Gov. Pat McCrory signs waiver request to feds for Medicaid changes

Hours before submitting a waiver request to the federal government, North Carolina on Wednesday unveiled its finalized Medicaid overhaul proposal to lawmakers, with key provisions including privatizing the majority of services.

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McCrory reiterated that Medicaid reform had been an administration priority, criticized the program for mismanagement and claimed that after years of funding shortfalls – totaling $2 billion under the previous administration – DHHS had brought in Medicaid under budget for three years running.

Read more: http://democratsforever.freeforums.net/thread/8745/mccrory-signs-waiver-request-medicaid

Sales tax collections would grow under Senate budget plan

Just months after adding sales tax to car repairs and other services, the state Senate wants to again change what services are taxed – a move that’s expected to add up to $80 million in revenue.

Senate leaders say the proposed tax change would address confusion about what services require a sales tax. Under the legislation that took effect in March, whether a service is taxed largely depends on whether the firm performing the service is also selling materials.

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Under the Senate budget provision, sales tax would apply to repair, maintenance and installation services regardless of what type of business is involved. The Senate is scheduled to vote on the full budget bill Thursday; the House budget does not include a similar provision.

Read more: http://democratsforever.freeforums.net/thread/8740/sales-collections-grow-senate-budget

There are additional stories at the link regarding the Senate budget and its relation to the UNC system, school vouchers, state employee pay and the financial impact on citizens.

Arbitration panel awards former First Citizens adviser $985K

A former senior financial adviser at First Citizens Bank who contended that she was unjustly fired on a “trumped-up, fraudulent and fabricated charge” has been awarded nearly $1 million in damages by a panel of arbitrators.

Elizabeth Stancil, a Clayton resident, was awarded $985,000 in compensatory damages in a unanimous May 20 ruling by a three-person panel of arbitrators for the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, or FINRA, which regulates brokerage firms. Stancil worked in Smithfield for First Citizens Investor Services, a subsidiary of Raleigh-based First Citizens Bank.

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The terse ruling doesn’t include the arbitrators’ rationale for the decision or for determining the amount of Stancil’s award.

Stancil, who had been with First Citizens for 13 years and ranked among its top producing financial advisers, was dismissed in March 2014. The bank contended that she was dismissed for paying two assistants a total of $9,000 in unauthorized bonuses out of her own pocket in violation of the bank’s code of ethics and industry regulations.

Read more: http://democratsforever.freeforums.net/thread/8744/arbitration-panel-awards-citizens-adviser

$25M roof repair needed on historic Asheville High

ASHEVILLE - One of the city's architectural gems that also serves as school for 1,500 students is in need of an immediate $25 million roof repair, officials have said.

Asheville High, built in 1927 and designed by the city's most famous architect, Douglas Ellington, is experiencing water damage and needs its entire main roof replaced, Asheville City Schools Superintendent Pamela Baldwin said Tuesday.

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"I think we have done as much as we can do in the form of patchwork," Baldwin told commissioners. "Because we have so much internal leaking at this point it will be very difficult to stop any other leaking with patchwork."

Read more: http://democratsforever.freeforums.net/thread/8742/roof-repair-needed-historic-asheville

N.C. House passes bill to cancel I-77 toll contract

The effort to stop the Interstate 77 toll lanes got new life Thursday when the N.C. House passed a bill to cancel the contract to build the lanes.

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“That should send a loud message to Gov. Pat McCrory that this is a bad project for our communities, for our commerce and for our citizens,” said Bill Russell, president of the Lake Norman Chamber of Commerce.

In a floor debate, Jeter told colleagues the problem is the 50-year contract with I-77 Mobility Partners, a subsidiary of the Spanish firm Cintra.

Read more: http://democratsforever.freeforums.net/thread/8739/house-passes-bill-cancel-contract

Small business owners in Charlotte call for HB2 repeal

A half-dozen small business owners in Charlotte called on state legislators to repeal House Bill 2 Thursday at Advent Coworking.

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Thursday’s news conference was organized in conjunction with the Human Rights Campaign, which has been a vocal opponent of HB2 since the law was passed in response to a Charlotte nondiscrimination ordinance that would have broadened protections for LGBT individuals and allowed transgender individuals to use the bathroom corresponding to their gender identity.

A spokesman for the governor, Ricky Diaz, said the Charlotte ordinance, which HB2 overturned, was an overreach by local government.

Read more: http://democratsforever.freeforums.net/thread/8738/small-business-owners-charlotte-repeal

I've also posted a related article at the link regarding the actions of Attorney General Roy Cooper on HB2.

Exclusive: Trump's 3,500 lawsuits unprecedented for a presidential nominee

Donald Trump is a fighter, famous for legal skirmishes over everything from his golf courses to his tax bills to Trump University. But until now, it hasn’t been clear precisely how litigious he is and what that might portend for a Trump presidency.

An exclusive USA TODAY analysis of legal filings across the United States finds that the presumptive Republican presidential nominee and his businesses have been involved in at least 3,500 legal actions in federal and state courts during the past three decades. They range from skirmishes with casino patrons to million-dollar real estate suits to personal defamation lawsuits.

The sheer volume of lawsuits is unprecedented for a presidential nominee. No candidate of a major party has had anything approaching the number of Trump’s courtroom entanglements.

Just since he announced his candidacy a year ago, at least 70 new cases have been filed, about evenly divided between lawsuits filed by him and his companies and those filed against them. And the records review found at least 50 civil lawsuits remain open even as he moves toward claiming the nomination at the Republican National Convention in Cleveland in seven weeks. On Tuesday, court documents were released in one of the most dramatic current cases, filed in California by former students accusing Trump University of fraudulent and misleading behavior.

Read more: http://www.citizen-times.com/story/news/politics/elections/2016/06/01/donald-trump-lawsuits-legal-battles/84995854/

West Virginia News - 6/2/2016

With your announcement asking for members to stop

bashing Democrats, does this also include Debbie Wasserman-Schultz? It appears that she has become the most despised Democrat on DU.

Virginia News - 6/2/2016