North Carolina

[Crafty_Dog]

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-14431289/boy-squeals-court-tried-murder-adult-sean-simpson.html

[ccp]

I just spoke to the victim's  mother.
She told me of this and grieving.  Her "only son".

see RIP

[Crafty_Dog]

https://sandhillssentinel.com/shots-fired-into-aberdeen-home/

[Crafty_Dog]

A Great Day Trip-Located about 2 hours from Marion, the Cullasaja River Gorge offers a spectacular scenic drive along the Waterfall Byway between the towns of Franklin and Highlands, North Carolina.
The fast-moving Cullasaja River tumbles down three major waterfalls alongside the 61-mile road that winds through the Nantahala National Forest.
Visitors can walk beneath the 120-foot Bridal Veil Falls and also walk behind the roaring water at Dry Falls. The tallest falls are the Cullasaja Falls, which drop 250 feet.
Cullasaja means “honey locust place” in the Cherokee language. The gorge is part of the trail followed by Spanish explorer Hernando DeSoto in 1540.
The Eastern Continental Divide runs through the town of Highlands. In many places along this divide, waters run eastward to the Atlantic only a few feet from waters headed westward toward the Gulf of Mexico. Water in the Cullasaja River is bound for the Gulf of Mexico.
📍Location:
The gorge and its waterfalls can be accessed along US Highway 64/State Road 28 between Highlands and Franklin, NC, which is part of the Waterfall Byway. The road is winding and narrow.
Franklin Chamber of Commerce
(828) 524-3161
Toll-free: 866-372-5546
Highlands Chamber of Commerce
(828) 526-5841
Highlands Visitors Center
(828) 526-2112
(From https://www.blueridgeheritage.com/.../cullasaja-river-gorge/)

[ccp]

https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2025/04/north-carolina-supreme-court-race-turmoil-democrats-700/

the Dem squeaked out the victory weeks past the election

 

[Crafty_Dog]

Campaign
State appeals court rules contested North Carolina ballots must be verified
by Jared Gans - 04/04/25 2:51 PM ET

The 60,000 contested ballots in the North Carolina state Supreme Court race should be recounted and verified, according to a ruling Friday from a panel of the state appeals court.

The 2-1 ruling is a win for Republican state Court of Appeals Judge Jefferson Griffin, who is trailing incumbent Democratic Justice Allison Riggs by fewer than 1,000 votes.

Riggs and the Democratic Party declared victory months ago after all the votes counted had her ahead, but Griffin has challenged the validity of certain ballots for various reasons, pursuing a lawsuit that’s prevented the state elections board from certifying Riggs as the winner five months after Election Day.

Multiple recounts confirmed Riggs’s lead, but Griffin has argued the 60,000 ballots are invalid because these voters didn’t include certain information like driver’s license or Social Security numbers on their registration forms. He’s also challenged an additional 5,500 ballots from military and overseas voters on the grounds that they didn’t present a photo ID upon voting.

The ruling granted these voters whose ballots have been challenged 15 business days to provide verifying information proving their eligibility to vote. Any voters who verify their identity within that period will have their votes counted, and those who do not will have their ballots thrown out, the ruling states.

Riggs’s campaign vowed to appeal the ruling, calling it “deeply misinformed” and arguing it would set a dangerous precedent of allowing politicians to “thwart the will of the people.”

“North Carolinians elected me to keep my seat and I swore an oath to the constitution and the rule of law — so I will continue to stand up for the rights of voters in this state and stand in the way of those who would take power from the people,” Riggs said.

Democratic National Committee Chair Ken Martin said the “partisan” ruling has no legal basis and threatens the idea that voters, not courts, choose the winner of elections.

“North Carolinians chose Allison Riggs to be their North Carolina Supreme Court justice,” he said. “They won’t stand for Republicans trying to take their votes away or those of active duty North Carolina military.”

The state GOP celebrated the ruling, saying it “vindicated” Griffin’s protests and confirms that every legal vote will be counted.

“Our position has not wavered and today’s decision confirms the facts were on Judge Griffin’s side,” said state GOP Chairman Jason Simmons. “This a victory for the rule of law and election integrity.”


Democratic Judge Toby Hampson dissented, arguing that Griffin hasn’t identified any voter who is ineligible to vote under the rules of the election.

“Changing the rules by which these lawful voters took part in our electoral process after the election to discard their otherwise valid votes in an attempt to alter the outcome of only one race among many on the ballot is directly counter to law, equity, and the Constitution,” Hampson wrote.

A 2002 state law requires voters to include their driver’s license or Social Security number on the registration application, but the form didn’t specify that this information was needed until last year. The state elections board has also previously ruled that military and overseas voters were exempt from the state’s voter ID law.

A county superior court judge previously rejected Griffin’s arguments in February before the appeals court ruled in his favor.

Presuming the case is appealed, it would go to the state Supreme Court, which has a 5-2 Republican majority. But with Riggs recusing herself from the case, it would be a 5-1 court hearing it.

If the court hears the case and is split 3-3, the next highest court’s ruling would stand, meaning the appeals court ruling would go into effect.

[Crafty_Dog]

Judges side with Stein in lawsuit over control of NC elections board, striking down GOP-led law
‘It is the governor, and no one else, who must have sufficient control’ of Board of Elections, a panel of judges ruled.
By: Galen Bacharier - April 23, 2025 5:46 pm

 North Carolina Gov. Josh Stein delivers his inaugural address at the Capitol Building in Raleigh on Jan. 11, 2025. (Photo: Galen Bacharier/NC Newsline)

A panel of North Carolina judges struck down a new Republican-led law Wednesday that sought to move the state’s elections board under the control of the GOP state auditor — siding with Democratic Gov. Josh Stein and declaring the law unconstitutional.

Senate Bill 382, passed late last year, shifted a number of aspects of executive branch power within the state away from the incoming governor. Among those changes were steering control of the elections board — which is currently overseen by the governor and has a Democratic majority — to newly elected auditor Dave Boliek, a Republican.

Citing a series of prior rulings on executive power and elections board control, the Wake County Superior Court judges wrote that the law was unconstitutional and should be permanently enjoined.

“Because the duty to faithfully execute the laws has been exclusively assigned to the governor, Senate Bill 382 cannot reassign that duty to the auditor without violating the constitution,” wrote Judges Edwin G. Wilson, Jr., a Democrat,  and Lori I. Hamilton, a Republican.

Judge R. Andrew Womble, a Republican, dissented from the pair’s ruling, writing that the legislature was “expressly authorized” to shift duties to the auditor.

In a statement Wednesday, Stein celebrated the ruling that declared “the legislature’s power grab unconstitutional.”

“The North Carolina Constitution puts the governor in charge of executing the law,” Stein said. “That’s what the voters elected me to do, so that’s what I’ll do.”

Boliek said he would appeal the ruling.

“My office remains ready, willing, and able to take on the duties and responsibilities of overseeing board of elections appointments and budget administration,” he said in a statement. “I stand by my arguments and will promptly be appealing this ruling.”

House Speaker Destin Hall (R-Caldwell) also said he would appeal. He expressed confidence in the law while blasting the Board of Elections, which he said operated elections “much like in a banana republic.”

“From failing to properly clean up our voter rolls, to determining third party ballot access based on the political winds, to completely bungling simple voter registration requirements, the partisan Democrat board is a national embarrassment,” Hall said in a statement. “We will appeal, and we are confident Senate Bill 382 will ultimately be upheld, resulting in a board that will finally follow the law as it is written and not based on left wing fantasies.”

The office of Senate President Pro Tem Phil Berger (R-Rockingham), who is also a defendant in the lawsuit, did not immediately respond to a request for comment Wednesday.

Stein has filed separate suits challenging other portions of the law, dealing with control of the state Highway Patrol and his power to make court appointments.

A spokesperson for the Board of Elections told NC Newsline in November 2024 that if the law were to take effect, it would likely result in control of the board changing hands, with a 3-2 Republican split.

[Crafty_Dog]

https://sandhillssentinel.com/two-arrested-in-connection-with-southern-pines-bank-robbery/

[Crafty_Dog]

About  HB439,  North Carolina State Bill.

Current law denies the ability to concealed carry a blade weapon for self-defensive purposes.  HB 439 would allow concealed carry of currently prohibited knifes by law abiding citizens.

CONTACT NC House Republican Members of the House Committee on Rules, Calendar, and Operations of the House: Contact the Rules Committee Republican Members to encourage them to shepherd HB 439 through the process. Call and/or email them to advance HB 439 through Committee, and then to the House floor for a vote.

The bill is due in committee on Monday April 28, 2025 at 4 PM , so get your e-mails and calls made well in advance.
Below, find a copy-paste email list you can use to easily contact these representatives. Beneath that, in the Deliver This Message section, find the copy-paste message to use.

NC HOUSE  Rules Committee  REPUBLICANS (copy-paste email list):

A. Reece Pyrtle, Jr., Blair Eddins, Brenden H. Jones - Vice Chair
Charles W. Miller, Donna McDowell White, Erin Paré - Vice Chair
Jimmy Dixon, John A. Torbett, John R. Bell, IV - Chair
Karl E. Gillespie, Kelly E. Hastings, Kyle Hall, Neal Jackson
Sarah Stevens, Steve Tyson, Ted Davis, Jr., Tricia Ann Cotham - Vice Chair
William D. Brisson

Reece.Pyrtle@ncleg.gov;Blair.Eddins@ncleg.gov;Brenden.Jones@ncleg.gov;
Charles.Miller@ncleg.gov;Donna.White@ncleg.gov;Erin.Pare@ncleg.gov;
Jimmy.Dixon@ncleg.gov;John.Torbett@ncleg.gov;John.Bell@ncleg.gov;
Karl.Gillespie@ncleg.gov;Kelly.Hastings@ncleg.gov;Kyle.Hall@ncleg.gov;
Neal.Jackson@ncleg.gov;Sarah.Stevens@ncleg.gov;Steve.Tyson@ncleg.gov;
Ted.Davis@ncleg.gov;Tricia.Cotham@ncleg.gov;William.Brisson@ncleg.gov


Suggested Subject: Vote Yes on HB 439 Concealed Carry of a Knife

Dear Representative:

NC Law says I can carry a handgun to defend my life but if I carry a concealed knife I'll get arrested. Does that make any sense at all?

HB 439 is a key step to protect law abiding NC residents by allowing them to carry a knife concealed.  The criminals already do this unlawfully, and it is high time the State of NC enabled private citizens to be able to protect themselves with a knife or a blade.

We are urging you to support this legislation.

As always, I will be monitoring your actions through the efforts of the Grass Roots NC legislative alerts and whether you stood with us on this important issue.

Thank you for your consideration regarding this very important legislation.

Respectfully,  (your name)

..........................................

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