As another year winds down, Carolina Public Press once again looks back at its tops stories of the last 12 months.
In many years, CPP has seen a few strong stories that affected nearly everything going on — COVID, riots and election in 2020; ongoing coverage of child protective service, troubled jails, the impact of climate change and forest planning in many years.
This year was not like that. Some of those major stories made appearances. Issues that we’ve always followed like voter access and forest planning were quite significant. But 2023 was a year of change in which many different news strands captured out attention.
Below, we’ll analyze the top 6 CPP stories of 2023, but first, let’s look ahead to what we might expect in 2024.
We know it will be a major election year with issues of fairness, transparency, voter access and accountability all certain to grab our attention. We can expect to follow-up on many of the stories of 2023 and previous years on democracy, the environment, economic challenges, social services, mental health and health care infrastructure, among other broad topics.
And we can expect surprises, because news happens.
1. Limiting city waste pickups
The most-read CPP story published in 2023 appeared Jan. 11, as reporter Ben Sessoms looked at plans by one North Carolina city, Fayetteville, to cap just how much waste its crews would pick up.
The article “Fayetteville City Council approves recommendations to limit how much waste the city collects” may have been more routine news coverage than a major investigation.
But it’s not hard to see how putting limits on trash, recycling and yard waste collections might touch a nerve. Saying certain private streets would no longer get any collections only added to this.
Certainly, Cumberland County residents were concerned. And we might guess that this news caught the attention of people in other cities as well, wondering whether their communities would follow suit.
2. Campaign largesse from friends of casino developer
A common claim about the casino industry is “the house always wins,” meaning that anyone who gambles long enough will generally lose money and the system is designed to assure profitability.
Before the house can win, it has to be built. And to make that happen, someone may have thought it would be helpful first to win the House. And the Senate.
As reporters Mehr Sher and Grace Vitaglione showed in their July 25 article “At least 8 NC lawmakers received campaign cash from individuals with ties to Baltimore casino development firm,” nothing exactly illegal seems to have happened.
But the generosity of these gifts to lawmakers at the same time as casino-related legislation was being considered is a pretty amazing coincidence.
The odds are good we’ll hear more about this story in 2024.
3. Minor gender transition legislation
The General Assembly overrode a veto from Gov. Roy Cooper this year to enact a ban on gender transformation procedures for minors.
In “Transgender youth in North Carolina face uncertain health care future as lawmakers vote on gender-affirming care bill,” on Aug. 1, reporter Mehr Sher looked at how the legislation would effect state residents if lawmakers voted to override the governor’s veto, as they did a few days later.
She talked with a Willow Springs teenager who received gender-affirming care at 13, something he would no longer be able to do in North Carolina until he’s an adult. He and his family expressed concern for other young people who won’t be allowed under the new law to take blockers to prevent the onset of puberty.
Several of those CPP talked to for this story expressed anger at politicians for targeting children.
Stay tuned to see how this one plays out in the courts in months ahead. It may also be a campaign issue in 2024 elections.
4. Discriminatory impact of new voter ID rule
Where courts have struck down voter ID requirements, including previously in North Carolina, a key concern is that the laws are seen as a way to intimidate minority voters.
In “New voter ID rule in North Carolina sparks worries about fairness for Black and Latino voters,” reporter Mehr Sher examined the concerns in communities of color that this law will be used against them.
Lawmakers deny that’s their goal and say they’re only trying to prevent cheating at the ballot box. Of course, there’s little evidence of the type of cheating that a voter ID law might stop being a problem in North Carolina.
We’ll get to see this year how this plays out at the polls. It also may have another effect on elections as voters decide whether to reward or punish those who pushed for the new law.
5. Mountain motherhood at risk
In 2017, CPP collaborated with HuffPost for a look at reductions in labor and delivery services at multiple small-town hospitals in mountain counties. Since then, we’ve looked at this issue both in the mountains and statewide several times, involving both for-profits and nonprofits.
On Jan. 17, 2023, CPP reporter Shelby Harris collaborated with Sarah Melotte of the national rural America publication The Daily Yonder on the article “‘We are not thought of’: The true impact of Western North Carolina’s maternal desert on rural women.”
The article found multiple issues creating a public health void in parts of the state, especially in rural mountain counties. Many hospitals have eliminated their old labor and delivery units, but they’ve also cut back on various aspects of prenatal care in smaller counties.
Given the difficult terrain and lousy roads in these areas this can mean long, uncomfortable and potentially hazardous rides to a distant medical provider for care. If it’s winter and roads are icy, this is a risky situation. And if there’s an irregularity or emergency, the lack of access becomes a much greater problem than just an inconvenience and expense.
With the recent state lawsuit against one of the biggest medical providers in the region, perhaps new attention will shine on these areas. Whether that results in positive changes or just politicizes a medical access question remains to be seen.
6. A forest plan at last
Shakespeare’s MacBeth contain a famous subplot in which the titular Scottish king believes he is safe because a prophecy assures him that he cannot be harmed until a certain forest relocates. He fails to reckon with his enemies gathering pieces of trees to disguise themselves and thus fulfilling the unlikely warning.
For those who have followed Carolina Public Press’ many years of reporting on the revision of the master plan for the Pisgah and Nantahala National Forests, completion of the plan might have seemed equally like something forewarned that wasn’t ever going to come to pass.
But it happened at long last. Longtime CPP freelance writer Jack Igelman had the story on Feb. 17 with “Final plan to manage Pisgah, Nantahala National Forest unveiled.”
The plan with guide management strategy for the two mountain forests for two decades and is finally in place. The impact on the ecology and economy of the state’s western counties can’t be overstated.
But don’t imagine that just because they finally have a plan this story is over. Already, the next chapters are unfolding as the plan is applied and various projects are mapped out. And someone isn’t going to like this thing or that thing. So there will be controversy and people will debate the correct interpretation of the plan and whether the National Forest Service is making good decisions.
And CPP will be there again to report on it.
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