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Business Owner Finds State Websites Vulnerable

RALEIGH — A Wake County small business owner attempting to pay her employees’ withholding tax bill discovered that the state Department of Revenue website was vulnerable to hackers. An online diagnostic tool confirmed that the agency’s website got an “F” rating for security protection against a variety of potential hack attacks. A cybersecurity engineer said that vulnerability could have exposed the users of multiple state websites to identity and credit card theft.

Dan Way
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Analysts: Millennial Voters Difficult To Motivate

RALEIGH — The so-called millennial generation helped to elect Barack Obama in 2008. But their turnout faded in 2012 because their expectations for instant gratification were not met, and they hold a jaded view that their votes don’t matter, a South Carolina pollster told a Raleigh audience. Tuesday’s NC NEXT conference sponsored by the North Carolina Free Enterprise Foundation featured individual speakers and panel discussions involving young business leaders and young elected officials.

Dan Way
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Treasurer Retirement Surprises Political Insiders

RALEIGH — Both Dallas Woodhouse, North Carolina Republican Party executive director, and Thomas Mills, a Democratic political consultant and editor of the Carrboro-based PoliticsNC blog, said they were caught off guard by Democratic Treasurer Janet Cowell’s announcement that she would not seek re-election. They agree that the GOP is unlikely to lose majority control of the General Assembly, but statewide contests should be competitive.

Dan Way
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Wind Farm Officials Differ On Need for Subsidies

RALEIGH — Despite earlier claims by Iberdrola Renewables officials that the $400 million, 300-megawatt Amazon Wind Farm that will cover 22,000 acres near Elizabeth City would be built totally from company funds, another Iberdrola official says the project requires some tax incentives to be viable economically. “We’re not at a point yet where we don’t need subsidies,” Eric Thumma told a recent meeting of the North Carolina Energy Policy Council.

Dan Way
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Jensen: N.C. Governor Race Most-Watched Nationally

RALEIGH — North Carolina features “undoubtedly the premier governor’s race of the country” for 2016, and if the election were held today GOP Gov. Pat McCrory would be re-elected despite shaky approval ratings, said Tom Jensen, director of the Raleigh-based firm Public Policy Polling. Jensen spoke of the race expected to pit McCrory against Democratic Attorney General Roy Cooper at a Wednesday luncheon event.

Dan Way

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Experts: Government Impeding Medical Technology

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — Medical technology that seemed relegated to science fiction is at hand, but fast-moving innovations are threatened by established interests and government regulations, said a panel of medical and academic experts at the State Policy Network’s recent annual meeting in Grand Rapids, Mich. Advances in science allow personalized health care instead of government-regulated, one-size-fits-all, population-scale health delivery models.

Dan Way
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Cooper Touts Values In Campaign Launch for Governor

ROCKY MOUNT — Casting himself as a champion of traditional North Carolina values under assault by a wayward Republican governor and General Assembly, Democratic Attorney General Roy Cooper announced Monday he is running for governor against GOP incumbent Pat McCrory “to set a new direction.” The former state legislator characterized his four terms as attorney general as a watchdog for the common man.

Dan Way
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Conservatives Pushing Criminal Justice Reform

RALEIGH — A nationally recognized criminal justice reformer is confident North Carolina eventually will overturn a state law allowing 16- and 17-year-olds to be charged as adults, but acknowledges political resistance to the proposal remains. Marc Levin of Right on Crime, said prosecuting more teens who are not charged with violent crimes as juveniles would benefit local law enforcement efforts and reduce taxpayer costs

Dan Way
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Obama’s Ex-Pastor Maintains Fiery Rhetoric

RALEIGH — The Rev. Jeremiah Wright told attendees of a Sept. 20 event at a progressive church in Chapel Hill he is “giddily happy” with the rise of the Black Lives Matter movement, blamed U.S. foreign policy for the rise of ISIS, and took swipes at President Obama for failing to push racial reparations and Donald Trump’s stance on immigration.

Dan Way
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McCrory Signs Medicaid Reform

RALEIGH — After several major revisions, on Tuesday Medicaid reform that had delayed budget approvals in recent years passed the General Assembly. Gov. Pat McCrory signed the measure yesterday. The law overhauls the delivery of Medicaid services in a hybrid plan comprising Managed Care Organizations and separate Provider-Led Entities.

Dan Way
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Bill Easing Rules Could Aid Struggling Rural Hospitals

RALEIGH — Two rural hospitals could be reopened under state legislation that includes the first substantive reform of North Carolina’s certificate of need regulation. Pungo District Hospital in Belhaven could be the first beneficiary of the legislative change to the state CON law contained in an amended version of House Bill 20. Yadkin Valley Community Hospital in Yadkinville stands to benefit from a separate provision in the bill.

Dan Way