Tag: north carolina

North Carolina city spends $300,000 on reparations expert DESPITE her posts about locals ‘romanticizing segregation’ and ‘White accommodation’

A North Carolina city has approved $300,000 for a reparations consultant with a record in online posts about ‘White accommodation’ and how her neighbors ‘celebrate and romanticize segregation.’

High Point City Council on Tuesday greenlighted $292,460 for Lea Henry and her team at the National Institute of Minority Economic Development, to lead its reparations efforts.

At least two councillors have queried the large sum — but there are few signs that members are aware of the hard-line views that Henry, a Harvard University graduate, posts on social media.

On Facebook, Henry has slammed her North Carolina neighbors for ‘celebrating segregation’ and railed against ‘White accommodation’, a term critical race theory (CRT) advocates use to describe a type of black oppression.

Whether taxes should fund cash payouts and other schemes for the descendants of slaves is a hot-button issue in America’s culture wars. For critics of them, reparations consultants are a drain on much-needed resources.

Henry’s posts raise questions about whether she’s the right woman for the job.

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Bodycam of mistaken identity police raid that terrorized innocent family will not be made public

A judge in North Carolina said Raleigh police don’t have to release body camera video to the general public of a raid with guns drawn at a wrong house that left a husband, his then-pregnant wife and 11-month-old son traumatized.

In his decision, Wake County Superior Court Judge Matthew Houston noted the delay between the 2021 raid at Amir Abboud’s home and the hearing this week. The judge said that even though the plaintiffs allege something noteworthy about the underlying circumstance of the warrant, the execution of the warrant itself was not noteworthy. Abboud and his lawyers received the video but sought its release to the general public “for purposes of emotional recovery, accountability, transparency, and policy advocacy.”

Abboud’s lawyers said they were shocked.

“We think it’s clear that there is a compelling public interest in this matter,” the lawyers from Emancipate North Carolina, an advocacy group that opposes mass incarceration, said in a statement. “At least 10 personnel from media outlets were present during the hearing, and numerous outlets have been reporting on the issue. We believe this to be a blow to transparency and accountability to the public.”

Media representatives for Raleigh declined to comment.

Court documents spell out how it all happened on April 7, 2021, when Abboud returned home from work to his then-pregnant wife and their 11-month-old son.

Abboud was making coffee when Raleigh Police Department officers in military-style gear executing a “Quick Knock” warrant busted open the front door with a battering ram, pointing their AR-style rifles at the couple and their screaming 11-month-old son, the lawsuit alleges. The couple was not suspected of criminal activity — the raid was based on “erroneous police work” and a case of mistaken identity, court documents said.

Officers handcuffed Abboud and separated him from his family, taking him outside for questioning, the lawsuit alleges.

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GOP Senators Push For Federal And State Response To Indian Tribe’s 4/20 Marijuana Sales Plan In North Carolina

Two Republican senators are asking federal, state and local officials what steps they are taking to enforce marijuana prohibition as an Indian tribe prepares to launch recreational cannabis sales on its lands within North Carolina on April 20.

On Friday, Sens. Thom Tillis (R-NC) and Ted Budd (R-NC) sent a letter with 19 questions about their concerns regarding the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians (ECBI) marijuana plan to the U.S. attorney general, Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), Department of Interior (DOI), Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN), National Indian Gaming Commission and various North Carolina state and local law enforcement agencies.

“As our nation is facing an unprecedented drug crisis that is harming our communities, it is vital to learn what measures your departments and agencies are taking to uphold current federal and state laws,” they wrote, adding that the “matter raises multiple questions on how North Carolina communities will be kept safe.”

ECBI members approved a referendum last September to legalize adult-use cannabis, becoming the first jurisdiction within the borders of North Carolina to enact the reform. More recently, last week the tribe announced that it had set a target date to open retail sales: April 20, 2024, also known as 4/20.

This follows ECBI’s 2021 move to legalize medical cannabis and register Qualla Boundary LLC to dispense marijuana to patients. Registration for the program opened to all North Carolina residents this past June, and in October, the tribe issued its first round of medical marijuana cards.

“With unclear guidance, it makes it difficult for state and local officials to uphold  the rule of law in our communities,” the senators wrote in their letter. “In particular, we have the responsibility to ensure our youth are shielded from untested marijuana products being produced and sold by Qualla Enterprise LLC.”

Tillis and Budd then listed 19 questions that they’re asking officials to respond to, depending on their jurisdiction.

That includes queries about whether tribes are considered exempt from the Controlled Substances Act (CSA), whether agencies have concerns about the potential cannabis shop will attract transnational criminal enterprises, whether tribes can take land into trust for the purposes of selling cannabis and whether financial institutions can provide loans and credit to tribes seeking to open a marijuana business.

The senators are also pressing for answers on whether federal officials allow gaming profits derived from casinos to be used in support of marijuana ventures.

Ahead of last year’s legalization vote, Qualla Enterprises published an op-ed in the tribal newspaper, Cherokee One Feather, championing the benefits of adult-use sales. It compared the opportunity to when, “thirty years ago, the Cherokee People decided to build a casino.”

“This was highly controversial at the time, in part because nowhere in the surrounding region allowed gaming,” the company said at the time. “But we were not afraid to be different. Harrah’s Cherokee Casino has benefited this Tribe and its members in more ways than we ever imagined.”

The bulk of new jobs created by the policy change, according to the company, would be filled by enrolled ECBI members. In the medical system as of last year, 84 percent of cultivation employees were tribal members, its op-ed said, “which represents the highest of any business owned by the tribe.”

The op-ed also pointed to a statewide poll that found 73 percent of North Carolina residents support legal medical marijuana. And it cited estimates suggesting the state’s illicit cannabis activity amounted to nearly $3.2 billion in 2022.

A more recent survey of North Carolinians, conducted by the Meredith Poll and published last month, found 78 percent support for lawmakers to pass a medical marijuana bill this year.

The tribe’s moves to legalize despite North Carolina’s ongoing prohibition of marijuana drew criticism from other politicians, including Rep. Chuck Edwards (R-NC). Ahead of the election, Edwards, who is not Native, authored an op-ed in Cherokee One Feather warning that legalization on the tribal land “would be irresponsible, and I intend to stop it.”

The congressman also filed a bill in the U.S. House that would slash a portion of federal funding from tribes and states that legalize marijuana.

Then-Principal Chief Richard G. Sneed called the move “a big misstep” at the time. He told Marijuana Moment that he believed pushback from Edwards and others may have emboldened tribal members to support the measure.

“The worst thing that a non-Indian elected official can do is tell a sovereign, federally-recognized Indian tribe how they ought to handle their business,” Sneed said in an interview.

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Indian Tribe Plans To Open North Carolina’s First Marijuana Dispensary On 4/20

Following last year’s decision by members of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians (ECBI) to legalize cannabis for adult use, the tribe has set a target date to open retail sales: April 20, 2024. If all goes as planned, the launch will mark the first-ever legal marijuana sales within the borders of North Carolina.

“It’s the national cannabis holiday, right?” Lee Griffin, human resources director for the tribe’s marijuana business, Qualla Enterprises, said of the 4/20 start date during a ECBI tribal council work session on Wednesday. “Across the country, it’s the biggest revenue date annually” for cannabis.

“It’s like New Year’s Eve at the casino,” he said.

The retail store—located on the tribe’s 57,000-acre Qualla Boundary—will be open to any adult 21 and older, regardless of tribal membership.

Members of the tribe voted last September to legalize and regulate adult-use sales, approving a ballot measure with a strong 70 percent–30 percent margin.

Two years earlier, in 2021, ECBI’s Qualla Boundary became the first place in North Carolina where medical marijuana was legal after the tribal council adopted a regulated system. Registration for the program opened to all North Carolina residents this past June, and in October, the tribe issued its first round of medical marijuana cards.

At this week’s tribal council meeting, which was first reported by The Charlotte Observer, Griffin said that about 1,400 people have already applied for cannabis-related jobs, though Qualla Enterprises aims to hire just over 350. Currently the business employs 69 employees, he said.

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Powerful LGBTQ advocacy group the Human Rights Campaign welcomes man they know is convicted PEDOPHILE to gala, after previously handing him prestigious award

A prominent North Carolina LGBTQ advocacy group welcomed a known-convicted pedophile to their gala – despite knowing about his criminal past. 

Chad Turner, 45, was one of the attendees at the February 10 Human Right Campaign annual event, called ‘Without Exception,’ that was sponsored by Bank of America.

HRC Press Secretary Brandon Wolf and Democrat State Senator Lisa Grafstein both spoke at the dinner that was held at the Le Meridien Charlotte. Turner was previously awarded an honor by the HRC, who refused to say at the time whether they knew of his child abuser past, Reduxx reported. 

Turner, a former youth minister, was accused by three boys of sexual abuse in 1998 when he was 20 or 21 years old. The victim he was convicted of attacking was 14 and woke up to find the predator fondling his genitals. 

He served only two years of a 10-year sentence for committing the lewd acts on a minor under the age of 16. After his parole, he was ordered to enroll in North Carolina’s sex offender registry.

Despite his criminal past, Turner, who is the Chief Executive Officer at the Carolina LGBT + Chamber of Commerce, has managed to become a prominent member of the Charlotte LGBTQ advocacy community.

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North Carolina Judge Bans People With The ‘Odor Of Marijuana’ From Entering Courts

Anyone who “has the odor of marijuana” will be banned from entering the North Carolina Superior Courts of Robeson County from here on out under an order signed by a judge on Wednesday.

The order says that smelling like cannabis will be grounds for removal from the courthouse, and the sheriff will be directed to “ask you to leave and come back without the odor owns [sic] your persons.”

A “findings of fact” section states that “the Robeson County Courthouse is a government facility open to the people for the purpose of conduction official business for the State of North Carolina.”

“The public is free to enter the courthouse during normal hours of operation to conduct business and the courthouse should be readily and reasonably accessible to the public in such a fashion that the safety and health of those entering the courthouse to conduct business, as well as those who work in the courthouse on a regular basis, are not threatened or impaired,” the order from Senior Resident Superior Court Judge James Gregory Bell says.

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County Eminent Domains the Strip Club Next Door to Make Room for More Parking

North Carolina strip club patrons might not be able to touch the dancers, but nothing stops the government from seizing the building they work in.

That’s the revealing truth in an eminent domain case out of Wilmington, North Carolina, where the New Hanover County government (which contains Wilmington) is trying to seize the neighboring Cheetah Premier Gentlemen’s Club to build what it claims is much-needed parking.

“The county identified a need to expand parking facilities to better accommodate our citizens when visiting the newly constructed government center. Exercising eminent domain to acquire the neighboring property is a legal and measured step towards fulfilling this need,” said County Manager Chris Coudriet in an emailed statement to Reason earlier this month.

The county commission voted to authorize eminent domain of the Cheetah Club during its late Monday night meeting on November 6. The resolution authorized the county to spend $2.36 million acquiring the club.

Conspicuously, the resolution authorizing the seizure of the club wasn’t on the commission’s agenda, and was only introduced in the final minutes of the meeting by Coudriet, reports local public radio station WHQR. The station also reports that Coudriet referred to the property only by its tax ID number and didn’t mention why the property was being seized, other than to say it was for public use.

That left the owners of both the business and the underlying property blindsided.

Property owner Jerry Reid describes the eminent domain resolution as “coming out of the blue.” Michael Barber, a lawyer for the owners of the Cheetah Club likewise said the first time he heard about the seizure was early Tuesday morning, after the commission vote.

The presence of such an “adult” business next to the county center of government has caused its fair share of embarrassment. One county commissioner told the local Port City Daily that “the optics have always been an issue.” North Carolina State Treasurer Dale Folwell also criticized county commissioners about their offices’ proximity to a strip club at a hearing earlier this year.

The sudden, seemingly surreptitious effort to seize the club has Barber speculating that the eminent domain effort has more to do with public appearances than public facilities.

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Indian Tribe Within North Carolina Votes To Legalize Marijuana, Snubbing Anti-Cannabis GOP Congressman

The Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians (EBCI) passed a referendum Thursday in favor of legalizing marijuana, becoming the first jurisdiction within the borders of North Carolina—or any of its surrounding states—to commit to the policy change. But it will be a while before would-be customers can make a purchase.

According to unofficial results posted by the EBCI’s Board of Elections, members approved the measure by a margin of 70 percent to 30 percent. Although the referendum does not legalize cannabis automatically, tribal leaders have said they’ll follow voters’ lead when they ultimately take up the issue.

The referendum asked the tribe’s enrolled members, “Do you support legalizing the possession and use of cannabis for persons who are at least twenty-one (21) years old, and require the EBCI Tribal Council to develop legislation to regulate the market?”

Sales would be open to all adults over 21, regardless of tribal membership.

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University of North Carolina Murder Occurred in Gun-Free Zone

The murder that occurred on the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill campus Monday took place in a gun-free zone.

The buildings at UNC Chapel Hill are gun-free via school policy.

The policy says: “It is a felony, punishable by fine and/or imprisonment, to possess or carry, openly or concealed, any gun, rifle, pistol, or other firearm of any kind, or any dynamite cartridge, bomb, grenade, mine, or powerful explosive on any University campus, in any University-owned or operated facility, or at a curricular or extracurricular activity sponsored by the University. Such conduct also may constitute a violation of the Honor Code.”

The exception to this policy is that concealed carry permit holders “may have a handgun in a closed compartment or container within the person’s locked vehicle or in a locked container securely affixed to the person’s vehicle.” But those handguns may not be transported into university buildings or carried or campus for self-defense.

Breitbart News reported that reports of shots fired on campus led to a shelter-in-place alert on the UNC Chapel Hill campus Monday. The shoots were reported around 1 p.m.

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Food Service Giant Sued Over ‘White-Men-Need-Not-Apply’ Program

A former employee of a large food service corporation is suing the company in federal court after it fired her for refusing to participate in a program that discriminates against white male employees.

Courtney Rogers worked for Charlotte, North Carolina-based Compass Group USA Inc. from her home office in San Diego, California.

The company had more than 280,000 employees and $20.1 billion in revenue in 2019, according to its LinkedIn profile. One of the world’s largest employers, the company has thousands of employees in California and counts among its clients Dodger Stadium, San Francisco International Airport, Uber, Snapchat, Netflix, Disney Studios, and NBC Universal.

The company has won recognition for promoting so-called diversity, including appearing on the Forbes list of Best Employers for Diversity from 2018 through 2022.

Its corporate parent, U.K.-based Compass Group PLC, had $32.2 billion in revenue in 2019.

Ms. Rogers was hired in August 2021 and given the job title of “Recruiter, Internal Mobility Team.”

Her responsibilities included the processing of internal promotions, which encompassed posting job listings, reviewing applications, conducting interviews, writing and sending offer letters, carrying out background checks, ordering drug tests, initiating and reviewing onboarding, and ensuring that personnel updates were reflected in the system.

Compass created a program it called “Operation Equity” in March 2022, a purported diversity program that offered qualified employees special training and mentorship and the promise of a promotion upon graduation, according to the legal complaint that was filed in Rogers v. Compass Group USA Inc.

The lawsuit was filed on July 24 in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California under the auspices of the Thomas More Society, a national public interest law firm headquartered in Chicago that organized the legal action.

But participation in the program was restricted to “women and people of color.” White men were not allowed to participate and receive the associated benefits of training, mentorship, and guaranteed promotion.

By calling it “Operation Equity,” the company “used a euphemistic and false title to hide the program’s true nature.” The program would more accurately be called the “White-Men-Need-Not-Apply” program because it is an example of “‘outright racial balancing,’ which is patently unlawful,” and is the kind of program “promoted by people … who harbor racial animus against white men,” according to the legal complaint.

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