Carolina Journal Radio No. 733: U.S. Supreme Court strikes down old N.C. congressional maps

The U.S. Supreme Court has struck down congressional election maps North Carolina used in 2012 and 2014. The justices agreed, 5-3, with a lower court that ruled two of the election districts were unconstitutional cases of racial gerrymandering. Rick Henderson, Carolina Journal editor-in-chief, assesses the impact of the Supreme Court’s ruling for the future of North Carolina elections. American presidents have dealt with disasters since the nation’s earliest days. But changes in society, including expectations of presidential action and the development of a 24/7 news cycle, have changed the White House’s approach to those disasters. Presidential historian Tevi Troy documents disaster management dilemmas in the book, Shall We Wake The President? Troy shares key themes from the book and names the best and worst presidents for disaster management. Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper has blamed Republican legislative leaders in recent weeks for their tax policies. Cooper’s criticism didn’t sit well with lawmakers such as Rep. John Szoka, R-Cumberland. During a recent news conference, Szoka compared the record of Republicans who have run the General Assembly since 2011 with that of their Democratic predecessors, including Cooper.  The Raise the Age initiative targeting 16- and 17-year-old criminal offenders gained some additional publicity this year thanks to the endorsement of N.C. Supreme Court Chief Justice Mark Martin. Martin named as his No. 1 legislative priority the effort to treat nonviolent 16- and 17-year-olds as juveniles, rather than adults. You’ll hear highlights from a news conference featuring Martin and other vocal Raise the Age proponents. High Point is the latest North Carolina city considering spending millions of dollars for a downtown baseball stadium. Julie Tisdale, the John Locke Foundation’s city and county policy analyst, considers herself a fanatic baseball supporter. But Tisdale questions the wisdom of investing tax dollars for a private sports venture.