FARM WORKERS' UNION POINTS FINGER AT WHOLE FOODS: “FLOC members faced abusive working conditions, wage theft, threats, and violations of basic health and safety protocols in the tobacco and sweet potato fields of North Carolina, including on farms that supply Whole Foods,” the union said in a press release Thursday. Now it is demanding a meeting with “America’s Healthiest Grocery Store.” Whole Foods, a Texas-based supermarket chain, prides itself on being “the world’s leader in natural and organic foods” and is committed to sustainable agriculture. But in 2019, FLOC said, the grocery store “made a set of commitments it has yet to fully follow through on.” “As the 2020 planting season approaches in the U.S. South, farmworkers, NGO’s and labor unions representing workers in the Whole Foods distribution chain have come together to seek real engagement with Whole Foods,” the release states.
https://www.newsobserver.com/news/state/north-carolina/article239397123.html

ABSENTEE BALLOTS ARE IN THE MAIL FOR NC'S 2020 PRIMARY: The 2020 primary elections have begun in North Carolina, with mail-in ballots now available for people who choose to use absentee voting. In-person early voting won’t start until Feb. 13, though, and Election Day isn’t until March 3. So undecided voters still have time to make up their minds. People who plan to vote on Election Day for the primary, which is March 3, must register to vote no later than Feb. 7. However, people who miss that deadline can still register at the polls during early voting, as long as they bring an acceptable form of identification showing their name and address. That can include a driver’s license, utility bill, bank statement or other such official documents. Finally, people who don’t register in time to vote for the primary election can still vote in the general election in November, as long as they meet the deadlines for registering then.
https://www.newsobserver.com/news/politics-government/election/article239237563.html

SENATE DEMOCRATS ARE UNIFIED IN SUPPORT OF COOPER'S BUDGET VETO: With a potential vote on the governor’s state budget veto looming in the state Senate on Tuesday, none of the four Democratic senators who initially voted for the budget in June are planning to support an override of the veto. That means Republicans likely won’t get the one vote they need to pass the budget over Gov. Roy Cooper’s objections if all senators are present. One of the four “yes” votes in June — Sen. Floyd McKissick, D-Durham — has resigned to take another government position, and the other three told the NC Insider last week that they expect to stand with the governor. “I’ll vote to sustain the governor’s veto,” said Sen. Ben Clark, D-Hoke. “I filed a bill to expand Medicaid in North Carolina; that is one of my top priorities and a priority of the governor as well. Until we sit down and negotiate that, I see no reason to vote to override the veto.”
https://www.newsobserver.com/news/politics-government/article239240543.html

DISHONEST LEADERSHIP LEAVES OUR GOVERNMENT MISMANAGED: Don’t be distracted. This is not about good or bad; conservative or liberal policies. This is not about Democrats or Republicans. This is about sound management, doing the job, the security of the nation. This is about Donald Trump’s character. It is about his inability, not simply failure, to tell the truth and accept its reality. Without the truth it is impossible to earn the trust to be a leader. Leaders who lack trust cannot manage. The current white-hot crisis with Iran and Iraq is the latest example. An impulsive action – the assassination of Gen. Qassem Soleimani, commander of Iran’s security and intelligence forces – and the national security crisis that has ensued. Trump’s threats, including tweets about targeting Iranian cultural sites, result in advisers forced to follow deflection and justification. In this case, the Pentagon didn’t even try. In a starkly unequivocal pronouncement, Defense Secretary Mark Esper said the “laws of armed conflict” prohibit attacking cultural sites and the armed forces had no plans to do so – despite the president’s declaration.
https://www.wral.com/editorial/18875376/

MARK JOHNSON CONTINUES ACCUSATIONS ABOUT 3RD GRADERS BEING PROMOTED WRONGLY: State Superintendent Mark Johnson charged Wednesday that thousands of third-grade grade students have been improperly promoted to the fourth grade when they aren’t proficient in their reading skills. But local school leaders argued against making policy changes that would force them to hold children back. State Board of Education members asked local superintendents and teachers in attendance Wednesday to describe how they implement the program. They argued they’re following the law while taking advantage of its flexibility to decide whether to promote students. “You have to have both flexibility and accountability,” Wake County Superintendent Cathy Moore told state board members. “If you have one without the other, then you’re losing the impact of the ability to actually make a difference individually with children. So you need to find a way to do both.”
https://www.newsobserver.com/news/local/education/article239050288.html