North Carolina
Newby transforms N.C. courts to playground to settle petty political feuds
CBC Editorial: Friday, Jan. 5, 2024; # 8897
The following is the opinion of Capitol Broadcasting Company
When North Carolina legislature this year extended the mandatory retirement age for appellate judges from 72 to 76, it was about politics to keep Chief Justice Paul Newby in office at least through the end of his 8-year term instead of being forced to retire in 2027. Susie Sharp, the first woman to serve as the state’s chief justice, was forced to leave the job in 1979, three years before her term ended. The politics hasn’t ended there.
Lest anyone seek proof, they need look no further than the events of this week.
Politics, not justice, is what motivates Newby. It doesn’t take a cartographer to map the political connections. Let’s see the route.
Appeals Court Chief Judge Donna Stroud was the senior judge on that court and its chief judge when she was reelected in 2022. This week Newby stealthily demoted Stroud from her leadership post, replacing her with junior Appeals Court judge Chris Dillon – who also was until this week the chair of the state Judicial Standards Commission.
In a similarly stealthy move, Newby named Appeals Court Judge Jeffrey Carpenter to replace Dillon as the leader of the Judicial Standards Commission.
That’s not all. This week Newby presided at the swearing in of Beth Freshwater Smith as a newly legislatively-appointed (as recommended by state Senate leader Phil Berger) special state Superior Court Judge.
It was Freshwater Smith who in 2020 challenged Stroud in the Republican primary with support from Berger and endorsements from state Supreme Court Justice Phil Berger Jr., the namesake son of powerful state Senate leader, and Judge Carpenter.
In May 2022, Justice Berger Jr., in an unusual action by a sitting judge or justice, directly and publicly worked to defeat Stroud. In a Facebook post, as reported by Business North Carolina, Berger Jr. revealed he opposed hiring Gene Soar as the Appeals Court’s clerk. Berger, disregarding matters of qualification wanted a Republican and not a candidate the court’s Democratic judges also backed for the job. He noted that one of the applicants was his former law clerk.
There were real questions about the appropriateness of sitting judges and justices being so directly involved in political campaigns, particularly when there was a likelihood that they might be called upon to adjudicate issues about those elections.
In March 2022 reported the N.C. Tribune, the state Judicial Standards Commission posted a note on its website leaving the quite distinct impression that candidate endorsements by sitting judges weren’t proper. “Endorsements should only be made when a judge is a bona fide candidate actively engaging in campaigning during his or her election cycle,” it stated. “Otherwise, the rule prohibiting endorsements … would be rendered meaningless except as to special superior court judges and other judges unable to run for re-election.”
A few days later the memo was revised with those sentences deleted. The update gave judges and justices broader latitude for endorsements and other forms of election campaign involvement. The executive director of the commission, Carolyn Dubay, resigned shortly after.
Traveling this trail to its origin – the 2020 elections – makes clear the events of this week are not about the administration of justice. Chief Justice Newby, Justice Berger Jr., Judge Dillion and Judge Carpenter – and who knows who else — manipulated our state’s judicial system to settle a political feud.
Such blatant patronage, reflexive partisanship, manipulation and fealty went out 235 years ago with the American Revolution and the adoption of the Constitution.
North Carolinians must have a judicial system – as well as those who lead it – that settles disputes openly and according to the law.
The latest actions by the leaders of our state courts are clearly to the contrary.
This latest judicial escapade, as this evidence clearly shows, is to the contrary and will only foster distrust and cynicism.
Newby is transforming the courts from a forum for justice into a political playground.
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ASHEVILLE, N.C. (WLOS) — The Party for Socialism and Liberation has organized a petition calling on legislators to pass a statewide ban on new data center construction.
“We see that they pollute these communities, they use a lot of water, and ultimately the cost of these data centers are passed on to working-class consumers,” said Cody Cogdell with the Party for Socialism and Liberation Western North Carolina.
According to the Environmental and Energy Study Institute, a large data center can use up to 5 million gallons of water per day. That’s equivalent to the use of a town of 10,000 to 50,000 people.
ASHEVILLE CITY COUNCIL APPROVES 1-YEAR PAUSE ON NEW DATA CENTER DEVELOPMENT
“I don’t support them at all. I think it’s terrible for the environment,” said Asheville resident Madeline Boltinghouse.
She says a statewide ban would be nice.
But Ken Brame, with the environmental organization Sierra Club, says the ban is unlikely to happen.
JULY 1, 2026 – A flyer protesting data centers in Asheville, N.C. (Photo credit: WLOS Staff)
“Banning them all is probably a stretch and I’m just not sure I see our North Carolina legislature going that far,” said Brame.
The petition also calls on the state to repeal the state’s tax incentives for data centers.
“There should be no debate about that. We should not be subsidizing something that hurts our environment,” said Brame.
WEAVERVILLE COUNCIL VOTES TO BLOCK DATA CENTERS IN TOWN, CITING LIMITED RESOURCES
It’s also calling on the legislature to stop Duke Energy from raising rates to pay for more data centers.
Duke Energy sent News 13 a statement saying in part:
Duke Energy does not develop or select data center projects, but we do have an obligation to serve customers in our territory while protecting reliability and keeping costs as low as possible. That’s why we require large-load customers to make significant financial commitments and pay the costs associated with serving them, while their additional revenue helps support grid investments and reduce pressure on future customer bills.
Meanwhile, state lawmakers are working to pass a bill that would require data centers to pay for their own expansion and regulate how much water data centers can use.
A man kidnapped and killed a U.S. Postal Service worker while she was delivering mail in North Carolina last week, police said, orphaning her two daughters, who lost their father just a few months before.
Brandi Reynolds, 35, was found dead following a call for help to authorities in Hays, North Carolina, Friday afternoon, the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation said in a statement.
“I can confirm that Brandi Reynolds was delivering mail on her route when the incident occurred,” U.S. Postal Inspector Michael Martel said by email.
Prosecutors in Wilkes County charged William Craig Durham, 56, of the community of Roaring River, with first-degree kidnapping and murder, according to court records.
The defendant, arrested the day of the murder, remained in Wilkes County Jail on Tuesday, according to a third-party inmate information service used by the county. His lawyer did not immediately respond to a request for comment Tuesday.
A warrant filed in district court alleged Durham committed kidnapping “by unlawfully restraining the victim, removing the victim from one place to another without the consent of the victim.”
It said Durham carried out the alleged kidnapping “for the purpose of terrorizing” Reynolds and “doing serious bodily injury” to her.
It’s unclear how Durham allegedly committed the killing. Any weapons that may have been used were not mentioned in the document, and any motive was unavailable.
On Monday, district court Judge Robert J. Crumpton ordered the defendant to remain in custody without bond, citing his “significant criminal record.”
State prison records show Durham has served time for second-degree kidnapping, assault on a female and possession of a gun by a felon, among other offenses.
An investigation into the killing was being conducted jointly by the United States Postal Inspection Service, the Wilkes County Sheriff’s Office and the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation, the bureau said.
Reynolds was the mother of two girls, according to her obituary. She lost her husband, Brent Reynolds, on Dec. 23, 2025, when the pickup he was driving veered off a road in Rhonda, North Carolina, and struck a tree, according to NBC affiliate WXII of Winston-Salem.
His obituary stated at the time that he was the father of the couple’s two girls — “the light of his life.”
Reynolds’ obituary, likewise, stated that her daughters “were her whole world.”
She left behind her mother, two sisters and several nieces and nephews, it said.
“The U.S. Postal Service is deeply saddened about the death of our colleague, Brandi Byrd Reynolds,” Postal Service spokesperson Martha Johnson said by email. “We extend our heartfelt sympathies to her family, friends, and co-workers at the Hays Post Office.”
RALEIGH, N.C. (WTVD) — North Carolina lawmakers have released a long-delayed state budget proposal that includes higher pay for educators and state employees, along with new funding for community colleges.
The plan, still awaiting legislative approval, outlines several provisions that would directly affect Durham.
The proposal calls for an average 8% raise for teachers and a 3% raise for most state employees, plus one-time bonuses. It also fully funds “Propel NC,” a new community college funding model that rewards schools for training students in high-demand careers rather than focusing solely on enrollment.
Durham Technical Community College President JB Buxton said the model would strengthen programs tied to the region’s growing industries.
“It’s a very good budget for the community colleges,” Buxton said.
Full proposed budget
Durham Tech expects increased support for programs in life sciences, healthcare, and skilled trades — fields that continue to drive the Triangle’s economy. Buxton said those programs reflect the needs of employers across the region.
“If you think about things like electrical systems and technicians, in addition to HVAC, and plumbing and welding, if you think about biomedical engineering, those are areas that are in demand here,” he said.
Buxton said building a strong talent pipeline is essential as the region expands.
“We want to be the workforce development engine in this area, but we also want to be an economic development engine and kind of power our companies,” he said. “Not only bring people to opportunity, but give companies what they need to grow.”
The House and Senate are scheduled to vote on the budget on Wednesday and Thursday. If it passes both chambers, it will go to Gov. Josh Stein, who said he plans to review it closely before deciding whether to sign it.
“What we want is for the state to pass a budget that invests in our people,” Stein said, adding he wants to see more focus on education, public safety and mental health. “There are many things that the state needs to invest in, and we will be scrutinizing it, just as everyone else is, to see if it meets that test.”
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