North Carolina
Political leaders and experts consider reality of North Carolina redistricting reforms
H.R. 7095, sponsored by Rep. Deborah Ross (D-N.C. 2nd), was supported by the other six House Democrats from North Carolina. All 14 of North Carolina’s representatives won their seats with a congressional map drawn by judges in 2022 after the one drawn by the legislature was thrown out for being an illegal partisan gerrymander.
Three out of the seven representatives, Reps. Jeff Jackson (D-N.C. 14th), Kathy Manning (D-N.C. 6th) and Wiley Nickel (D-N.C. 13th), were all drawn out of their districts and decided not to seek reelection.
A few weeks before redistricting began, the state’s 2023-25 budget was passed — which included a provision exempting legislators from the public records law governing all other government branches. But, experts suggest that requiring legislators to publish relevant documents likely would not have made much of a difference in the final maps.
Andy Jackson, the director of the Civitas Center for Public Integrity at the John Locke Foundation, said a more effective reform would be limiting the use of data to blunt the surgical precision used to make districts as advantageous as possible.
This is not the first time Democrats in Congress tried to pass redistricting reforms. In recent years, Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-Calif. 18th) sponsored H.R. 3572, the Redistricting Reform Act of 2019, which would have required states to establish a nonpartisan, independent redistricting commission. It died in the subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights and Civil Liberties.
Two years later, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) introduced S.2670, Redistricting Reform Act of 2021. This bill was the same as the one from 2019, but it died on the Senate floor.
In 2022, the Brennan Center for Justice, a nonpartisan think tank, found that state redistricting reforms work across the U.S. if politicians were removed from the map-drawing process.
“Ultimately, what we need is a nonpartisan, independent redistricting commission, and the process of redistricting needs to be removed from the direct control of the legislature,” Ann Webb, the policy director of Common Cause North Carolina, said.
Common Cause North Carolina, along with the N.C. NAACP and eight Black voters, filed a lawsuit against the North Carolina state legislature in December, calling all three new maps unconstitutional. While there hasn’t been much success in getting federal redistricting reforms passed, seven states have switched to independent commissioners drawing the maps rather than legislators.
In some states, the legislature proposed the change, but in others, like California and Arizona, voters put the issue on the ballot and passed it themselves.
North Carolina does not have a system for voters to put issues directly on the ballot, so the change would come from the state legislature or the federal government.
N.C. House Minority Leader Rep. Robert Reives (D-Chatham, Randolph) said he believes Democrats would fight for independent redistricting if they were in power and that there’s an appetite for change in the Republican ranks but not leadership.
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“It’s frustrating because it’s going to take somebody in power being responsible,” he said.
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A man once given the nickname Cardiac Kemba due to his heart-stopping heroics at the University of Connecticut, Kemba Walker is back to breathe life into the 704’s youth basketball community.
The Charlotte Hornets’ legend officially opened the Kemba Walker Sports Academy in Concord, North Carolina this afternoon, a multi-sport facility just north of Charlotte that’s mission is “to provide a safe, fun, and inclusive environment for athletes to learn, grow, excel and compete.”
At a ceremony to celebrate the grand opening of the 54,000 square foot facility, Walker took some time to answer questions from assembled media about his latest venture that was created with community in mind.
“It’s really bigger than, you know, basketball,” said the Hornets’ all-time leading scorer this afternoon when talking about the academy. “We want the kids to have some discipline and really teach them how to work hard you know? That’s what we’re chasing. We’re chasing something that’s much bigger than the actual sport.”
It’s a bold vision, and one that Walker has dreamed of fulfilling since he was a kid suiting up for his childhood AAU program, the New York Gauchos.
“(The Gauchos’ facility) is probably not quite like this. It’s not as big as this. But that was my safe space, you know? That was the place I was able to go to, to enjoy the game of basketball and meet some of my closest friends that I still have to this day who actually run this place.”
Walker has been a pillar of the grassroots basketball community in Charlotte since he was a baby-faced, 20-something-year-old suiting up for the Bobcats. And even though he spent some time playing elsewhere in his professional basketball career, the four-time All-Star has considered the Queen City his domain since draft night.
“I never left, first of all” said Walker when asked about returning to the Hornets as an assistant coach and being able to now give back to the community that embraced him with open arms when he was drafted in 2011. “Obviously, I went to a couple of different teams and, you know, my path took me to a couple of different places, but I always kept my house here, and my family was always here, and whenever I had time in the summer, something like that, I was always here.”
“But it is amazing to be back. I love Charlotte.”
And Charlotte loves him back.
Walker stamped his name in the franchise record books with a successful career on the court, but he forever endeared himself into the community by embracing the basketball-crazed city he didn’t have a single tie to until he was drafted there.
The Kemba Walker Sports Academy will host its first grassroots basketball event this weekend, the Kemba Walker Invitational, where AAU teams from across the country (including Walker’s own New York Gauchos) will convene in Concord to christen the facility.
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ASHEVILLE, N.C. (WLOS) — Home sales in western North Carolina have increased since last year, according to the latest report from a realtor group.
Canopy MLS, a subsidiary of the Canopy Realtor Association, reports that May home sales across the four-county Asheville area (Buncombe, Haywood, Henderson, and Madison counties) reflected a spring market that remains “active and competitive.”
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A total of 592 homes closed in May, representing a 6.3 percent increase compared to May 2025 and a 2.1 percent gain over April, the report said. Buyer demand continued to strengthen, with pending sales, a leading indicator of future closings, surging 22.4 percent year over year as 728 properties went under contract during the month.
“The strength of buyer demand in May is encouraging and reflects continued confidence in the Asheville region as a place to live, work and invest,” said Dave Noyes, a Realtor/Designated Managing Broker with eXp Realty and Canopy MLS Board of Director, in a news release. “
ASHEVILLE HOUSING MARKET SHOWS STEADY STRENGTH AS INVENTORY RISES ACROSS REGION
Contract activity also increased 7.1 percent compared to April, signaling that buyers remained engaged despite mortgage rates averaging approximately 6.5 percent throughout May, the report said.
“Buyers are adapting to today’s mortgage rates and taking advantage of the increased inventory we’ve seen over the past year. Although fewer new listings came onto the market in May, homes continue to attract strong interest, which is helping maintain a healthy balance between supply and demand as we head into the summer months,” Noyes said.
While buyer activity increased , new listing activity moderated. Sellers introduced 1,165 homes to the market in May, a 6.7 percent decline compared to the same month last year and a 7.7 percent decrease from April. Even so, the region’s inventory of homes for sale continued to expand, rising 3.2 percent year over year to 3,092 properties at report time. Months of supply, however, declined from six months in May 2025 to 5.4 months this past May, suggesting that the pace of buyer demand is absorbing available inventory faster than new listings are being added.
The report said that although buyers have more choices than a year ago, the market remains relatively balanced, with strong contract activity continuing to support overall sales momentum.
AVERY COUNTY, N.C. (WLOS) — Former Madison County Sheriff’s Chief Deputy Bronis Coy Phillips was processed on Thursday, June 25, in a North Carolina county, according to court documents.
The warrants were served in Avery County on behalf of Madison County. He is now being held without bond, according to the court paperwork.
SBI ARRESTS FORMER MADISON CO. CHIEF DEPUTY FOR CRIMINAL ACTIVITY INVOLVING INMATES, STAFF
The North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation announced that Phillips was arrested on June 14 in Maricopa County, Arizona. He’s expected to face charges in N.C., as News 13 previously reported.
According to court records, Phillips faces multiple felony charges, including:
- Furnishing controlled substances to inmates
- Furnishing deadly weapons to inmates
- Involuntary servitude
- Two counts of assault with a firearm on a detention facility employee
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He was also charged with two misdemeanors:
- Furnishing alcoholic beverages to inmates
- Furnishing tobacco products to inmates
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The NCSBI said the charges stem from an investigation into alleged criminal activity involving inmates and detention facility staff.
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