Charlotte Newspaper: McCrory Was 'Thin-Skinned,' 'Petty' In Cook's Firing

[DonViejo]

TOM KLUDT – FEBRUARY 20, 2014, 7:25 AM EST

North Carolina's biggest newspaper has weighed-in on the saga involving the state's Republican governor, a fired grocery store cook and now a Democratic mayor.

The verdict: Everybody ended up looking kind of bad.

An editorial published Wednesday by the Charlotte Observer acknowledged that Drew Swope "acted inappropriately" when he made a snarky remark to Gov. Pat McCrory (R) at Reid's Fine Foods in Charlotte. The confrontation cost Swope his job at the high-end grocery store and he accepted the consequences.

-snip-

The editorial board wrote that the incident "reinforced his image as thin-skinned" and that a savvier politician would have played it differently.

Imagine how a sharp political adviser would have had the governor parlay the confrontation into a positive. Instead of coming across as petty, McCrory could have ignored Swope’s comment, or even embraced the opportunity for dialogue. He could have been forgiving and charitable – and be seen as the grown up in the room. Instead, he accidentally made national news again.

Full article:
http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/charlotte-observer-pat-mccrory-drew-swope-fired-grocery-store-worker

[hatrack]

1. Because that's just the kind of asshole McCrory is ... oh, and 20 new federal subpoenas!

RALEIGH, N.C. — Federal prosecutors have broadened their criminal investigation of state environmental regulators after a massive coal ash spill Feb. 2 that contaminated the Dan River in North Carolina, issuing 20 more subpoenas demanding documents about communications and possible payments and gifts.

The subpoenas, disclosed Wednesday, require the state Department of Environment and Natural Resources to produce records of any payments or "items of value" received from or provided to Duke Energy, the giant utility whose coal ash containment basin spilled as much as 82,000 tons of toxic coal and 27 million gallons of contaminated water into the river.

About 19 agency employees are required to produce documents — "to include but not limited to: cash, check, wire transfer and stock transfer," the subpoenas say — and most are compelled to testify before a federal grand jury March 18. In an attached letter, the U.S. attorney in Raleigh, Thomas G. Walker, described a "criminal investigation of a suspected felony."

The latest subpoenas seek records not only about the Feb. 2 spill but about dealings between the agency and Duke Energy regarding coal ash ponds at all 14 North Carolina Duke plants since 2009. Duke Energy, the country's largest electricity provider, said it received a second federal subpoena Wednesday related to the spill. A spokesman, Thomas Williams, declined to provide details.

EDIT

http://www.latimes.com/nation/la-na-coal-ash-20140220,0,3738665.story