Up and Coming Weekly is a weekly publication in Fayetteville, NC and Fort Bragg, NC area offering local news, views, arts, entertainment and community event and business information.
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8 UCW DECEMBER 28 - JANUARY 3, 2016 WWW.UPANDCOMINGWEEKLY.COM What was supposed to be a hallmark of bipartisan support leading to repeal of North Carolina's "bathroom bill" collapsed last week as state legislators backed out of a deal. The General Assembly voted to adjourn its special session with the law still on the books. Earlier, Charlotte's City Council held up its part of the arrangement by voting unanimously to rescind its nondiscrimination ordinance under the promise that the legislature would then move to repeal HB2. Gov. Pat McCrory then called the legislature back for a special session believing he had the votes to put the controversial measure behind him. But attempts by his own party's lawmakers to short-circuit the special session began minutes after it opened. House Rules Chairman David Lewis, a Harnett County Republican, said there weren't enough members of the GOP caucus who support repealing HB2 to approve doing that. Democrats were expecting a clean repeal bill. Instead, Sen. Phil Berger, GOP President Pro Tem of the senate, proposed a six-month "cooling-off " period and HB2 would essentially be in effect for another six months. "It's something that helps us get to a reset," said Berger. Democrats balked fearing the law would stay on the books indefinitely. "It doubles down on discrimination. It does not repeal HB2," said Rep. Chris Sgro, a Guilford County Democrat. "It doesn't help us get the NCAA back, it doesn't help us get the NBA back. It means North Carolina remains deeply closed for business," he added. What started all of this was Charlotte City Council's passage of a local ordinance that required businesses to allow transgender individuals to use the bathroom of their choice. Angry lawmakers and Gov. McCrory warned the state would intervene if it passed. Charlotte enacted the ordinance and legislators called themselves back to Raleigh in March and quickly passed House Bill 2. It requires individuals to use the bathroom, locker room or shower that corresponds with the gender listed on their birth certificates. The rule applies to state-owned facilities such as university campuses, as well as local government buildings, including schools, courthouses and city halls. It established a statewide nondiscrimination law that does not include LGBT protections. In North Carolina, cities and counties are governed by the state. Earlier this month, the legislative leadership, Governor McCrory and Governor-Elect Roy Cooper had agreed in an unusual bipartisan display to repeal the law by the end of the year if the Charlotte City Council agreed to roll back most of its local ordinance. Both Cooper and McCrory claimed credit for the agreement and blamed one another for the rancor surrounding the issue. The law had also become a liability for some suburban Republicans, some of whom like Sen. Tamara Barringer, R-Wake, and Rep. Chris Malone, R-Wake, called for repeal during the fall campaign. Exit polls on election day indicated 65 percent of North Carolina voters supported repeal. Businesses and their trade groups have been complaining loudly for months that the measure was costing the state millions of dollars in lost business and jobs. A variety of conventions, concerts and sports tournaments have moved or canceled events scheduled for North Carolina. Of course, groups representing LGBT interests, such as Equality North Carolina and the Human Rights Campaign, also called for repeal ever since the measure was passed. HB2 Remains Law of the Land by JEFF THOMPSON JEFF THOMPSON, Senior News Reporter. COMMENTS? news@upandcomingweekly. com. 910.484.6200. NEWS Dealing with FEMA is a process, one that many local governments say has improved in recent years. But, it does take time to implement emergency relief measures in the wake of storms and other natural disasters. Following Hurricane Matthew on Saturday, Oct. 8, the City of Fayetteville had an advantage over other local jurisdictions. Officials had entered into an agreement with Crowder-Gulf of Mobile, Alabama, several years ago. It's a disaster support firm capable of providing rapid response to emergencies that require outside support. Within 10 days of the hurricane, three Crowder-Gulf crews rolled into town with large trucks. Before long, five more double units joined the effort. Fayetteville's emergency response began overnight on Oct. 8. FAST buses drove through neighborhoods, taking residents impacted by flooding to shelters. PWC emergency crews began the massive task of restoring electricity to 40,000 homes. They did so in less than three days. On Sunday, Oct. 9, crews from the Parks and Street Departments began clearing downed trees and other debris from city streets. Environmental Services followed with what would be a massive task of collecting the debris. "Six city crews and trucks equipped with large claws began doing what they could to gather trees and other debris," said Interim Environmental Services Director James Rhodes. Cumberland County government didn't have the advantage of a prearranged storm team on call. It had to start the process from scratch. "We have tried to assure residents who had storm debris that we would hire contractors as soon as possible," said county spokesperson Sally Shutt, but it took two months. Staff created requests for proposals and then solicited contractors. Weeks later, County Commissioners authorized the County Manager to execute the contracts. But then came legal and procurement reviews. Once the draft contracts were completed, they were submitted to two chosen companies for their review, all of this according to Assistant County Manager Tracy Jackson. Then came more planning and a schedule for the debris pick-up. "Staff proceeded cautiously and methodically with the advice of legal and our disaster recovery consultant to retain reputable contractors who could do the debris removal work quickly, safely, and according to state and FEMA regulations," Jackson said. For the most part, unincorporated areas of the county have been serviced by now. It was a much bigger undertaking for city government. All 148 square miles of the city were either inundated by flood waters and/or overrun with debris from fallen trees and branches plus all the mess stirred up from flood waters. Scouts travelled the entire city, time and again, to make sure truckers had been or were scheduled everywhere. They told officials they drove 5,000 miles. "Debris collection teams have made as many as three passes in some neighborhoods," said spokesperson Jackie Tuckey. Crowder-Gulf staff stayed in close touch with the environmental services team. "We met every day to exchange information," Tuckey added. Construction of demolition scrap from damaged homes and buildings also had to be picked up. "That material went to the county landfill, while vegetative debris was taken to a temporary site off S. Reilly Rd. where it was ground into mulch." As of mid- December, 65,000 cubic yards of debris had been collected. To put that in perspective, a cubic yard of debris is about the size of a Volkswagon Beetle. Crowder-Gulf crews are on holiday break until Jan. 2, when they hope to wrap up the massive undertaking. "We've done fairly well, said Rhodes. "We've worked well together." No one is willing to make an educated guess what the project is costing. FEMA allows up to 180 days for reimbursement. Communities are compensated by FEMA at a higher rate of 85 percent of actual cost during the first two months. Dealing with Hurricane Matthew's Aftermath by JEFF THOMPSON Fayetteville's emergency response began overnight on Oct. 8.