting President Donald Trump back in office this November.” If Trump were a student in North Carolina public schools – and not the GOP cult-like leader who endorsed Robinson’s campaign for governor-- what might Robinson want done if student Trump called his teachers “corrupt” and “conflicted” and a “disgrace?” What might Robinson want done to a student who interrupts with loud muttering and threatening-gestures ? by Rob Schofield, NC Newsline June 6, 2024 Dinilawigi (Tribal Council) approves adult-use cannabis Adult-use (recreational) cannabis is a signature away from being legal on the trust lands of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians (EBCI). Dinilawigi (Tribal Council) passed Ord. No. 63 (2024), during its regular session on the morning of Thursday, June 6, legalizing adult-use (recreational) cannabis on EBCI lands. Nine Dinilawigi representatives voted to pass, Aniwodihi (Painttown) Rep. Dike Sneed and Vice Chairman David Wolfe voted not to pass, and Tutiyi (Snowbird) – Tsalagi Gadugi (Cherokee Co.) Rep. Adam Wachacha was absent. The ordinance will not become law until ratified by Ugvwiyuhi (Principal Chief). EBCI voters approved a referendum during the 2023 General Election on Sept. 7 which asked, “Do you support legalizing the possession and use of cannabis for persons who are at least twenty-one (21) years old and require the EBCI Tribal Council to develop legislation to regulate the market?” The referendum passed 2,464 (yes) to 1,057 (no). Qualla Enterprises, LLC, an EBCI tribal entity, operates a cannabis farm and a dispensary (Great Smoky Cannabis Co.) which opened on April 20 for medical cannabis sales only. Ord. No. 63 amended Cherokee Code Chapters 14 and 17. Chapter 14 deals with controlled substances. Several possession charges were taken out of chapter, and Sec. 14-95.12 was added which outlines “Prohibited Marijuana Conduct” that will be in Cherokee Code. CLICK the story title for details. Thanks for reading, I hope you found these stories and editorials interesting and important. Wishing all a good week. [END] --- [1] Url: https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2024/6/9/2245681/-North-Carolina-Open-Thread-Robinson-s-extremism-PFAS-Banning-masks-again-Dem-walkout-Weed?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/