TCB July 21, 2022 — Short-Changed at the Short Session

JULY 21-27, 2022 TRIAD CITY-BEAT.COM

SHORT-CHANGED AT THE SHORT SESSION

by Brian Clarey and Sayaka Matsuoka | pg. 4

HPU hires Jan. 6 advisor pg. 10

Swords into ploughsares, or something like it pg. 11

Black Magnolia, on a roll pg. 13

UP FRONT | JULY 21 - 27, 2022

EDITOR’S NOTEBOOK: Fox 8 gets into the game

I

should probably be writing this column about Rep. Ted Budd, the Trumpsoaked Senate

by Brian Clarey candidate who, it was reported this week, is getting his ass kicked in the money game against his challenger, former NC Supreme Court Chief Justice Cheri Beasley.

That’s good news if you care about this country’s values and traditions — Budd, who won a crowded primary on Trump’s endorsement, twice voted not to impeach the disgraced president and on Jan. 6 voted to overturn the results of the election.

But instead I chose as my subject a story about Budd, its unlikely source and how it found its way to me.

I take in an enormous amount of news, beginning before sunrise every morning and gathering more as the day goes on. I never really stop. I get my information from blue-chip news sources — the kind that issue corrections when they get something wrong. I read my news almost exclusively, as opposed to radio or TV, so that I can take it in with a more critical eye. And I stick to news; no opinion sections or hot takes for me.

For statewide news, I look at a lot of

BUSINESS PUBLISHER/EXECUTIVE EDITOR Brian Clarey

brian@triad-city-beat.com

PUBLISHER EMERITUS Allen Broach

allen@triad-city-beat.com

OF COUNSEL

1451 S. Elm-Eugene St. Box 24, Greensboro, NC 27406 Office: 336.681.0704 ART WEBMASTER Sam LeBlanc ART DIRECTOR Charlie Marion

charlie@triad-city-beat.com

SALES KEY ACCOUNTS Chris Rudd

chris@triad-city-beat.com

Jonathan Jones

AD MANAGER

EDITORIAL MANAGING EDITOR

noah@triad-city-beat.com

Sayaka Matsuoka

sayaka@triad-city-beat.com

CHIEF CONTRIBUTORS Suzy Fielders James Douglas

james@triad-city-beat.com

2

source documents.

I found out about last week’s Ted Budd story through a letter from an activist published in INDY Week, our friends in the Triangle. Besides Budd’s unsavory campaign donors, the letter references more than $30,000 in trips the Congressman has taken as a guest of special-interest, right-wing groups.

Could that be accurate? As we say in journalism: Even when your mother says she loves you, you need to check it out.

The activist’s assertion led me to a piece of investigative reporting published right here in the Triad by… a TV station!

Yes! Fox 8 WGHP (Fox fucking 8!) ran more than 2,000 words (2,000 words!) by bona fide print journalist Steven Doyle that examined source documents (!) and conducted extensive interviews (!!) to contextualize Budd’s many, many extravagant trips.

A deep dive! And it came out almost two weeks ago, which is forever in the news cycle. Shame on me.

But in my defense, no Triad TV station has ever published an original, 2,000-word investigative piece since I got here 20 years ago. So I wasn’t really looking for it.

But there it is! And I hope to see more of it.

Local news is in crisis, and we need as many players on the field as we can get.

Noah Kirby

CONTRIBUTORS

Carolyn de Berry, John Cole, Owens Daniels, Luis H. Garay, Kaitlynn Havens, Jordan Howse, Matt Jones, Autumn Karen, Michaela Ratliff, Jen Sorensen, Todd Turner

TCB IN A FLASH @ triad-city-beat.com First copy is free, all additional copies are $1. ©2022 Beat Media Inc.

PHOTOGRAPHY INTERN Juliet Coen

COVERS:

Design by Charlie Marion

UP FRONT | JULY 21 - 27, 2022

CITY LIFE JULY 21 - 25

by MICHAELA RATLIFF

THURSDAY July 21 Paw Crawl @ Wise Man Brewing (W-S) 5 p.m.

Beer Flight & Cheese Pairing @ Foothills Brewing (WS) 12 p.m.

Foothills wants to introduce you to the combo you never knew you needed. Experiment by combining the tastes of various beers and cheeses to find that perfect pair.

Visit the event page on Facebook for more information.

Camp Terror Camp Out @ McLaurin Farms (GSO) 8 p.m.

Help #SaveFursyth at Forsyth Humane Society’s Paw Crawl! Stop by a different bar each month and enjoy cold beverages knowing the proceeds will help reach a 90 percent save rate of shelter cats and dogs. Visit forsythhumane.org/pawcrawl for a list of participating bars and more information.

Messy Millennials: Starter Pack @ Greensboro Cultural Center (GSO) 7:30 p.m.

Join Creative Greensboro for a production of Messy Millennials: Starter Pack, an original play by Ian Hairston.

Set in the last two years of the pandemic, this dark comedy follows a group of urban 30-somethings as they land themselves in and out of messy situations. Purchase tickets on Eventbrite.

FRIDAY July 22 ConGregate 8 @ Downtown Marriott (W-S) 11 a.m.

ConGregate is back! Stop by the Marriott all weekend for all things science fiction with guests of honor, sci-fi and fantasy writer Timothy Zahn and metal group Valentine Wolfe. There will be discussion panels, book signings and more for you to enjoy. Head to con-gregate.com to register and view a schedule of each day’s events.

California Wine Tasting @ Brewer’s Kettle (HP) 7 p.m.

The Brewer’s Kettle invites you to take a trip to the west coast during this tasting of six California wines at just $20 per person.

Woods of Terror is bringing the scares a little early this year with this new terrifying campout experience! Explore the grounds, solve puzzles and enjoy other interactive activities. Think you can survive the night? Tickets are limited to 100 participants, so get yours from the event page on Facebook.

SUNDAY July 24 Boisson en Blanc @ Boxcar Bar + Arcade (GSO) 9 p.m.

Boxcar puts their own spin on Dîner en Blanc with a Boisson en Blanc dance party. Dress in your best white attire and enjoy dancing and cocktails in the private event space. Visit the event page on Facebook for more information.

MONDAY July 25

SAT, JULY 23

EASTERN FESTIVAL ORCHESTRA PRESENTS

NEW PERSPECTIVES JASON VIEAUX, GUITAR

Code Your Own Robot in Minecraft @ Code Ninjas (HP) 1 p.m.

SATURDAY July 23 The Pickle! High Point to Greensboro @ Fleet Feet (HP) 7 a.m.

Lace up your running shoes and participate in the 8th Fleet Feet Pickle, a fun run along the Greenway from High Point to Greensboro for a total of 16 miles. Proceeds will go to the Backpack Beginnings Foundation.

Register at store.fleetfeetgreensboro.com and scroll to Fleet Feet Pickle.

In this camp for ninjas ages 8 and up, they’ll use simple programming to learn how to code features to play Minecraft in a different way, such as spawning chickens from the sky! Enroll at bit.ly/3Hw6CQd. Send your events to calendar@triad-city-beat.com for consideration in City Life and the Weekender.

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NEWS | JULY 21 - 27, 2022

NEWS

Short-Changed in the Short Session: The 2022 Legislative Issue

by Brian Clarey and Sayaka Matsuoka

Sure, it was a short session. And unlike in the last few years, it has ended near the beginning of summer — though the North Carolina General Assembly has, in its wisdom, left the door open to reconvene down the line. The 2021 session, remember, went on for 14 months, the longest in state history. So a brief session was not unreasonable. And yet, history will remember the 2022 short session for the things that did not get done: no Medicaid expansion, no medical marijuana, no sports betting, all populist issues that, with the exception of sports betting, have been adopted by 39 states each. On the plus side, NC’s version of the Don’t Say Gay Bill — the Parents Bill of Rights, was also devoured by a tangle of subcommittees. And this was also the year that the state finally abolished the ancient practice of requiring a membership to drink in a bar in an omnibus Booze Bill that should quench the populist thirst.

FORSYTH HOUSE Rep. Evelyn Terry (D) District 71

Terms: 5 About the district: The district starts in Walkertown and stretches diagonally across the southeast part of Winston-Salem to Highway 150.

Committee chairs: Education – universities (vice chair) Primary Sponsor: 1 bill (1 signed into law) Highlights: HB243 — Budget Technical Corrections (with Hardister): An omnibus bill that makes multiple amendments and corrections to the 2021 budget.

Status: Signed into law on March 17

Rep. Amber Baker (D) District 72

Terms: 1 About the district: District 72 starts at Oak Summit Road, stretches from North Winston to Harmony Grove and extends west and then south through Buena Vista, South Fork and Ardmore.

Committee Chairs: None Primary Sponsor: 4 bills (0 signed into law) Highlights: HB1032 – A Sound Basic Education (with Harrison): The act instructs the General Assembly to fully fund the state comprehensive plan established by the Leandro decision, which found our schools underfunded by billions.

Status: Died in committee HB1123 – ReEnact Solar Energy Tax Credit: Restores a 35 percent tax credit for the cost of installing solar panels up to $5 million.

Status: Died in committee

Rep. Lee Zachary (R) District 73

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Terms: 4 About the district: The district stretches from Rural Hall in the east to Pea Ridge in the west and covers both Forsyth and Yadkin counties.

Committee chairs: Judiciary 3 (chair) Primary Sponsor: 3 (0 signed into law) Highlights: HB1173 – Elect SBE Members/Super as Chair of SBE (with Hardister): This act amended the NC Constitution to take appointments to the State Board of Education out of the governor’s and and put it under the General Assembly, one of many bills this session to degrade the

governor’s authority.

Status: Died in committee

Rep. Jeff Zenger (R) District 74

Terms: 1 About the district: The district is on the west side of Forsyth County and covers Lewisville and Clemmons.

Committee chairs: Finance (vice chair) Primary sponsor: 3 (1 signed into law) Highlights: HB211 – Social District/COmmon Area Clarifications: Clarifies laws regarding outdoor alcohol use in “Social Districts” in NC. Tucked in the end is a provision that allows residents who are denied city or county water and sewer service to get it from “another unit of local government.”

Status: Signed into law on July 7 HB1022 – High School Trade Study: “An act to require the Department of Labor to study ways to increase the number of workers practicing the trades in the labor force of North Carolina” Status: Died in Committee

Rep. Donny Lambeth (R) District 75

Terms: 5 About the district: The district starts at Walnut Cove Road and Belews Creek near and extends down to Walburg, excising most of the city of Winston-Salem.

Committee chairs: Appropriations (senior chair), Appropriations, Health and Human Services (vice chair), Health (chair) Primary sponsor: 7 bills (1 signed into law) Highlights: HB177 — Extend Spiking Moratorium/LGERS surety: Extends for one year the sunset of a moratorium prohibiting school board members from suing the state about their pension benefits.

Status: Signed into law on July 8 HB990 – Medicaid Hospital Assessments Act (with Harrison): An act expanding Medicaid access in NC. Status: Passed the House in June, died in Senate committee four days later.

HB1014 – UNCH Opioid Mitigation Institute/Funds (with Hardister): Earmarked $10 million from the UNC BOG Opioid Abatement Reserve for the formation of a center at UNCG. Status: Died in committee

FORSYTH SENATE Sen. Joyce Kraweic (R) District 31

Terms: 4 (+1 in House) About the district: The district contains Forsyth’s rural tracts outside Winston-Salem and the entirety of Davie County.

Committee chairs: Appropriations on Health and Human Services (chair), Health Care (chair), Pensions and Retirement and Aging (chair) Primary sponsor: 4 (1 signed into law) Highlights: SB448 — Amendments th Schedule VI of the CSA: “An act providing… for the automatic removal from Schedule VI of the Controlled Substances Act prescription drugs approved by the Federal Food and Drug Administration.” They’re talking about medical marijuana.

Status: Signed into law on June 14 SB869 – Let Parents Choose/Sammy’s Law: An act written to protect children on the internet written by people who don’t understand the internet.

Status: Died in committee

NEWS | JULY 21 - 27, 2022

NEWS

Sen. Paul Lowe (D) District 32

Terms: 3 About the district: District 32 contains most of the city of Winston-Salem and outlying areas to the north and south.

Committee chairs: None Primary sponsor: 9 (0 signed into law) Highlights: SB711 – NC Compassionate Care Act: NC’s medical marijuana bill, more strict than most of the legal states.

Status: Passed the Senate, should be addressed in the

House next session.

SB790 – Support for Forsyth Co. Public Def ’s Office: One of a slew of Winston-Salem specific bills, this one appropriates about $1 million a year for the Forsyth public defender’s office.

Status: Died in committee.

SB859 – In-State Tuition Flexibility Act: Allows DREAMers and other immigrants who live in NC to pay in-state tuition at UNC System schools.

Status: Died in committee.

GUILFORD HOUSE Rep. Ashton Clemmons (D) District 57

Terms: 2 About the district: The district starts in east Greensboro near East Market Street and stretches north and northwest, picking up much of the northern parts of the city before ending at the edges of Lake Brandt and Lake Townsend.

Committee Chairs: None Primary Sponsor: 13 bills (0 signed into law) Highlights: HB1003 – Support UNC Greensboro GCSTOP Wrap Project (with Faircloth, Hardister, Harrison): This act would allocate $1 million dollars to UNCG to strengthen its GCSTOP programs, develop a program in partnership with Guilford County and create diversion programs in cooperation with law enforcement to serve opioid-affected community members.

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NEWS | JULY 21 - 27, 2022

NEWS

Status: Died in committee HB1023 – Funds/Establishing Safe Cultures Program (with Hardister, Quick): This act would have allocated $126,000 to the Prestige Empowerment Group to start an “Establishing Safe Cultures” program to “provide young people with constructive actions to lessen gun violence rather than lecture them on their negative behaviors.”

Status: Died in committee HB1034 – Child Care 2018 Market Study Rates (with Lambeth): This act would have given anywhere from $206-215 million to child care centers and homes to reduce the waitlist for children, starting with those who are in foster care Status: Died in committee HB1145 – Higher Ed Savings Grant Pilot Program (with Hardister): This act would have established a pilot program that would have provided funds to students to pay for higher education in several counties including Guilford.

Status: Died in committee

House Minority Whip Amos Quick (D) District 58

Terms: 3 About the district: This southwestern district reaches towards Jamestown near Grandover Resort and then creeps up towards the UNCG area and Hamilton Lakes.

Committee Chairs: None Primary Sponsor: 7 bills (1 signed into law) Highlights: HB1106 – Greensboro School Suspension Support (with Hardister): This act would have allocated $500,000 to the New Light Intergenerational Outreach Resource and Enrichment Center which provides conflict resolution and life skills and helps students complete assignments while suspended.

Status: Died in committee HB1155 – HFA/Funds for Affordable Housing Development: This act would have allocated $20.66 million to support statewide affordable housing development Status: Died in committee

House Majority Whip John Hardister (R) District 59

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Terms: 5 About the district: Hardister’s district, which is shaped like a backwards “C,” covers almost half of the county including much of the rural eastern parts. It then curves westward towards Summerfield in the north and Jamestown in the south.

Committee Chairs: Alcoholic Beverage Control (vicechair); Appropriations (vice-chair); Appropriations, Education (chair); Education – Universities (chair); House Select Committee on Strategic Transportation Planning and Long-Term Funding Solutions (vice-chair); UNC Board of Governors Nominations (vice-chair) Primary Sponsor: 24 bills (5 signed into law) Highlights: HB755 – Parents’ Bill of Rights: Drafted as a reaction to vaccine requirements, LGBTQ+ rights and critical race theory, this bill notes that parents have the right to seek exemption from vaccines, opt out of sex education, as well as the right to inspect school textbooks.

Status: Died in committee HB995 — Greensboro Deannex/Weldon City Board of Ed Pay (sole sponsor): Removes a tract of land from the western boundary of the city of Greensboro, sets pay for Weldon Board of Education members at $550/month.

Status: Signed into law on July 1

D OW N TOW N

SUMMER MUSIC SERIES

DOWNTOWN JAZZ JULY 22 LIN ROUNTREE CORPENING PLAZA

SUMMER ON LIBERTY

JULY 23 WEST END MAMBO 6TH & LIBERTY

Produced By The Downtown Winston-Salem Partnership downtownws.com

HB1050 – The Youth Sports Scholarship Act (with Lambeth): This act would establish a youth sports scholarship program which would provide scholarships to low-income families to expand participation in sports and encourage regular physical activity.

Status: Died in committee HB1068 — UNC Non-Appropriated Capital Projects: Allows UNC schools to make capital improvements with revenue not from the General Fund, like donations, grants or reimbursements.

Status: Signed into law on June 30 HB1173 – Elect SBE Members/Super as Chair of SBE (with Zachary): This would have amended the state constitution to elect members of the State Board of Education, made the Superintendent of Public Instruction the chair of the State BOE and would have required that vacancy appointments by the Governor be confirmed by the General Assembly.

Status: Died in committee

Rep. Cecil Brockman (D) District 60

Terms: 4 About the district: District 60 runs vertically along the western part of the county, starting near West Market Street near the airport, and moves south towards High Point, catching a bit of Jamestown on the way.

Committee Chairs: Education K-12 (vice-chair) Primary Sponsor: 3 bills (1 signed into law) Highlights: HB263 – High Point/Council Delegate Rezoning Powers (with Faircloth, Hardister, Quick): This act amends the charter of the city of High Point to authorize city council to allow the city’s Planning and Zoning Commission to change the zoning classification of property Status: Signed into law on July 1 HB1016 – GTCC Esports Funds (with Clemmons, Faircloth, Hardister): This act would have given GTCC $749,000 to facilitate student participation in esports events, given them the technology needed for esports competitions, and allowed for repairs and renovations of school buildings to create an esports arena. The move comes in the wake of a trend of universities and colleges creating esports centers.

Status: Died in committee

Rep. Pricey Harrison (D) District 61

Terms: 9 About the district: Harrison’s district covers a swath of Greensboro from Franklin Boulevard on the eastern side through downtown towards Guilford College to the west.

Committee Chairs: Environment (vice-chair) Primary Sponsor: 10 bills (0 signed into law) Highlights: HB1116 – Fiona Mae Wagglebottom’s Act: This act would have changed the law to include failure to provide adequate shelter or space to an animal as cruelty to animals Status: Died in committee HB1123 – Re-enact Solar Energy Tax Credit: This act would have re-enacted the solar energy tax credit law and would have expanded the eligibility for the tax credit to include those who invest in solar energy equipment Status: Died in committee HB1142 – Revise Motor Vehicle Emission Laws: This act would made it illegal to modify a diesel-powered vehicle with a device that temporarily or permanently enables it to emit visible air contaminants exceeding legal limits. The act would also have required law enforcement to train to identify illegal emissions.

Status: Died in committee

Rep. John Faircloth (R) District 62

Terms: 6 About the district: Faircloth’s district covers the northwestern and westernmost portion of the county, starting in Stokesdale, descending all the way to High Point.

Committee Chairs: Appropriations, Justice and Public Safety (vice-chair) Primary Sponsor: 7 bills (1 signed into law) Highlights: HB1009 – Funds for Ready for School, Ready for Life (with Clemmons, Hardister, Quick): This act would allocate funds for Ready for School, Ready for Life, a nonprofit organization that cares for children 0-5 years old to improve outcomes and school readiness.

Status: Died in committee HB1029 – Inn. Signature Career Academy Pilot/Funds (with Clemmons, Hardister, Quick): This act would allocate funds to Guilford County Schools to support their Innovative Signature Career Academy Program which hosts up to six areas of career and technical education at high schools.

Status: Died in committee

NEWS | JULY 21 - 27, 2022

NEWS

GUILFORD SENATE Rep. Amy S. Galey (R) District 24

Terms: 1 About the district: District 24, covers all of Alamance County and the rural eastern strip of Guilford.

Committee Chairs: None Primary Sponsor: 8 bills (6 signed into law) Highlights: SB372 – Electrical Lic./Bldg. Code/Dev. Reform 2022: This bill changed multiple changes to electrical contracting licenses, wastewater treatment, building code rules and local inspection rules including capping the number of hours of experience required to get an electrical contracting license.

Status: Signed into law on June 29 SB671 – Virtual Educ./Remote Acad./Virtual Charters: This act would allow for public schools to create virtual public, private and charter schools in North Carolina going forward.

Status: Signed into law on July 8

Rep. David Craven (R) District 26

Terms: 1+ About the district: District 26 covers all of Randolph County plus most of High Point in Guilford County’s southwest corner.

Committee Chairs: None Primary Sponsor: 5 bills (2 signed into law) Highlights: SB766 – Organized Retail Theft: This bill would increase the penalties for organized retail theft depending on the value of goods stolen and provide additional recovery to businesses for their losses.

Status: Signed into law on June 30 SB836 – Jordan’s Law: This act would allow judges to temporarily renew a domestic violence protective order if the hearing to renew the order is set to take place after the current order expires.

Status: Died in committee SB869 – Let Parents Choose/Sammy’s Law of 2022 (with Krawiec): This

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NEWS | JULY 21 - 27, 2022

NEWS

act would require large social media platforms with more than 1 million monthly active users to make available to third-party safety software providers, real-time information about the activities of children to their parents or legal guardians.

Status: Died in committee

Rep. Michael Garrett (D) District 27

Terms: 2 About the district: District 27 includes all of rural Guilford County with the northern tier and west side of High Point, and a sliver of Greensboro west of Guilford College Road.

Committee Chairs: None Primary Sponsor: 22 bills (1 signed into law) Highlights: SB292 – Greensboro Small Business Enterprise (with Robinson): This bill authorizes the city of Greensboro to establish a small business enterprise program to promote the development of small businesses in the city Status: Signed into law on July 1 SB807 – Student Mental Health Support Act: This act would have allocated $40 million create a school mental health grant program for public schools.

Status: Died in committee SB833 – Make Election Day A State Holiday/Funds: Similar to past acts, this bill would have made the statewide general election day an official paid state holiday Status: Died in committee SB912 – Greensboro Civilian Traffic Investigators/SBE (with Robinson): This act would allow civilians to investigate traffic crashes and issue citations. The bill also included the establishment of the small business enterprise program, which ultimately passed as a separate bill.

Status: Died in committee

Rep. Gladys Robinson (D) District 28

Terms: 6 About the district: District 28 is now most of the city of Greensboro, with a bit in the east ceded to District 24.

Committee Chairs: None Primary Sponsor: 5 bills (1 signed into law) Highlights: SB835 – A Sound Basic Education: The act instructs the General Assembly to fully fund the state comprehensive plan established by the Leandro decision, which found our schools underfunded by billions.

Status: Signed into law on July 1 SB853 – Wage Theft/Funds: The act would amend labor laws so employers have to notify employees of any changes to their wages or employment status in writing and would punish employers who violate the rules to pay back wages plus interest. Employers could also be fined up to $500 per employee per violation.

Status: Died in committee

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Gov. Cooper vetoed seven bills in 2022

Our governor used his veto stamp six times so far this session, and one bill made it through without his signature.

1. HB605 – 2022 Primary Date: Pushed the date of the primary to June 7 instead of March 8 (primary was eventually held on May 17).

Vetoed Jan. 28: “This bill is an attempt by Republican legislators to control the election timeline and undermine the voting process.”

2. SB173 – Free the Smiles Act: Allowed parents to opt their children out of wearing masks in public schools during the pandemic (school mask mandates had already begun being lifted).

Vetoed Feb. 24: “Passing laws for political purposes that encourage people to pick and choose which health rules they want to follow is dangerous and could tie the hands of public health officials in the future.”

3. HB49 – Concealed Carry Permit Lapse/Revise Law:

Concealed-carry holders could renew without taking safety training.

Vetoed July 11: “Requiring sheriffs to waive firearm safety and training courses for those who let their concealed weapons permit lapse is yet another way Republicans are working to chip away at commonsense gun safety measures that exist in North Carolina.”

4. SB101 – Require Cooperation with ICE 2.0: “An act to

require compliance with immigration detainers and administrative warrants and to require certain reports from local law enforcement.”

Vetoed July 11: “This law is only about scoring political points and using fear to divide North Carolinians. As the state’s former top law enforcement officer, I know that current law already allows the state to incarcerate and prosecute dangerous criminals regardless of immigration status. This bill is unconstitutional and weakens

law enforcement in North Carolina by mandating that sheriffs do the job of federal agents, using local resources that could hurt their ability to protect their counties.”

5. SB593 – Schools for the Deaf and Blind: Wrangles three

schools for special-needs students under one governance at the discretion of the state Board of Ed. Vetoed July 11: “Not only is this bill blatantly unconstitutional, it continues this legislature’s push to give more control of education to Boards of Trustees made up of partisan political appointees. First the legislature seized control of all UNC system trustee appointments from the Executive Branch.

They did the same with two of the state’s community college boards. And now, this bill removes administration of the important NC Schools for the Deaf and Blind from the State Board of Education to a newly created board with 80 percent of the trustees, who may or may not know how to run these schools, appointed by the legislature.

The students at the schools deserve steady, knowledgeable leadership rather than becoming a part of the erosion of statewide education oversight.”

6. HB823 – Child Advocacy Centers/Share Information:

Sets new criteria for children’s advocacy centers, with a lot of fine print.

Vetoed July 11: “This bill was well-intended to better serve children, but in the hurried conclusion of session it included critical flaws, for example, limiting departments of social services’ ability to refer children who have come to the attention of child welfare to pediatric specialists for appropriate medical diagnosis and treatment. Legislators should continue to work with the NC Department of Health and Human Services, the Child Advocacy Centers,

and others to fix these flaws and move this work forward in future legislation to best help children.”

7. HB911 – Regulatory Reform Act of 2022: An omnibus bill trimming excess regula-

tions on everything including teachers, land use, veterinary medicine, lead dust, public records, modular homes, the state auditor’s office, waterslide operators and more.

Passed into law July 12 without the governor’s signature: “This bill contains necessary changes in several areas but will become law without my signature due to a provision involving confessions of judgment that could be unfair to consumers. Weakening their due process rights in this way could also conflict with federal regulations that recognize confessions of judgment are harmful to consumers. Legislators have pledged to eliminate this provision and I expect them to be true to their word.”

Elite Athlete chooses Rolfing®️ Associates of the Triad for Pain Relief!

I arrived at the office desperate, after years of chronic back pain and major back surgery. A lifetime of elite sports as an Olympic-level athlete, and my current ranking on the world stage as a multisport Duathlete, had left me searching for pain relief and some glimmer of hope that I would have a fourth World Championships in my future.

Bulging discs, herniation and a potential life-altering condition of Cauda Equina had suddenly rendered me nearly paralyzed in my right leg, culminating in emergency back surgery in January 2021.

My life as an athlete, my occupation as a professional firefighter and even my daily life were severely compromised — simply going up a flight of stairs became a painful challenge. I was desperate for relief both physically and emotionally, trying everything any coach or doctor had suggested: chiropractor, physiotherapy, acupuncture, massage, monthly epidural injections in the hospital to every type of anti-inflammatory, from ibuprofen to naproxen, to Celebrex to very serious pain medications… all with little to no relief. I was not getting better, and I was living and training in daily agony. Then someone suggested Rolfing®️ structural integration. What the heck was that, and why in the world had I not tried it?

While a family visit and a week of training had brought me to beautiful Greensboro, my home away from home, it would ultimately be Rolfing that would have me extend my stay by almost two weeks. The decision was very clear after my initial visit.

Every injury I could ever remember suffering through had always been treated in a singular, anatomical fashion. Back pain? Treat the low back.

Hamstring issue? Therapy to the hamstring. I had never seen any practitioner who had addressed my injuries by assessing and explaining that treatment for a particular area involved related treatment to the body as a whole: structural integra-

tion with the goal of pain and injury elimination.

To address my back pain, my quadriceps, hips and hamstrings were manipulated, each pressure giving way to associated pain that quite frankly, I had no idea was even contributing to my injuries.

My posture and habitual body movements from running, cycling and in my everyday life were causing damage to what I originally thought was a pure athletic injury.

Rolfing, as I would discover over the next two weeks of intensive treatment, is understanding how structures are integrated and the necessity of treatment to the body as a whole. It is understanding that pain, even from an injury, is a complex, whole-body phenomenon. I left that first appointment in tears of relief, mostly free of pain, and for the first time hopeful that I would have the opportunity to stand upon the Duathlon podium at the World Championships in Ibiza 2023.

In the next two weeks, I trained my body in new ways of movement in everyday life, and I found it resulted in such an absence of my old friend, pain, that my ability to train my body and mind was dramatically improved. I ran farther and trained harder than I could remember in the past two years. I began to look at my injuries differently and my understanding of pain — what it was, and what it meant to my body — began to shift. Everything from my neck to my toes was treated and I left Greensboro feeling healthy and strong with a renewed sense of optimism.

If you had asked me a month ago, I would have said that competition was likely impossible.

A week after my return from my two weeks of therapy, I was on the podium, placing second in my first large-scale race since my surgery.

I celebrated feeling finally good about life. I texted my therapist to thank her and my coach to tell him I was ready to give it my all - Oh yes, and I reached for my calendar to plan my return to Rolfing®️Associates of the Triad!

NEWS | JULY 21 - 27, 2022

NEWS

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OPINION | JULY 21 - 27, 2022

OPINION

EDITORIAL Mark Martin’s paper trail

T

he announcement by High Point University in June caught everyone off guard — everyone, that is, who knew the name of Mark Martin, and wondered why on Earth HPU would name him as the founding dean of its brand new law school.

True, Martin served as chief justice of the North Carolina Supreme Court from 2014-19, which definitely qualifies him as a notable name in NC legal circles.

But more than his service to our state, Martin has become known as one of the architects behind the Jan. 6 Insurrection, as first reported in the New York Times just four days after the armed mob attempted to thwart our democratic processes.

His role in the insurrection was not mentioned in the HPU press release.

Until last week, all we had to go on was hearsay reporting by the Times relaying that President Trump had told Vice President Mike Pence that he, as VP, had the power to overturn the Electoral College; that assertion by Trump was reportedly on the word of Martin.

But now we have an actual document that has been uncovered by the Jan. 6 Commission: a memo from Virginia attorney William

Olson to the president from Dec. 8, 2020.

The memo itself is certifiably bananas. Olson plays to Trump’s vanities while perpetuating the Big Lie, advising him to fire all his lawyers and the attorney general along with several other steps that, if taken, would have kept Trump in the White House.

But for our purposes here, the most important piece is that it confirms Martin’s contact with Trump during the planning stages of the insurrection. And it nails him as a partisan, someone willing to twist the law to suit his own desires, as well as implication of a profound disrespect for American institutions and processes.

We don’t have much yet on the content of those conversations, but everybody knows what happened afterwards: A vicious mob hell-bent on disrupting the transfer of power after a free and fair election killed five cops and injured a hundred more while attacking one of our nation’s most sacred spaces. And the guy who helped make the plan got named founding dean of High Point University Law School.

Which begs the question: What sort of law will they be teaching over there?

The memo confirms Martin’s contact with Trump during the planning stages of the insurrection.

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CULTURE | JULY 21 - 27, 2022

CULTURE

Beyond thoughts and prayers: Religious orgs are chopping up guns to curb violence

by Sayaka Matsuoka

As a way to do something about gun violence, Keith Curl-Dove cuts firearms into little pieces and turns the scraps into functional art.

PHOTO BY JULIET COEN

K

eith Curl-Dove is tired of thoughts and prayers.

As the pastor of Faith Presbyterian Church and New Creation Community Presbyterian Church in Greensboro, thinking and praying are part of his job, but after multiple mass shootings that took place this year, he saw the need to do more.

“In our Wednesday book study for New Creation, it was the day after the Uvalde shooting, and of course, we didn’t talk about the book at all,” Curl-Dove says. “We processed the shooting at Robb Elementary School and I know about this group called RAWtools, and I had been active in the Presbyterian Peace Fellowship for a while, under which the minister for gun violence prevention works. So I knew what they were doing with gun violence prevention.”

In 2012, in the wake of the Sandy Hook shooting that claimed the lives of 26 people — 20 of them children between 6-7 years old — fatherand-son duo Fred and Mike Martin founded RAWtools, an organization that turns guns into garden tools. Since the founding of the organization, more than 1,000 firearms have been transformed through their Swords to Plowshares initiative

with the help of partner organizations around the country that act as disarming centers where people can turn in their guns.

“When we were processing the shooting, we talked about how we were tired of wringing our hands after every instance of gun violence, tired of waiting on the people who actually get to make decisions to finally do something about it,” Curl-Dove says. “And I brought up this group and there was a lot of energy around chopping up guns with our hands rather than just wringing them every time.”

Because New Creation doesn’t have a physical location, Curl-Dove asked leadership at the other church he works for, Faith Presbyterian, if they’d be open to collaborating and received an overwhelmingly positive response. Now, close to two months later, Faith Presbyterian Church is one of RAWtools’ newest disarming centers. According to the map on RAWtools’ website, Faith Presbyterian will be the fourth spot in North Carolina — others are in the Triangle, Asheville and Winston-Salem. And like Faith Presbyterian, many locations that are part of RAWtools’ network are faith-based. The organization partnered with Mennonite Church USA to further their mission.

And it’s not all that surprising, Curl-Dove says, given that the idea comes straight from scripture.

“They shall beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks,” Curl-Dove reads from Isaiah 2:4. “Nation shall not lift up sword against nation; and neither shall they learn war anymore.”

How does the process work?

I

n the corner near the entrance of Curl-Dove’s office, a bright-yellow metal chopsaw sits on the floor. In the future, the saw will be used to cut up guns brought to the church.

The process for disarming and transforming guns is fairly straightforward: Anyone looking to participate can find the closest disarming site through the RAWtools website and then submit a request to drop off a gun. Then they bring their gun to the location where it will be chopped up and sent to a blacksmith who will turn it into a garden tool, which the owner can get in return for free. Ones that don’t get returned to the owners get sold through RAWtools to help fund their mission.

As part of the process of joining the network,

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CULTURE | JULY 21 - 27, 2022

Curl-Dove will be training with Russ May, the co-founder of Anthony’s Plot Community in Winston-Salem, to make sure he knows exactly how to chop the guns. Antony’s Plot, which was founded in 2010, is a faith-based intentional neighborhood in the Sunnyside district. According to May, the community has been impacted by gun violence in the past.

“There’s gun violence that passes through here,” he says. “Gun violence has impacted a sense of safety, especially for our children and youth here.”

In 2018, May was pushed to become a part of the disarming network after a family tragedy brought the issue close to home.

“In 2016, my wife’s mother was shot and killed.

And her husband, who killed her, also killed himself,” May says. “That fall, the founder of RAWtools, Michael Martin, was in town doing an event raising awareness about gun violence, and they asked me to speak. We had just had this loss in our family and we didn’t know how to process it, but our tendency was to ask, ‘How do we make an impact here?’ That’s when we started disarming guns.”

The very first gun that May disarmed was an AR-15 that belonged to his father-in-law. Eventually, they disarmed all of his weapons. Since their start four years ago, May says that he’s cut up about 20 guns — most of them using the saw that lives in the Sunnyside neighborhood parking lot.

“I want it to be visible so neighbors know what we’re doing,” he says.

While the neighborhood is being impacted by gentrification, May says that the area is still racially and socioeconomically diverse. He says that when the community was first founded, it was about equal parts Latinx, Black and white and had a 50-50 split of people living both above and below the poverty line.

“We still have a diverse set of relationships,” May says.

What’s the impact?

W

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hite-led religious organizations like Anthony’s Plot as well as Faith Presbyterian and New Light Community are increasingly becoming involved in the fight against gun violence.

“Everything is intersectional,” Curl-Dove says.

“Working against gun violence is also working against racism. Gun violence disproportionately affects Black people and communities of color.”

According to CDC data from 2020 analyzed by the Johns Hopkins Center for Gun Violence Solutions, young Black males accounted for about 38 percent of all gun homicide deaths in 2020, despite only making up 2 percent of the total US population. Data showed that Black males between the ages 15-34 were more than 20 times more likely to die by gun homicide than their white counterparts and there was a 49

CULTURE

percent increase in the number of gun homicides among Black females in 2020 compared to the year prior. Research by the Brookings Institute showed that the intersection of poverty, racial segregation and systemic disinvestment lead to these disproportionate outcomes.

In a post titled, “Why White Churches Need to Start Chopping Up Guns,” Rev. Deanna Hollas of the Presbyterian Peace Fellowship argued that ending gun violence in the US is directly tied to engaging in dismantling white supremacy.

“We must dismantle white supremacy; by hosting a Guns to Gardens event your church creates an opportunity for the community to examine our reliance on guns,” Hollas wrote. “You create an opportunity for your mostly white church to examine the well-toned muscle that reacts when we believe we are under threat, and instead turn toward a different understanding of safety.”

And that’s true for his churches too, Curl-Dove says.

While New Creation is the more progressive of the two, it is mostly white and Faith Presbyterian is almost a completely white organization. May also stated that almost all of the guns that he’s chopped since 2018 were from white gun owners and none were from his neighborhood.

So what gives? If the people turning in guns are white, and the organizations chopping guns are white, is it helping those most impacted by gun violence? The answer isn’t so black and white, according to Curl-Dove.

“I think there’s a misconception that us taking these unwanted guns is the be all end-all,” he says. “Every gun we chop makes our community one gun safer. That is good and important work for us to engage in. What we’re really hoping is this saw is a tangible but symbolic commitment to gun-violence prevention. It’s a visible way for us to see that we are not going to depend on guns anymore.”

May echoes Curl-Dove’s viewpoint. In the wake of the Mt. Tabor High School shooting earlier this year, many students reached out to May to ask about cutting up guns.

“They didn’t know where to focus their frustration,” he says. “They were asking if they could come and cut up a gun as a therapeutic activity….

There’s something iconic about the action itself.

The conversations are deep; there’s healing and hope.”

A similar tactic that has become popular when it comes to combating gun violence is the model of gun buybacks, in which cities host events where

people can turn in guns for cash or gift cards. In January, the city of Winston-Salem hosted a gun buyback event in which more than 500 firearms were purchased from the public. More than 60 percent of them were handguns and about 34 percent were long guns. Despite the event’s success, research hasn’t found a clear connection between buybacks and a decrease in gun violence. A 2013 article by Governing suggested that while raising awareness about gun violence, gun buybacks had little effect in curbing it, with a gun club owner calling it a “publicity stunt” while turning in a nonworking firearm. A meta-analysis from December 2019 in Current Trauma Reports suggested that gun buybacks should be included in broader violence reduction strategies.

And that’s something Curl-Dove is keeping in mind.

“This is not an alternative to advocacy or an alternative to something else,” he says. “We’re still going to try to make our community safer in ways that will actually make the community safer.”

And at the end of the day, May says, the reality is that there is one less gun in the world. Already this summer, there are scheduled disarmings to take place at Anthony’s Plot, and that’s a good thing, he says.

“I look at the guns that we cut up and I think about how changing that access could have prevented a different outcome,” he says. “So I don’t want to minimize what we’re doing. If we had done the same thing with [my father-in-law’s] guns, we could have had a different outcome. At the same time, I’m realistic about our numbers when it comes to impacting gun violence. But we believe that the single action is meaningful and they are reflective of the macro. There’s nothing neutral in life; every positive is important. Things will add up and have weight to them, so we just keep doing what we do.”

To learn more about RAWtools and to find a disarming site near you, visit rawtools.org.

CULTURE | JULY 21 - 27, 2022

CULTURE

‘Almost there:’ Venee Pawlowski’s dreams of opening a patisserie is close with help from crowdfunding

by Kevin Six

PHOTOS BY: JULIET COEN

The creampuffs and pies are breathtaking, but the flagship item coming from Veneé Pawlowski’s kitchen is the cinnamon roll, for which Black Magnolia Southern Patisserie has ecome known. INSET: Pawlowski with her daughter.

“

One difficulty includes the delay in purchasing ovens and having to open the walls of the bakery to get them in. Such setbacks have shut down production, leaving the opening date for the bakery uncertain. Pawlowski remains undeterred, however, as she works hard to produce fresh dough on a weekly basis and operates a sheeter to make quality croissants. She currently rents several kitchen spaces to accommodate the growing demands.

“We’ve had to shut down much of production due to these setbacks,” she says. “Through it all, it’s been a learning experience.”

As of July 19, the GoFundMe exceeded its goal of raising $5,500 with a total of $5,625. Pawlowski said she’s been humbled by the amount of support the community has shown her in the last few weeks.

“I feel absolutely humbled and awestruck by the Pawlowski sheer amount of love this community has shown Black Magnolia Southern Patisserie,” Pawlowski said. “I truly feel that this is Greensboro’s bakery and I’m going to do what I can to make sure that doesn’t change.”

As she continues to work towards her goal, she reflects on the past two years of channeling her passion.

“This goes back to my original training,” she says. “Back to my coffee shop job and pastry-chef training. This has all come back full circle.”

We were a COVID business through and through.

“

A

delectable smell wafts from Veneé Pawlowski’s oven as a batch of cakes, pies, croissants and a multitude of other pastries finish off. Pawloski is working to open her new bakery, Black Magnolia Southern Patisserie at Revolution Mill, and a recent crowdfunding effort has put the baker one step closer to realizing her dream.

Back in 2020, when residents were in lockdown Pawlowski, who had previously worked in a coffee shop before the pandemic and had been training to be a pastry chef, decided to start baking with her daughter; as they baked, they found that their favorite item was cinnamon rolls. She then began sharing her confection with the community.

“We were a COVID business through and through,” she says. “We had great responses from friends - Veneé and family. Word of mouth spread and continued even after the lockdowns ended.”

The word did indeed begin to spread, and her pastries grew in popularity, offering a sweet delight during a year that was bitterly sour. As time went on and her business grew, Pawloski began selling her confectionery to local shops, such as Green Bean, Borough Coffee and Double Oaks Bed and Breakfast. They included a variety of sweets, such as banana pudding, cream puffs and the community favorite — her cinnamon rolls.

Pawloski is now in the process of opening a brick and mortar location at Revolution Mill with a soft launch planned for early August. Some difficulties emerged as the costs of opening expenses mounted and she started a GoFundMe page to help.

To donate to the GoFundMe page, visit the page here. Follow Black Magnolia Southern Patisserie on social media to stay up to date on the official opening of the business.

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SHOT IN THE TRIAD | JULY 21 - 27, 2022

SHOT IN THE TRIAD

BY CAROLYN DE BERRY

East Market Street, Greensboro

Donnie Heath and Michelle Woolverton take advantage of a summer lunch break. Heath, who lives and works in the Southeastern Building, has elevated his parking spot to a whole new level.

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by Matt Jones

‘Almost Paradise’ — they’re nearly anagrams, off by one letter.

Across

LAST WEEK’S ANSWERS: 1. Mettle 6. Fan ___ (writing collected on Archive of Our Own) 9. Glass part 13. Limber 14. ___Vista (Google rival, once) 15. Paris-area airport 16. Tabloid target 17. Roald who wrote “Matilda” 18. Malfunction 19. Made it to the bonus round?

22. Letters on a beach bottle 25. L.A. athlete 26. Expert on IRAs and the IRS 27. “Duck Hunt” console, familiarly 28. Plot point in some sci-fi horror films 32. “Project Runway” mentor © 2022 Jonesin’ Crosswords (editor@jonesincrosswords.com) Tim 33. Quarter-turn from NNW 10. Act that may specialize in balancing and 34. At some future time horn-playing 37. Aconcagua’s range 11. Belgian tennis player Mertens, current world 39. Hotel room fixtures #1 in doubles 41. Comedian Will who played Kenny Rogers 12. ___ Kennedy and The Conspirators (backing and Bill Clinton on “Mad TV” band for Slash) 42. Steers clear of, as an issue 14. Obstinate 44. The Jazz, on sports tickers 20. VCR insert 46. “Sharknado” star Tara 21. Natural water falls?

47. California’s fourth-highest mountain 22. Lengthy tales (and part of a chain sharing its name with a 23. Coin sound “Pacific” city) 24. “Just Keep Swimming” movie 50. Buenos Aires’s loc.

29. Calendario opener 52. Stretch of history 30. Race, as an engine 53. Apprehend 31. Fabric problems 54. Reaction to a funny TikTok video, maybe 35. “... say, and not ___” 55. “Weird Al” Yankovic’s stock-in-trade 36. High-altitude tune 59. Slurpee’s rival 38. Sore throat culprit, perhaps 60. Old-fashioned record player 40. Stunt double, e.g.

61. Be eco-friendly 43. “The $100,000 Pyramid” host Michael 65. Top point © 2022 Jonesin’ Crosswords (editor@jonesincrosswords.com) 45. Jai ___ (indoor sport) 66. “I’m ___” (bakery-themed tune from “The 48. Manufacturer of Gummi Bears Amazing World of Gumball”) LAST WEEK’S ANSWERS: 49. Spain and Portugal’s peninsula 67. Email folder 50. From former Formosa, for example 68. Tom ___, “Animal Crossing” character 51. Elmo’s inanimate nemesis based on the Japanese tanuki (raccoon dog) 56. ___ Squad (Best Buy support service) 69. Roulette wheel spaces, for short 57. “The Last ___” (apocalyptic video game 70. Not for minors series) 58. Drop in the mail Down 62. Dog at the end of “Family Ties” credits 1. Carpet cleaner, briefly 63. Note after fa 2. Ripen 64. Abbr. on an office business card 3. ___ Wayne 4. Couturier Cassini 5. Energized all over 6. Brouhaha 7. City with an Ivy League university 8. Jacques Cousteau’s ship 9. Movie-watching spot

PUZZLES | JULY 21 - 27, 2022

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