Carolina Journal is taking a brief look at each new member of the General Assembly 10 in the Senate and 11 in the House. We look at where they’ve been, what they’re doing now, and what we might expect them to do as lawmakers.
The 2021-22 session began in late January. Expect COVID-19 and the ongoing fallout from the pandemic to be top priorities for lawmakers, who are crafting a new budget for the biennium. They’ll also draw new legislative and congressional maps for the next decade based on fresh census data. Each legislator, too, has their own priorities.
A member of the Fayetteville City Council who tested positive for COVID-19 attended a meeting on Feb. 5 with city and federal officials.
A statement released by the city Friday would not identify the member, saying it would violate a federal law dealing with the privacy of health information.
Mayor Mitch Colvin said at a news conference Feb. 5 that he, some council members and others met informally that day with Dion Lyons, a conciliation specialist with the federal Department of Justice.
The city’s statement said everyone who was in contact with the council member who tested positive for COVID-19 has been notified.
7:50 p.m.
Fayetteville Area System of Transit (FAST) has suspended multiple bus routes after three employees tested positive for COVID-19.
The following bus routes are suspended due to the shortage of drivers:
Route 9 - Stacy Weaver Drive/Rosehill Road
Route 10 - Strickland Bridge Road
Route 11 - Country Club Drive/Pamalee Drive
Route 15 - Cape Fear Valley Medical Center/Cross Creek Mall
Route 19 - Yadkin Road
Route 7 - Raeford Road will operate on a reduced service schedule.
At least 30 other people are in quarantine following exposure. The initial employee tested positive for COVID-19 on Feb. 10. The City of Fayetteville Human Resource Development team is working on contact tracing
WHYY
By
The Cumberland County Jail. (April Saul for WHYY)
After months of claims by incarcerated people and staffers that the Cumberland County Jail had botched its response to the COVID-19 pandemic, prisoners are now suing county officials in U.S District Court.
The lawsuit, which is scheduled for a hearing this month, asks for a monitor “to report on conditions within Cumberland Jail and make recommendations to the court consistent with CDC guidance on best practices to prevent the spread of COVID-19.”
It also requests that the jail immediately give prisoners masks, hygiene products, and cleaning supplies, and also provide for physical distancing, routine testing, quarantining in a non-punitive setting, and proper nutrition.