1 00:00:04,879 --> 00:00:05,599 Speaker 1: What's going on? 2 00:00:05,759 --> 00:00:08,119 Speaker 2: Thank you so much for listening to this podcast. It 3 00:00:08,240 --> 00:00:10,080 is heard live every day from noon to three on 4 00:00:10,240 --> 00:00:13,839 WBT Radio in Charlotte. And if you want exclusive content 5 00:00:14,000 --> 00:00:17,160 like invitations to events, the weekly live stream, my daily 6 00:00:17,199 --> 00:00:19,480 show prep with all the links, become a patron, go 7 00:00:19,559 --> 00:00:23,399 to thepeteclendershow dot com. Make sure you hit the subscribe button. 8 00:00:23,440 --> 00:00:26,359 Get every episode for free right to your smartphone or tablet, 9 00:00:26,359 --> 00:00:29,519 and again, thank you so much for your support. Every 10 00:00:29,679 --> 00:00:33,359 Monday at two o'clock, we welcome ap Dylon to the program. 11 00:00:33,399 --> 00:00:36,359 She's a reporter at the North State Journal at sjonline 12 00:00:36,399 --> 00:00:40,520 dot com and the publisher of her newsletter called More 13 00:00:40,560 --> 00:00:44,799 to the Story over on substack. Ap, How are you welcome? 14 00:00:45,920 --> 00:00:47,640 Speaker 3: Thanks Pete, thanks for having me. How are you doing. 15 00:00:47,719 --> 00:00:51,320 Speaker 2: I'm doing all right. I cannot complain. So you got 16 00:00:51,320 --> 00:00:53,840 a piece at the North State Journal. This is about 17 00:00:53,880 --> 00:00:57,320 a school choice program that was part of the Big 18 00:00:57,359 --> 00:01:01,799 Beautiful bill, and the North Care one General Assembly says, Oh, yes, 19 00:01:01,840 --> 00:01:04,280 we would very much like to participate in this school 20 00:01:04,359 --> 00:01:09,239 choice program from the federal government. Josh Stein, however, not 21 00:01:09,480 --> 00:01:12,560 a fan, not a fan, vetoed it right, So tell 22 00:01:12,599 --> 00:01:15,719 us what is this well, what is the impact that 23 00:01:15,760 --> 00:01:19,000 this federal legislation would have on the school choice in 24 00:01:19,040 --> 00:01:19,640 North Carolina. 25 00:01:19,680 --> 00:01:22,079 Speaker 3: Well, it's a federal tax credit and it would allow 26 00:01:23,319 --> 00:01:26,000 citizens to claim up to seventeen hundred dollars in tax 27 00:01:26,040 --> 00:01:30,680 credits for donations given to organizations that are scholarship granting 28 00:01:30,760 --> 00:01:34,840 for school choice programs like the Opportunity Scholarship program. So 29 00:01:34,920 --> 00:01:38,480 it wouldn't cost North Carolina anything to do this, and 30 00:01:38,760 --> 00:01:41,079 it seems like it would also stack with the Opportunity 31 00:01:41,120 --> 00:01:43,159 Scholarship program, so it would be sort of a double 32 00:01:43,200 --> 00:01:46,120 win for families who are struggling to afford private school 33 00:01:46,280 --> 00:01:50,200 or you know, to ease that burden. And Stein said 34 00:01:50,239 --> 00:01:54,239 that he doesn't want to do this right now. His 35 00:01:54,560 --> 00:01:57,599 VITA message was fairly long, but the second half of 36 00:01:57,640 --> 00:02:01,040 it says that he sees opportunities for the federal scholarship 37 00:02:01,079 --> 00:02:04,480 donation tax credit program to benefit North Carolina public school 38 00:02:04,560 --> 00:02:08,439 kids once the federal government issues sound guidance, I intend 39 00:02:08,520 --> 00:02:10,919 to option North Carolina in so he can invest in 40 00:02:10,960 --> 00:02:15,360 public school students that need the most in after school programs, tutoring, 41 00:02:15,400 --> 00:02:22,960 and other resources. Therefore, this bill is unnecessary and ibutoa okay, 42 00:02:23,560 --> 00:02:26,960 So there you have it. 43 00:02:26,960 --> 00:02:30,199 Speaker 2: It says, I see the opportunities for the Federal Scholarship 44 00:02:30,240 --> 00:02:31,280 Donation tax. 45 00:02:31,080 --> 00:02:33,240 Speaker 1: Credit to benefit the public school kids. 46 00:02:33,919 --> 00:02:37,919 Speaker 2: Yeah, so is that because the tax credit and just 47 00:02:37,960 --> 00:02:40,360 reading through this thing you've got written, it says under 48 00:02:40,360 --> 00:02:44,159 the program, US citizens and residents can claim up to 49 00:02:44,280 --> 00:02:50,960 seventeen hundred dollars annually for cash contributions to scholarship granting organizations, 50 00:02:51,840 --> 00:02:55,360 which in turn fund scholarships for eligible K twelve students. 51 00:02:55,400 --> 00:02:58,520 So is like, I don't understand why this why he 52 00:02:58,560 --> 00:03:02,159 would see this as connected to public schools. 53 00:03:02,560 --> 00:03:06,680 Speaker 3: It's not to be scholarship granting programs would be granting, 54 00:03:07,400 --> 00:03:09,800 would be giving out things like the Opportunity Scholarship program 55 00:03:09,800 --> 00:03:12,240 does so would they give out grants for private schools 56 00:03:12,360 --> 00:03:15,439 or you know, I think that homeschools actually might be 57 00:03:15,479 --> 00:03:18,599 able to take advantage of this. The guidance still hasn't 58 00:03:18,639 --> 00:03:21,199 come down on exactly how this is going to work, 59 00:03:21,360 --> 00:03:26,039 but overall, it is a tax credit program. So any 60 00:03:26,240 --> 00:03:29,360 organization that's that's deemed to be one of these scholarship 61 00:03:29,400 --> 00:03:35,240 granting organization organizations and SGO could participate in students from 62 00:03:35,240 --> 00:03:38,639 households with incomes up to three hundred percent of their 63 00:03:38,680 --> 00:03:43,599 area's medium gross income are eligible to participate. That means 64 00:03:43,639 --> 00:03:46,479 the average medium family income in North Carolina is somewhere 65 00:03:46,520 --> 00:03:50,000 around seven hundred seventy eight hundred. That would put the 66 00:03:50,039 --> 00:03:53,520 eligibility range for them approximately up to two hundred and 67 00:03:53,520 --> 00:03:58,479 twelve four hundred. So, you know, in the scholarship granting 68 00:03:58,560 --> 00:04:00,439 organization has to be a five to one C three. 69 00:04:00,439 --> 00:04:04,400 They have to have separate spaces and in separation of 70 00:04:04,560 --> 00:04:07,400 qualified contributions. I have to spend ninety percent of the 71 00:04:07,400 --> 00:04:11,919 income they get through this program on scholarships, prioritizing students 72 00:04:11,919 --> 00:04:16,319 who previously have received or siblings who did have a scholarship. 73 00:04:17,399 --> 00:04:20,399 So you know, it's this This is supposed to be 74 00:04:20,399 --> 00:04:23,319 for school choice. It's not public school, right. 75 00:04:23,199 --> 00:04:24,920 Speaker 1: So why would he put that in that? It doesn't 76 00:04:24,959 --> 00:04:26,120 make any sense. Why would he? 77 00:04:26,279 --> 00:04:29,000 Speaker 3: No, it doesn't. That's why I don't think he understands 78 00:04:29,000 --> 00:04:31,920 what the program really is, and there was some confusion there. 79 00:04:32,360 --> 00:04:36,879 I think that his veto was perhaps a little bit precipitous. 80 00:04:37,720 --> 00:04:40,959 Speaker 2: It could have been maybe veto GPT. Maybe he had 81 00:04:41,040 --> 00:04:41,800 AI write it. 82 00:04:42,439 --> 00:04:44,959 Speaker 3: Yeah, it could be yeah, I don't know. You know 83 00:04:46,000 --> 00:04:49,959 that only providing billions and tax giveaways the wealthy parents 84 00:04:50,000 --> 00:04:54,079 line that his predecessor used to use. So maybe he's 85 00:04:54,120 --> 00:04:55,800 just towing that line. I'm not sure. 86 00:04:55,959 --> 00:04:59,120 Speaker 2: Well, I mean, maybe it's not just Josh Stein. I mean, 87 00:04:59,120 --> 00:05:02,519 surely there are other Democrats who may you know, want 88 00:05:02,560 --> 00:05:04,959 school choice, you know, for the children. Right, So when 89 00:05:04,959 --> 00:05:06,959 it went through the House and Senate, right, maybe a 90 00:05:06,959 --> 00:05:09,560 couple of Democrats came over to the Republicans on this. 91 00:05:11,079 --> 00:05:12,279 Speaker 3: You know, I'd have to go back and look, but 92 00:05:12,319 --> 00:05:15,759 I think there there actually were a couple because they 93 00:05:15,800 --> 00:05:17,680 recognize that this is a federal text credit and that 94 00:05:17,959 --> 00:05:19,399 this wasn't this wouldn't. I don't know. 95 00:05:19,439 --> 00:05:21,959 Speaker 2: Apt you need to read your You're gonna have to 96 00:05:21,959 --> 00:05:24,439 read your story here, because you've got House concurred with 97 00:05:24,519 --> 00:05:26,959 the Senate substitute by a vote of sixty nine to 98 00:05:26,959 --> 00:05:29,519 forty seven, no Democrats. 99 00:05:29,600 --> 00:05:31,480 Speaker 3: The Senate had trouble with the House. I think the 100 00:05:31,519 --> 00:05:33,879 House was looked at it, but a little bit more closely. 101 00:05:33,839 --> 00:05:37,040 Speaker 2: It says the Senate floor vote was thirty to nineteen 102 00:05:37,920 --> 00:05:40,959 and the House was sixty nine to forty seven, no 103 00:05:41,079 --> 00:05:42,879 Democrats voting in favor in either. 104 00:05:43,519 --> 00:05:44,879 Speaker 3: Okay, well then yeah, there. 105 00:05:45,439 --> 00:05:46,439 Speaker 1: So no Democrats. 106 00:05:47,000 --> 00:05:49,319 Speaker 2: Yeah, it's not surprising given what we I mean, the 107 00:05:49,600 --> 00:05:52,199 last Democrat that was for school choice became a Republican. 108 00:05:52,519 --> 00:05:56,759 So well, Cecil wasn't Cecil Brockman. Didn't he come around 109 00:05:56,759 --> 00:05:59,360 on some school choice stuff at some point I don't remember. 110 00:06:00,519 --> 00:06:02,199 Speaker 3: I'm not sure so much about him. By I know, 111 00:06:02,279 --> 00:06:05,959 Michael Ray prior to prior to he not maintaining his seat, 112 00:06:06,399 --> 00:06:10,720 he was definitely in favor of school choice. And you know, 113 00:06:10,759 --> 00:06:12,399 I'm looking at the two stories that we're going to 114 00:06:12,439 --> 00:06:15,519 talk about today, and ye had the Stein budget signature 115 00:06:15,600 --> 00:06:16,120 that one. 116 00:06:15,959 --> 00:06:18,839 Speaker 2: Had, the Democratic that had the right, that had enough 117 00:06:19,240 --> 00:06:21,079 right that had because that was what they call a 118 00:06:21,160 --> 00:06:24,199 mini budget. It's sort of it's a continuation budget basically. 119 00:06:24,240 --> 00:06:26,480 And remember a few years ago there were all this 120 00:06:27,079 --> 00:06:29,319 all these concerns about, oh my gosh, they haven't done 121 00:06:29,319 --> 00:06:31,000 a budget yet, what's going to happen? And so they 122 00:06:31,199 --> 00:06:32,600 they had this law that says, well, if we don't 123 00:06:32,600 --> 00:06:36,199 pass a new budget, we just continue on with the 124 00:06:36,279 --> 00:06:36,959 current budget. 125 00:06:36,959 --> 00:06:39,399 Speaker 1: And so over the years, especially when they were fighting. 126 00:06:39,120 --> 00:06:43,600 Speaker 2: With Roy Cooper over school choice and Medicaid expansion stuff, 127 00:06:43,720 --> 00:06:46,639 they would do these little mini budgets and so that yeah, yeah, 128 00:06:46,680 --> 00:06:49,240 so we've got a mini budget that passed. Uh, so 129 00:06:49,279 --> 00:06:53,279 that's going to give the Republican leadership some more breathing 130 00:06:53,360 --> 00:06:57,759 room to craft a budget for final approval in the 131 00:06:57,800 --> 00:06:58,240 next Well. 132 00:06:58,279 --> 00:07:00,279 Speaker 3: Yeah, and that's been par for the course for the 133 00:07:00,360 --> 00:07:03,040 last I don't know since I can remember, and in 134 00:07:03,079 --> 00:07:05,000 fact that Democrats did the same thing when they were 135 00:07:05,000 --> 00:07:07,639 in power. Yeah, they didn't deliver their budget as of 136 00:07:07,720 --> 00:07:10,160 June thirtieth half the time either, So I mean it 137 00:07:10,279 --> 00:07:13,680 is what it is, and majority of the important provisions 138 00:07:13,680 --> 00:07:17,199 and they're always retroactive back to you know, July one, right, So. 139 00:07:18,839 --> 00:07:20,120 Speaker 1: I've never undergo there, yea. 140 00:07:20,120 --> 00:07:22,360 Speaker 2: And I've never understood like these Democrats that are making 141 00:07:22,399 --> 00:07:24,000 a big deal better, they need to go to get 142 00:07:24,000 --> 00:07:25,639 pass a budget and they need to go back to 143 00:07:25,680 --> 00:07:28,360 work and focus on things that matter. Like people don't 144 00:07:28,399 --> 00:07:31,040 care about this. They like a budget will get passed. Now, 145 00:07:31,040 --> 00:07:33,480 if no budget gets passed and we were running deficits 146 00:07:33,480 --> 00:07:35,600 like at the national level, well even then people don't care. 147 00:07:35,720 --> 00:07:38,959 We keep putting people back in office that that keeps 148 00:07:39,000 --> 00:07:40,800 spending and not doing budgets either. So I don't know 149 00:07:40,839 --> 00:07:42,759 if the American public actually cares if we have a 150 00:07:42,759 --> 00:07:45,879 budget or not. So it's never an issue that moves 151 00:07:45,920 --> 00:07:49,959 the needle, I think, on for the for the voters, 152 00:07:50,319 --> 00:07:53,639 unless you've got crazy spending that you can you know, 153 00:07:53,720 --> 00:07:56,279 like earmarks and stuff like that that you can point to. 154 00:07:57,160 --> 00:08:02,759 Now you mentioned Michael Ray, I mentioned Cecil Brockwell, Cecil Brockman. 155 00:08:03,199 --> 00:08:06,639 And there's another one, Kirk Devier or de vere I 156 00:08:06,639 --> 00:08:10,040 don't know how he pronounces it. But these guys were 157 00:08:10,079 --> 00:08:14,279 targeted by Roy Cooper, my good friend Ray, who would 158 00:08:15,160 --> 00:08:18,360 get primary challenges against them because they would cross him 159 00:08:18,360 --> 00:08:22,120 on vetos and on other legislation. And so we were 160 00:08:22,199 --> 00:08:25,560 kind of wondering, after Roy rode off into the sunset 161 00:08:25,639 --> 00:08:27,680 to then promptly ride back into the sun rise and 162 00:08:27,759 --> 00:08:30,759 run for US Senate, who's going to take up this 163 00:08:30,920 --> 00:08:33,840 mantle of targeting their fellow Democrats. And so you got 164 00:08:33,840 --> 00:08:35,879 a piece at your sub stack. More to the story, 165 00:08:37,679 --> 00:08:40,200 it apparently is going to be the Democrat party chair. 166 00:08:40,519 --> 00:08:42,519 Speaker 1: It seems like, well yeah. 167 00:08:42,559 --> 00:08:45,759 Speaker 3: In an interview with CBS seventeen, she pretty much laid 168 00:08:45,759 --> 00:08:48,200 out that folks who need to know who they're voting for, 169 00:08:48,399 --> 00:08:50,759 and that if you know, they're not going to vote 170 00:08:50,879 --> 00:08:52,720 along the lines that they're supposed to do along with 171 00:08:52,759 --> 00:08:55,799 other Democrats that that maybe there should be a primary challenge, 172 00:08:55,840 --> 00:08:59,080 and that was echoed by seni an oral leader Sydney 173 00:08:59,120 --> 00:09:03,840 Batch in the same story, the CBS seventeen story. So 174 00:09:04,320 --> 00:09:06,600 she said that the bills that they overrode made us 175 00:09:06,679 --> 00:09:09,720 less safe and that is on them. And if they 176 00:09:09,759 --> 00:09:12,000 want to put their head on the pillow tonight and 177 00:09:12,039 --> 00:09:14,039 say that that's what they decided to do for whatever 178 00:09:14,080 --> 00:09:17,039 reason they voted for that, that is literally a consequence 179 00:09:17,039 --> 00:09:20,200 they'll have to deal with if they get a primary it. 180 00:09:20,960 --> 00:09:26,279 Speaker 2: I mean, yes, And they're talking about Carla Cunningham from 181 00:09:26,279 --> 00:09:29,639 Mecklenburg County And I've been covering this. Actually had last week, 182 00:09:29,679 --> 00:09:31,480 I want to say, maybe two weeks ago. I had 183 00:09:31,679 --> 00:09:35,799 Senator tedros On and he said the same thing about 184 00:09:36,120 --> 00:09:38,480 he's a Democrat from Mecklenburg, and he said the same thing, 185 00:09:38,840 --> 00:09:41,679 that this was dangerous and divisive rhetoric because she said 186 00:09:41,759 --> 00:09:45,559 all cultures are not equal. And he said that's dangerous 187 00:09:45,600 --> 00:09:48,399 and divisive, And so I asked him are they all equal? 188 00:09:48,960 --> 00:09:51,960 Speaker 1: Do you disagree or or like? Are they all equal? 189 00:09:52,039 --> 00:09:52,639 Make your case? 190 00:09:52,799 --> 00:09:55,240 Speaker 2: And then he said, well, it's the context of the 191 00:09:55,279 --> 00:09:58,840 bill that we were debating and he danced and danced 192 00:09:58,840 --> 00:10:01,120 around it and whatever. I highly recommend go back and 193 00:10:01,120 --> 00:10:03,840 listen to it. It's like a it did not go 194 00:10:03,919 --> 00:10:05,519 well for him. Okay, it's a John Jills. 195 00:10:05,840 --> 00:10:07,879 Speaker 3: She made some very clear points, though, I thought, So, 196 00:10:08,200 --> 00:10:10,320 she can't go to another country and demand they speak 197 00:10:10,320 --> 00:10:13,480 her language, right, you know, or you know that you know, 198 00:10:13,559 --> 00:10:15,519 she goes to their country and demands all kinds of 199 00:10:15,559 --> 00:10:18,720 benefits and you know, lives on the tax paradigm over there, 200 00:10:19,360 --> 00:10:21,360 whether or not they're committing crimes or not. And I 201 00:10:21,399 --> 00:10:23,919 think that the crime aspect to the bill that she 202 00:10:24,000 --> 00:10:28,120 was talking about, the immigration bill that tightened up loopholes 203 00:10:28,120 --> 00:10:31,039 with ICE and cooperating with Ice and different penalties for 204 00:10:31,039 --> 00:10:34,279 different crimes. I think that you know, she was she 205 00:10:34,399 --> 00:10:36,039 was looking at this as you know, this is common 206 00:10:36,039 --> 00:10:37,960 sense law and order stuff that we should be doing. 207 00:10:37,960 --> 00:10:41,399 This shouldn't be a bipartisan thing. And she refused back 208 00:10:41,440 --> 00:10:43,840 down to her credit, right so. 209 00:10:44,000 --> 00:10:46,080 Speaker 2: And they even tried to silence her when she was 210 00:10:46,120 --> 00:10:50,080 making her statement from the floor. Her colleague dead Butler 211 00:10:50,200 --> 00:10:53,759 tried to tried to cut off all the debate. You 212 00:10:53,799 --> 00:10:57,200 had people in the gallery that started coughing, really loudly 213 00:10:57,240 --> 00:10:59,840 to interrupt her. It's like they're just trying to shut 214 00:10:59,879 --> 00:11:02,840 her down and silence her because she was this dissenting voice. 215 00:11:02,960 --> 00:11:04,480 And the other thing she talked about was sort of 216 00:11:04,480 --> 00:11:06,919 coalition politics and the Democrat Party. You know, you got 217 00:11:06,919 --> 00:11:10,519 all these you know, they you know, people in these 218 00:11:10,559 --> 00:11:15,279 different groups identity politics. And what she also articulated was 219 00:11:15,320 --> 00:11:19,240 this belief that hey, wait a minute, my group, my 220 00:11:19,399 --> 00:11:24,639 identifiable group, is being supplanted by a different group, and 221 00:11:25,080 --> 00:11:27,159 I don't like it very much, and you shouldn't be 222 00:11:27,200 --> 00:11:30,679 telling me to step aside for this other identity group. 223 00:11:31,080 --> 00:11:33,519 And it laid bare like, yeah, this is what you 224 00:11:33,559 --> 00:11:37,320 get when you build your political party around identity politics 225 00:11:37,679 --> 00:11:40,720 rather than an idea. And I think that was also 226 00:11:40,759 --> 00:11:42,679 pretty uncomfortable for the Democrats too. 227 00:11:44,159 --> 00:11:48,799 Speaker 3: Yeah, I think so too. There was some news over 228 00:11:48,840 --> 00:11:52,639 the weekend from North State Journal involving our publisher. I 229 00:11:52,639 --> 00:11:53,879 don't know if he happened to Yeah, go. 230 00:11:53,840 --> 00:11:55,519 Speaker 1: Ahead, yeah, Neil Robbins, right. 231 00:11:55,559 --> 00:11:57,960 Speaker 3: Yes, our publisher, Neil Robbins has been tapped by the 232 00:11:57,960 --> 00:12:00,840 Trump administration to be an underset mature at the US 233 00:12:00,879 --> 00:12:05,120 Departments of Agriculture, so he will be transitioning to that 234 00:12:05,360 --> 00:12:08,200 and other folks within our organization will be stepping into 235 00:12:08,240 --> 00:12:10,399 his place as as title of publisher. 236 00:12:11,639 --> 00:12:13,440 Speaker 1: You is it you? 237 00:12:13,840 --> 00:12:15,480 Speaker 3: He's not taking me with him? No? 238 00:12:15,480 --> 00:12:16,960 Speaker 1: No, are you going to be the publisher? 239 00:12:17,840 --> 00:12:21,840 Speaker 3: No? Oh okay, oh gosh, no go yeah no. I'd 240 00:12:21,919 --> 00:12:24,720 rather stick a poker in my eye than deal with 241 00:12:24,240 --> 00:12:27,159 the logistics of what that job entails. 242 00:12:27,480 --> 00:12:29,960 Speaker 1: All right, Well, give our best to Neil. 243 00:12:30,000 --> 00:12:32,000 Speaker 2: We appreciate all the work that he has done over there, 244 00:12:32,000 --> 00:12:33,679 and we appreciate you spending time with us in the 245 00:12:33,679 --> 00:12:34,919 work you do at the North State Journal. 246 00:12:34,919 --> 00:12:36,080 Speaker 1: AP appreciate it absolutely. 247 00:12:36,080 --> 00:12:37,080 Speaker 3: Thanks so much for having me. 248 00:12:37,120 --> 00:12:38,639 Speaker 1: Absolutely. That's AP Dylan. 249 00:12:38,919 --> 00:12:40,480 Speaker 2: You can read her work at the North State Journal 250 00:12:40,600 --> 00:12:44,080 NSJ online dot com and also at her Substack newsletter. 251 00:12:44,200 --> 00:12:47,320 More to the story, you know, stories are powerful. They 252 00:12:47,360 --> 00:12:50,960 help us make sense of things, to understand experiences. Stories 253 00:12:51,000 --> 00:12:54,279 connect us to the people of our past while transcending generations. 254 00:12:54,320 --> 00:12:56,759 They help us process the meaning of life, and our 255 00:12:56,879 --> 00:13:01,000 stories are told through images and videos. Deserve your stories 256 00:13:01,039 --> 00:13:04,240 with Creative Video started in nineteen ninety seven and Mint Hill, 257 00:13:04,320 --> 00:13:07,000 North Carolina. It was the first company to provide this 258 00:13:07,120 --> 00:13:11,360 valuable service, converting images, photos and videos into high quality 259 00:13:11,399 --> 00:13:15,399 produced slide shows, videos and albums. The trusted, talented and 260 00:13:15,480 --> 00:13:18,120 dedicated team at Creative Video will go over all of 261 00:13:18,159 --> 00:13:22,120 the details with you to create a perfect project. Satisfaction guaranteed. 262 00:13:22,360 --> 00:13:24,279 Drop them off in person or mail them. They'll be 263 00:13:24,320 --> 00:13:26,559 ready in a week or two. Memorial videos for your 264 00:13:26,600 --> 00:13:32,399 loved ones, videos for rehearsal, dinners, weddings, graduations, Christmas, family vacations, birthdays, 265 00:13:32,480 --> 00:13:36,279 or just your family stories, all told through images. That's 266 00:13:36,320 --> 00:13:39,600 what your photos and videos are. They are your life 267 00:13:39,720 --> 00:13:42,320 told through the eyes of everyone around you and all 268 00:13:42,360 --> 00:13:44,519 who came before you, and they will tell others to 269 00:13:44,559 --> 00:13:48,519 come who you are. Visit creative video dot com. So, 270 00:13:48,759 --> 00:13:52,799 speaking of the immigration issue and the North Carolina General 271 00:13:52,799 --> 00:13:56,759 Assembly override of the governor's veto that will now force 272 00:13:57,039 --> 00:14:02,320 law enforcement agencies to fully cooperate with ICE. When they 273 00:14:02,320 --> 00:14:05,279 have somebody that's in the jail that is bailing out 274 00:14:05,559 --> 00:14:09,399 and they are an illegal alien, they get a detainer 275 00:14:09,440 --> 00:14:13,639 placed on them, and now they have to contact ICE 276 00:14:13,679 --> 00:14:16,759 and let ICE know this guy's getting ready to leave, 277 00:14:17,679 --> 00:14:20,399 and ICE can say hold on to them for like 278 00:14:20,519 --> 00:14:22,080 forty eight hours. 279 00:14:23,080 --> 00:14:24,480 Speaker 1: What's interesting in all of this? 280 00:14:24,600 --> 00:14:26,519 Speaker 2: And I hadn't even considered it until I read this 281 00:14:26,639 --> 00:14:32,360 story by Ryan Orley over at the Charlotte Observer. Where's 282 00:14:32,440 --> 00:14:38,480 Baby Jesus on this aka Jeff Jackson, the Attorney General 283 00:14:38,480 --> 00:14:39,279 of North Carolina. 284 00:14:40,320 --> 00:14:44,320 Speaker 1: I did not give him that nickname. That was not me. Okay. 285 00:14:44,399 --> 00:14:47,360 Speaker 2: If I'd given him the nickname, it wouldn't have stuck, okay, 286 00:14:47,639 --> 00:14:50,240 because I apparently, like, I've been working on getting the 287 00:14:50,240 --> 00:14:54,480 word votainer adopted universally, and I can't get that done. 288 00:14:54,519 --> 00:14:56,360 Speaker 1: So you know, I couldn't get a nickname done. 289 00:14:56,480 --> 00:15:00,639 Speaker 2: So No, this was a nickname that was given to 290 00:15:00,679 --> 00:15:04,320 him by his fellow Democrats, unnamed, of course, in order 291 00:15:04,360 --> 00:15:10,279 to speak freely off the record or anonymously, I should say. 292 00:15:10,919 --> 00:15:13,919 But Jeff Jackson, former state lawmaker, then was going to 293 00:15:14,000 --> 00:15:16,279 run for US Senate, but then was like, no, I'll 294 00:15:16,279 --> 00:15:18,720 step out of the way for a black woman, Sherry Beasley, 295 00:15:18,799 --> 00:15:21,320 And then he went ran for Congress. He got that 296 00:15:21,399 --> 00:15:23,360 seat after they drew the map so he could win it, 297 00:15:23,799 --> 00:15:26,559 and then they redrew the maps and then he lost it. 298 00:15:27,120 --> 00:15:30,519 And then he ran for Attorney general and he beat 299 00:15:30,600 --> 00:15:37,240 Dan Bishop in that race last year. But Ryan Orley 300 00:15:37,440 --> 00:15:41,639 at the Charlotte Observer reached out and asked the Attorney 301 00:15:41,639 --> 00:15:46,559 General for his thoughts on the bill, and his spokesperson 302 00:15:46,679 --> 00:15:51,039 Ben Conroy said in an email quote, we don't have 303 00:15:51,120 --> 00:15:57,919 anything for you on this. Okay, then, so the top 304 00:15:58,000 --> 00:16:04,639 law enforcement officer has right like the Attorney general has 305 00:16:04,759 --> 00:16:10,159 no thought whatsoever about the state law that Josh Stein 306 00:16:10,360 --> 00:16:15,440 vetoed the General Assembly overrode. He has no thoughts whatsoever 307 00:16:16,000 --> 00:16:21,399 about the the Ice bill, the Ice Cooperation Bill. I mean, okay, 308 00:16:21,559 --> 00:16:24,480 I mean that is I guess, you know, one way 309 00:16:24,480 --> 00:16:28,960 to go. Of course, if people already believe that you 310 00:16:29,039 --> 00:16:31,440 are the Messiah, then you really don't have to do 311 00:16:31,480 --> 00:16:33,080 a whole lot, say a bunch of stuff, you know, 312 00:16:33,440 --> 00:16:35,000 especially when you're real young. 313 00:16:35,120 --> 00:16:37,639 Speaker 1: So hence the nickname. Okay. 314 00:16:38,279 --> 00:16:44,840 Speaker 2: Also, this obviously ties into our illustrious, often frustrated Sheriff 315 00:16:44,879 --> 00:16:50,399 of Mecklenburg County, Gary not my fault McFadden who And 316 00:16:50,440 --> 00:16:52,679 I even asked the Speaker of the House last week. 317 00:16:52,759 --> 00:16:55,759 I asked him during that interview that we did with him, 318 00:16:56,200 --> 00:16:58,960 if he could name the law Gary's Law. It's a 319 00:16:59,000 --> 00:17:01,960 little too late, though, but that's what I'm It will 320 00:17:01,960 --> 00:17:05,240 always be known as Gary's Law to me, okay, because 321 00:17:05,279 --> 00:17:09,359 Gary has made Sheriff. Macfadden has made at a point 322 00:17:09,720 --> 00:17:12,920 to find every single loophole that he can find, and honestly, 323 00:17:13,000 --> 00:17:15,920 he's not finding them. These are people, these are activist 324 00:17:16,079 --> 00:17:19,599 organizations that are you know, giving him legal guidance and 325 00:17:19,640 --> 00:17:21,559 saying here's a way around it, and here's what you 326 00:17:21,599 --> 00:17:26,039 say about it. And he has been playing this game 327 00:17:26,160 --> 00:17:30,039 of you know, whack a mole basically with the General Assembly, 328 00:17:30,240 --> 00:17:34,759 trying to you know, trying to knock it down, and 329 00:17:34,799 --> 00:17:36,839 he keeps popping out in different spots. I found a 330 00:17:36,839 --> 00:17:38,880 loophole here, then they close that one, as oh, I 331 00:17:38,920 --> 00:17:44,319 found a one over here. And so he's running for 332 00:17:44,359 --> 00:17:47,960 reelection next year, not this year, next year. But people 333 00:17:47,960 --> 00:17:50,400 are already lining up to run against him. 334 00:17:51,680 --> 00:17:54,160 Speaker 1: And this is not good. Okay, this is. 335 00:17:55,559 --> 00:18:00,319 Speaker 2: This is not fantastic because the more people you get 336 00:18:00,319 --> 00:18:03,119 that are running in the Democrat primary, the more you're 337 00:18:03,160 --> 00:18:06,319 going to splinter the vote. Now we've got retired Chief 338 00:18:06,319 --> 00:18:10,519 Deputy Rodney Collins. He's spent thirty years with the Mecklinberg 339 00:18:10,559 --> 00:18:14,279 County Sheriff's Office. He is now the third candidate to 340 00:18:14,400 --> 00:18:16,599 enter the ring for the seat currently held by McFadden. 341 00:18:16,640 --> 00:18:22,119 You got CMPD sergeant Ricky Robbins and former Mecklimber County 342 00:18:22,160 --> 00:18:27,559 Detention officer On Twain Nance also running. Now what's interesting 343 00:18:27,640 --> 00:18:31,200 is why does Gary get so many former Sheriff's office 344 00:18:31,240 --> 00:18:32,759 employees to run against him? 345 00:18:32,759 --> 00:18:38,240 Speaker 1: That's kind of weird. Hey, what love of that? Huh? 346 00:18:38,359 --> 00:18:40,160 So many former deputies? 347 00:18:40,880 --> 00:18:42,359 Speaker 2: But see the problem is you're gonna have so many 348 00:18:42,359 --> 00:18:44,440 of them, are gonna splinter the anti Gary vote, and 349 00:18:44,480 --> 00:18:46,720 then he's gonna end up winning again. You guys should 350 00:18:46,720 --> 00:18:49,759 probably consolidate around a candidate, a single challenger. Here's a 351 00:18:49,799 --> 00:18:52,680 great idea. How about making an escape to a really 352 00:18:52,720 --> 00:18:55,960 special and secluded getaway in western North Carolina. Just a 353 00:18:56,039 --> 00:18:58,640 quick drive up the mountain and Cabins of Ashville is 354 00:18:58,720 --> 00:19:02,319 your connection. Whether you or celebrating an anniversary, a honeymoon, 355 00:19:02,359 --> 00:19:04,599 maybe you want to plan a memorable proposal, or get 356 00:19:04,640 --> 00:19:07,519 family and friends together for a big old reunion. Cabins 357 00:19:07,559 --> 00:19:10,279 of Ashville has the ideal spot for you where you 358 00:19:10,319 --> 00:19:12,920 can reconnect with your loved ones and the things that 359 00:19:13,000 --> 00:19:16,759 truly matter. Nestled within the breath taking fourteen thousand acres 360 00:19:16,799 --> 00:19:20,119 of the Pisga National Forest, their cabins offer a serene 361 00:19:20,240 --> 00:19:22,960 escape in the heart of the Blue Ridge Mountains centrally 362 00:19:22,960 --> 00:19:25,480 located between Asheville and the entrance of the Great Smoky 363 00:19:25,480 --> 00:19:29,359 Mountain National Park. It's the perfect balance of seclusion and 364 00:19:29,480 --> 00:19:33,720 proximity to all the local attractions with hot tubs, fireplaces, 365 00:19:33,759 --> 00:19:37,960 air conditioning, smart TVs, Wi Fi grills, outdoor tables and 366 00:19:38,000 --> 00:19:42,319 your own private covered porch. Choose from thirteen cabins, six cottages, 367 00:19:42,400 --> 00:19:46,400 two villas and a great lodge with eleven king sized bedrooms. 368 00:19:46,559 --> 00:19:49,720 Cabins of Ashville has the ideal spot for you for 369 00:19:49,880 --> 00:19:53,599 any occasion, and they have pet friendly accommodations. Call or 370 00:19:53,680 --> 00:19:57,000 text eight two eight three six seven seventy sixty eight 371 00:19:57,319 --> 00:19:59,440 or check out all there is to offer at Cabins 372 00:19:59,440 --> 00:20:03,559 of Asheville and make memories that'll last a lifetime. So 373 00:20:04,200 --> 00:20:08,799 mentioned before the break there that we've got now three 374 00:20:08,839 --> 00:20:11,920 candidates that have thrown their name in the hat and 375 00:20:11,960 --> 00:20:15,519 then the hat into the ring. I never know which 376 00:20:15,559 --> 00:20:17,920 one of those to use, so I just used them both. 377 00:20:17,960 --> 00:20:20,839 You know, he can't be too sure. So we got 378 00:20:20,839 --> 00:20:24,759 retired Chief Deputy Rodney Collins, who has launched a campaign 379 00:20:26,079 --> 00:20:29,480 to unseat the incumbent Gary Not my fault McFadden in 380 00:20:29,519 --> 00:20:34,880 the Democrat primary. If McFadden runs again, let's hold out 381 00:20:35,000 --> 00:20:35,799 the hope that he. 382 00:20:35,720 --> 00:20:36,599 Speaker 1: Doesn't run again. 383 00:20:37,359 --> 00:20:41,240 Speaker 2: Maybe he does the right thing here and just says, 384 00:20:41,279 --> 00:20:43,759 you know what, I'm going to step aside. My tenure 385 00:20:43,799 --> 00:20:49,720 has not been the necessarily the best thing for the community, 386 00:20:49,920 --> 00:20:50,880 you know, and so I'm going. 387 00:20:50,839 --> 00:20:52,640 Speaker 1: To step aside. I'm just kidding me. He's not going 388 00:20:52,720 --> 00:20:54,880 to do that. There's no way he's going to do that. 389 00:20:56,599 --> 00:21:05,640 Speaker 2: So Collins, thirty year veteran of the Sheriff's office. You've 390 00:21:05,640 --> 00:21:13,160 got CMPD Sergeant Ricky Robbins, and you've got former Mecklenburg 391 00:21:13,200 --> 00:21:19,319 County Detention officer On Twain Nance or Antoine. It's spelled 392 00:21:19,359 --> 00:21:24,119 Twain like Mark Twain, but an Twain and twain Nance anyway. 393 00:21:25,200 --> 00:21:27,039 So those three are running in again. My concern is 394 00:21:27,039 --> 00:21:31,240 that they're gonna splinter the anti McFadden vote, much like 395 00:21:31,279 --> 00:21:34,440 what happened in the last election cycle in the Democrat primary, 396 00:21:34,480 --> 00:21:37,839 which then also makes me wonder or any of these 397 00:21:37,880 --> 00:21:43,960 candidates running in order to help Gary McFadden, right, they don't, like, 398 00:21:44,000 --> 00:21:46,359 they know they're not going to win, but they're there 399 00:21:46,400 --> 00:21:49,720 to make sure that they splinter anti McFadden votes, I 400 00:21:49,720 --> 00:21:52,319 don't know, and I'm not accusing anybody. I don't have 401 00:21:52,319 --> 00:21:55,559 any information. It's just it raises the possibility that that 402 00:21:56,039 --> 00:21:56,880 could be occurring. 403 00:21:56,960 --> 00:21:57,519 Speaker 1: You never know. 404 00:21:58,799 --> 00:22:01,680 Speaker 2: Speaking of mcphah, we've had. 405 00:22:01,599 --> 00:22:02,599 Speaker 1: Another jail death. 406 00:22:03,319 --> 00:22:06,920 Speaker 2: Another inmate has died after being found unresponsive at the 407 00:22:07,000 --> 00:22:10,319 jail in Mecklenburg County. This was last week, thirty eight 408 00:22:10,400 --> 00:22:14,039 year old man. He had been housed at the jail 409 00:22:14,079 --> 00:22:18,400 since twenty twenty three, so he has he had not 410 00:22:18,480 --> 00:22:21,759 been able to get out for whatever reason, couldn't bond 411 00:22:21,799 --> 00:22:27,519 out or something. They reported. At around noon, the inmate 412 00:22:27,559 --> 00:22:31,160 was found on responsive. Medical staff immediately were notified began 413 00:22:31,200 --> 00:22:37,599 life saving measures. About forty minutes later, he was pronounced dead. 414 00:22:38,200 --> 00:22:43,519 Sheriff McFadden put out a statement and said Mecklumberg County 415 00:22:43,519 --> 00:22:46,079 Sheriff's Office is devastated to announce the death of a 416 00:22:46,160 --> 00:22:48,720 resident because that's what he calls inmates. He calls them 417 00:22:48,960 --> 00:22:53,640 residents who was in our custody and care. We extend 418 00:22:53,640 --> 00:22:56,079 our deepest sympathies to his family and loved ones during 419 00:22:56,079 --> 00:22:58,759 this difficult time. So we don't really know what caused 420 00:22:58,759 --> 00:23:01,839 the guy's death. At least according to this WBTV report. Now, 421 00:23:01,880 --> 00:23:06,079 there was another report over at Queen City News that 422 00:23:06,880 --> 00:23:15,839 McFadden apparently learned of this death from local pastors after 423 00:23:15,920 --> 00:23:22,400 a meeting with them about concerns in the Latino community 424 00:23:23,440 --> 00:23:30,519 or latinx Latinic community whatever, like he so he was indeed, 425 00:23:30,599 --> 00:23:32,640 so his staff did not make him aware that there 426 00:23:32,680 --> 00:23:37,000 was another resident death at his jail. See, this is 427 00:23:37,039 --> 00:23:39,440 what gets him frustrated, he has said in the past, 428 00:23:39,480 --> 00:23:42,000 this is the kind of thing that gets him super frustrated, 429 00:23:42,960 --> 00:23:45,559 and then he has to use the racial slurs against 430 00:23:45,599 --> 00:23:50,640 his command staff. So you guys, you got to come 431 00:23:50,680 --> 00:23:52,839 in now, because you didn't tell him about this. He 432 00:23:52,880 --> 00:23:55,240 had to learn from it from a bunch of pastors 433 00:23:55,279 --> 00:23:58,359 that he was meeting with that were like, I guess, hey, 434 00:23:59,319 --> 00:24:02,839 so what happened this death. I'm assuming maybe the person 435 00:24:02,839 --> 00:24:06,240 who died, the inmate was Hispanic, I guess. And that's 436 00:24:06,240 --> 00:24:08,759 why the pastors knew about the death, because somebody in 437 00:24:08,880 --> 00:24:12,119 one of their congregations told them, and then they asked 438 00:24:12,240 --> 00:24:14,440 McFadden about it, and that's when he learned about it. 439 00:24:14,519 --> 00:24:21,799 And yeah, that's kind of embarrassing. That is two deaths 440 00:24:21,880 --> 00:24:25,559 so far this year. There were zero in twenty twenty four. 441 00:24:26,160 --> 00:24:28,240 The state was paying a lot of attention to their 442 00:24:28,279 --> 00:24:34,440 operations at the time. So McFadden, so far from twenty 443 00:24:34,519 --> 00:24:39,039 nineteen through the present, so six years, he has had 444 00:24:39,079 --> 00:24:44,599 now a total of twenty deaths in the jail, which 445 00:24:44,640 --> 00:24:47,960 is a little over three per year, right, about a 446 00:24:47,960 --> 00:24:50,000 little bit more than three per year, three deaths per 447 00:24:50,039 --> 00:24:57,160 year on average. His predecessor, Erwin Carmichael, in his four 448 00:24:57,240 --> 00:24:59,559 year term he averaged two deaths per year. He had 449 00:24:59,599 --> 00:25:03,279 eight death on his watch. Chip Bailey had eight deaths 450 00:25:03,319 --> 00:25:07,559 on his watch similar amount of time. So McFadden is 451 00:25:07,640 --> 00:25:12,160 obviously pacing higher than his predecessors, even though he will 452 00:25:12,160 --> 00:25:16,720 claim that this is what that's right, not his fault, 453 00:25:17,359 --> 00:25:23,079 not none of this is his fault. It's COVID, it's fentanyl. 454 00:25:23,920 --> 00:25:27,319 It's the lack of a rap studio or recording studio 455 00:25:27,400 --> 00:25:29,839 in the jail, which he has thankfully now corrected. We 456 00:25:29,880 --> 00:25:34,000 now have a recording studio at the jail, So maybe 457 00:25:34,000 --> 00:25:36,799 this will drive down the death count there. 458 00:25:37,240 --> 00:25:39,880 Speaker 1: We'll see. I don't know. 459 00:25:41,720 --> 00:25:43,319 Speaker 2: City of Charlotte's going to be paying up to three 460 00:25:43,359 --> 00:25:47,359 hundred dollars an hour for investigative services from an outside attorney. 461 00:25:47,680 --> 00:25:50,000 That's according to an agreement that was signed by a 462 00:25:50,039 --> 00:25:51,400 city representative earlier. 463 00:25:52,599 --> 00:25:53,839 Speaker 1: Well, this would have been in July. 464 00:25:54,839 --> 00:25:57,559 Speaker 2: This is the story from Nicholas Sullivan, I believe over 465 00:25:57,599 --> 00:26:03,119 at the Charlotte Observer. The hire follows statements from Councilwoman 466 00:26:03,240 --> 00:26:06,559 Victoria Watlington that accused the city of unethical behavior, but 467 00:26:06,640 --> 00:26:11,480 the agreement with the investigative service did not refer to 468 00:26:11,480 --> 00:26:17,759 Watlington's comments or provide an explanation for the services. Patrick Flanagan, 469 00:26:18,160 --> 00:26:22,480 an attorney with the Cranfill Sumner Law firm, will conduct 470 00:26:22,519 --> 00:26:27,680 the investigation for a maximum of twenty five thousand dollars. 471 00:26:29,119 --> 00:26:30,880 Feel good about that taxpayer expense. 472 00:26:32,720 --> 00:26:33,559 Speaker 1: I'm going to go out on. 473 00:26:33,519 --> 00:26:35,400 Speaker 2: A limbit and make a prediction. I don't really like 474 00:26:35,440 --> 00:26:37,079 to do these sorts of things, but I'm going to 475 00:26:37,119 --> 00:26:44,759 say everybody gets cleared. They will find no wrongdoing by anybody, 476 00:26:44,759 --> 00:26:47,880 but will urge them to engage in a more civil way. 477 00:26:48,319 --> 00:26:51,200 That's what I'm thinking happens. The cost does not include 478 00:26:51,200 --> 00:26:53,599 additional out of pocket expenses. Ooh, so we could pay 479 00:26:53,599 --> 00:26:56,519 more such as filing or recording fees, court fees and 480 00:26:56,599 --> 00:27:01,799 research services that will be built to the City. WFAE 481 00:27:01,880 --> 00:27:08,160 reported that Flanagan, we'll interview council members about Watlington's criticisms, 482 00:27:08,799 --> 00:27:12,440 which stemmed from her frustration over how the city handled 483 00:27:12,680 --> 00:27:18,319 that separation agreement with the police chief Johnny Jennings. Council 484 00:27:18,400 --> 00:27:21,640 voted in closed session to pay Jennings over three hundred 485 00:27:21,680 --> 00:27:26,160 thousand dollars back in May because he was threatening to 486 00:27:26,240 --> 00:27:31,039 sue the city because council member Tark Bakari wanted vests 487 00:27:31,200 --> 00:27:35,759 outer carry vests for rank and file cops. Chief said, no, 488 00:27:36,519 --> 00:27:39,880 they don't look nice, they look militarized, they look scary, 489 00:27:40,039 --> 00:27:43,279 and so we don't want those. Bakari said, I'm going 490 00:27:43,359 --> 00:27:46,559 to wage a pr campaign against you and it's going 491 00:27:46,599 --> 00:27:52,599 to tarnish your legacy and this isn't personal, and Jennings said, basically, 492 00:27:52,680 --> 00:27:55,319 you know, bring it on. And then Jennings eventually caved 493 00:27:55,599 --> 00:27:57,960 and got his feelings hurt and then threatened to sue 494 00:27:58,920 --> 00:28:01,799 on what grounds there was a claim of some sort 495 00:28:01,799 --> 00:28:05,759 of defamation, but he never actually filed a lawsuit. Instead, 496 00:28:05,799 --> 00:28:08,440 he just said I'm going to file a lawsuit and 497 00:28:08,519 --> 00:28:12,079 this Charlotte City Council then cave to him and said, 498 00:28:12,319 --> 00:28:16,480 here's a bunch of money, take it early, and then 499 00:28:16,519 --> 00:28:22,920 he's retiring. Now, there was a closed session vote on this. 500 00:28:24,279 --> 00:28:29,440 There are minutes taken of what is discussed and closed session, 501 00:28:30,200 --> 00:28:32,759 and at some point the minutes of those closed session 502 00:28:32,839 --> 00:28:36,960 meetings are eligible to be released to the public. 503 00:28:38,960 --> 00:28:41,240 Speaker 1: But not these all. 504 00:28:41,359 --> 00:28:43,119 Speaker 2: Right, if you're listening to this show, you know I 505 00:28:43,160 --> 00:28:45,039 try to keep up with all sorts of current events, 506 00:28:45,039 --> 00:28:47,119 and I know you do too, And you've probably heard 507 00:28:47,119 --> 00:28:51,200 me say get your news from multiple sources. Why Well, 508 00:28:51,240 --> 00:28:53,960 because it's how you detect media bias, which is why 509 00:28:54,000 --> 00:28:57,200 I've been so impressed with ground News. It's an app 510 00:28:57,400 --> 00:29:00,599 and it's a website and it combines news from around 511 00:29:00,599 --> 00:29:03,039 the world in one place so you can compare coverage 512 00:29:03,279 --> 00:29:06,000 and verify information. You can check it out at check 513 00:29:06,240 --> 00:29:10,440 dot ground, dot news slash pete. I put the link 514 00:29:10,480 --> 00:29:13,599 in the podcast description too. I started using ground News 515 00:29:13,640 --> 00:29:16,319 a few months ago and more recently chose to work 516 00:29:16,359 --> 00:29:18,400 with them as an affiliate because it lets me see 517 00:29:18,440 --> 00:29:22,279 clearly how stories get covered and by whom. The blind 518 00:29:22,279 --> 00:29:25,079 spot feature shows you which stories get ignored by the 519 00:29:25,160 --> 00:29:28,880 left and the right. See for yourself check dot ground, 520 00:29:29,079 --> 00:29:32,759 dot news slash pete. Subscribe through that link and you'll 521 00:29:32,759 --> 00:29:35,920 get fifteen percent off any subscription. I use the Vantage 522 00:29:35,960 --> 00:29:39,440 plan to get unlimited access to every feature. Your subscription 523 00:29:39,559 --> 00:29:42,240 then not only helps my podcast, but it also supports 524 00:29:42,279 --> 00:29:45,519 ground news as they make the media landscape more transparent. 525 00:29:46,400 --> 00:29:49,480 So the City of Charlotte has declined to release the 526 00:29:49,640 --> 00:29:53,480 minutes or the transcript, if you will, the notes that 527 00:29:53,519 --> 00:29:56,799 are taken from the closed session two closed door meetings 528 00:29:56,799 --> 00:30:00,920 actually back in May, where city council members discussed and 529 00:30:01,000 --> 00:30:04,720 approved a controversial three hundred five thousand dollars settlement to 530 00:30:04,839 --> 00:30:09,519 Charlotte Mecklaburg police Chief Johnny Jennings, even though the details 531 00:30:09,519 --> 00:30:13,680 of the settlement are already public. This is a piece 532 00:30:13,720 --> 00:30:17,640 over at the Charlotte Ledger Charlotte Ledger dot substack dot com. 533 00:30:17,759 --> 00:30:20,160 The piece is written by Michelle Crouch, who used to 534 00:30:20,160 --> 00:30:22,599 cover city council a long time ago. She was one 535 00:30:22,640 --> 00:30:25,880 of the Charlotte Observer reporters when I was a WBT 536 00:30:26,000 --> 00:30:32,039 reporter when we covered the city council together. Tony Messia 537 00:30:32,200 --> 00:30:36,559 also contributed to this piece. Under North Carolina law, minutes 538 00:30:36,599 --> 00:30:44,319 from closed sessions are public records unless releasing them would 539 00:30:44,599 --> 00:30:50,000 frustrate the purpose of the closed session. However, the city 540 00:30:50,039 --> 00:30:53,960 believes that does not apply in this case. Instead, the 541 00:30:53,960 --> 00:30:57,559 city cited laws protecting personnel records. 542 00:30:58,160 --> 00:31:00,160 Speaker 1: But again po. 543 00:31:00,119 --> 00:31:04,640 Speaker 2: Least Chief Johnny Jennings already released the terms of the agreement, 544 00:31:06,279 --> 00:31:08,920 and what you would learn in the minutes of the 545 00:31:08,960 --> 00:31:12,720 closed door meetings. You would learn the different things that 546 00:31:12,759 --> 00:31:19,559 the city council members were saying. You would hear their discussion. 547 00:31:19,599 --> 00:31:22,519 You would be able to read their discussion. You would 548 00:31:22,559 --> 00:31:25,839 be able to see who entered the meeting at what 549 00:31:25,960 --> 00:31:29,079 time because there's a record kept of that. But you 550 00:31:29,119 --> 00:31:32,839 would also see who left the meeting and at what 551 00:31:33,000 --> 00:31:39,400 time and what votes were taken. See, that's what I 552 00:31:39,440 --> 00:31:44,200 suspect they don't want people to see, because that's the rub. 553 00:31:45,680 --> 00:31:51,799 The agreement was approved after a city council member left 554 00:31:53,039 --> 00:31:55,880 and her vote was recorded as a yes, which is 555 00:31:55,920 --> 00:31:59,440 the rule, and that's always been the rule. People were 556 00:31:59,440 --> 00:32:01,599 outraged when they read this story and they were not 557 00:32:01,680 --> 00:32:03,480 aware of this rule, and they were like, well, that's 558 00:32:03,519 --> 00:32:05,880 going on here, that's corruption. They're like, that's always been 559 00:32:05,920 --> 00:32:07,680 the rule. If you show up in the meeting and 560 00:32:07,680 --> 00:32:11,880 then you leave, that's called that's an unexcused absence. And 561 00:32:11,960 --> 00:32:16,240 then you have every vote after you leave count as 562 00:32:16,240 --> 00:32:20,200 a yes. They're all affirmative votes, and they do that 563 00:32:20,279 --> 00:32:22,519 in order to avoid the very thing that we're seeing 564 00:32:22,519 --> 00:32:25,480 in Texas right now, right with the coorum breaking. So 565 00:32:25,559 --> 00:32:29,000 you don't get to show up, take a vote that 566 00:32:29,039 --> 00:32:32,799 you want to take, and then avoid hard votes later 567 00:32:32,880 --> 00:32:36,599 on in the agenda. So you don't get to abstain. 568 00:32:36,680 --> 00:32:40,640 You got to say yes or no, unless you recuse 569 00:32:40,680 --> 00:32:42,440 yourself for some conflict or whatever. 570 00:32:43,279 --> 00:32:43,880 Speaker 1: But that's it. 571 00:32:46,440 --> 00:32:49,039 Speaker 2: So the city denied a public records request that was 572 00:32:49,079 --> 00:32:54,599 made by the Charlotte Ledger. The payout to Jennings stems 573 00:32:54,599 --> 00:32:57,759 from the messages sent by former council member Tark Bookari 574 00:32:58,119 --> 00:33:01,880 that Jennings said, we're bullying and inappropriate. He also said 575 00:33:01,920 --> 00:33:04,680 it was defamatory somehow. But I don't know how it 576 00:33:04,720 --> 00:33:07,920 would be defamatory if nobody saw the text messages except 577 00:33:07,960 --> 00:33:12,079 you and Tark like, that doesn't make any sense. Jennings 578 00:33:12,079 --> 00:33:14,599 never did follow that lawsuit before the council approved the 579 00:33:14,640 --> 00:33:21,720 settlement of the phantom threatened lawsuit. After weeks of public pressure, 580 00:33:21,799 --> 00:33:25,400 Jennings announced his retirement and the terms of his settlement. 581 00:33:25,960 --> 00:33:28,720 As part of an interview with journalist Michael Graff for 582 00:33:29,039 --> 00:33:33,079 the Charlotte Optimist newsletter, which he publishes. The city has 583 00:33:33,119 --> 00:33:37,039 declined to release other related records, including communications between Jennings 584 00:33:37,119 --> 00:33:40,640 and the city related to the settlement, records that were 585 00:33:40,640 --> 00:33:42,680 requested by the Charlotte Observer. 586 00:33:45,519 --> 00:33:50,039 Speaker 1: Yeah, so that's the Uh Yeah, I don't know. 587 00:33:50,519 --> 00:33:52,640 Speaker 2: I think somebody's gonna have to freaking sue them to 588 00:33:52,640 --> 00:33:56,359 get that stuff. Credit where it is due, albeit a 589 00:33:56,359 --> 00:33:59,759 bit late, I'm sorry to say, but the editorial board 590 00:33:59,799 --> 00:34:03,880 at Charlotte Observer back in June, and I have had 591 00:34:03,880 --> 00:34:06,160 this in my stack of prep for a while, but 592 00:34:06,240 --> 00:34:10,159 it's evergreen because I wanted to give them credit headlines. 593 00:34:10,239 --> 00:34:13,239 Charlotte leaders are moving on from the Jennings settlement, but 594 00:34:13,360 --> 00:34:16,679 not so fast. After weeks of secrecy, city leaders have 595 00:34:16,760 --> 00:34:20,800 finally provided some answers about the settlement because Jennings released it. 596 00:34:22,360 --> 00:34:25,000 The city seems to think that providing these details itself 597 00:34:25,079 --> 00:34:28,039 is enough, but those answers have only sparked more questions, 598 00:34:28,480 --> 00:34:31,559 and much about the situation remains unknown. How did the 599 00:34:31,599 --> 00:34:36,519 city decide on this agreement and why? That is a 600 00:34:36,639 --> 00:34:40,280 key question. They are right to raise it. The editorial 601 00:34:40,280 --> 00:34:41,960 board is right to raise it now. I don't know 602 00:34:42,000 --> 00:34:44,000 if they're doing any kind of investigative work to get 603 00:34:44,000 --> 00:34:48,440 the answers to these questions. What laws does Jennings allege 604 00:34:48,440 --> 00:34:53,719 were violated? Another good question? If he threatened legal action 605 00:34:53,840 --> 00:34:58,159 against the city, what did that litigation look like? Would 606 00:34:58,159 --> 00:35:00,760 he have had legitimate grounds to sue the first place? 607 00:35:00,800 --> 00:35:04,679 And if not, why was a settlement recommended? The board 608 00:35:04,719 --> 00:35:08,400 says some transparency is better than none, but the city 609 00:35:08,480 --> 00:35:12,239 still has an obligation to provide a more complete explanation 610 00:35:12,400 --> 00:35:16,079 of what transpired. They're exactly right. While the agreement may 611 00:35:16,119 --> 00:35:19,599 indeed have just been a straightforward separation agreement, the public 612 00:35:19,639 --> 00:35:23,119 cannot be expected to know that if it doesn't understand 613 00:35:23,159 --> 00:35:26,000 why it happened, or if it feels like something is 614 00:35:26,039 --> 00:35:30,000 still being hidden, the suspicion and mistrust could have been 615 00:35:30,000 --> 00:35:33,360 avoided if city leaders had been transparent from the start. 616 00:35:33,800 --> 00:35:37,159 They're exactly right. They're exactly right. Now, you want us 617 00:35:37,199 --> 00:35:40,079 to trust you that this is all the information that 618 00:35:41,039 --> 00:35:43,920 can be reported out with We don't believe you. We 619 00:35:44,000 --> 00:35:46,440 don't believe you because you refuse to talk about this 620 00:35:46,599 --> 00:35:49,480 for so long, and you know people had to just 621 00:35:49,639 --> 00:35:53,039 beat you up in order to get this even confirmed. 622 00:35:53,639 --> 00:35:56,559 So no, yeah, you need to answer a whole bunch 623 00:35:56,599 --> 00:36:01,840 more questions. We'll see if it happens. All right, that'll 624 00:36:01,840 --> 00:36:04,480 do it for this episode. Thank you so much for listening. 625 00:36:04,599 --> 00:36:06,760 I could not do the show without your support and 626 00:36:06,800 --> 00:36:09,519 the support of the businesses that advertise on the podcast, 627 00:36:09,880 --> 00:36:11,960 so if you'd like, please support them too and tell 628 00:36:11,960 --> 00:36:13,679 them you heard it here. You can also become a 629 00:36:13,719 --> 00:36:18,360 patron at my Patreon page or go to dpetecalnarshow dot com. Again, 630 00:36:18,639 --> 00:36:21,199 thank you so much for listening, and don't break anything 631 00:36:21,199 --> 00:36:22,920 while I'm gone.