North State Journal — Vol. 3., Issue 8

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VOLUME 3 ISSUE 8

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WWW.NSJONLINE.COM |

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 18, 2018

the good life The N.C. Azalea Festival welcomes spring

PHOTO COURTESY OF NORTH CAROLINA AZALEA FESTIVAL.

2018 Azalea Festival Queen Beth Troutman is escorted before a presentation of Citadel cadets, while first lady Kristin Cooper follows, during the Airlie Luncheon Garden Party on April 13.

the Wednesday

NEWS BRIEFING

U.S. IRS hit with computer glitch as midnight tax deadline looms Washington, D.C. On Tuesday, the U.S. Internal Revenue Service’s computers suffered a technical problem that prevented some taxpayers from filing or paying their 2017 returns ahead of a midnight deadline. The IRS said in a statement that several of its systems were hit with the computer glitch, including one that handles returns filed electronically and another that accepts online tax payments using a bank account. It was not clear how many taxpayers might have been affected, but the agency said it received 5 million tax returns on the final day of filing season last year.

One dead after engine failure forces Southwest emergency landing Philadelphia A Dallas-bound Southwest Airlines flight with 149 people on board suffered engine failure on Tuesday, forcing an emergency landing at Philadelphia’s airport and killing a passenger, officials said. After an engine on the plane’s left side blew, it threw off shrapnel, shattering a window and causing cabin depressurization that nearly pulled out a female passenger. NTSB Chairman Robert Sumwalt told a news briefing that one passenger had been killed, but declined to elaborate.

U.S. recalls more than 200 million eggs over salmonella fears Hyde County, N.C. Nearly 207 million from a farm in North Carolina are being recalled from nine U.S. states after 22 people fell ill, the federal Food and Drug Administration has said. It is the largest recall of eggs in the United States since 2010, the Food Safety News website reported. The eggs were recalled by producer Rose Acre Farms of Seymour, Ind., “through an abundance of caution,” the FDA’s statement said. The eggs were distributed from a farm in Hyde County which reportedly produces 2.3 million eggs per day from 3 million laying hens.

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JOURNaL ELEVATE THE CONVERSATION

SPOTLIGHT: COMMUNITY COLLEGES

Lawmakers study how to add seats to technical training programs North Carolina community colleges depend on funding from the state legislature for the majority of their revenue. For several programs crucial to employers — in fields such as health care, construction, manufacturing and public safety — training programs are funded at a lower rate than traditional curriculum programs, simply because they award a certificate or credential, instead of a diploma. In a three-part series, North State Journal will look at the impact of this funding imbalance, and what is currently being done to solve it. Part 1, April 4: What the funding imbalance means to community colleges in the state, and the results of a one-year pilot program that is increasing the funding for selected workforce training programs. Part 2, April 11: How employers around the state, who are desperately seeking qualified candidates for many specialized jobs, would benefit from a change in the funding model. Part 3, April 18: Will the state legislature provide parity in funding for noncredit and curriculum courses?

Community colleges want more funding for shortterm certificate programs, arguing that the money will put more people on the job By Donna King North State Journal RALEIGH — As lawmakers from across the state prepare to return for May’s short legislative session, the question on many minds is how to bring jobs and income to their districts. Lately though, employers have been telling them that the pipeline for skilled, certified technical workers is too narrow and good-paying jobs are going unfilled across the state. “We don’t have a highly skilled workforce — people that build,

make things, that repair things — and now we are scurrying,” said Rep. Craig Horn (R-Union), chair of the House Education Committee. “But our system has not yet caught up to the scurry. … We seem to have a plethora of people who can wear suits and sit behind a desk, and a dearth of people who can actually do those things.” The state’s 57-campus North Carolina Community College System has long been known as the way to fill the void. N.C. is one of 22 states that partly fund community college classes, keeping costs down for students. Currently noncredit classes — many of which are short-term certificate job training classes like public safety, manufacturing, MRI techs and others — are See COLLEGES, page A2

NC pastor goes on trial in Turkey, faces 35 years in prison Pastor Andrew Brunson of Montreat was sent back to prison in Turkey on Monday and his trial continued until May 7. He was arrested in 2016 accused of helping a coup, a charge he denies. Sen Thom Tillis is in Turkey to attend the trial. By Donna King North State Journal ALIAGA, Turkey — A North Carolina pastor denied allegations of links to a group accused of orchestrating a failed military coup in Turkey as he went on trial on Monday in a case that has compounded strains in U.S.-Turkish relations. Andrew Brunson, a Christian pastor from Christ Community Church in Montreat, N.C., who has lived in Turkey for more than two

decades, was indicted on charges of helping the group that the Turkish government holds responsible for the failed 2016 coup against President Tayyip Erdogan. He faces up to 35 years in prison. “I’ve never done something against Turkey. I love Turkey. I’ve been praying for Turkey for 25 years. I want truth to come out,” Brunson told the court in the western Turkish town of Aliaga, north of the Aegean city of Izmir. Brunson, 48, has been the pastor of Izmir Resurrection Church, serving a small Protestant congregation in Turkey’s third largest city. He was arrested on Oct. 7, 2016, but not formally charged until nearly a year after his incarceration. Last year, a 62-page indictment was filed against Brunson, and it reportedly reads more like a diatribe against Christianity — including an attack on Israel. The See TRIAL, page A2

Walter Jones takes complaint over Dacey ad to district attorney By Donna King North State Journal RALEIGH — With the Republican primary just three weeks away Congressman Walter Jones (R03) is taking legal action against his primary opponent, Scott Dacey, for an ad that his campaign says is “misleading” at a minimum. The ad, and the controversy, has made national headlines. Dacey was served with a ceaseand-desist order on Wednesday last week from Jones’ lawyers saying that the ad wrongly accused Jones of taking $80,000 from liberal billionaire benefactor George Soros. The Dacey ad says that “Trump’s enemies paid for” Jones’ campaign ads, pointing to money coming from the payment processing company, Democratic Engine.

The company processes online political donations made with a credit card, and many of their clients are democrat campaigns and liberal advocacy groups, including some connected to Soros, but it is not owned by Soros, according to its CEO, Jonathan Zucker. The cease-and-desist gave the Dacey campaign three days to take down the ad, or Jones’ would take it a step further. The campaign has not taken it down, so Jones filed a complaint with District Attorney Scott Thomas in New Bern. “Scott Dacey is running a Washington style smear campaign paid for with Washington money. It might be OK to lie to voters in his world but not in Eastern North Carolina. I won’t stand for it” ConSee JONES, page A8


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