It's 5.05 and welcome in to a Monday edition of the Carolina Journal News Hour, News Talk 1110-993 WBT. I'm Nick Craig. Good morning to you.
Well, national attention is intensifying after a gruesome murder of a Ukrainian refugee that happened back on August the 22nd on a light rail in Charlotte. The 23-year-old by the name of Irena Zaruska from Ukraine had only recently made her way to the United States, according to a GoFundMe page from Ukraine, when on the 22nd of last month, shortly before 10 p.m., she was traveling on Charlotte's Lynx Blue Line when she was allegedly stabbed in the throat by an individual by the name of DeCarlos Brown Jr. Surveillance video obtained by WBTV on Friday shows Zaruska entering the light rail, taking a seat in front of Brown with headphones on for only about four minutes before Brown pulled out some sort of pocket knife and stabbed her in the neck three times. The 34-year-old in DeCarlos Brown Jr. was arrested and charged with first-degree murder.
He is currently being held without Bond, as jail records show, Brown had several prior convictions, including armed robbery, felony larceny, some breaking and enterings, and shoplifting.
Now, the reaction to this, at least immediately after the fact, has been quite mixed. Charlotte Mayer Vi Lyles came under immense scrutiny immediately following that gruesome attack, when she spent the vast majority of her statement commenting on the alleged killer's past and seemingly ignoring the victim who was stabbed and killed. Right after the murder, Charlotte Mayor Vilisle said, quote, This is a tragic situation that sheds light on problems with society's safety nets related to mental health care and systems that should be in place. As we come to understand what happened and why, we must look at the entire situation. While I do not know the specific of the man's medical record, what I have come to understand is that he has long struggled with mental health and appears to have suffered a crisis.
That is the unfortunate and tragic outcome.
Now, the Democrat mayor of Charlotte seemed to change her tune a little bit with a post on social media on Saturday with her no longer focusing on the alleged murderer and instead focusing on the 23-year-old victim who was stabbed to death on the train or on the light rail, I should say, where she said, This was a senseless and tragic loss. My prayers remain with her loved ones as they continue to grieve through an unimaginable time. Like so many of you, I'm heartbroken and I've been thinking hard about what safety really looks like in our city. I remain committed to doing all we can to protect our residents and ensure Charlotte is a place where everyone feels safe.
Now the national attention has kicked up over the weekend as that video, again, published by WBTV on Friday, has been making its way around social media, or at least parts of that gruesome video. Representative Mark Harris, the Republican out of the 8th Congressional District, posted on X and said, quote, the violence in Charlotte is a microcosm of a national epidemic. Americans deserve better than Democrats soft on crime policies. The attention uh got even stronger late last night when President Donald Trump arrived back at Joint Base Andrews. He was asked by a reporter about the murder.
I'll admit the audio is a little hard to hear due to the plane engines in the background, but this is how this unfolded at Joint Base Andrews yesterday afternoon, yesterday evening, I should say. Yeah, yeah. This guy. We have multiple fonts. Yeah.
Subway. this video and do you have any reaction to it? Yeah and where was it the subway was where? She was in Charlotte on a light train. She was stabbed multiple times by a horrible.
No, I haven't heard. When did this happen? It happened in August, but the video just came out. I'll know all about it by tomorrow morning.
So, there's President Donald Trump indicating that he had seen the video, and not surprising as it made its way throughout social media over the weekend, saying he'll know all about it and have some additional details on it tomorrow morning. That would be today, so we'll continue to wait and see what that looks like. Growing concern over crime in major cities has been a talking point for the administration over the past few weeks, with President Donald Trump deploying the National Guard in Washington, D.C., and threatening to do so in other major U.S. cities that are dealing with crime. The debate is also expected to intensify in the Charlotte Metro, where voters later this year will be asked to decide on a one-cent sales tax hike to fund nearly $25 billion worth of light rail expansion and other transit projects across the Queen City.
Again, some major national attention on this stabbing and murder all the way back on August the 22nd. We'll continue our coverage over on our website. Website CarolinaJournal.com continuing coverage as well. Also, right here on News Talk 1110 and 993 WBT. Turning our attention to some other statewide news this morning, some good news as more help is on the way to farmers who were affected by Hurricane Helene last year.
North Carolina's Agricultural Commissioner Steve Troxler, alongside USDA Deputy Secretary Stephen Vaden, signed a $221 million North Carolina disaster block grant for Helene at the North Carolina Mountain State Fair in Fletcher on a Friday. The grant, which will apply to thirty nine counties that received a Presidential Disaster Declaration after Hurricane Helene, is for production losses not covered by the USDA programs or crop insurance which many farmers have. The program will cover four categories of eligible losses, including infrastructure damage, market losses, future economic losses, and timber losses. According to Troxler in a press release, he noted, quote, this $221 million in federal disaster assistance block grant for agricultural damage due to Hurricane Helene is welcome news for North Carolina farmers in western North Carolina who have been holding on in the aftermath of the massive agricultural loss in 2024. We are grateful for the USDA's continued effort on the block grant and appreciate their willingness to partner with us on this much needed assistance.
We all have interest in the success of agriculture because farmers produce the food and fiber that we all depend on. To receive funding, certain producers may have to agree to acquire and maintain USDA risk management coverage for two crop years for market losses, future economic losses and other aquarial claims. Steve Troxler added, We are currently creating the program work plan and application in coordination with the USDA. Once we have approval for the plan, we will work as quickly as possible to distribute the money to impacted farmers. This grant is another way of getting much-needed funds to farmers who were hit hard in 2024.
Now, back a couple of months ago, on July the 9th, the Supplemental Disaster Relief Program, known as the SDRP, did open for farmers who are affected by natural disasters in the calendar years 23 and 24. The nearly $16 billion SDRP provides financial assistance to eligible producers facing losses in revenue, crop quality, or production caused by weather-related events in 2023 and 2024. The USDA's Farm Service Agency, also known as the FSA, distributes its aid in two Phases depending on the nature and timing of the various losses, producers may qualify for payments in both phases and for either or both years. Brooke Rollins, the secretary of the United States Department of Agriculture, said in a press release on Friday, quote, American farmers are no stranger to natural disasters that cause that cause loss and leave no region or crop unscathed. Under President Trump's leadership, USDA has worked around the clock to deliver this relief directly to our farmers.
We are taking swift action to ensure farmers will have the resources they need to continue to produce the safest, most reliable, and most abundant food supply in the world. End quote there from USDA Secretary Brooke Rollins. We've got some additional details on our website this morning, including a link on the North Carolina Department of Agriculture website where those producers can go to find out some more information about what this additional USDA grant program will look like. All of that available over on our website this morning. CarolinaJournal.com, that story's headline, Farmers Affected by Hellene can apply for share of $221 million federal block grant.
Again, that coverage over at CarolinaJournal.com. We all know that feeling. You finally manage to get away on vacation and the worrying starts. Will that bogus beware of dogs sign keep your homes safe? What about that fake camera you set up?
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Visit ADT.com today to learn more. It's 522. Welcome back to the Carolina Journal News Hour, News Talk 1110-993 WBT. Good Monday morning to you. Back in 2020, during the heat of the COVID-19 pandemic, there were a lot of decisions made by governments all across the world, really dealing with a variety of issues.
Here in North Carolina, the restaurant and bar sector was hit particularly hard. There's been an ongoing legal battle for multiple years in the state of North Carolina. We've got some pretty big breaking news this morning to walk us through it. Mitch Kokai with the John Locke Foundation joins us on the Carolina Journal News Hour. Mitch, for bar owners across North Carolina, I guess this is a decision that they've hoped has been a long time coming.
Yes, and actually, one of the interesting things about this is that they really get back to the starting line of where their case started. You remember, Nick, and the listening audience will remember that in 2020, as COVID was really striking the state, most businesses shut down, and the government forced most businesses to shut down. But as time went on, businesses were allowed to reopen. Restaurants and bars were forced to shut down. Restaurants reopened more quickly.
Some bars were allowed to reopen while others could not. And a lot of bars, even when they could reopen, had restrictions on them. And so, after the initial heat of the COVID shutdowns, and as time went on, two different groups of bars sued the governor, at that time, Governor Roy Cooper, saying that the shutdowns violated their constitutional rights.
Now, these cases have worked their way all the way to the state Supreme Court. Yeah. And last October, the Supreme Court heard arguments in both of the cases. And then on Friday, the court issued its ruling in both cases. Two separate decisions written by two different justices, but basically the same result saying that in both cases, the bar owners do have a right to move forward with their constitutional claims against the government under the provision of the state constitution called.
Fruits of their own or fruits of your own labor. Basically, our state constitution guaranteeing us the right to the enjoyment of the fruits of our own labor, meaning basically that the government shouldn't stop you from doing your job unless there's a really compelling reason.
Now in in In coming to this decision, there are some interesting twists. It was 5-2.
So the Republicans were in favor of this on the state Supreme Court, while the two Democrats were not. They dissented. In one case, it was the majority opinion was written by Chief Justice Paul Newby. In the other case, the opinion was written by Justice Phil Berger Jr. And then the two Democrats traded off on who was going to dissent.
Anita Earls dissented in one case, Allison Riggs in the other, and then they joined each other's dissents. But basically, the idea is. that the government cannot Basically, brush off a lawsuit when there is a constitutional claim. On violation of violating the fruits of your own labor clause of the state constitution. This doesn't mean the bars are gonna end up winning, doesn't mean the bars are gonna end up collecting any money from state government, but it basically means they do have the right.
To go in front of a trial judge and try to make the case that their rights were violated and that they should collect money.
So, this is far from over, but it is a big win for the bar owners in the sense that the state government couldn't come along and just say, no, we did this to help. public health and safety, you have no case and your case should be dismissed. Mitch, it's kind of hard to go back and remember what was going on during 2020. It was a long time ago, and there were a lot of moving pieces. The field goal posts constantly shifting back and forth on everything.
But one of the major things I remember when this lawsuit was getting kicked off and from some of the individuals that are part of these lawsuits, and as you mentioned in the open, restaurants were able to reopen pretty quickly, albeit with limited capacity, maybe some outdoor dining, not as many people inside with some restrictions. But as the months and days went on through COVID-19 and through 2020, a lot of bars were essentially shuttered almost permanently.
Some of them no longer in business because they continued to have to pay their ABC license and all of the other costs associated with operating their business. The restaurant next door was open, but because the bar didn't serve food, they were almost permanently closed. That's right. One of the arguments that was made in both of these cases is disparate treatment: that some bars were allowed to reopen if they were in a restaurant or if they were in some sort of country club setting, but that private bars had to remain closed. And even when they were allowed to reopen, the restrictions were such that they couldn't actually make a living.
One of the Supreme Court opinions made reference to the fact that the trial court record showed that restrictions on bars lasted for 400 days or so, so well over a year, well beyond the point that most people were getting back to work and deciding that COVID-19, while still a concern, was certainly not something that should stop them from doing their jobs and stop them from doing things out in the public.
So that is going to be one of the arguments as this goes forward in a trial court level, assuming that it does, assuming that there isn't some sort of settlement, that the bar owners will argue. Argue, look, we were treated differently and in a way that violated our rights. If every business had had to face the same sort of restriction, or if every business that served alcohol. Had faced the same sort of restriction, there would probably be a weaker case for the bar owners, but they argued that what was done to them. Was different than what was done to other businesses that basically faced the same sort of situation and same sort of circumstances.
And that's going to be one of the parts of the argument. I think, from a constitutional perspective, the biggest piece of this is that the state Supreme Court is really putting a lot of weight behind this provision in the state constitution that says that you have a constitutional right in North Carolina to the enjoyment of the fruits of your own labor. And if the government is going to restrict that right, it really needs to have a great justification for doing so. It can't just say, We think this is a good idea and it's reasonable and so you can't sue. You really have to have a legitimate compelling reason to violate someone's economic rights.
We'll continue the conversation with Mitch Kokai from the John Locke Foundation coming up after this. You're listening to the Carolina Journal News Hour. We all know that feeling. You finally manage to get away on vacation and the worrying starts. Will that bogus beware of dogs sign keep your homes safe?
What about that fake camera you set up? And will someone finally find your old hide and key rock? That's where ADT comes in. All that stuff? It's safe-ish.
It seems fine when you don't really think about it, but you know it truly doesn't work. Instead, ADT provides security solutions that keep you actually safe, giving you real peace of mind. Because vacation is supposed to be, you know, relaxing. Don't settle for safe-ish. Visit ADT.com today to learn more.
We all know that feeling. You finally manage to get away on vacation and the worrying starts. Will that bogus beware of dogs sign keep your homes safe? What about that fake camera you set up? And will someone finally find your old hide and key rock?
That's where ADT comes in. All that stuff? It's safe-ish. It seems fine when you don't really think about it, but you know it truly doesn't work. Instead, ADT provides security solutions that keep you actually safe, giving you real peace of mind.
Because vacation is supposed to be, you know, relaxing. Don't settle for safe-ish. Visit ADT.com today to learn more. Yep. We all know that feeling.
You finally manage to get away on vacation and the worrying starts. Will that bogus beware of dogs sign keep your home safe? What about that fake camera you set up? And will someone finally find your old hide and key rock? That's where ADT comes in.
All that stuff? It's safe-ish. It seems fine when you don't really think about it, but you know it truly doesn't work. Instead, ADT provides security solutions that keep you actually safe, giving you real peace of mind. Because vacation is supposed to be, you know, relaxing.
Don't settle for safe-ish. Visit ADT.com today to learn more. It's 536. Welcome back to the Carolina Journal News Hour. News Talk 1110-993WBT as school choice continues to expand across North Carolina and really across the nation as well.
A pressing issue has become the need for more schools. To meet the new demand, the school choice advocacy organization Parents for Educational Freedom in North Carolina, also known as PEFNC, announced their launch of their EdU Builder program. This program is aimed at supporting the development and expansion of private schools across our state. The initiative seeks to help local school leaders and entrepreneurs overcome barriers to opening and growing schools to meet rising demand for educational options, according to a press release from PEFNC. The effort comes amid increased interests in school choice programs nationally and here in North Carolina.
Turning our attention to the southern state of Florida, for example, demand has outpaced supply in recent years, with approximately 50,000 students waitlisted for private schools under the state's Education Savings Account Program in 2023. That waitlist was so long due to insufficient available seats in schools across the state of Florida. Turning our attention to North Carolina, families' interests in private and alternative education models has really ballooned over the last couple of years, prompting calls for additional private school capacity. Renee Griffith, who has served as the founder and executive director of the Cornerstone Christian Academy and has a background in community leadership, was appointed to lead the Edu Builder program. The president of PEFNC, Mike Long, said in a statement, quote, supporting the creation and expansion of private schools is essential to ensuring that school choice policies translate to real opportunities for families.
Our goal is to add thousands of private school seats across North Carolina to meet increasing demand. Also in the statement, getting some comments in from Renee Griffith, she emphasized her commitment to expanding access, citing her experience in school funding and community advocacy, saying, quote, my goal is to support school leaders and entrepreneurs in turning their visions into reality so that more families can access high-quality education options. National efforts to expand private school supply are also underway. The Drexel Fund, a nonprofit organization supported by philanthropic donors, provides grants for the creation and growth of private schools serving underserved communities. Such initiatives aim to address the supply shortages that threaten to hinder the effectiveness of school choice reform, which is taking off across the nation.
Advocates note that as policies around school choice do become more widespread, and they in fact have over the last couple of years, the importance of ensuring sufficient private school capacity needs to grow. Without enough seats, families may be unable to fully benefit from statewide programs, particularly low and middle income households seeking alternatives to traditional public schools. In addition to a larger network of public charter schools, North Carolina has 952 private schools, according to the latest data from the North Carolina Department of Administration. That's in addition to three school choice programs. The largest, the Opportunity Scholarship Program, now serves more than 80,000 students across the state, with over 25% of the state's K-12 students now attending either a charter, which is a public school, but a public charter school, private school, or taking advantage of home schooling.
A recent report from the John Locke Foundation called Room to Grow, evaluating private school readiness for school choice demand in North Carolina, pointed to issues with private school capacity in the state as private school enrollment has increased by nearly 32,000 students since just 2020, but only 179 schools have opened, and most scholarship recipients are already enrolled in private schools rather than having new families and new children entering those systems. This raises questions about the capacity and resources of private schools to meet growing demand, according to the report. Surveys revealed that private schools in North Carolina generally have about a twenty one percent unused capacity, and over ninety percent of school leaders anticipate increased demand. But plans to expand are often hindered by funding shortages, regulatory barriers, and staffing challenges. You can read some additional details this morning on this PEFNC program to help schools, private schools, and other groups expand private schools across North Carolina, plus our report from the John Locke Foundation, Room to Grow.
All of that is available over on our website, CarolinaJournal.com, with the story's headline being NC program to help private schools meet rising demand. It's now 5.42. You're listening to the Carolina Journal News Hour. A very interesting story we're following this morning. Bar owners back during the COVID nineteen pandemic suing former Democrat Governor Roy Cooper and the state of North Carolina over claims that their businesses were unjustly shut down by the state of North Carolina.
Continuing that conversation this morning with Mitch Kokai from the John Locke Foundation. As you noted, what this may actually be the start of all of this going on, this legal challenge moving forward, even though we're looking at something that at this point is in some cases more than five years in the rearview mirror right now. Did you gain anything else reading through the different majority or dissenting opinions on this? Anything else that you picked out that you thought was interesting?
Well, one thing that was interesting in one of these cases is that there were other claims that were made, and basically the Supreme Court unanimously threw them out, things like equal protection of the laws being violated, or that there was a claim under the Emergency Management Act for some sort of damages, and one set of bar owners was trying to get some information under the Public Records Act. Basically, the Supreme Court kind of threw all that out, but did say this fruits of your own labor clause is something that can be a hook for a lawsuit.
Now, in the dissent, one of the things that I believe it was Justice Anita Earls wrote was that she was concerned that the court is really turning this fruits of your own labor clause into some sort of judicial weapon. That it was going to be something that would allow the courts to step in and second-guess the political branches on issues that deal with economic rights. My guess is, among those who have been pushing for protection of economic rights, they'll say, yes, that's true, and it's a good thing that the courts should step in when governments are doing something that hurts economic rights and ensure that the government is not overstepping its authority and is allowing people to enjoy their economic rights to as great a degree as possible.
So as we watch this potentially unfold, it will probably take months, if not years, again, to get more of these details figured out. What exactly would be the next step for the two different groups in this case that got the big win from the North Carolina Supreme Court on Friday?
Well, both of these cases will eventually get back to a trial judge. They're going to have to go to the Court of Appeals first, and the Court of Appeals has to respond to what the Supreme Court said. But then that means that they get sent back or remanded officially to trial court. And then you would go through the whole process of going through discovery and people taking witnesses and gathering evidence. And then you'd go through a trial, which is why I think that one possibility is that there ends up being some sort of settlement if the government thinks.
You know it It's not worth it for us to go through this for a long time and we could reach some sort of settlement agreement. They might try to do that, or that decision might be made for the bar owners, too. I mean, they've been at this now for, as you said, five years. They might decide that some sort of settlement with the state might be a better option than continuing through a trial. Though I know that there are some who would definitely like to see this play out as far as possible, so that there would be some sort of determination that what was done during COVID was.
Too much of a violation of people's rights, and that would help set a standard so that the next time we have some sort of health-related emergency, the government would think twice about some sort of shutdown that's really going to block people from doing their jobs. Yeah, those judicial standards are incredibly important, especially for things unforeseen that could happen in the future. Mitch, I know you've been following this case for quite some time. We appreciate the details this morning. You can read some additional coverage over on our website, CarolinaJournal.com.
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Will that bogus beware of dogs sign keep your homes safe? What about that fake camera you set up? And will someone finally find your old hide and key rock? That's where ADT comes in. All that stuff?
It's safe-ish. It seems fine when you don't really think about it, but you know it truly doesn't work. Instead, ADT provides security solutions that keep you actually safe, giving you real peace of mind. Because vacation is supposed to be, you know, relaxing. Don't settle for safe-ish.
Visit ADT.com today to learn more. We all know that feeling. You finally manage to get away on vacation and the worrying starts. Will that bogus beware of dogs sign keep your home safe? What about that fake camera you set up?
And will someone finally find your old hide and key rock? That's where ADT comes in. All that stuff? It's safe-ish. It seems fine when you don't really think about it, but you know it truly doesn't work.
Instead, ADT provides security solutions that keep you actually safe, giving you real peace of mind. Because vacation is supposed to be, you know, relaxing. Don't settle for safe-ish. Visit ADT.com today to learn more. Coming up later this week, it's time and continuing of the sixth annual WBT Little Heroes Blood Drive.
This Thursday, September the 11th, WBT and the One Blood Big Red Bus will be at the brand new Woody's Auto Service Center in Rock Hill from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. And we're encouraging you to make a life-saving blood donation as the sixth annual WBT Little Heroes Blood Drive continues this Thursday, September the 11th at Woody's Auto Service in Rock Hill. Visit wbt.com for location details and to schedule that appointment this morning. It's now 5.54.
Welcome back to the Carolina Journal News Hour, News Talk 1110-993, WBT. As continued national coverage continues on a horrific murder that happened back on August the 22nd in Charlotte on the light rail, that's when a 23-year-old refugee from Ukraine by the name of Irana Zaruska was brutally assaulted and murdered on the Charlotte Lynx Blue Line. This story has been growing in attention over the last couple of weeks, really turning into a fever pitch over the weekend. As surveillance video was released on Friday from WTV that shows the moments before the gruesome murder took place, 34-year-old DeCarlos Brown Jr. was arrested and charged with first-degree murder.
He is currently being held without bond, and his jail records show that Brown has several prior convictions, including armed robbery, felony larceny, breaking and entering, and shoplifting. Charlotte Mayor Vi Lyles commented on the release of that footage on Saturday. A posting on X saying, quote. The video of this heartbreaking attack that took Zaruska's life is now public. I want to thank our media partners and community members who have chosen not to repost or share the footage out of respect for her family.
This was a senseless and tragic loss. My prayers remain with her loved ones as they continue to grieve through an unimaginable time. Like so many of you, I'm heartbroken, and I've been thinking hard about what safety really looks like in our city. I remain committed to doing all we can to protect our residents and ensure Charlotte is a place where everyone feels safe.
This is a very different tune from the Charlotte Mayer, where just a couple of weeks ago, her statement almost immediately after the murder and stabbing on the Charlotte light rail talked about the mental health of the individual who killed her and spent very little time talking about the 23-year-old woman who was senselessly murdered on the train. President Donald Trump did comment on this over the weekend. At Joint Base Andrews last night, he was asked by media about this situation unfolding in Charlotte. He said that he indicated that he had seen the video that was flowing all over social media throughout the weekend, indicating that he would have more to say about it tomorrow that would line up with today.
So we'll wait for those additional details and any additional comment from President Donald Trump on this. As growing concern over crime in major U.S. cities continues to be a major talking point for this administration, as the president just a few weeks ago did deploy the National Guard in Washington, D.C., and has threatened to do so in other major U.S. cities where crime does run amok. That debate is expected to continue across Queen City, where voters later this year will decide on a one-cent sales tax hike to fund a nearly $25 billion expansion of light rail and other transit projects.
We'll continue the coverage and continued coverage right here. on WBT. That's going to do it for a Monday edition of the Carolina Journal News Hour. WBT News is next. Followed by Good Morning, BT.
We're back with you tomorrow morning, 5 to 6, right here on News Talk 11.10 and 99.3, WBT.
