☀️ In Today’s Edition

1. Why Politicians Love the Sales Tax
2. Renewed Interest in the Death Penalty
3. Around Our Network
4. What We’re Reading
5. Our Recent Stories

In November, Mecklenburg County voters will be asked to approve a penny sales tax increase projected to raise $19.4 billion over 30 years for transportation improvements. A “yes” vote would put the sales tax at 8.25 percent, the highest in the state.

Critics say the sales tax is regressive because poor people spend a larger share of their income on it than wealthier people. Advocates say the trade-off will be more reliable transportation options for all income levels, and that people from outside Mecklenburg will subsidize it by contributing a third of the revenue.

North Carolina has become more reliant on the sales tax after cutting personal and corporate income taxes, Jim Morrill reports. Now, other municipalities will be watching what happens in Meck.

Why Politicians Learned to Love the Sales Tax

The combined state and local sales tax has more than doubled since 1970, and Mecklenburg voters are mulling another increase. Why does a tax that hits poor people hardest have so much support?

“I travel I-77 and I-85 during certain times of day on a regular basis,” said County Commissioner George Dunlap, a Democrat. “Anybody who gets on the freeway clearly understands the benefit of increasing the sales tax.”

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Renewed Interest in the Death Penalty

North Carolina’s death penalty has been in limbo. It is on the books, but no executions have been carried out since 2006. And for nearly 20 years, neither political party made definitive moves to either repeal or resurrect it. 

But on Friday, Gov. Josh Stein signed Iryna’s Law, a bill named for the Ukrainian refugee who was stabbed to death on a Charlotte light rail train in August. Republican state legislators hope the law will restart executions. 

Legal experts, however, say that won’t happen anytime soon.

A Revived Death Penalty?

Nearly 20 years ago, North Carolina stopped executing people. Republican state legislators hope a new crime law will restart the death penalty. Legal experts say it won’t be that easy.

When state Rep. Jarrod Lowery announced he was joining the Trump administration, he was cagey about the details. Now he tells Border Belt Independent he’ll be senior adviser to the assistant secretary for Indian Affairs at the Department of the Interior.

Cumberland County commissioners voted unanimously to offer a $363,550 grant to a steel fabrication company, hoping to lure 42 jobs to Fayetteville, CityView reports. The city is competing against locations in Virginia and South Carolina.

In Raleigh, a musical theater production puts a new spin on Guys and Dolls with a cast that is entirely over the age of 55. INDY has more on this “second act.”

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What We’re Reading

Back Pay or Payback: A draft White House memo says furloughed workers aren’t guaranteed back pay after the government shutdown, per NOTUS. Sen. Thom Tillis was critical: “That’s probably not a good message to send right now.”

Life’s a Beach: The only licensed child care center on Hatteras Island told parents it would close at the end of the year, a parent writes for EdNC. The center “couldn’t overcome the severe staffing shortage facing so many child care centers today.”

Dead Ball: UNC-Chapel Hill’s season-long football documentary with Hulu is no longer happening, Inside Carolina reports. The docuseries was supposed to go behind the scenes of Bill Belichick’s first season with the team.

Our Recent Stories

Raleigh Tries to Break Its 54-Year Baseball Losing Streak

The fast-growing city appears to be a good candidate for Major League Baseball. But even a minor league team has eluded it.

Greensboro Shifts Course on Homeless Shelters

As the city invests more in temporary shelters, advocates and people without housing worry they’ll be left out in the cold.

Medicine By Design

A sharp dresser and an unabashed evangelist of hope, Duke Professor Dr. Richard Bedlack built a research and support network for patients with ALS.

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