Vol. 2 Issue 53

VOLUME 3 ISSUE 1

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WWW.NSJONLINE.COM |

WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 3, 2018

inside NSJ predicts the best to come in 2018, Sports 2018 Midterms to dominate headlines as both parties look for leverage

NORTH

STATE

Republicans battled to pass key tax reform legislation with repeal of the Obamacare individual mandate.

Next up — infrastructure and more reform and for 34 seats in the 100-member Senate where Republicans hold a slim two-seat majority. N.C.’s senators are not up for re-election this year; Sen. Thom Tillis will face voters again in 2020, and Sen. Richard Burr would run in 2022, but announced last year that he won’t seek re-election.

The elections will be seen as a referendum on President Donald Trump and his administration,

By Donna King North State Journal

JOURNaL

RALEIGH — As 2018 dawns, the congressional midterm campaigns elections, along with the impact of historic tax cuts, are expected to dominate this year’s news cycle. In November 2018, elections will be held for all 435 seats in the U.S. House of Representatives, including N.C.’s eight,

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and Republicans and Democrats are planning their strategies accordingly. In nearly two-thirds of 34 Republican-held districts that are top of Democrat’s target list, household income or job growth, and often both, have risen faster than state and national averages over the past two years, according to an analysis of census data, presenting a hurdle to the party.

However, the Democrats were taking careful notes on the special Senate election in Alabama. Dem-

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— Dr. Gary Cummings, chancellor of UNC Pembroke

ACCORDING to some economists, the nation’s student loan debt is an emerging problem, and many say it will capture national attention in 2018. According to the U.S. Department of Education, 43 percent of the 22 million Americans who received student loans are behind in their payments or have gotten permission to stop paying due to “economic hardship.”

Economists call it the student debt bubble —and if it bursts it could be a financial shockwave so sudden and large that it gathers the full force of the savings and loan, insurance, energy, tech, and mortgage crashes, creating a blockbuster-level perfect storm.

A December 2017 study from Goldman Sachs blamed the problem on loose underwriting standards, because lenders require few credit checks or cosigners and don’t screen applicants for college readiness and the marketability of their majors. The analysts said that “a substantial percentage of student loan risk is borne by the See STUDENT DEBT, page A2

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RALEIGH — The Atlantic Coast Pipeline gained support and opposition during 2017 and as the new year begins, it is still a hot topic with state leaders, organization officials, environmentalists and residents across North Carolina.

The Atlantic Coast Pipeline (ACP) is proposing to install approximately 600 miles of line running through West Virginia, Virginia and through Eastern North Carolina until its final See PIPELINE, page A3

North Carolina takes on prison reforms Following the deaths of five corrections employees in 2017, legislators look to make key reforms in NC prison management

By Liz Moomey North State Journal

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“NC Promise will go a long way toward ensuring that financial concerns don’t stop students from pursuing their dreams.”

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RALEIGH — Five North Carolina prison employees were killed in 2017. Sgt. Meggan Callahan was killed by an inmate in April at Bertie Correctional Institute. Then, during a prisoner escape attempt at Pasquotank Correctional Institute in Elizabeth City on Oct. 12, Wendy Shannon, Veronica Darden, Geoffery Howe, and Justin Smith died from injuries

they sustained when inmates attacked employees with hammers and scissors.

Going into 2018, Rep. Bob Steinburg (R- Chowan), who represents the area, is leading legislative efforts to review of prison management, including officer pay, training and staffing.

“For the last six months, I have been speaking with corrections personnel from many of the 55 correction facilities across the state,” Steinburg said in an NSJ op-ed on Dec. 6. “They have been sharing information with me about what amounts to a ‘secret society’ that exists within a closed circle of management. It protects the See PRISONS, page A3

EAMON QUEENEY | NORTH STATE JOURNAL | FILE

A look at the North Carolina Department of Correction’s Central Prison near downtown Raleigh.

North State Journal for Wednesday, January 3, 2018

A2 WEDNESDAY

1.3.18 #109

U.S. Supreme Court cases to watch in 2018 iting states from authorizing or promoting sports wagering. The case is Christie v. NCAA, and SCOTUS is presented with a federalism question, particularly, the division between commandeering and pre-emption. Christie says the PASPA is unconstitutional commandeering — since Congress chose not to prohibit sports gambling, it cannot force the states to do so against their will. The NCAA says the states are not being forced to do anything because the PASPA simply prohibits state sports gambling.

And any state law authorizing or legalizing sports gambling would be pre-empted by the federal law.

By Meredith Pace North State Journal THE U.S. Supreme Court will continue its work after the new year with session beginning on Jan. 8. Here are some cases worth watching.

Religion or gay rights: Who takes the cake?

“Elevate the conversation” Visit North State Journal online! nsjonline.com jonesandblount.com nsjsports.com carolinabrewreview.com chickenbonealley.com

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North State Journal (USPS 20451) (ISSN 2471-1365) Neal Robbins Publisher Donna King Editor Cory Lavalette Managing/Sports Editor Frank Hill Senior Opinion Editor

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Christian baker Jack Phillips owns Masterpiece Cakeshop in Lakewood, Col. Phillips refused to design David Mullins’ and Charlie Craig’s wedding cake because the gay couple’s custom design would disgrace the art form Phillips attributes to his cake creations and through which he practices his faith. Mullins and Craig say Phillips violated Colorado’s public accommodations law prohibiting businesses from refusing service based on sexual orientation. The case is Masterpiece Cakeshop, Ltd. v. Colorado Civil Rights Commission, and SCOTUS will consider Phillips’ Free Speech and Free Exercise rights along with Mullins’ and Craig’s anti-discrimination protections. Some suggest Phillips is not discriminating against sexual orientation; rather, he is merely refusing to advance a particular message — a right granted under the First Amendment.

Others, however, refute Phillips artistic expression claim and say it’s a case of clear discrimination against the LGBTQ community.

Who can whistle while they work?

The SEC has interpreted “whistleblower” under the anti-retaliation provision of the Dodd-Frank Act as protection

MIDTERMS from page A1 ocrats spent most of the 2017 unable to flip Republican congressional seats in other special elections across the country, but ultimately found unlikely success in deeply red Alabama. The win

by Doug Jones over Roy Moore presented Democrats with a new 2018 Southern strategy. African-American turnout hit record highs in that race and proved pivotal to Jones’ win. Black voter turnout was 74 percent of that of the 2016 general election, compared to white turnout which was 56 percent of the 2016 general election. Nearly 90 percent of Alabama’s black voters went for Jones. That impact was not lost on either side.

Expect the historic tax cuts to be a centerpiece of campaigns.

The Democratic Senate Campaign Committee is already running anti-tax plan ads in key states, aided by big money donors like billionaire Tom Steyer, who says he is marshalling his political group NextGen America to target young voters on social media and attack Republicans, a strategy he used to help Jones.

The Super PAC American Bridge, which supports Democratic candidates, is also already running digital ads in states with Senate races targeting women, swing voters and Republicans

Location data: Public or private information?

for employees reporting to the SEC. Recently, however, the SEC broadened its interpretation of “whistleblower” to also include employees reporting to internal senior management. Paul Somers sued his former employer, Digital Realty Trust (DRT), after the company terminated him for what he alleges was retaliation for reporting possible securities violations to internal senior management. Somers says he is protected under Dodd-Frank given the SEC’s latter interpretation of “whistleblower.” But DRT claims Somers is not a “whistleblower” because he did not report to the SEC. The case is Digital Realty Trust, Inc. v. Somers, and SCOTUS will examine the scope of the term “whistleblower.” If SCOTUS adopts a plain reading of Dodd-

Sports gambling not just in Vegas New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie is seeking to repeal the state’s anti-sports gambling law. The NCAA is pushing back, arguing that if N.J. repeals the state law, then the state will essentially be promoting sports gambling in violation of the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act (PASPA) — a federal law prohib-

The Fourth Amendment protects against unreasonable searches and seizures by the government. This means authorities must have a warrant before searching a cellphone, but what about cellphone location data?

Timothy Carpenter sued after convicted of multiple robberies in Detroit when authorities obtained 127 days of his location data without a warrant. The government argues a warrant was not required because location data is not private information since it is routinely collected and analyzed by service providers.

The case is Carpenter v. United States, and SCOTUS is deciding whether Fourth Amendment protections extend to cellphone location data. Interestingly, tech companies are standing with Carpenter on the issue because a ruling in favor of the government could mean society becomes wary of cloud-connected devices.

in suburban areas, said Joshua Karp, the group’s communication director for Senate races.

“I think there is a couple of things that get almost all Americans riled up about this bill, it is fundamentally unfair and breaking the promise the Republicans made to the American people,” Karp said.

Republicans say Democrats are indulging in wishful thinking. Polls say 50 percent of voters think their taxes will go up, but tax analysts say that more than 80 percent will pay less tax.

Republicans are counting on voters, when they see more money in their paychecks, to dismiss Democratic rhetoric. Republicans will point to the economy growing at more than 3 percent for the first time in years and the dramatic increases in the stock market and consumer confidence. These mean an attack on the tax overhaul could backfire.

“Democrats will have a very hard time taking this road if the economy is still going gangbusters 11 months from now,” Republican strategist Joe Bretell said.

“The emotional trigger point is in fairness,” he said. “The party that can best explain or brand this bill and explain why it’s fair or unfair to their base or the other side, wins,” he added.

Republicans, who just a few

months ago were on the ropes after failed attempts to repeal Obamacare, now have a freshly minted tax reform package that cuts the tax rate from the highest in the industrialized world to a competitive 21 percent for companies, and cuts taxes for most income groups, doubling the size of the standard deduction.

The bill is continuing to be unpacked, but some of its targeted measures will be key talking points in 2018. Among them is a new tax on nonprofits that pay executives more than $1 million per year and will now face a stiff new 21 percent excise tax.

The new policy will also affect the university community, where 58 private university presidents make $1 million or more, led by Wake Forest University’s Nathan O. Hatch at more than $4 million. On the field, college football head coach salaries could also be impacted as 78 of them currently make more than $1 million per year.

Response to the corporate tax cuts has industry giants talking job and wage growth. AT&T and Comcast announced immediately after its passage that they will give 200,000 employees $1,000 bonuses as a result and increase their U.S. capital investment budget by $1 billion.

Administration officials said Trump would seek to use tax

rewrite momentum to help propel other legislative priorities in 2018, including an infrastructure program and welfare reform.

Republican strategist Ford O’Connell said Trump had done much to keep his conservative base of support happy but has to expand his popularity to have coattails in 2018.

“What he has to do to win over people like independents and never-Trumpers is make the American people feel comfortable with him as president,” said O’Connell. “His achievements are quite striking, but he’s just not connecting.”

Closer to home, N.C.’s General Assembly will feel the effects of national politics as the entire House and Senate makes their case to voters. The state’s economic recovery has made national news, giving fuel to Republicans, but Democrats will still be criticizing cuts to spending and calling for more money for traditional K-12 public education.

Add to that mix the looming lawsuit over the state redistricting maps, the impact of GenX in the eastern part of the state, the critical importance of rural areas in the states political leaning and economic health, and the influx of out-of-staters to N.C.’s urban centers, 2018 will likely prove to be another year of big changes for North Carolina.

CARLOS BARRIA | REUTERS

The U.S. Supreme Court building in Washington, DC.

Frank, then “whistleblower” may only protect employees reporting to the government. However, if SCOTUS considers the intent for writing Dodd-Frank, which conceivably was to protect employees disclosing company wrongdoings, then “whistleblower” could be all encompassing.

Want to learn more about North Carolina Agriculture?

The First Furrow www.FirstFurrow.com

North State Journal for Wednesday, January 3, 2018

GenX to stay in the spotlight as it turns up in more places across NC The man-made chemical compound turned up in the Cape Fear River over the summer and is being studied for possible health hazards

By Laura Ashley Lamm North State Journal WILMINGTON — GenX began to creep into the forefront of conversations among Wilmington-area residents as information surfaced last summer that elevated levels of the chemical were found in the Cape Fear River.

Months later, it continues to be a discussion and more information will likely emerge in the new year.

GenX is a trade name for a chemical that is an alternative to Teflon, used in common household products such as non-stick pans, firefighting foam, microwave popcorn bags, fast food wrappers, and some outdoor fabrics such as Gore-Tex. GenX repels oil and water, which also makes it extremely difficult for water treatment plants to remove. It is not regulat-

ed by the Environmental Protection Agency and therefore, some call GenX an “emerging contaminant” not because it’s new, but because it has yet to be regulated by the agency.

Scientists find these chemicals to be toxic and persistent in the environment as they don’t break down and have the ability to contaminate water far from the contamination source.

In the U.S., GenX is produced in eastern North Carolina. DuPont and its spinoff company, Chemours, have been dumping GenX into the Cape Fear River from a plant in Bladen County since 1980, officials said last spring. Gov. Roy Cooper requested they stop the practice and said his environmental regulators would block a permit for the company to resume its GenX discharges. However, the governor has faced public criticism because their permit was not pulled until the fall, after it was discovered that Chemours failed to report a second GenX spill.

The N.C. departments of Environmental Quality (DEQ) and Health and Human Services

“Keeping North Carolina’s environment clean is vital to our continued growth and competitiveness, and we all have a stake in a healthy North Carolina,” — DEQ Secretary Michael Regan (DHHS) began investigating the presence of GenX at the Chemours facility in Fayetteville in June after a study released by NCSU was published in the Wilmington Star News.

“The state’s investigation focused on protection of public health and drinking water. As part of the state’s investigation, DEQ began collecting water samples from multiple sites along the Cape Fear River, with additional samples collected throughout the region. Those samples were analyzed at two separate labs: Test America in Colorado and the Environmental Protection Agen-

cy’s lab in the Research Triangle Park,” said the state departments in a release.

While the state and the federal Centers for Disease Control study its health impact, the Cape Fear Public Utility is working on new approaches to cleaning it out of the water supply. Residents are increasingly getting bottled water from Chemours as more private wells are found contaminated with GenX. Following the public announcement of the GenX dumping, lawyers filed multiple lawsuits in October charging Chemours and its former parent Dow, DuPont with contaminating drinking water in Wilmington with the chemical.

Among the plaintiffs are the state of N.C., Brunswick County, the Cape Fear Public Utility Authority and a group of residents from eastern N.C. Controversy over GenX, where it is, what it does, and how long the state has known about it is likely to continue into 2018. In November, GenX was found in Bladen’s Camp Dixie Lake and Marshwood Lake in Cumberland County. Then in December, Duke researchers said they found relatives of GenX in Jordan Lake and the town of Cary water source in Wake County. Cary has ordered additional tests, but say that the levels so far are not at levels high enough to cause concern.

EAMON QUEENEY | NORTH STATE JOURNAL | FILES

New and returning students come and go as Talley Student Union bustles with activity at North Carolina State University.

STUDENT DEBT from page A1 U.S. Treasury.”

The problem has drawn the attention of lenders and legislators.

As the federal government passed $1.3 trillion in student loan debt in 2017, in December Rep. Virginia Foxx (R-N.C.), chair of the House Education and Workforce committee, introduced legislation intended to streamline access to information about repaying student loans, increase accountability for students and third-party lenders, reduce the cap for borrowing from the federal government student loan program, and repeal unfunded forgiveness programs. The bill also encourages families to consider two-year technical degrees in fields where thousands of jobs remain unfilled.

“This is why the reforms in

PRISONS from page A1 misdeeds of those in power from ever being reported. This includes inmates. Employees at lower levels are told by management that, ‘Not a word will be spoken about what goes on within these walls or it will be trouble for you; even your job.’”

Steinburg will meet with the Joint Legislative Oversight Committee on Jan. 18 to discuss a prison investigation.

Senate President Pro Tempore Phil Berger (R-Rockingham) called on Gov. Roy Cooper and Attorney General Josh Stein to resume executions on death row in light of the attacks. The four Pasquotank Correctional Institute inmates were charged with

this legislation are coming from a renewed focus on what we value,” said Foxx after the legislation was filed. “For us, that’s limitless opportunity for the life a student wants for themselves — not the piece of paper someone else has told them they need.”

Teena Phillips, a recent graduate of NC State University, said she hasn’t been able to find a job in her field of study, marketing and public relations, so she is waitressing for now but hopeful for the future.

“It sounds corny, but if I just keep going on job interviews and stay focused on my goals, I believe I will end up where I want to be,” she said. “I have about $60,000 in student loan debt. I try not to think about it too much because it makes me depressed.”

The impact of student debt on statewide economics produc-

tivity is a major concern for the N.C. legislature and the UNC Board of Governors. While North Carolina is one of the nation’s top 10 affordable states for public higher education, the Board of Governors says maintaining affordability is a focus in 2018.

Last year, the General Assembly passed NC Promise, which starting this year will reduce tuition rates for students at three UNC system schools: UNC Pembroke, Elizabeth City State and Western Carolina.

The plan will reduce tuition costs to $500 per semester for instate students and $2,500 per semester for out-of-state students.

“NC Promise will go a long way toward ensuring that financial concerns don’t stop students from pursuing their dreams,” wrote Dr. Gary Cummings, chancellor of UNC Pembroke, in an

first-degree murder for the killings of the four officers in October.

“For over a decade, death penalty opponents like Roy Cooper “No matter what they and Josh Stein have imposed a de say, Cooper’s and Stein’s facto moratorium on capital punindifference and failure ishment in North Carolina, using every legal trick possible — in- to fight the moratorium cluding inaction — to delay death endangers the lives of prison sentences handed down by juries and deny justice to victims,” said employees in close proximity Berger in a statement. “No matter to hardened murderers with what they say, Cooper’s and Stein’s indifference and failure to fight nothing left to lose...” the moratorium endangers the lives of prison employees in close — Senate President Pro Tempore proximity to hardened murderers Phil Berger (R-Rockingham) with nothing left to lose, who see no possibility they will face execuPublished in December, the tion for killing again.”

North Carolina has not con- 2017 Governor’s Crime Commission Final Study exposed probducted an execution since 2006.

editorial. “Although UNCP students borrow far less money than the national average, too many are saddled with debt when they leave.”

Officials hope the program will take steps toward heading off the growing burden of student debt. However, when compared to other areas of the country, only one N.C. city made the top 100 list of highest average student debt — Chapel Hill. A new study from LendEDU also found six other N.C. communities among the 500 highest student debt towns: Durham, Carrboro, Pinehurst, Davidson, Morrisville and Charlotte.

Student loan debt is the second highest form of debt in the nation, behind mortgages. According to LendEDU, in 2017, six out of 10 students will graduate with an average debt load of $28,400.

lems and offered solutions. The study explained since the Justice Reinvestment Act passed in1993, which restructured sentencing laws to ensure that prison time is reserved for the most serious offenders, the prison population is a less-diluted pool of more serious offenders. Added to this, North Carolina has struggled with recruitment and high staff turnover.

According to recent data, 51 of 55 prisons have seen an increase of staff vacancy rates since 2016. N.C. Director of Prisons Kenneth Lassiter said Bertie, Scotland, Polk, Lanesboro, Alexander, Caledonia, Warren, Pasquotank and Harnett Correctional Institutions are the most difficult to staff. North Carolina correctional institutes have a vacancy of 16.66 percent.

A3 PIPELINE from page A1 destination in Robeson County.

The ACP has plans to construct one compressor station and install approximately 186 miles of a 36-inch transition pipeline in Northampton, Halifax, Nash, Wilson, Johnson, Sampson, Cumberland and Robeson counties.

The $5.1 billion pipeline is a joint venture between Dominion Resources, Duke Energy, Piedmont Natural Gas, and Southern Company Gas. Dominion Resources serves as the chief stakeholder.

N.C.’s economic developers have organized in support of the project and say it will bring wage and job growth to the east. They say that pipeline construction alone will create 17,000 new jobs and $2.7 billion across the region, with increased local tax revenue expected near $28 million annually.

Organizations opposing the project have spoken out against it saying it poses environmental risks and will effectively commit N.C. to fossil fuels, as opposed to renewable resources, for decades in the future.

The project requires an air-quality permit from the Department of Environmental Quality to operate the compressor station in Northampton County.

According to state law, the permit decision must be issued within 30 days of the public hearing, which took place Nov. 15. As of Dec. 15, the state agency’s request for more information stopped the request for the time being.

The project also requires a water-quality permit which will allow the pipeline cross several hundred creeks, brooks and other waterways. Two storm water permits, and sediment- and erosion-control plan are also required.

Right before the Christmas holiday, the ACP received approval from the National Park Service authorizing construction and operation of the pipeline underneath the Blue Ridge Parkway.

“After more than three years of exhaustive study, this week the National Park Service issued Construction and Right of Way permits for the Blue Ridge Parkway crossing. The agency concluded that the crossing is consistent with the long-term conservation of scenery, wildlife and cultural resources under the agency’s care. The agency’s approval was reached after more than three years of careful study and meaningful engagement with the public and other agencies,” said the ACP in a statement.

“In consultation with the agency, we adopted the most protective crossing method for the Parkway that will completely avoid surface impacts and preserve public view sheds. Using a technique known as a Horizontal Directional Drill (HDD), the pipeline will be installed through a tunnel 800 feet below the Parkway. This ensures that construction and operation of the pipeline will have no impact on the public use or enjoyment of the Parkway,” the statement read.

Some residents and organizations disagree with ACP and feel any point of implementation of the pipeline will affect poor communities and the natural resources of the Earth.

Clean Water for N.C., with offices in Asheville and Durham, is leading the opposition against the ACP, and organized a holiday postcard campaign encouraging people to “flood” the governor’s office in protest over Christmas, just as the permit decision process was underway.

“There is simply no urgent need for big investments in either gas fired power plants or the major pipelines that would supply them,” said Hope Taylor, director of CWFNC, in a September presentation.

However, local officials say that the pipeline will bring distressed communities new, higher-paying energy jobs in the east.

The study provided some policy recommendations, which include investing in personnel, incentivizing career commitment, prioritizing employee wellness, using multiple ways to recruit, staffing a cohesive organizational culture, modernizing training, improving facility safety and enhancing perimeter security.

After the Pasquotank attack, David Guice, the chief deputy secretary for the Division of Adult Correction and Juvenile Justice (ACJJ), retired in October. The N.C. Department of Public Safety announced in December that Judge Reuben Young will serve as interim chief deputy secretary of ACJJ. DPS also has established a Prison Reform Advisory Board to advise maintaining prison safety.

North State Journal for Wednesday, January 3, 2018

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north STATEment Neal Robbins, publisher | Frank Hill, senior opinion editor | Troy Kickler, deputy opinion editor

VISUAL VOICES

EDITORIAL | NEAL ROBBINS, PUBLISHER

A great year in a great state

I hope that we can cover the news in a way that readers can learn lessons from the facts and we have the opportunity to share the good news of compromises made and promises kept.

AS WE SAY GOODBYE to 2017, North Carolinians are completing a year of triumph and growth. We are also completing a year of self-inflicted wounds and disaster recovery.

We witnessed the Tar Heels of UNC Chapel Hill take home the 2017 NCAA basketball national championship, celebrated N.C. A&T State becoming the first MEAC football team to ever complete a perfect season after they won the Celebration Bowl, and saw the Durham Bulls win the Triple-A Baseball National Championship.

Our state also bloomed with economic growth spurred on by reforms that are being modeled across our nation. Despite the political quicksand of the bathroom bill — which led to the toppling of the Charlotte mayor who started the situation — N.C. finished 2017 ranked as the best business climate in the union and our tourism numbers continued to climb.

We also continued to recover from the devastation of Hurricane Matthew and — in typical N.C. fashion — we innovated in the face of adversity. One of the products of Hurricane Matthew was a community unity movement known as the Sunday Supper. A singular event in 2016 that was intended to give beleaguered people a moment at a common table to forget the devastation of the hurricane, the Sunday Supper is now a full-blown movement. As residents of Charlottesville, Va., sought reconciliation following racial tensions over Confederate monuments, the Sunday Supper brought that community together through food and fellowship.

In 2018, I can’t wait to see how this new nonprofit organization continues to do good work through good food.

For North State Journal, 2017 has been a year of growth and growing pains. We have welcomed new staff members and said goodbye to others. We have now published more than 5,000 articles since our first issue that now seems distant, but was just in February 2016. As we grew, our journalists were recognized for their contributions to elevating the conversation in a new frontier for traditional media. The feedback we receive from both our readers and peers — the NSJ photo

staff took home 21 awards from the N.C. Press Photographers Association, including staff of the year — further strengthens our commitment to quality journalism through writing, photography and design.

This newspaper also highlighted some of North Carolina’s best. On the pages of the North State Journal, we met farmers, soldiers, artists, educators and leaders – from Murphy to Manteo. Our sports section continued to journey beyond the box scores and maintained our commitment to cover college sports in a way that engages all of North Carolina. We were there for baseball to come back to Kinston and we captured the excitement of sled hockey for disabled athletes.

Our news team was creative and intrepid as they covered state government and politics during a time when the media is trusted less and politicians want to pick and chose which outlets they talk to. We witnessed first hand the need for quality journalists with fairness as their compass and our reporters wrote the news with truth and beauty.

As we turn the page on 2017, I look forward to following up on the stories we covered in 2017. I am rooting for NC State startup Reborn Clothing Co. to take off. I want to sample the honey from Bee Downtown, a beekeeping collaborator that we covered during the summer. I hope to see more articles about economic development and new jobs coming to our state.

Along the way, I am sure that all of the news in 2018 will not be positive. But I hope that we can cover the news in a way that readers can learn lessons from the facts and we have the opportunity to share the good news of compromises made and promises kept.

COLUMN | WALTER E. WILLIAMS

Dangers of government control

How much sense does it make for us to give seven unelected people lifeand-death control over our economy and hence our lives?

WE ARE A NATION of 325 million people.

We have a bit of control over the behavior of our 535 elected representatives in Congress, the president and the vice president. But there are seven unelected people who have life-anddeath control over our economy and hence our lives — the seven governors of the Federal Reserve Board. The Federal Reserve Board controls our money supply. Its governors are appointed by the president and confirmed by the Senate and serve 14-year staggered terms.

They have the power to cripple an economy, as they did during the late 1920s and early 1930s. Their inept monetary policy threw the economy into the Great Depression, during which real output in the United States fell nearly 30 percent and the unemployment rate soared as high as nearly 25 percent.

The most often stated cause of the Great Depression is the October 1929 stock market crash. Little is further from the truth. The Great Depression was caused by a massive government failure led by the Federal Reserve’s rapid 25 percent contraction of the money supply. The next government failure was the Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act, which increased U.S. tariffs by more than 50 percent. Those failures were compounded by President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s New Deal legislation. Leftists love to praise New Deal interventionist legislation. But FDR’s very own treasury secretary, Henry Morgenthau, saw the folly of the New Deal, writing: “We have tried spending money. We are spending

more than we have ever spent before and it does not work. ... We have never made good on our promises. ... I say after eight years of this administration we have just as much unemployment as when we started ... and an enormous debt to boot!” The bottom line is that the Federal Reserve Board, the SmootHawley tariffs and Roosevelt’s New Deal policies turned what would have been a two-, three- or four-year sharp downturn into a 16-year affair.

Here’s my question never asked about the Federal Reserve Act of 1913: How much sense does it make for us to give seven unelected people life-and-death control over our economy and hence our lives?

While you’re pondering that question, consider another: Should we give the government, through the Federal Communications Commission, control over the internet? During the Clinton administration, along with the help of a Republican-dominated Congress, the visionary 1996 Telecommunications Act declared it “the policy of the United States” that internet service providers and websites be “unfettered by federal or state regulation.”

The act sought “to promote competition and reduce regulation in order to secure lower prices and higher quality services for American telecommunications consumers and encourage the rapid deployment of new telecommunications technologies.”

In 2015, the Obama White House

pressured the FCC to create the Open Internet Order, which has been branded by its advocates as net neutrality.

This move overthrew the spirit of the Telecommunications Act. It represents creeping FCC jurisdiction, as its traditional areas of regulation — such as broadcast media and telecommunications -—have been transformed by the internet, or at least diminished in importance. Fortunately, it’s being challenged by the new FCC chairman, Ajit Pai, who has announced he will repeal the FCC’s heavy-handed 2015 internet regulations.

The United States has been the world leader in the development of internet technology precisely because it has been relatively unfettered by federal and state regulation. The best thing that the U.S. Congress can do for internet entrepreneurs and internet consumers is to send the FCC out to pasture as it did with the Civil Aeronautics Board, which regulated the airline industry, and the Interstate Commerce Commission, which regulated the trucking industry. When we got rid of those regulatory agencies, we saw a greater number of competitors, and consumers paid lower prices. Giving the FCC the same medicine would allow our high-tech industry to maintain its world leadership position.

Walter E. Williams is a professor of economics at George Mason University.

WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 3, 2018

BUSINESS

LAURA ASHLEY LAMM | NORTH STATE JOURNAL

Clockwise: Carolina Panthers quarterback Cam Newton (1) is introduced before a game at Bank of America Stadium.

Ding Yuhua, chairman of Triangle Group Co., an international tire manufacturing company from China, presents Gov. Roy Cooper with a gold gift as a symbolic gesture of the partnership between the Chinese company and North Carolina.

BOB DONNAN | USA TODAY SPORTS

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FAST FACTS Sponsored by

The N.C. Commerce Department’s Rural Economic Development Division, created in 2013, was established to improve the economic well-being and quality of life of North Carolinian’s with particular emphasis on rural communities. The Division, directed by an Assistant Secretary of Commerce, has a number of grant programs and planning services to assist rural counties and rural census tracts: Disaster Recovery Grants, Rural Grants Program, Community Development Block Grant for Economic Development (CDBG-ED) , Industrial Development Fund / Utility Fund, Appalachian Regional Commission, NC Main Street Center, and Rural Planning.

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This week, we highlight how the N.C. Main Street Center’s “Downtown Redevelopment Fund” works for communities across North Carolina:

This fund is designed for infrastructure upgrades of downtown buildings in order to meet current code requirements. The upgrades should be for vacant or underutilized downtown commercial buildings. An underutilized building is defined as a property that is less than fully utilized or used below its potential. This fund is designed to return vacant or underutilized commercial buildings to economic use for new and/or expanded business. The goal of the fund is the prevention or elimination of urban blight.

Funds are limited to a minimum of $300,000.00 and a maximum of $500,000.00 municipality.

MIKE SEGAR | REUTERS | FILE

Amazon boxes are seen stacked for delivery in Manhattan.

‘Accelerated pace’ expected for NC economic growth in 2018

By Emily Roberson North State Journal WITH HIS statewide index of leading economic indicators having trended steadily upward for over one year now, NC State economics professor Dr. Michael Walden offers a forecast for sustained – even “accelerated “ – economic growth in the new year.

In his December 2017 report, Walden notes that with the recent passage of the federal tax reform bill “greater confidence” exists for state and national economic growth. And based on opportunities and developments in some key areas around the state, many are betting on a very good year for doing business in North Carolina.

Sports in 2018 business spotlight Some of the biggest business news for North Carolina in the coming year will be in the business of sports.

With longtime Carolina Panthers owner Jerry Richardson suddenly announcing in December his intent to sell the team in the wake of various personal and professional accusations, there has been intense speculation about who the next buyer(s) might be.

Buzz has bounced from celebrities and players such as Sean “Diddy” Combs, controversial San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick and Charlotte-native NBA star Steph Curry, to a handful of Charlotte’s business elite: real estate magnate Smokey Bissell, Family Dollar founder Leon Levine, members of the Belk (department store) family, and Bruton Smith, chairman of NASCAR affiliated Speedway Motorsports.

Another development on the booming N.C. professional sports scene: an official MLS team and state-of-the-art metropolitan soc-

cer arena have never been closer to becoming a reality, and 2018 will bring a renewed focus to the effort.

When MLS announced the four finalists for their next two expansion bids in November – Sacramento, Nashville, Detroit and Cincinnati — the N.C. contingent, one of eight remaining prospects for two future slots, was sent back to the drawing board to revisit negotiations with state and local officials in Raleigh, where the proposed site for the dazzling $150 million arena straddles vibrant historic, government and retail districts.

The pitch to the N.C. General Assembly to develop the largely state-owned land in downtown Raleigh has been a bit more nuanced and time consuming than North Carolina Football Club owner Stephen Malik anticipated. However, Malik says, “…we’ve chosen to take on that challenge because so many people believe it’s the right thing for Raleigh.”

NC develops manufacturing potential in 2018 While plans have not been finalized, state officials have been in negotiations to put North Carolina at the top of the list for a Toyota/Mazda automotive manufacturing plant in Randolph County. The deal could bring $1.6 billion in initial regional impact and nearly 4,000 jobs. Officials are optimistic about the prospect and compare the development to BMW’s 1994 decision to build a plant in Spartanburg, S.C., which generates close to $16 billion for the state each year.

A deal inked in late 2017 will also bring much needed jobs and significant economic impact to rural Eastern N.C. as Chinese manufacturer Triangle Tyre plans to build two tire plants in Edgecombe County. The move is the result of $152 million in state and local incentives — an argu-

In his December 2017 report, Dr. Michael Walden notes that with the recent passage of the federal tax reform bill “greater confidence” exists for state and national economic growth. ably high price tag , but a gamble officials are willing to take for a region of the state with an unemployment rate of 6.9 percent, compared to statewide average of 4.1 percent. The first plant is slated to be fully operational by early 2020.

Amazon HQ2 in NC? Perhaps the biggest business impact — one that would have a ripple effect across the entire statewide economy — is one that has generated nationwide chatter: what city will become home to Amazon’s “HQ2?”

The $5 billion Amazon headquarters project promises 50,000 jobs paying $100,000 or more annually over 15 years, and Charlotte, the Research Triangle Park and Triad areas are all vying for the opportunity to host the business giant that made Seattle America’s biggest company town.

Critics worry that North Carolina might buckle under the rapid growth, while supporters are looking to strike while the iron is hot. After all, North Carolina was named 2017’s “Best State for Business” in the U.S. by Forbes Magazine after 12 years in their top five.

Among the 238 submissions from across North America, industry insiders have placed North Carolina within the top five for HQ2. Who knows? Maybe this is the year we break out of the top five list yet again.

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COMMUNITY SPOTLIGHT Sponsored by

Happy New Year from Sparky the Safety Squirrel!

Sparky has come a long way since leading a scurry of repugnant rodents that caused nearly 3,500 power outages to almost 195,000 U.S. electric customers back in 2016. Now, Sparky is full of tips for staying safe around electricity and for reducing your energy bill. Kicking off the new year, Sparky asks, “What will you resolve to do to save energy in 2018?”

• Replace all your old light bulbs with compact fluorescent lamps.

They use 75 percent less energy than traditional bulbs and last much longer—five to seven years.

• Keep your refrigerator set between 37 and 40 degrees Fahrenheit and your freezer set at 5 F. • Set a monthly reminder to check your air filters. If they’re dirty, replace them.

• Ensure your home is fully insulated. If the R-value of your attic insulation is R19 or lower, add more batt or blown insulation.

• Lower the thermostat on your water heater to 120 F, and insulate the storage tank.

• Use foam sealant around plumbing pipes under sinks and in your attic.

For more tips, visit the NC Public Power channel on YouTube, and follow @ElectriCitiesNC on Twitter and @ElectriCities on Facebook.

North State Journal for Wednesday, January 3, 2018

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North State Journal for Wednesday, January 3, 2018

Murphy to Manteo

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Jones & Blount jonesandblount.com @JonesandBlount

Saine take the reins at ALEC Lincoln County representative named chair of conservative-leaning national organization

By NSJ Staff

“THE RAND MCNALLY NEW COMMERCIAL ATLAS MAP OF NORTH CAROLINA. COPYRIGHT BY RAND MCNALLY & CO.” | CIRCA 1917 | NORTH CAROLINA STATE ARCHIVES

100 years ago…

2018 marks the centennial anniversary of the end of World War I. Until the Treaty of Versailles was signed on Nov. 11, 1918, North Carolinians served in all the major battles of the Western Front that year. They fought in the battles of 2nd Marne, St. Mihiel, and in the Meuse-Argonne, the last major campaign of the war. As part of the British army, Tar Heels in the 30th Division fought in Belgium and France in intense combat. In only five months of action in 1918, the United States suffered more than 50,000 deaths.

Throughout 2018, the North Carolina Department of Cultural Resources will commemorate the centennial of World War I with special publications, programs and a traveling exhibit. The focus wraps a four-year-long Centennial Commemoration of World War I by the department’s World War Centennial Committee.

Visit ncdcr.gov/worldwar1 for more information.

North Carolina remembers As NC rings in a new year, we remember some of the lives lost in 2017.

These North Carolinians served our state and our nation and helped make us who we are.

Jim Nabors June 12, 1930Nov. 30, 2017

Jim Nabors, an actor, singer and comedian known for his role on “The Andy Griffith Show,” died in Honolulu at age 87. He played Gomer Pyle, a Marine from Mayberry, N.C., from 1964-1964, which resulted in his own spinoff show “Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C.”

Ruth Samuelson

Gwen Norville

April 19, 1943Oct. 2, 2017

Nov. 4, 1959Jan. 23, 2017

July 3, 1962Sept. 11, 2017

Robert Yates, a NASCAR team owner and engine builder, died of cancer on Oct. 2 in Cornelius.

In 1988, the Yates family bought Robert Yates Racing. Yates was voted into the NASCAR Hall of Fame Class of 2018 in May 2017. He is survived by his wife, Carolyn, and two children.

Charles Shackleford

Ruth Samuelson, a Republican member of the N.C. General Assembly representing the 104th district from 2007 to 2015, died in Charlotte at age 57. She announced in 2013 she would not seek re-election. Samuelson revealed in June 2016 she had ovarian cancer. She is survived by her husband, Ken, and four children.

Howard Jones

April 22, 1966Jan. 27, 2017

Charles Shackleford, former NC State basketball star, died of an enlarged heart in Kinston on Jan. 27. Shackleford played for the Wolfpack from 1985 to 1988, and played professionally from 1988 to 1998. He had three daughters and one son.

Robert Yates

Ralph Hunt April 10, 1932May 16, 2017

1933Nov. 27, 2017

Howard Jones, the founder and president of the Opportunities Industrialization Center, died at 84. Jones founded the OIC of Wilson in 1972 to provide Eastern Carolina residents with food, health care and jobs. He received more than 100 awards for his service to Wilson.

Former N.C. state Sen. Ralph Hunt Sr. died at age 83. Hunt served five terms in the state Senate, was a Durham city councilman and an educator at Hillside High School and North Carolina Central University. He grew up in Oxford and founded Parkview Convenience Center in Durham, his family’s chain of convenience stores.

It’s harvest time!

Plan a family outing and visit a pick-your-own orchard to take home the freshest of the fresh. Or look for locally grown apple and fresh apple cider at one of the many roadside markets or in your favorite grocery store.

To find an orchard or roadside market near you, visit www.ncapplegrowers.com NC Apple Growers Association

Deputy Secretary of the Division of Adult Correction and Juvenile Justice Gwen Norville died at age 55. A Kinston native, she was named deputy secretary in May where she had oversight of prisons. She had 30 years of experience in corrections.

Matthew Hambidge Feb. 12, 1965May 20, 2017

Matthew Hambidge, an aide to NC House Speaker Tim Moore, died at age 53 in Shelby.

Hambidge was Moore’s special assistant and policy adviser. He previously worked as a magistrate and police officer. He is survived by his wife and two children.

Chancy Rudolph Edwards

Mark Binker Dec. 29, 1973April 29, 2017

LINCOLNTON — In politics, timing is everything. For Rep. Jason Saine of Lincoln County, timing has played a major role in his rise in the N.C. House of Representatives, his placement on an influential Federal Communications Commission (FCC) committee, and his recent appointment as chairman of the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC).

Saine came to the N.C. House in 2011 after being appointed to the unexpired term of Johnathan Rhyne, who had resigned his seat. Just as he settled into his new position in Raleigh, he attended the States and Nation Policy Summit sponsored by ALEC. At this first meeting, Saine said he was approached by others in the N.C. delegation to become the state’s ALEC chair, which had been recently vacated by Rep. Fred Steen when the legislator left to run for Congress.

“I was enamored with the organization due to (economist) Art Laffer’s involvement,” said Saine. He agreed to take over the role and has served as state chair since.

ALEC is a national organization whose membership is made up exclusively of state legislators. While the group is open to all who meet the single criteria, the group’s commitment to “limited government, free markets and federalism” make it a decidedly conservative-leaning group. While most members of the N.C. General Assembly are not members of ALEC, the current delegation to ALEC of about 40 members is made of powerful House members, including Speaker of the House Tim Moore (R-Cleveland), Speaker Pro Tem Sarah Stevens (R-Surry) and Budget Committee Chair Justin Burr (R-Stanly).

Rep. Saine said his involvement in ALEC has been primarily related to technology and communications.

“It’s a good place to get new ideas,” he said, adding that “ALEC is really focused on the exchange of sound policies with national discussions.”

Saine took on his first leadership role within ALEC when he became co-chair of the Communications and Technology Task Force, a national group comprised of almost 200 members. As he established himself on the task force, another opportunity arose when then-Speaker Thom Tillis resigned his seat on the ALEC Board of Directors to join the U.S. Senate. Saine replaced Tillis on the national board of ALEC at the end of 2014.

Saine’s membership in ALEC and his communications expertise from the task force set up another well-timed opportunity. A colleague on the task force was retiring from the FCC intergovernmental advisory council and asked Saine if he would be interested.

Saine accepted and is now one of three statelevel legislators serving on the 15-member FCC group.

“Cable and broadband access, along with public safety communications, are areas where my work at ALEC and with the FCC dovetail nicely,” said Saine. “We can learn from the successes and failures in other states, so we are ahead of the game in developing policies that best fit our state and our constituents.”

Saine is looking forward to a year at the helm of one of the nation’s largest and most influential policy groups. He is only the second N.C. legislator to lead ALEC — the other was former Speaker Harold Brubaker — and is the fourth legislator to lead a national group. In addition to Brubaker at ALEC, former state congressman and now N.C. Sen. Daniel T. Blue Jr. and former Speaker Joe Hackney who both lead the National Conference of State Legislatures. According to Saine, the policy goals in 2018 for ALEC will hit on all of the major policy tenets of the organization.

“Coming from the Communications and Technology Task Force, technology will be a big part of my tenure,” said Saine. “It’s not lost on my colleagues at ALEC — I’m a tech geek — that technology will be a big focus.”

At the same time, Saine said fiscal policy will be an overarching point that connects with technology. For 2018, Saine said that continued tax reform across the country, expansion of broadband access, improvements in wireless broadband — including 5G wireless — criminal justice reform and free speech issues will dominate the agenda of ALEC and state legislatures.

Feb. 28, 1925Aug. 23, 2017

The Rev. Dr. Chancy R. Edwards died at age 92 in Raleigh.

Formally from Nash County, Edwards was a civil rights leader, state legislator and pastor emeritus at First Baptist Church in Fayetteville. Edwards earned his master’s of divinity from Shaw University. He was elected to the N.C. House in 1982 as one of the first black legislators from Cumberland County.

Mark Binker, a political reporter covering the North Carolina state legislature, died over the summer at 43. The N.C. Senate passed a resolution honoring Binker in June. He leaves behind a wife and two sons.

Information compiled by Liz Moomey of the North State Journal.

John Nichols Aug, 14, 1944July 2, 2017

Born in Farmville, Johnny Nichols, a former member of the N.C. House of Representatives, died in Vanceboro at 72. Nichols, known as “Johnny Mack,” served in the General Assembly as a Republican starting in 1992. He was a U.S. Air Force veteran that served in the Vietnam War.

COURTESY PHOTO

Rep. Jason Saine speaks to constituent Larry Cagle in downtown Lincolnton on Friday, Dec. 22.

the good life IN A NORTH STATE OF MIND WHAT TO WATCH IN 2018

REUTERS

A royal wedding While Prince Harry and fiancee, American actress Meghan Markle, joined Queen Elizabeth for their family Christmas celebrations, they are also planning spring nuptials.

Last month, Queen Elizabeth’s grandson, the fifth-in-line to the British throne, and Markle, who stars in the U.S. TV legal drama “Suits,” announced their engagement with the marriage to take place at Windsor Castle.

A “definitive” documentary on Harvey Weinstein The BBC is promising to bring viewers the Harvey Weinstein scandal after ordering a feature-length documentary from two-time Oscar-winning producer Simon Chinn and his production company Lightbox. Although the British broadcaster will screen the documentary on TV, it is tentatively planning for an Academy and BAFTA awardqualifying theatrical release.

Lightbox said the 90-minute documentary would feature interviews with actresses who have accused Weinstein of misconduct as well as with journalists, producers, directors, actors, agents and lawyers involved in the scandal. Some of the people will be speaking publicly for the first time about the story.

ADREES LATIF | REUTERS

Lady Gaga heads for Las Vegas concert residency Pop star Lady Gaga is swapping touring for a two-year stint in Las Vegas, joining the likes of music divas Celine Dion, Britney Spears and Shania Twain who have recently taken up concert residencies in the entertainment mecca. Gaga, 31, said on Tuesday she will start a two-year engagement at the 5,300-seat Park Theater at the Park MGM resort on the Las Vegas strip in December 2018.

ANDREW KELLY | REUTERS

Bon Jovi, Nina Simone among five Rock Hall of Fame 2018 inductees “Livin’ on a Prayer” rockers Bon Jovi, British bands Dire Straits and the Moody Blues, the late Nina Simone and The Cars will be inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, organizers said on Wednesday. The rockheavy 2018 list marks a return to the roots of the U.S. Hall of Fame, which for the past two years has broadened its base to welcome rap artists like the late Tupac Shakur and N.W.A.

FILE PHOTOS | REUTERS

Nominees for the 75th Golden Globe Awards, Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in any Motion Picture category, (left to right) Mary J. Blige, Hong Chau, Allison Janney, Laurie Metcalf and Octavia Spencer are seen in a combination of file photos.

Golden Globes to air Jan. 7 Hollywood actresses say they’ll wear black on the red carpet in protest of sexual harassment

By Piya Sinha-Roy Reuters LOS ANGELES — On January 7 the Golden Globes will air live as new contenders face award-winning heavyweights in the television races. The list on nomination was released in December and notably dropped old favorites like “Veep” and “House of Cards.”

Amazon Studios’ ground-breaking transgender comedy “Transparent” and its Golden Globe-winning star Jeffrey Tambor were also absent from Monday’s nominations list, as well as Netflix political drama “House of Cards” and its Globe-winning star Kevin Spacey.

The omissions follow sexual misconduct allegations against Tambor and Spacey, who was dropped from the upcoming sixth season of “House of Cards.”

Tambor has denied allegations by two actresses and Spacey has issued an apology to one of his multiple accusers. Reuters was unable to independently confirm the accusations.

In the wake of the scandals, actresses from across the fame and age spectrum have decided to wear black to the ceremony in protest of

sexual harassment. Among them veteran star Meryl Streep who faced criticism from actress Rose McGowan. McGowan called out Streep on Twitter for working with producer Harvey Weinstein despite his reputation as a sexual predator and condemned their form of protest.

Her since-deleted tweet said, “Actresses, like Meryl Streep, who happily worked for The Pig Monster, are wearing black @goldenglobes in a silent protest. YOUR SILENCE is THE problem. You’ll accept a fake award breathlessly & affect no real chance. I despise your hypocrisy. Maybe you should all wear Marchesa.”

Marchesa is a fashion line co-created by Weinstein’s ex-wife, Georgina Chapman.

Streep said she “wasn’t deliberately silent” in Weinstein’s treatment of women in Hollywood because she didn’t know it was happening.

Amber Tamblyn previously responded to McGowan’s tweet, calling for women to stand together. “I do not support any woman (or man) shaming or taunting the movements of other woman who are trying to create change. Telling us

to wear Marchesa? This is beneath you, Rose,” the actress wrote.

Despite the underlying tension in Hollywood, the race for best comedy series featured some new and familiar faces including the return after 11 years of NBC’s “Will & Grace” sitcom, alongside “black-ish,” “Master of None,” “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel” and single mother tale “SMILF.” Psychological thriller “The Sinner” edged into the limited series category, which was dominated by Emmy champion “Big Little Lies” garnering a leading six nods including best limited series or TV movie and acting nods for leads Nicole Kidman and Reese Witherspoon.

Time Warner Inc’s premium cable channel HBO led all networks with a total of 12 nominations, followed by streaming platform Netflix Inc. with nine nods.

The TV acting races served up a mix of television veterans and newcomers.

Australian Katherine Langford, 21, from Netflix’s controversial teen suicide drama “13 Reasons Why” was a surprise addition in the best TV drama actress race.

Kyle MacLachlan was nominated for reprising his role as FBI special Agent Dale Cooper in Showtime’s reboot of David Lynch’s 1990 supernatural murder mystery series “Twin Peaks.”

Alison Brie from wrestling series “GLOW,” Pamela Adlon from “Better Things,” Rachel Brosnahan from “Mrs. Maisel” and Frank-

“I do not support any woman (or man) shaming or taunting the movements of other woman who are trying to create change.”

— Actress Amber Tamblyn ie Shaw from “SMILF,” were all fresh faces in the comedy actress category.

But HBO’s political satire “Veep” was left empty-handed on Monday, along with its star Julia Louis-Dreyfus.

Netflix’s British royals saga “The Crown” and 1980s sci-fi mystery “Stranger Things” take on Hulu’s Emmy champion “The Handmaid’s Tale,” NBC’s family drama “This is Us” and HBO’s medieval fantasy “Game of Thrones.”

Oprah Winfrey will be honored with the 2018 Cecil B. DeMille Award at the award show. Each year the recipient of the prestigious award is selected by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association (HFPA) board of directors and must be someone who has made “an incredible impact on the world of entertainment.”

The Golden Globes will air on NBC on January 7, 2018, live from the Beverly Hilton in Beverly Hills and hosted by Seth Myers.

One Pinehurst golf club will get a new look in 2018

By NSJ Staff PINEHURST — Looking for a spot to unwind this spring after a cold winter? The once-public Dormie Club in Pinehurst, announced just before Christmas that private local, national, and corporate memberships are being offered now, ahead of major renovation plans by the new owners.

The property was recently purchased by Nebraska-based golf investment company Hainoa, LLC. Under new ownership, the Coore-Crenshaw club is in the planning stages of several renovation projects as it begins its transition to private.

Dormie Club’s new owners also own Briggs Ranch Golf Club in San Antonio, Texas; ArborLinks in Nebraska City; and Ballyhack Golf Club in Roanoke, Virginia.

The membership packages will include reciprocal access to all four clubs in the network.

Located just outside the village of Pinehurst, Dormie Club was originally intended to be a private course, but opened play up to non-members after opening in 2010. It’s regularly ranked one of the top ten courses in the state by Golf Magazine

“Dormie Club was destined to be one of the great private courses from its beginning,” — Zach Peed of Hainoa, LLC and Golf Digest, but new owners say they still have some big plans.

In the first quarter several major construction projects and renovations will break ground including the installation of a halfway house a clubhouse, and construction of on-site cottage accommodations.

“Dormie Club was destined to be one of the great private courses from its beginning,” explains Zach Peed of Hainoa, LLC. “With these immediate investments, we’re returning the club to its original concept: an exceptional offering of amenities at a renowned Coore-Crenshaw course in an intimate atmosphere—an exclusive, pure golf experience.”

PRNEWSFOTO | DORMIE ONE PROPERTIES

Dormie Club in Pinehurst, North Carolina.

WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 3, 2018

SPORTS LOOK AHEAD: 2018 TEAM OF THE YEAR

ROB KINNAN | USA TODAY SPORTS

Duke’s combination of talented youth and experienced upperclassmen should have it competing for a national championship this spring.

Duke aims to keep the NCAA title in NC The Blue Devils saw UNC cut down the nets last season — and want to be back on top

By Shawn Krest North State Journal THE 2017-18 basketball season got far more interesting in early December.

The Duke Blue Devils looked to be the odds-on favorite to storm their way to the NCAA title. Duke was No. 1 in the nation and cruising along, with the country’s best player, and a supporting cast that had swept up virtually all of the weekly awards in the country’s best conference.

Then Duke opened the ACC season at Boston College, and the sport got a little bit of parity. The Eagles burned up the nets from 3-point range and knocked off the Blue Devils in the ACC opener.

That means this will be the fifth straight year that Duke has been .500 or worse at some point in the

ACC season, a remarkable streak for a team that’s picked up conference and national titles over that span while being a fixture near the top of the Top 25. Duke opened 2-2 in 2013-14 and 2014-15, 4-4 in 2015-16 and 2016-17.

Duke is still the pick for the NSJ 2018 Team of the Year. It’s just not the landslide it seemed like it would be a couple weeks ago.

There are plenty of reasons to think that Duke is still the team to beat this college season. Marvin Bagley III is averaging 21.3 points and 11.3 rebounds and, off day against Boston College excepted, hasn’t had a game this year where he wasn’t the best player on the court.

Bagley’s incredible start to the year has overshadowed the rest of the freshman class, which was crowned as the nation’s best when it signed as recruits and hasn’t done anything to show that honor was undeserved.

Wendell Carter Jr. is a force in the paint, and he’s shown a

Duke fans have high expectations for the Blue Devils this season.

ROB KINNAN | USA TODAY SPORTS

willingness to take the physical pounding underneath not common in freshman players. He’s close to averaging a double-double and had six blocked shots in a game earlier this season.

Point guard Trevon Duval has hit double-digits in assists three

times this season and also recorded six steals in a game. He’s also a threat to call his own number and score on the drive. He’s not the threat from outside that many expected.

Shooting guard Gary Trent Jr. has been steady but not spectac-

ular for most of the season, giving the team a reliable outside threat, but also flashing the ability to drive and score. He exploded for 25 points and six 3-pointers in the Boston College loss and could See DUKE, page A11

LOOK AHEAD: 2018 PLAYER OF THE YEAR

All eyes should be on Nyheim Hines, NC State’s do-it-all star With Jaylen Samuels headed to the NFL, the speedy Wolfpack tailback should get even more touches

By Brett Friedlander North State Journal WHEN STANFORD’S Bryce Love was announced as a Heisman Trophy finalist, no one was happier about it than NC State’s Nyheim Hines.

The two running backs have known each other since they were children growing up together in Wake County and were stars of the same youth track team before going their separate ways to pursue college football careers.

“We go way back,” Love told ESPN.com last month. “We’re like family.”

Love and Hines don’t get to see much of each other these days since they play at schools in conferences

representing opposite coasts.

But if all goes well, there’s a realistic chance they can schedule their own “family” reunion in New York next December at the 2018 Heisman announcement ceremony.

It’s not as far-fetched as it sounds.

Love, from Wake Forest High, is a pre-med major who is likely to return for his senior college season rather than entering the NFL Draft a year early. Hines, meanwhile, is poised to join his friend among the ranks of the national elite after a junior season in which he earned firstteam All-ACC honors.

The Garner native rushed for more than 1,000 yards and ranked ninth nationally in all-purpose yardage despite being sidelined for the better part of two games because of nagging injuries.

His ability as a runner, receiver out of the backfield and kick returner, combined with the potential to put up even bigger numbers as the focal point of the Wolfpack’s offense next season, has made Hines the

IVAN PIERRE AGUIRRE | USA TODAY SPORTS

NC State running back Nyheim Hines will be the focal point of the Wolfpack offense next season.

North State Journal staff’s pick as the projected 2018 North Carolina Player of the Year.

“That man is an athlete, right there,” said NC State wide receiver Jakobi Meyers. “People say he’s

a track star that plays football, but he’s a football player that happens to run track. He’s a load. I’ve never seen a 5-foot-9 guy run like that.”

Hines won All-American honors on the track as part of State’s ACC

champion 4x100 meter relay team while also earning first-team AllACC recognition for his individual work in the 100-meter dash.

That speed, packed into a compact 5-foot-9, 197-pound frame, makes Hines a threat to score every time he touches the ball.

It was on full display against Pittsburgh, when he ran a punt back 92 yards for a touchdown. It was again in the regular season finale against rival North Carolina, when his scoring runs of 54 and 48 yards in the second half saved the Wolfpack from an embarrassing loss and helped it earn a bid to the Sun Bowl.

“Nyheim at any point in time can explode,” State quarterback Ryan Finley said. “That’s why you’ve got to stick with him.”

Defensive end Bradley Chubb might have been the most talented player on this year’s team, a claim backed up by his ACC Defensive See HINES, page A11

North State Journal for Wednesday, January 3, 2018

A10

the Wednesday SIDELINE REPORT NFL

Panthers travel to New Orleans for playoff opener The Carolina Panthers’ loss last Sunday in Atlanta cost them the division title, a home playoff game and allowed the defending NFC champion Falcons back into the postseason. Carolina, the fifth seed in the conference, will play in New Orleans at 4:40 p.m. in the final game of Sunday’s Wild Card Round.

The Saints beat the Panthers in the teams’ two meetings this season. Atlanta, the NFL South’s third qualifier for the playoffs, travels to Los Angeles to play the Rams on Saturday at 8:15 p.m. The Eagles and Vikings each received first-round byes and will host Division Round games next weekend.

Bears fire Fox Head coach John Fox was fired by the Chicago Bears on Monday, the day after the team finished last in the NFC North for the third consecutive season. Fox, 62, has been a head coach for 16 seasons with the Carolina Panthers (2002-2010), Denver Broncos (2011-14) and Bears (2015-17). He was let go by the Panthers after a 2-14 season in 2010 and replaced

by Gary Kubiak in Denver following the Broncos’ 2014 playoff elimination. Fox has a 133-123 record in 256 career games (.520 winning percentage). The Bears have missed the playoffs in 10 of the past 11 seasons and Fox recorded only three wins against NFC North teams during his three seasons in Chicago. The Bears are one of six teams searching for a new coach, joining Arizona, Detroit, Indianapolis, Oakland, Cincinnati and the New York Giants.

LOOK AHEAD: 2018 NEWCOMER OF THE YEAR

Duke’s Bagley is more than a promising freshman Blue Devils rookie is arguably college basketball’s best player already

By Shawn Krest North State Journal MARVIN BAGLEY III will be a distant memory in Durham by the time 2018 ends, but as the year begins he’s still the clear-cut choice to be the Newcomer of the Year.

Bagley’s 2017 has already been special. He enters the new year second in the ACC in scoring to senior Bonzie Colson, by a fraction of a point. He leads in rebounds and is averaging better than 20 points and 10 boards a night.

Despite being a freshman who reclassified to enter college a year early, he’s the best player on one of the favorites to end the season as the nation’s best team.

The 6-foot-11 18-year-old has taken college basketball by storm.

Duke has a history of one-anddone superstars in recent years, but Bagley has separated himself from that pack of lottery picks as well. He’s second in the nation with 10 double-doubles, and his seven straight broke a Duke freshman record set by Jabari Parker.

Bagley already has the freshman mark for points in a game, with 34 against Texas, tying J.J. Redick’s mark. As he continues to shred first-year records, he’s started to chalk up program-wide accomplishments, regardless of year, and he’s being mentioned in some impressive company.

Bagley added 15 rebounds in the Texas game, becoming the second Duke player since Mike Krzyzewski took over the program to have a 30-15 game. Christian Laettner was the other.

He did it again the following night, against Florida, to become the first Duke player to do it backto-back. He posted 15 rebounds for a third straight game, becoming the first Blue Devil to do that since 1973.

Bagley’s 30 dunks this season are more than Duke’s opponents have managed against the Blue Devils (24).

“He’s just unique,” Coach K said early in the season. “You have to let

GREG M. COOPER | USA TODAY SPORTS

Duke forward Marvin Bagley III is the top freshman in college basketball and perhaps the best player in the entire country.

“He’s just unique. You have to let unique happen.”

— Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski on Bagley unique happen.”

There’s still a risk of hitting a rookie wall at some point — in his recent “mini slump,” Bagley has scored just 15 and 18 points in the last two outings, and he had just seven rebounds against Evansville, his lowest output since an eye injury limited him to 10 minutes against Michigan State.

Bagley has shown a consistency that’s extremely rare for a freshman, however. Despite averaging more than 13 shots a game, he’s never shot below 50 percent in a contest. For the season, he’s hitting .617 from the field. That’s ninth in the ACC, and none of the eight

players ahead of him have taken anywhere near as many shots. He’s also hitting .346 on three-pointers and .628 from the free throw line.

He’s also only been in foul trouble twice — he fouled out of a blowout against Southern and had four fouls in the loss to Boston College.

Four other Blue Devils have more fouls than his 24 on the season.

Despite his accurate shooting, Bagley is always prepared for the possibility of missing a shot, thrilling crowds with impressive putbacks on his misses.

“He’s got that quick second jump,” Krzyzewski said. “Quicker than almost anybody.”

Even with all his physical gifts, Bagley has been humble, hardworking and a team-first player, again, something rarely seen in elite freshman players. He’s not overly demonstrative on the court, but his intensity is hard to miss.

“He wants to be really good, and he comes to work every day,” Krzyzewski said. “All of his teammates love him because he’s as

hard of a worker as we have.”

As 2018 dawns, the Blue Devils have as good a chance as any team in the nation to cut down the nets in early April, and if they pull it off, Bagley will be the primary reason why. On a team that’s filled with future NBA draft picks, including a top senior in Grayson Allen, that’s a strong statement. However, as Krzyzewski said early in the season, players who were worried that he might be stealing their spot only needed to watch him play once before concluding, “That’s not my spot.”

By the time we’re busy writing 2018 wrap-up stories in December, he’ll likely be well on his way to earning another newcomer of the year honor, as an NBA rookie.

Bagley appears to be the entire package, and as ready for the NBA as any first-year player in recent memory.

“I don’t see that (combination of skills),” Krzyzewski said, “and I’ve been with as many great players as anyone ever.”

LOOK AHEAD: 2018 COACH OF THE YEAR COLLEGE FOOTBALL

Wake Forest coach Dave Clawson, right, has the Demon Deacons on a trajectory toward the top of the ACC.

Georgia, Alabama to meet in All-SEC championship game The Georgia Bulldogs beat Oklahoma in a doubleovertime thriller on New Year’s Day, while Alabama knocked off defending champion Clemson in the late game, setting up a matchup of SEC teams for Monday’s championship game in Atlanta. Georgia tailbacks Sony Michel and Nick Chubb became the all-time leading rushing duo in FBS history in a 54-48 double-overtime victory over the Sooners at the Rose Bowl. Jalen Hurts threw two touchdown passes to complement a stifling defense as Alabama defeated Clemson, 24-6, in the College Football Playoff semifinal at the Sugar Bowl on Monday night in the Mercedes-Benz Superdome. Auburn handed each team its only loss of the season.

JIM DEDRON | USA TODAY SPORTS

Clawson has Deacons on a steady climb Coach’s rebuilding prowess has Wake Forest aiming high

OLYMPICS

Without NHL players, Team USA hockey looks to Europe Stanley Cup winner Brian Gionta will captain a U.S. men’s Olympic ice hockey team made up of players from European leagues or the North American development ranks at next month’s Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang.

Gionta, who has played 15 years in the NHL, was named on Monday amongst more than a dozen littleknown Americans playing professionally in Europe, along with a hodgepodge of minor leaguers and exNHL players for the Feb. 9-25 Olympics. Former Hurricanes defensemen Bobby Sanguinetti and James Wisniewski were both named to the team.

By Brett Friedlander North State Journal DAVE CLAWSON didn’t write the playbook on how to breathe life back into foundering college football programs. He’s just figured out how best to put the plan into action.

It’s a blueprint that helped the 50-year-old New York native turn around programs at Fordham, Richmond and Bowling Green before being hired to replace Jim Grobe at Wake Forest in December 2013.

Clawson’s reputation as a reclamation project specialist has only been enhanced through his work with the Deacons. After starting his tenure with back-to-back 3-9 seasons, Wake has gone to two straight bowl games and has built a foundation for future success through its coach’s tried-and-true process of recruiting, player development, discipline and patience.

That process is on schedule to reach its fruition in 2018, which is why the North State Journal staff

has projected Clawson as next year’s state Coach of the Year.

“They weren’t very good the first year or two and then made a nice jump last year,” Clemson’s Dabo Swinney said before his team met the Deacons back in October. “It just takes a little while of kind of doing it the right way, and I think (Clawson) is doing it exactly the right way.

“I have a great appreciation for teams when I watch them and I see buy-in and I see heart and I see passion and I see toughness and I see really, really good coaching. All of those things are on display when you watch these tapes with Wake Forest.”

As with any rebuilding situation, a key ingredient to the Deacons’ rise has been an upgrade in talent.

But while Clawson and his staff have succeeded in attracting a better, more athletic caliber of player to Winston-Salem — including game-changers such as wide receiver Greg Dortch, running back Arkeem Byrd and defensive back Essang Bassey — that’s only part of the winning equation.

Equally important have been the changes they’ve brought about in the attitude and work ethic of their

players, especially in the weight room and on the practice field, and the trust they’ve built that the process was working even when the results weren’t always evident on game days.

“You first start seeing the players get stronger,” Clawson said. “Then you see them running faster 40s and then their GPAs go up and they miss less class. There just becomes an accountability in your program that carries over to Saturdays. They block the right rusher, they blitz the right gap, cover the right person.

We’re a (program) that needs to do things right.”

Clawson’s confidence in his ability to reverse the Deacons’ fortunes after five straight losing seasons wasn’t based on blind faith.

It came from experience.

At Fordham, he took a team that went 0-11 in his rookie season of 1999 to a winning record in Year 3 and a spot in the FCS playoffs the season after that. He followed the same pattern at Richmond by going from 3-8 to 11-3 in just four seasons before leading Bowling Green to 10 wins and a Mid-American Conference championship three years after bottoming out at 2-10.

Clawson averaged 3.25 wins in

each of his first two seasons at his previous stops before jumping up to 6.0 wins in Year 4.

It’s a pattern he followed almost to the number at Wake, where his 2016 team went 7-6 and then 8-5 this season after beating Texas A&M 55-52 in the Belk Bowl.

Even though his Deacons play in the same Atlantic Division as ACC powers Clemson and Florida State, Clawson has made it clear that that his goals are set higher than just winning records and minor bowls.

With a solid nucleus of players returning, including an experienced quarterback in Kendall Hinton, a new indoor practice facility and a manageable nonconference schedule, Wake is poised to make the transition from a young, building program to a mature, consistent contender.

“We’d been 3-9, 3-9, then to finally go to that bowl game was something that gave us confidence,” Clawson said. “It was like, ‘Here we go, it’s the start of a new era.’ For us it wasn’t like our end goal to just make a bowl game, We want to win an ACC championship and this was just a catapult to these next goals.”

North State Journal for Wednesday, January 3, 2018

A11

LOOK AHEAD: 2018 COMEBACK PLAYER OF THE YEAR

LOOK AHEAD: BOLD PREDICTIONS

Tough 2017 season should pay dividends for UNC football

The NSJ sports staff decided it would be fun to end the year with a little prognosticating beyond which teams and players we believe will stand out in 2018. Sports editor Cory Lavalette and staff writers Brett Friedlander and Shawn Krest each took a stab at naming three things that could happen in the next year that would alter the North Carolina sports landscape. Here’s our clairvoyant take on what’s to come the next 12 months.

Injuries throughout the Tar Heels’ roster led to valuable experience for young players

By Brett Friedlander North State Journal CB COREY BELL JR.; LB Ayden Bonilla; TB Antwuan Branch; LB Cayson Collins; S Jesse Cuccia; OL Luke Elder; S D.J. Ford; WR Rontavius Groves; OL Tommy Hatton; LB Cole Holcomb; WR Thomas Jackson; S Donnie Miles; WR Devin Perry; DL Tyler Powell; TB Jacob Schmidt; LB Andre Smith; OT William Sweet; TB Stanton Truitt; TE Carl Tucker; TE Noah Turner No, that’s not North Carolina’s depth chart from its final football game of the 2017 season, on Nov. 24 against rival NC State. It’s actually the list of injured players, many of them starters, that were listed as “out for the season” and didn’t play.

It’s also a contributing factor to the Tar Heels’ dismal 3-9 record.

But if there’s a silver lining to the dark cloud that hung over coach Larry Fedora’s team this season, it’s that the historic rate of attrition could end up benefitting UNC’s ability to quickly turn things back around.

Because of the experience gained by all the youngsters that were pressed into service before they were ready in 2017, the Tar Heels have been selected by the North State Journal staff as the leading candidate for Comeback “Player” of the Year honors in 2018.

“You can look at it two ways,” said sophomore quarterback Nathan Elliott, who started the final three games, throwing for 925 yards and 10 touchdowns with five interceptions.

“Obviously, it’s very frustrating to not be winning as many games as you want to win. Another way is that it gave a lot of guys opportunities this year, a lot of younger

guys who were given forced reps, which I think is going to pay off in the end.”

That’s especially true at the most important position on the field.

Unlike last year, when UNC got caught without an experienced quarterback on its roster after the earlier-than-expected departure of Mitch Trubisky, the Tar Heels now have two from which to choose as they head into this offseason.

Before Elliott got his chance, freshman Chazz Surratt played in nine games — with seven starts — completing 58 percent of his passes for 1,342 yards, eight touchdowns and four interceptions. He rushed for 210 yards and five scores, but he also took a large number of hits and suffered at least one concussion.

He and Elliott figure to go into spring practice neck-and-neck for the starting job in 2018.

Other young players that emerged under difficult circumstances include: freshman running back Michael Carter, who averaged 5.8 yards per carry and led the team in rushing touchdowns with eight; sophomore wide receiver Anthony Ratliff-Williams, who developed into a versatile weapon on both ends of the passing game and special teams; ball-hawking freshman safety Myles Wolfolk, who recorded 32 tackles and two interceptions; and athletic offensive lineman Jay Jay McCargo.

Their performances under game conditions will go a long way toward helping Fedora determine where his program stands and what it needs to do to get back on a winning course.

“We’ll go back and evaluate everything, everything that we do in this program,” Fedora said. “We never stop doing that. We’ll try to tweak things to make them better. Hopefully, we’re going to get a bunch of guys healed up and then we’ll be ready to go.”

LAVALETTE Hurricanes trade Skinner

Byron makes the playoffs

Chubb goes first overall

Carolina finally snaps its playoff drought this spring but is eliminated in the first round.

Despite the renewed optimism around the team and new owner Tom Dundon opening his wallet to make the Hurricanes at least a middle-of-the-road cap team, GM Ron Francis decides the seven-year contract extension Jeff Skinner wants — which would take him into his early 30s — is not a gamble worth taking and trades him. Skinner is dealt to San Jose before the start of the 2018-19 season for a package that includes Sharks 2017 first-round pick Josh Norris. Skinner and the guy he beat out for the 2011 Calder Trophy, Logan Couture, re-sign with Sharks.

It’s not bold to say Charlotte native William Byron will be the NASCAR Monster Energy Cup Series’ top rookie next year, though he will have competition from Bubba Wallace in Richard Petty’s famed No. 43. But how about Byron making the playoffs in his first Cup season? Byron, who won four Xfinity Series races in 2017 at age 19 and seven Camping World Truck Series races the year before, will take over Hendrick Motorsports’ No. 24 from teammate Chase Elliott (he’ll drive the No. 5 instead), and both will make the postseason — ushering in a new era of early 20s superstars to NASCAR’s top series.

NC State defensive end Bradley Chubb was compared to former Wolfpack star and 2006 first overall pick Mario Williams plenty last year. Come April, they’ll have even more in common. The winless Cleveland Browns will trade the No. 1 pick in the NFL Draft to Tampa Bay for a pile of assets, and the Buccaneers will use it to select Chubb. Coach Dirk Koetter will focus on fixing Jameis Winston and the Tampa offense, but he brings in ex-Bengals coach Marvin Lewis to be defensive coordinator after current DC Mike Smith lands a head coaching job, and Chubb proves a perfect fit for Lewis’ 4-3 scheme.

ECU goes a familiar route for its new basketball coach

Tar Heels poised for a bounce-back season

An Olympic effort

There’s a good chance ECU athletic director Jeff Compher has already targeted the man he’ll hire as the Pirates’ next basketball coach. And he’ll have a similar pedigree to his predecessor. While both UNC Greensboro’s Wes Miller and Jeff Lebo graduated from the UNC school of coaching, there’s a big difference between the two. Unlike Lebo, who resigned on Nov. 29 before Compher had a chance to fire him, Miller is an up-and-coming young gun rather than a recycled veteran. Miller also has taken a stagnant program like ECU’s and turned it into a winner, the Spartans went 11-22 in 2014-15 to 25-10 last season, and this year’s team stands a good chance of winning the Southern Conference and getting to the NCAA tournament.

The 2017 season is one coach Larry Fedora and the UNC football team would just as soon forget. The good news for the Tar Heels is, barring another historic epidemic of injuries, they are a virtual lock to bounce right back from their 3-9 disaster and return to a bowl in 2018. UNC will go into next season with not one, but two experienced quarterbacks and a slew of young players on both sides of the ball that saw significant game action. The schedule will also work in the Tar Heels’ favor. Notre Dame is replaced by East Carolina on the nonconference slate, and Syracuse will be the crossover opponent from the Atlantic Division rather than Louisville.

Heather Richardson Bergsma, a former in-line skater from High Point who didn’t take up speed skating until she was a teenager, will win medals in several distances at next month’s Winter Olympics. Although her best finish in two previous Olympics was sixth at the 2012 games in Vancouver, her career has taken off since marrying Dutch star Jorrit Bergsma, moving to the Netherlands and training with his national team.

She is the current world record holder in the 1,500 meters and the American record holder in the 500. She could be joined by other North Carolinians in PyeongChang, including former NC A&T football player and current bobsled pusher Adrian Adams.

Panthers ownership takes a turn

Duke has two big hires to make

Wake makes a run but falls short

While plenty of in-state money is offered for the Carolina Panthers, including groups headed by the Belks, Bruton Smith (Charlotte Speedway) and James Goodnight (SAS), the team is eventually sold to a group headed by Vista Equity Partners’ owner Robert F. Smith. Along with minority investors Diddy and Oprah, Smith’s Panthers becomes the first African-American-owned franchise in the NFL. While the Panthers remain in Charlotte for 2018, as the details of the franchise transfer are ironed out, the ownership group begins exploring relocation options, including Toronto, London and a potential return of the NFL to Oakland — where Smith’s company has a presence.

Duke’s Kevin White has his work cut out for him as Blue Devils football coach David Cutcliffe and basketball coach Mike Krzyzewski both announce their retirements.

Former Purdue interim coach Gerad Parker is hired as Cutcliffe’s replacement, beating out defensive coordinator Jim Knowles, Yale head coach Tony Reno, newly former ECU coach Scottie Montgomery and Northwestern offensive coordinator Mick McCall. The basketball hire has more drama than expected, as three former Blue Devils guards jostle for position as the heir apparent. In the end, longtime assistant Jeff Capel beats out Northwestern coach Chris Collins and Arizona State’s Bobby Hurley to win the job.

Wake Forest makes a surprising run to the ACC Football Championship Game after beating Clemson in an upset at BB&T Field. A late season loss to Boston College, coupled with a September home loss to Notre Dame mean the Deacs have to knock off Miami in the title game to have a shot at the College Football Playoff.

Wake loses a heartbreaker to the Hurricanes and heads to the Orange Bowl, where it beats South Florida. The Deacs then offer a hefty raise to Dave Clawson in an effort to keep him from taking the Iowa job vacancy.

FRIEDLANDER

KREST

BOB DONNAN | USA TODAY SPORTS

UNC quarterback Chazz Surratt is one of two Tar Heels quarterbacks — along with Nathan Elliott — who gained valuable experience during a difficult 2017 season.

DUKE from page A9 emerge as one of the team’s go-to guys as the year goes on.

While the freshmen form the core of this year’s team, the Blue Devils also have one of the ACC’s top senior players in Grayson Allen. After two years of drama, Allen has behaved himself on court this year and shown a willingness to step aside and let Bagley star, a rarity among established veteran players. It brings back memories of a similar selflessness shown by Quinn Cook during Duke’s run to the 2015 NCAA title, in Allen’s freshman year.

While Allen may not be grabbing as many headlines, he’s still averaging 17.2 points and 4.4 assists and knocking down 3-pointers at a .430 rate.

Unlike many seasons, Duke also has a reliable bench this year, which should allow the Blue Devils to survive foul trouble or injury.

Sophomore Javin DeLaurier has been a rebounding force inside.

Freshman point guard Jordan Goldwire has played regularly and can run the team in Duval’s absence. Center Marques Bolden,

the only holdover from last year’s snakebit freshman class, can give the team a presence inside off the bench as well. Flashy freshman Alex O’Connell can drive, dunk and defend, allowing Duke to go nine deep for the first time in recent memory.

Things aren’t all rosy. Duke has shown its youth on defense, as the team struggled to shut down foes, particularly on the perimeter. The team also tends to coast from time to time, confident it can flip the switch whenever it wants. Duke trailed in all three PK80 games at the half, and the comebacks against Texas and Florida may have led to the slow start against Boston College.

The team is very young, and the freshman wall might cause the team to pick up a few more unexpected losses. Barring a serious outbreak of injuries, however, Duke should be hitting on all cylinders in March. The team has the look of some of Coach K’s special ones, which could be very bad news for the rest of the country.

Others considered: UNC men’s basketball, Carolina Panthers

HINES from page A9 Player of the Year and Bronko Nagurski Trophy selections. Fellow senior Jaylen Samuels was unquestionably the most versatile.

But when it comes to the Wolfpack’s most valuable player, a strong case can be made that it was Hines.

Consider that State won all five games in which he rushed for 100 yards or more. And that in three of the Wolfpack’s four losses, Hines either missed at least a half or was severely limited physically because of injury.

He was limited to two carries for six yards before leaving with a sprained ankle on his team’s first drive at Notre Dame. A week later, he gained only 34 yards on eight carries while trying to play though the pain of his still unhealed injury.

He then missed the entire second half at Wake Forest after getting banged up on a punt return.

His absence had a noticeably adverse effect on State’s offense, which was far less explosive or diverse without him on the field.

“He’s a big-time playmaker for

ROB KINNAN | USA TODAY SPORTS

Hines rushed for 1,112 yards and 12 touchdowns, had 26 receptions for 152 yards and returned both kicks and punts for the Wolfpack.

us,” coach Dave Doeren said. “We do have other players, but we don’t have another guy who runs a 10.4 (40-yard dash), returns punts and kicks, and plays tailback. We have to use the other guys we have, but it changes the offense when he’s not in there.”

The fact that Samuels won’t be back and Finley could opt to enter the NFL Draft despite having one year of eligibility remaining figures to give Hines even more chances to

shine in 2018.

Either way, he’ll begin the year as one of the frontrunners for ACC Player of the Year honors and the national recognition that goes along with it.

“I’ve been doing a lot of good things,” Hines said earlier this season. “But there’s also a lot of things I can correct. Each week is just a struggle to chase greatness and do everything I can to help this team win.”

North State Journal for Wednesday, January 3, 2018

A12 NEWS IN IMAGES

HANNAH MCKAY | REUTERS

CLODAGH KILCOYNE | REUTERS

ATHIT PERAWONGMETHA | REUTERS

Top, a stag deer stands in the road in Richmond Park, in west London. Left, runners and riders participate in the Christmas Ballyheigue beach horse races in the County Kerry village of Ballyheigue, Ireland. Right, a newborn baby wearing a dog costume to celebrate the New Year of the Dog is pictured at the nursery room of Paolo Chokchai 4 Hospital in Bangkok.

WAKE STATE OF NORTH CAROLINA COUNTY OF WAKE NOTICE TO CREDITORS AND DEBTORS FILE NO. 17 E 2956 Having qualified on the 8th day of November, 2017, as the Co-Administrators of the estate of Rosemary Suszynski, deceased, late of Wake County, North Carolina, this is to notify all persons, firms and corporations having claims against the decedent to exhibit the same to Barbara Lavalette and Cory Lavalette, Co-Administrators, on or before April 3, 2018, or this notice will be pleaded in bar of their recovery. All persons, firms and corporations indebted to the estate should make immediate payment to the above named Co-Administrators.

This is the 3rd day of January, 2018.

Barbara Lavalette and Cory Lavalette, Co-Administrators 4200 Mallory Glen Circle Raleigh, NC 27616 1/3, 1/10, 1/17, 1/24 CL

Experience It All. All In One Place. #AllinOnePlace 50 Years of NC Arts Council in All 100 Counties State Parks and Recreation Areas North Carolina Aquariums Historic Sites North Carolina ZOO Museums of History, Art and Science Libraries and Archives North Carolina Symphony

dncr.nc.gov/AllinOnePlace

Happy New Year!

I wish you all the best in 2018 as you experience everything North Carolina has to offer.

Secretary Susi H. Hamilton

NC Department of Natural and Cultural Resources

NC DEPARTMENT OF NATURAL AND CULTURAL RESOURCES