☀️ In Today’s Edition

1. The Rise and Fall of an Anti-Trawling Measure
2. A Big Settlement in Columbus
3. Around Our Network
4. What We’re Reading
5. Our Recent Stories

Raleigh is a long way away from Swan Quarter, in both distance and culture. But just a few weeks ago, a busload of shrimpers and their allies made the trek to protest a bill that they said would destroy their livelihoods.

Last-minute changes made to legislation in the state Senate in June would have banned all shrimp trawling in the state’s inshore waters and within a half-mile of the shoreline for four years. 

Others in the industry, which despite economic headwinds landed 7.7 million pounds of shrimp valued at over $14.8 million last year, and even local elected officials were taken aback. The reaction was swift and effective. Today’s story, published with Outer Banks Insider, digs into the where it came from.

The Rapid Rise and Fall of N.C.’s Proposed Shrimp Trawl Ban

A last-minute change to legislation prompted a swift rebuke from the state’s shrimpers and their allies. Will it make a comeback?

“Their overarching agenda is to get all commercial fishing out of the sounds in North Carolina, without question,” said state Sen. Bobby Hanig. “The shrimp trawl ban was just the beginning, like an opening salvo, if you would.”

Have a news tip for our team? You can reach us at scoops@theassemblync.com.

A man who sustained a traumatic brain injury and broken bones while held in the Columbus County jail settled a lawsuit against Sheriff Bill Rogers, former Sheriff Jody Greene, and several deputies for $975,000, a newly released document shows.

Four men held in detention at the facility attacked Joshua Johnson, who was being held on misdemeanor charges, in August 2022. The incident raised concerns about oversight at the jail, but as Sarah Nagem and Carli Brosseau found, state inspection reports identified problems with supervision in subsequent years as well. 

Read the full story.

PBS North Carolina will offer separation agreements to most of its permanent employees. Due to recent federal funding cuts, the organization will undergo a “reorganization through reduction” program, per INDY.

The State Board of Elections has been trying to contact 103,000 voters to collect their driver’s license numbers or the last four digits of their Social Security numbers. CityView explains how to find out if you’re one of them.

Assembly reporter Michael Hewlett appeared on WUNC’s Due South to talk about his recent reporting on the case of Ruben Wright. Listen to the segment here.

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What We’re Reading

License to Ill: State Auditor Dave Boliek released a 435-page report on how to improve the DMV, WRAL reports. He cited “a lack of detailed and measurably relevant metrics” as a key part of the problem.

Radio Waves: The director of Voice of America was fired after refusing to accept a reassignment to run a broadcasting station in North Carolina, per the Washington Post. He has challenged the dismissal in federal court.

Permission Not Granted: The Guardian reports that an epidemiologist at the UNC-Chapel Hill studying birth outcomes in Black families is one of the many researchers who lost funding due to the Trump administration’s changes at the National Institutes of Health.

Our Recent Stories

In Charlotte, Catholics May Have to Give Up the Old Ways

A dustup over the traditional Latin Mass in Charlotte challenges the new pop to set a course for churches across the world.

Naming the Bones

A forensic anthropologist and a volunteer sleuth are working to identify bodies from nearly 300 cold cases across the state.

In Emails, UNC’s Provost Claimed Roberts Approved Tenure Delay

In an email, Chris Clemens said Chancellor Lee Roberts agreed to the trustees’ controversial move for financial reasons.

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