Tesla vehicle vandalism, one arrest | Leftists boycott local conservative businesses | Monopoly dispute resolution allows 142 new hospital beds
No. 117 — Mar. 23-Mar. 29, 2025
Duke, UNC settle Certificate of Need dispute, allowing 142 new hospital beds
UNC, Duke settlement leads to 102-bed hospital in southern Durham County - Carolina Journal
Duke Health and UNC Health have reached a settlement regarding new hospital beds in Durham County, allowing the plans for a new 102-bed UNC Hospitals Cary Campus to proceed, as well as a 40-bed expansion at the Duke University Hospital.
The basis of this years-long litigation is North Carolina's "Certificate of Need" law, which declares that the state must limit the supply of medical facilities in order to "control costs" because the free market just isn't up to the task.
In order to build a new facility, add hospital beds, or even purchase some types of medical equipment, the provider must first obtain the certificate from the state. Once this monopolistic license has been issued, competitors can challenge the decision resulting in years-long court battles such as the lawsuits in this case, further delaying any new healthcare capacity from being utilized by the consumers.
Companion bills have been filed by Republicans in both houses of the General Assembly this year to repeal the state's CON legislation, with sponsors including Sen. Benton Sawrey of Johnston County and Rep. Joseph Pike of Harnett County.
Leftists use "anti-woke" online marketplace to find local businesses to boycott
Anti-woke business directory locks down site after lefty TikTokers use it to build boycott lists - Daily Dot
An online directory for "consumers and businesses that value life, family, and liberty" has become a resource for cancel hungry left-wingers, including "anti-Trump TikTok creators" and well as local redditors, with one such poster on the r/triangle subreddit accruing nearly 500 upvotes and 400 comments with a post describing how he was "shocked to find [his] favorite restaurant and smoothly join [sic]" on the list, and bemoaning that he "can’t go there ever again."
Another poster on the Durham r/bullcity compiled a list of 250 businesses listed on the platform, which range from pizzerias and coffee shops to gyms and martial arts studios to realtors and construction contractors.
ICYMI: Teslas vandalized
Although we've previously covered the nonviolent anti-Musk and anti-Tesla protests in Raleigh, this week revealed that the trend of vandalizing Tesla vehicles has spread to Wake and Johnston counties:
Garner - "NAZI" scratched into rear corner
Zebulon - driver-side window shot out with BB gun
Clayton - "Nazi" and swastika painted on parked vehicle
An arrest has been made in the latter incident after the Johnston County Sheriff's Office was able to use facial recognition technology to identify 24-year-old Olivia Marie Antoine as the culprit:
24-year-old woman arrested for vandalizing Tesla in Clayton with swastika, "Nazi"
Olivia Marie Antoine, a 24-year-old resident of Zebulon in Wake County, has been charged by in Johnston County with vandalizing a Tesla in Clayton earlier this month by drawing a swastika and the word "Nazi" on the vehicle.
Protest Watch
5th Week - Tesla protest
In addition to the weekly anti-Musk protest outside the Tesla location in Raleigh (on it's fifth week), the Durham Democrats have begun holding weekly protests on overpasses on I-147 and I-40 with the same theme of opposing President Trump and Elon Musk in the name of "democracy:"
Teachers union rallies for official recognition by Durham Public Schools
Durham Association of Educators, DPS at standstill over union-like ‘seat at the table’ - N&O
In A Contentious Meeting, Durham Association of Educators Pushes for Meet and Confer Policy - INDY
On Tuesday, over a hundred union educators and their supporters rallied outside the Durham Public Schools Staff Development Center to advocate for a "Meet and Confer" policy on the part of the school district which would treat the Durham Association of Educators as a union with negotiating power.
Although DPS Superintendent Anthony Lewis met with the group, he has made it clear that he is not entirely on the same page as the DAE, acknowledging that they are not necessary for the district to "engage meaningfully" with staff: "Your value as an employee is not predicated on your association with any organization or group."
“Our goal — which differs from DAE — is to adopt a policy that serves the entire Durham Public Schools employee community in the most inclusive, efficient, and effective way possible so that we can, in turn, serve our students,” said Lewis in a statement.
North Carolina law restricts public sector unions, prohibiting them from striking or engaging in collective bargaining. (Although defenders of the North Carolina Association of Educators have denied in the past that the organization is a union, the current NCAE president embraces the term as "that is what we're striving to fight for").
According to INDY, the DAE represents over half of the district's educators, though the current draft policy would allow any organization representing at least 6% of the employees would qualify for the meet and confer sessions.
Although the union has three supportive members on the school board (Emily Chávez, Joy Harrell Goff, and Jessica Carda Auten), they need at least one more to get their desired policy passed.
Durham Zaxby's workers go on strike
On Thursday, Zaxby's employees with the Union of Southern Service Workers walked out on strike at a Durham location after management refused their demands, which included 25$/hour minimum wage as well as "end[ing] gun violence." (The striking workers say an employee was recently fired because a customer pulled a gun on him.)
Video shows the employees chanting inside the store with a bullhorn before marching out:
