Governor Cooper vetoed anti-critical race theory House Bill 324 on September 10th. House Bill 324, "Ensuring Dignity and Nondiscrimination/Schools", would have specified what views schools can promote and also required that schools list curriculum and guest speakers discussing gender or race.

Why Governor Cooper would think preventing school units from promoting ideas like:

With the veto, schools would continue to be allowed to teach items such as Critical Race Theory. 

Right to Work States, of which North Carolina is one, have had better job growth over the last decade. In fact, quadruple the job growth of Forced Unionism States. 

Right to Work laws prevent workers from being forced to pay union dues as a condition of employment. A worker can join a union if they desire, but they can’t be fired for non payment of dues to a union they don’t want to join.

Interestingly, public pensions in Right to Work States are better funded than other states. That means lower tax liability on residents.

View a compilation of the Right to Work statistics here: https://nilrr.org/spring-2021-right-to-work-benefits/

Mr. Torres of New York introduced HR Bill 4980 to do the following:

To direct the Secretary of Homeland Security to ensure that any individual traveling on a flight that departs from or arrives to an airport inside the United States or a territory of the United States is fully vaccinated against COVID–19, and for other purposes. 

Should the bill be enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, the following would apply

House Bill 805 has cleared the Senate committee. House Bill 805 sets increased penalties on parties involved in rioting or inciting a riot.

Summary:

More information:

nsjonline.com

Because of the rising rates of Covid infection, Durham has re-instituted the mask mandate beginning Monday, August 9th at 5 PM.

Further details can be found here: Mask mandate story

Checking the news today, we find that the City Council ignores what the Planning Commission and Durham residents want in regards to Parcel K. Parcel K is a proposed 800 unit development in southeast Durham. 

Some facts:

• The Planning Commission, with an 11-1 vote to not approve the proposed development, ignored.
• The Durham residents who attended the meetings and overwhelmingly expressed disapproval for the development, ignored.
• Plans to update roads to support the development, non-existent.
• The developer attended the meetings at which they provided previously unannounced verbal changes to the proposal, inconsiderate if not a shady practice. These last-minute additions did not give the commission time to review and comment on the developer's, obviously intended, changes. 

While Durham has a housing shortage and the developer did propose including 22 affordable units, there is no excuse for the City Council to rush through an overwhelming opposed proposal.

Beginning at 7:00 PM, on July 30, 2021, the N.C. 4th Congressional District will host a U.S. Senatorial Town Hall at which the following seven (7) candidates will have an opportunity to discuss their campaign platform, answer questions, and give closing remarks: 

• Jen Banwart (former Dept. of Defense official)
• Ted Budd (U.S. Member of Congress)
• Kenneth Harper (business owner)
• Zach Potter (business owner)
• John Martin (Marty) Cooke (Brunswick Co. Commissioner)
• Pat McCrory (former N.C. governor)
• Mark Walker (former Member of Congress)

All are Republicans running for the U.S. Senate in 2022.

The Town Hall will take place at Mt. Zion Christian Church, 3519 Fayetteville Street, Durham, NC 27707.

The event is open to everyone.  However, pre-registration is encouraged online at:  https://district4.nc.gop/us_senatorial_gop_town_hall.

On July 14, the North Carolina Senate Education Committee began considering a proposed substitute for House Bill (HB) 324, a bill that passed the House on May 12, 2021, in a 66-48 party-line vote. HB 324 is a bill:

“…[that] demonstrate[s] the General Assembly’s intent that students, teachers, administrators, and other school employees recognize the equality and rights of all persons and to prohibit public school units from promoting certain concepts that are contrary to that intent.”

Such as critical race theory!

HB 324 prohibits explicitly public and charter school units from promoting the following concepts:

1. One race or sex is inherently superior to another race or sex.
2. An individual, solely by virtue of his or her race or sex, is inherently racist, sexist, or oppressive, whether consciously or unconsciously.
3. An individual should be discriminated against or receive adverse treatment solely or partly because of his or her race or sex.
4. An individual's moral character is necessarily determined by his or her race or sex.
5. An individual, solely by virtue of his or her race or sex, bears responsibility for actions committed in the past by other members of the same race or sex.
6. Any individual, solely by virtue of his or her race or sex, should feel discomfort, guilt, anguish, or any other form of psychological distress.
7. That the belief that the United States is a meritocracy is an inherently racist or sexist belief, or that the United States was created by members of a particular race or sex for the purpose of oppressing members of another race or sex.
   
   

According to the Carolina Journal, the new version of HB 324 mirrors the wording and intent of the original House version. However, the new version also creates new accountability mechanisms that require public school districts to notify the Department of Public Instruction and make public any plans to teach CRT or hiring speakers who actively promote the theory or have done so in the past.

Teaching CRT in schools is all over the board within the State.  The Cabarrus County School Board passed a non-discrimination resolution that mirrors the language of HB 324, while the Durham City Council unanimously voted to support its teaching.  Moreover, Lt. Governor Mark Robinson sees CRT as the pernicious fraud it is.  “Students should be taught how to think, not what to think.”

Consider writing to your State Senator in support of the passage of this bill.

Voters, if you are concerned that there were issues with the NC vote tabulation in 2020, you can join a petition to audit the 2020 election in NC. 

To read and sign the petition, visit  https://nc-election.com/.  If the petition gets results, Durham would be in the first group audited.

Included below are two videos that present the case that there was fraud in NC 2020 Election and that there should be an investigation.

NC General Election Wrap up by Major Dave : https://youtu.be/DTBirZj9SV

NC Voter Registration Analysis by Seth Keshel : https://dougbillings.us/video/seth-keshel-election-fraud-by-the-numbers/

Not counting H.R. 1 and S. 1 – For the People Act – at least another fifty-three (53) additional pieces of legislation affecting voting rights and elections have been introduced within the House of Representatives and the Senate during this session – the 117^th - of Congress, so far.

Here is the list (* (D) denotes Democrat member of Congress and (R) denotes Republican member of Congress,)

Ten (10) of the 54 bills reported herein were introduced in the Senate:

1. S. 136 (D) – Vote at Home Act of 2021
2. S. 301(R) — Verifiable, Orderly, and Timely Election Results Act
3. S. 459 (R) — Save Democracy Act
4. S. 481 (D) — Democracy Restoration Act of 2021
5. S. 954 (D) — Voter Empowerment Act of 2021
6. S. 992 (D) – Help Students Vote Act
7. S. 1130 (R) — Promoting Election Integrity by Proving Voter Identity Act
8. S. 1470 (D) – Accessible Voting Act of 2021
9. S. 2117 (D) – A bill to amend the Help America Vote Act of 2002 to ensure that voters in elections for Federal office do not wait in long lines in order to vote.
10. S. 2155 (D) — Preventing Election Subversion Act of 2021

The remaining forty-three (43) bills reported herein were introduced in the House of Representatives:

1. H.R. 37 (R) — Voter Integrity Protection Act
2. H.R. 65 (D) — Same Day Registration Act of 2021
3. H.R. 80 (D) - John Tanner Fairness and Independence in Redistricting Act
4. H.R. 93 (R) — Eliminating Foreign Intervention in Elections Act
5. H.R. 102 (R) — Restoring Faith in Elections Act
6. H.R. 126 (D) – Students Voicing Opinions in Today’s Elections (VOTE) Act
7. H.R. 134 (D) - Coretta Scott King Mid-Decade Redistricting Prohibition Act of 2021
8. H.R. 237 (D) – Vote at Home Act of 2021
9. H.R. 322 (R) — Save Democracy Act
10. H.R. 576 (D) – Next Generation Votes Act
11. H.R. 589 (R) — American Election Security Act
12. H.R. 635 (D) – Pre-Registration of Voters Everywhere Act or the PROVE Act
13. H.R. 639 (D) — Voter Registration Reporting Act of 2021
14. H.R. 640 (D) – Expanding Access to Early Voting Act of 2021
15. H.R. 641 (D) — Polling Change Awareness Act
16. H.R. 642 (D) — Voter Information Hotline Act of 2021
17. H.R. 775 (D) – Disability Voting Rights Act
18. H.R. 776 (D) — Dropbox Access Act
19. H.R. 860 (R) – You Must Be Alive to Vote Act of 2021
20. H.R. 873 (R) — Ensuring American Voters Act of 2021
21. H.R. 875 (R) – United Nations Voting Accountability Act of 2021
22. H.R. 1059 (D) – America Votes Act of 2021
23. H.R. 1071 (R) — Election Technology Integrity and Fraud Prevention Act
24. H.R. 1245 (D) — Alice Paul Voter Protection Act
25. H.R. 1278 (D) — Know Your Polling Place Act
26. H.R. 1293 (R) - To amend the Help America Vote Act of 2002 to prohibit a State from counting a ballot cast in an election for Federal office which is received by the State after the date of the election.
27. H.R. 1294 (R) — Foreign-Free Elections Act
28. H.R. 1307 (D) – Vote by Mail Tracking Act
29. H.R. 1343 (D) – Voting Access Act
30. H.R. 1366 (D) – Protect the Youth Vote Act of 2021
31. H.R. 1529 (R) — VOTER ID Act
32. H.R. 2215 (D) — Our Homes, Our Votes Act
33. H.R. 2232 (D) – Help Students Vote Act
34. H.R. 2301 (D) — Automatic Voter Registration Act
35. H.R. 2358 (D) — Voter Empowerment Act of 2021
36. H.R. 2440 (D) – Stay in Line to Vote Act
37. H.R. 2941 (D) – Accessible Voting Act of 2021
38. H.R. 3646 (D) – To direct the Presidential designee under the Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act to develop and implement a plan to provide end-to-end electronic voting services for absent uniformed services voters under such Act who are deployed or mobilized to locations with limited or immature postal service.
39. H.R. 3863 (D) — To establish the use of ranked choice voting in elections for Senators and Representatives in Congress, to require each State with more than one Representative to establish multi-member congressional districts, to require States to conduct congressional redistricting through independent commissions, and for other purposes.
40. H.R. 3867 (D) – To amend the Help America Vote Act of 2002 to prohibit a State from establishing certain restrictions on voting by mail in an election for Federal office, and for other purposes.
41. H.R. 4044 (R)– To amend the Help America Vote Act of 2002 to require State and local election officials to notify the chief State election official of a State with respect to the number of voted ballots that have been received and counted in an election for Federal office at the time of the closing of polls for such election, and for other purposes.
42. H.J.Res. 5 (D) – Proposing an amendment to the Constitution of the United States protecting the right of citizens to vote.
43. H.J.Res. 23 (D) – Proposing an amendment to the Constitution of the United States extending the right to vote to citizens sixteen years of age or older.
    
    

Thirteen (13) of the bills were introduced by House and Senate Republicans; the remaining thirty (30) were introduced by House Democrats.  Also, as you can see:

• S. 136 and H.R. 237, Vote at Home Act of 2021, are the same bill.
• S. 459 and H.R. 322, Save Democracy Act, are the same bill.
• S. 992 and H.R. 2232, Help Students Vote Act, are the same bill.
• S. 1470 and H.R. 2941, Accessible Voting Act of 2021, are the same bill.

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Like many cities, Durham has a gang problem. Durham County is currently seeking residents' input to help determine how to address the problem. If you are interested in helping to guide future recommendations on dealing with gangs in Durham, you can take the survey here: Durham Gang Reduction Survey. The survey will be active until August 31, 2021. By submitting the survey you will also be entered into a drawing for a $25 gift certificate.

On June 10th, 2021, the North Carolina Senate passed Senate Bill 43, which allows citizens who hold a concealed handgun permit to carry a handgun with them while attending religious services on private property that is both a school and a place of worship, unless the property owner objects. On June 18th, 2021 Governor Cooper vetoed the bill. 

His veto response shows that he never read or did not understand the bill. You can see his veto response here: Governor's veto response

On June 10th, 2021, the North Carolina Senate passed Senate Bill 43, which allows citizens who hold a concealed handgun permit to carry a handgun with them while attending religious services on private property that is both a school and a place of worship, unless the property owner objects. The bill nows goes to the Governor for final approval.

On June 3rd, 2021, the North Carolina House passed Senate Bill 43, which allows citizens who hold a concealed handgun permit to carry a handgun with them while attending religious services on private property that is both a school and a place of worship, unless the property owner objects.

Senate Bill 43 gives private property owners the ability to set their security policy rather than the state imposing a one-size-fits-all solution.

On March 2nd, 2021, the North Carolina Senate passed Senate Bill 43 (S. 43) – “The Religious Assembly Security and Protection Act of 2021 – by a bipartisan majority of 31-18. Now that the House has passed the bill, it goes back to the Senate for concurrence on June 8th, 2021.

If concurred with, it is unclear if Governor Cooper will veto the bill and whether there are sufficient votes to override the veto.

If you believe property owners should decide who can carry a gun on their property, contact your NC Senator and express your support of Senate Bill 43.

The staff for the Durham County Website processed my request for the missing Criminal Advisory Board minutes. You can now find and read what that board has been up to here:

https://www.dconc.gov/county-departments/departments-a-e/board-of-commissioners/boards-and-commissions-minutes/criminal-justice-advisory-committee

I am continuing the theme of Durham County Boards and Commissions. Given Durham's high crime rate, I wanted to see what the Criminal Justice Advisory Committee has been doing.

Going to the board minutes, I found no updates since March of 2018! I sent a feedback request for the site to be fixed and am waiting to see if I need additional action.

Doing a web search to see if I could find the minutes another way, I found the Durham County Board of County Commissioners minutes here: https://www.durhamsheriff.com/home/showpublisheddocument/33862/637484773609370000
and on the Boards and Commissions site here: https://www.dconc.gov/home/showpublisheddocument/33862/637484773609370000. Not what I was looking for but I might as well read through these minutes.

As I mentioned before, I'm just starting to learn about the Durham government and the decisions made in what I always felt was a secret room somewhere. Reading through the latest Board of County Commissioners minutes for January 11, 2021, there is a discussion about the 2021 Durham budget. Below is shown part of the budget:

Looking through the proposed budget, you find a couple of odd items. Most noticeable to me is that the General Government line item increases the most by $2,745,305! As a concerned citizen, I want to see less government, not more. What is that budget increase going to do to help my fellow Durham citizens and me? The other line item that is worth looking into is the Public Safety increase of $1,906,367. With such high crime already in Durham, how are those funds going to be allocated to helping?

Time to start digging.

I'm beginning my journey into the world that is our Durham County Government. Reading up on the Durham news, I saw that a board member was recently let go, and I wanted to know a little more about this board. An excellent place to start in this day and age would be a Web search. My search led me to the Durham County Website for the Board of Commissioners. 

From there, I discovered that there are over fifty Boards and Commissions! I had no idea there were so many. There are boards for Health, Crime, Tourism, and Transporation, to name a few. 

The Board and Commissions Website also has minutes for all the meetings. From the minutes, you can read exactly what these groups have been doing and plan to do. You can find interesting information in these minutes. For example, did you know the Alcohol and Beverage Control has a "Bourbon Lottery" for rare items?

There is a lot of information to go through, and reading these minutes will be enlightening. I'll post as I learn more.

Crime in Durham is costing taxpayers almost 5 times what it costs Raleigh and 13 times what it costs Cary taxpayers.

https://www.cbs17.com/news/local-news/durham-county-news/cost-of-crime-durham-gun-violence-costing-victims-families-taxpayers-thousands-of-dollars-a-year/