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The Chronicle
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Volume 43, Number 36 WINSTON-SALEM, N.C THURSDAY, May 12, 2016
CONTROVERSY
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AG Lynch
BY TODD LUCK
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With billions in federal funding now on
the line, the U.S. Department of Justice
and the State of North Carolina are now
battling in court over House Bill 2.
The Justice Department sent notifica
tion to State officials last week saying
House Bill 2 violates the Civil Rights Act
by restricting transgender individuals from
using the restrooms of the gender they
identify with at public facilities. The notice
State, Justice Department clash over HB 2
asked the State to confirm by 5 p.m. on
Mondfey, May 9, that it would not imple
ment that provision. If the Justice
Department enforces the discrimination
violation, the state could potentially lose
$1.4 billion in federal funding for public
universities.
Gov. Pat McCrory refused to comply,
saying he didn't agree with the Justice
Department's interpretation of "sex"
among protected classes to include gender
identity. The State now has a lawsuit ask
ing for federal courts to "clarify" federal
discrimination law.
"The Obama administration is bypass
ing Congress by attempting to rewrite the
law and set restroom policies for public
and private employers across the country,
not just North Carolina," said McCrory.
In response, the Justice Department
filed its own suit against HB 2's restroom
restrictions. U. S. Attorney General Loretta
Lynch said that the DOJ could still curtail
fiinding to the Department of Public Safety
and the University of North Carolina sys
tem.
Gov. McCrory
"This is not the first time that we have
seen discriminatory responses to historic
moments of progress for our nation " said
Lynch, a Greensboro, N.C. native. "We
saw it in the Jim Crow laws that followed
the Emancipation Proclamation. We saw it
in fierce and widespread resistance to
Brown v. Board of Education."
While private businesses and organi
zations can still make their own restroom
policies, local governments and public uni
versities are bound to HB 2. UNC
See HB2 on A10
In good taste
More than 100 students, parents and faculty members at Diggs-Latham Elementary School united to
celebrate Cinco de Mayo a day after the holiday. Students and parents wait for their chance to taste one
of the many authentic Mexican dishes at the celebration last Friday. SEE MORE PHOTOS ON PAGE
AO.
Residents raise questions about vacant
commercial property that held hope
East Winston business park rarely
used overpast 10 years
BYTEVIN STINSON
THE CHRONICLE
When construction began on 2285 Premier Park Lane
in early 2000, residents who live in the East Winston com
munity thought the business park located just off East 14th
Street, near New Walkertown Road, would draw business
ventures to a neighborhood in dire need of rejuvenation.
More than a decade since the buildings first appeared
near the Aegis Family Health Center Plaza and the Delta
Fine Arts Center, the only thing new and exciting the prop
erty has seen is the brightly colored graffiti that appears on
the light-colored walls from time to time.
Construction first began on the first of two 2,350
square-foot buildings in 2004. A third 3,200-square-foot
building was added in 2009. Over the years, Premier Park
See Lot on All
Democratic
candidate
calls for
'revolution'
Hie winner of the June 7
primary will take on
incumbent Virginia Foxx
BY TODD LUCK
THE CHRONICLE
A Democratic candidate for the 5th Congressional
District of North Carolina is calling for "a political revo
lution."
Josh Brannon spoke at Forsyth County Democratic
Party headquarters on Thursday, May 5, in a forum along
with Jim Roberts and Charlie Wallin. They are vying to
run against conservative incumbent Republican U.S. Rep.
Virginia Foxx, who was first elected in 2004 and is run
ning for her seventh term in f
the U.S. House CAMPAIGN
Representatives.
They will be competing KvyTv
in the June 7 Democratic pri- Hri J ^ | 7"^^
mary. The primary was
established after a federal
court struck down North
Carolina's congressional districts as too racially concen
trated in Districts 1 and 12. Most of the residents in the
eastern part of Winston-Salem voted in District 12, which
had a large black population and was represented by Alma
Adams, an African-American. All congressional districts
in North Carolina were reconfigured and a separate pri
mary to vote on representation was ordered. The 5th
Congressional District now contains all of Forsyth
County.
Far from, moderating their stands to appeal to the
heavily Republican 5th District, the Democratic candi
dates presented progressive platforms in their openings
for the forum, which was moderated by City Council
Member Dan Besse.
Brannon, 38, a software developer from Watauga
County who lost to Foxx in 2014 by 22 percent, said he
stood with Democratic Presidential Candidate Bernie
See Debate on A10
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