Some say money and grassroots support are the factors that determine who North Carolinians elect to Congress and the state legislature. But, redrawing the actual districts from which the candidates run is a major factor as well. John Locke Foundation Vice President for Outreach Becki Gray explains redistricting, including the court rulings that dictate much of what Republicans, who control the process this time around, can do. Then we turn to the debate over property rights in our state. While lawmakers have been discussing a potential statewide moratorium on forced annexation and an overhaul of North Carolina’s 50-year-old annexation rules, they’ve also been debating the repeal of several recent annexations. You’ll hear highlights from the recent debate about Rocky Mount’s controversial annexation of about 1,700 people in the Oak Level community. The N.C. House voted to overturn that annexation. Next is a debate over the Unborn Victims of Violence Act. The N.C. House has approved a measure dubbed Ethen’s Law, or the Unborn Victims of Violence Act. Rep. Edgar Starnes, R-Caldwell, explains how the act would treat an attack on a pregnant woman as an attack on two distinct victims. Rep. Deborah Ross, D-Wake, offers opposition to the bill. That’s followed by a look at a new group in North Carolina related to health care. Government involvement in health care can skew the important doctor-patient relationship, but a group called the Benjamin Rush Society hopes to protect that relationship. Tied to the Pacific Research Institute, the new society is building North Carolina chapters at Duke and Wake Forest universities. Executive Director Megan Barth explains what the Benjamin Rush Society hopes to accomplish in North Carolina and across the country. And finally, Jenna Ashley Robinson of the Pope Center for Higher Education Policy discusses a new website that brings together good and not-so-flattering information about North Carolina colleges and universities. She explains what can be found at www.nccollegefinder.org.
Will Redistricting Greatly Change the Map?
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