> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://down-ballot.info/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # Global finance leaders to be in Asheville for G20 summit - URL: https://down-ballot.info/global-finance-leaders-to-be-in-asheville-for-g20-summit/ - Published: 2026-08-21T09:00:01.000Z - Updated: 2026-08-21T09:00:01.000Z - Description: At first redistricting hearing, Mississippians call push for new maps a ‘power grab’; Wisconsin to hold commutations hearing Friday; Alaska on course to approve new campaign donation limits in Ballot Measure 1 - Author: Ben Ledbetter - Tags: Asheville, North Carolina, Economy, Hurricane Helene, recovery, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, ICE, data center, Richmond County, Amazon, New Orleans, University Medical Center, Ban the Box, Mississippi, redistricting, Wisconsin, commutation hearings, alaska, campaign donation limits, Ballot Measure 1 **It's Friday August 21, 2026 and in this morning's issue we're covering:** Global finance leaders to descend on Asheville for G20 summit**,** A Three-Year-Old Tries to Cope Without his Beloved Papi, The race to power AI could reshape North Carolina’s grid — and its communities, University Medical Center firing violated city ‘ban the box’ law, attorneys say, At first redistricting hearing, Mississippians call push for new maps a ‘power grab’, Wisconsin to hold commutations hearing Friday, Alaska on course to approve new campaign donation limits in Ballot Measure 1 **Media outlets and others featured:** Asheville Watchdog, MindSite News, North Carolina Health News, Verite News, Mississippi Today, Wisconsin Watch, Alaska Beacon --- [Global finance leaders to descend on Asheville for G20 summit • Asheville WatchdogFinance ministers and central bank governors from the world’s 20 largest economies are set to converge on Asheville this month for a pair of high-level meetings that U.S. officials say will help shape global economic policy for the coming year — and put the recovery of post-Helene Asheville in the international spotlight. Asheville is the \[…\]![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/ee/78/ee782f90-8fa8-4806-b44d-c225d61a342e/content/images/icon/cropped-Watchdog-paw-print-c4e4b972-88e8-4463-9e46-7d060a31a398.png)Asheville WatchdogPETER H. LEWIS![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/ee/78/ee782f90-8fa8-4806-b44d-c225d61a342e/content/images/thumbnail/tire-place-final-2500-copy-f64653b8-26e8-4a89-a9b2-9aaf0df4153a.jpg)](https://avlwatchdog.org/global-finance-leaders-to-descend-on-asheville-for-g20-summit/?ref=down-ballot.info) # Global finance leaders to descend on Asheville for G20 summit Officials say city was chosen to highlight President Trump’s commitment to Helene recovery in Western North Carolina by [PETER H. LEWIS](https://avlwatchdog.org/author/peter/?ref=down-ballot.info) August 18, 2026 Finance ministers and central bank governors from the world’s 20 largest economies are set to converge on Asheville this month for a pair of high-level meetings that U.S. officials say will help shape global economic policy for the coming year — and put the recovery of post-Helene Asheville in the international spotlight. Asheville is the first ministerial-level finance meeting held outside a national capital or major financial center in recent years. The Trump administration said it chose Asheville deliberately to showcase the effectiveness of the government’s response to disaster recovery, and also to tout the broader economic successes of the administration’s policies. > It’s an honor the state, regional, and local officials say is welcome, but complicated. > “I live out in Swannanoa, and we moved here one year before the storm,” Kit Cramer, president and CEO of the Asheville Chamber of Commerce, told *The Watchdog*. “We’re still driving past areas that were devastated by the storm every day. And yet you can drive through portions of this county and not be aware that anything ever happened.” “So it’s a tale of two cities,” Cramer said. “Parts have bounced back beautifully, and parts are still in need.” Elected officials, including North Carolina Gov. Josh Stein, a Democrat, and Republican Senators Ted Budd and Thom Tillis have expressed frustration with both the overall amount of federal aid to the region and the need for frequent appeals, and even a lawsuit, to get the administration to release funds already approved. Officially known as the G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors Ministerial, the gathering — the exact location in Asheville is for now a closely held secret, although the [Omni Grove Park Inn](https://www.omnihotels.com/hotels/asheville-grove-park?ref=down-ballot.info) is listed as completely booked throughout the summit dates — is part of the G20 Finance Track, the series of meetings that runs alongside the broader G20 process and brings together the finance ministers and central bank governors of the group’s 19 member countries, along with representatives of the European Union and African Union. Asheville will host two back-to-back meetings: - **August 29–30:** A meeting of G20 finance and central bank deputies, who handle much of the technical groundwork ahead of the ministerial session. - **August 31–September 1:** The main event — a meeting of the finance ministers and central bank governors themselves. As many as 21 finance ministers and 21 central bank governors could attend — one of each from the 19 G20 member countries plus the European Union and the African Union (42 people at full strength). In practice, attendance among the principals fluctuates. Beyond the G20 members, these meetings also typically include heads of major international financial institutions (International Monetary Fund, World Bank, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, Financial Stability Board) and representatives from invited guest countries. In all, counting deputies, staffers and support teams, as many as 500 international delegates are expected to show up in Asheville, generating $1.5 million to $2 million in direct spending to local businesses, said Ashley S. Greenstein, public information officer for Explore Asheville. The selection of Asheville in itself supports the recovery. Assuming all goes off without a hitch, it will demonstrate that the region’s tourism infrastructure can once again support large corporate and international gatherings. But, critics note, there will be implications for traffic, hotels, restaurants, security, and other disruptions of daily life for residents. It’s unlikely Trump himself will attend but given the popularity of his administration in Asheville, there is a high likelihood of protests. In previous Trump visits to the area, the police have established cordoned-off “free speech zones” to keep protesters at a safe distance from the event venue. Typically, security is planned in close coordination between the Department of the Treasury, the Department of State, and the Secret Service, with the likely participation of the North Carolina National Guard (specifically the 105th Military Police Battalion, which is headquartered at Asheville Armory), and local law enforcement. City and state officials have cast the selection as both an economic and symbolic win. North Carolina Treasurer Brad Briner called the G20 the preeminent gathering of world economic leaders, adding that the state considered it an honor to be chosen. ### **Touted as a showcase for Trump’s successes** Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced Asheville as the host city in February. “The selection of historic Asheville reflects the Trump Administration’s commitment to the revitalization and resilience of western North Carolina, which continues to rebuild after the devastating impact of Hurricane Helene,” Bessent said. But nearly two years after Tropical Storm Helene tore through western North Carolina in late September 2024, the federal recovery effort remains a contested issue. Administration officials say the federal government accelerated aid to the region. State and local officials, courts, and advocacy groups argue that the federal response has fallen short of promises made. Bessent also said hosting the event in Asheville would highlight for the foreign leaders the success of President Trump’s economic policies. “Thanks to President Trump’s pro-growth economic policies, the United States’ economy is reaching historic heights,” Bessent said. That may be true for the stock market; the Dow Jones Industrial Average is closed at a record high earlier this month. But it is also true for the [U.S. national debt](https://www.jec.senate.gov/public/vendor/%5Faccounts/JEC-R/debt/Monthly%20Debt%20Update.html?ref=down-ballot.info), which has grown an average of $7.9 billion a day over the past 12 months and is projected to reach a jaw-dropping $40 trillion while the G20 delegates are in town. As for holding up Asheville as an exemplar of the overall success of the Trump Administration’s economic policies, local business leaders say their experiences suggest much room for improvement. As of this month, multiple polls indicate that only 28% to 32% of Americans approve of Trump’s handling of the economy, while 63% to 70% disapprove. *The Economist*’s tracker of YouGov polling in mid-August found that Trump has a net approval rating among North Carolinians of minus 26\. Trump’s net approval rating for his handling of inflation and prices reached minus 44 in August, the lowest it has been this term. Local business owners and realtors describe uncertainty in the economy tied to high interest rates and rising costs linked to inflation, on top of a broader slowdown since the pandemic and Helene. [Affordability](https://avlwatchdog.org/high-housing-prices-low-wages-driving-young-people-away-from-asheville/?ref=down-ballot.info) continues to shape spending habits for both newcomers and longtime residents, making it harder for people to get established given the higher cost of living. At the city level, residents are frustrated over a projected $8.9 million budget shortfall for the 2026-27 fiscal year, with staff warning that recurring expenses are outpacing revenues, potentially requiring spending cuts and property tax hikes. “I think it’s important for the public to understand that there’s a gap in our budget, not because there’s money missing, but because of inflation, because growth hasn’t been as large as we thought it was,” City Councilmember Bo Hess said in May. ### **Nearly $60 billion in damages statewide** The Trump administration’s stated commitment to western North Carolina’s recovery from Helene gets mixed reviews. Helene hit on Sept. 27, killing more than 100 people in North Carolina, including 43 in Buncombe County, erasing entire communities, washing out roads and bridges, closing schools, damaging or destroying more than 9,000 homes in the county, and leaving thousands without shelter. The storm destroyed sections of Interstate 26 and Interstate 40, isolating the city, and damaged water treatment pipes, leaving residents without potable water for 53 days until Nov. 18. Helene caused an estimated $53 billion to $60 billion in damage and recovery needs, depending on the source, making it the most destructive storm in state history. Gov. Roy Cooper’s administration formally requested $25.6 billion in federal assistance, a figure state officials have said would put North Carolina’s federal cost-share roughly in line with the 48 percent average other major disasters have historically received. Then-President Biden agreed to North Carolina’s request for the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to cover 90 percent of Public Assistance. The federal government typically covers 75 percent of the cost. The increased federal reimbursement share decreased the financial cost to the State of North Carolina for eligible programs and projects. But Helene was followed in quick succession by Hurricane Milton, in October, and in January by raging wildfires in southern California, both of which took dozens of lives and left tens of billions of dollars in damages. So, demand for emergency funds soared just as the Small Business Association was forced to pause new loan offers. The lapse continued until outgoing President Biden signed the American Relief Act of 2025, which provided $2.25 billion to replenish the SBA’s disaster loan account on Jan. 1, 2025 — three months after Helene. FEMA, too, was under duress. During the final months of his 2024 campaign and in his first weeks in office, President Trump made Helene recovery a priority, visiting western North Carolina in January 2025\. During a visit to Swannanoa, he toured storm damage, sharply criticized FEMA’s handling of the disaster — “FEMA’s turned out to be a disaster,” he said — and argued states should be empowered to manage recovery directly rather than working primarily through the federal agency. He signed an executive order aimed at speeding up debris removal and road rebuilding, and cleanup work in areas like Swannanoa ramped up in the weeks following his visit. But Trump also told reporters during an Asheville visit that he thought the country should “recommend that FEMA go away” and rely more heavily on state-level disaster response. Cameron Hamilton, the acting head of FEMA, visited Asheville in January 2025 with Trump and Kristi Noem, the Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, which oversees FEMA. Soon after, Hamilton testified to Congress that “I do not believe it is in the best interest of the American people to eliminate the Federal Emergency Management Agency.” A day later, Noem fired Hamilton. Then came the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). By February, the Elon Musk-led task force, with Trump’s imprimatur, had tried to dismantle FEMA along with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration — including the climate research center in Asheville — the Centers of Medicare and Medicaid Services, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, the Department of Education, and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). DOGE abruptly slashed funding for the [AmeriCorps National Civilian Community Corps](https://spectrumlocalnews.com/nc/triangle-sandhills/news/2025/04/18/americorps-nc-helene-recovery-cuts?ref=down-ballot.info), which had sent 52 young adults to work with the United Way of Asheville Buncombe County, Asheville Area Habitat for Humanity, and other organizations in cleanup efforts. All were withdrawn from western North Carolina. Although presented to the G20 delegates as a Trump Administration success story, the extent of Asheville’s recovery from Helene is still an open question. The core of the ongoing debate is how much federal money has actually reached western North Carolina since Helene, and how quickly. Despite 18 months of pressure from state and local officials, as of March 31, 2026, federal disaster aid to North Carolina totalled $7.8 billion, according to [state recovery dashboards](https://www.wncrecovery.nc.gov/grow-nc-q3qr-2026/open?ref=down-ballot.info) and advocacy groups tracking the funding — far less than the $25.6 billion requested by Democratic Gov. Cooper. The federal aid amounts to just 13 percent of North Carolina’s estimated damage costs — a far lower share than the 50 percent to 70 percent reimbursement rate the federal government has typically provided after other major disasters like Katrina, Maria, and Sandy. While the administration facilitated a $1.4 billion housing recovery grant and accelerated debris removal, it simultaneously reduced federal cost-sharing for debris to 90 percent of costs from 100 percent, at a cost to North Carolina taxpayers of [at least $200 million](https://ncnewsline.com/2025/04/14/nc-will-appeal-fema-ruling-to-end-100-helene-cost-share-as-state-braces-for-tariff-impacts/?ref=down-ballot.info), according to Stein. Harder to calculate, but undeniable, Trump’s tariffs also raised the cost of much of the equipment and materials needed to rebuild houses and infrastructure. The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development also initially blocked Asheville’s plan to spend $225 million in Community Development Block Grant–Disaster Recovery (CDBG-DR) funds because the plan contained Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) language, a decision that local leaders contended postponed the arrival of essential recovery assets. Earlier this year Noem’s successor, Markwayne Mullin, rescinded Noem’s policy of personally reviewing all FEMA expenditures of $100,000 or more. Since then, federal officials have periodically announced incremental new funding tranches throughout 2025 and 2026 — including $103 million in April 2026, $116 million in January 2026, and nearly $300 million in June 2026 for public assistance and mitigation projects — which by mid-2026 had pushed cumulative FEMA Public Assistance funding to North Carolina past $2 billion. Stein has taken a more urgent tone, traveling to Washington in June 2026 with the state’s congressional delegation to request more than $10 billion in additional funding for housing, water and wastewater systems, roads, dams, and small businesses — an indication that, from the state’s perspective, existing federal commitments remain well short of what’s needed. Administration officials have framed the pace of disbursement differently than critics. Congressional Republicans representing the region, including Rep. Chuck Edwards, who represents Asheville and western North Carolina, have credited the administration for delivering reimbursements, thanking Trump and Mullin for what they’ve called continued partnership on debris removal, road repairs, and school reopenings. ### Legal fights over disaster mitigation funding A significant and recurring flashpoint has been the Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities (BRIC) program, a pre-disaster mitigation fund. FEMA canceled BRIC nationally in 2025, freezing more than $200 million earmarked for over 60 North Carolina infrastructure projects. North Carolina Attorney General Jeff Jackson sued, and a federal court ruled in December 2025 that FEMA’s cancellation was unlawful and ordered the money reinstated. FEMA did not immediately comply. Jackson’s office said that as of February 2026, the agency had not restarted the program or funded pipeline projects, prompting a motion to enforce the court’s order. FEMA ultimately conceded in March 2026, agreeing to submit a plan to restart BRIC and make roughly $1 billion in new mitigation grants available nationally. A separate, still-unfolding dispute emerged in July 2026, when Jackson joined a 22-state coalition suing FEMA and DHS over new conditions attached to more than $1 billion in Homeland Security and disaster-response grants. The lawsuit alleges the agencies are conditioning funding — including money North Carolina uses for storm and flood response — on states adopting Trump’s policies on election audits, voter-citizenship verification, and cooperation with federal immigration enforcement. The plaintiffs argue that those terms exceed FEMA’s authority. ### Where things stand Taken together, the picture reflects two frequently competing narratives. Administration officials and regional Republican lawmakers point to a steady drumbeat of funding announcements, an accelerated debris-removal push early in Trump’s term, and a stated intent to streamline a historically slow-moving federal bureaucracy. State officials, some independent organizations, and advocacy groups counter that despite those announcements, the overall share of promised federal aid actually delivered has lagged well behind the pace set after comparable disasters, while legal fights over programs like BRIC and homeland security grants suggest an unusually contentious federal-state relationship over money local governments say they were already promised. On the one-year anniversary of Helene, Asheville Mayor Esther Manheimer told the *Asheville Citizen Times* “the thing that is frustrating me the most right now is trying to get the help we need from Washington that has already been approved by Congress.” “We know on our side of the equation, we’re doing everything right. We’re filing all the correct paperwork, we’re accounting for money in all the ways we’re required to, we’re checking all the boxes, we have a team of professionals here that just do disaster management and they are here helping us navigate all of this. But,” Manheimer said, “we’re still finding that we’re having a disconnect with this administration.” With Gov. Stein’s June 2026 request for an additional $10 billion still pending in Congress, and litigation over grant conditions ongoing, the full federal response to Helene — and how future disasters get funded during Trump’s second term — remains an open question nearly two years after the storm. ### What officials hope to accomplish As the country hosting the G20 presidency this year, the United States — through the Treasury Department, working alongside the State Department — is setting the agenda for the Finance Track. Treasury has outlined a set of priorities for its host year, including pushing pro-growth economic policies through modernized financial regulation, building a better understanding of large global economic imbalances, improving transparency around sovereign debt and easing debt restructuring processes, backing growth in the digital asset sector, upgrading cross-border payment systems while cracking down on payment-related fraud and scams, and boosting financial literacy worldwide. Those topics are expected to dominate the closed-door discussions in Asheville, where deputies will hammer out technical details in the first meeting before ministers and governors weigh in and, potentially, issue a joint statement or communiqué during the second. The Asheville sessions are just two stops on a longer 2026 circuit for the Finance Track, which began with an April meeting in Washington, D.C., and will continue with an October gathering in Bangkok before the broader G20 process wraps up in December with a leaders’ summit — the marquee event of the U.S. host year — at Trump National Doral in Miami. The Asheville meetings will bring together officials from some of the world’s most consequential economies — including Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, South Korea, Turkey, the United Kingdom and the United States, plus the EU and African Union — at a moment when global debt levels, cross-border payment fraud, tariffs, and the rapid growth of digital assets are all high on the international economic agenda. In a speech earlier this month in Las Vegas — like Asheville, a town heavily reliant on tourism — Trump touted his “no tax on tips” policies and said “I saw polls today on television that say Donald’s Trump polls on the economy aren’t good. The economy’s the greatest economy we’ve ever had by far.” If true, the greatness is distributed unevenly in Asheville. The stock market and asset gains in the second Trump Administration have disproportionately benefited wealthier Americans, while lower-income households face higher prices and reduced benefits — sometimes called a “K-shaped” economy. When the G20 delegates arrive in Asheville, what they’ll see is a recovery partly enabled by federal aid, but “mainly because of the local response, the state, regional, Asheville,” said Matt Raker, executive director of the nonprofit Mountain BizWorks, which facilitated more than $60 million in loans to small businesses. “I think it’s really about how the local community came together to support small businesses, and really individual contributors across the country, more so than the federal response, because there was no SBA money, and then they cut FEMA. Then, when SBA got turned back on, it got DOGEd.” It could have been worse. “FEMA has a stat that after disasters of this kind of scale, you lose about 40 percent of businesses that had to close for some period of time due to the disaster, and then another 15, 20 percent often go out of business within the year after that because they can’t sustain themselves,” Raker told *The Watchdog*. “We are doing way better than that” in the Asheville region,” he said. Cramer, the chamber leader, said the disparate nature of the recovery has led her to ponder: How do you continue to advocate for the things that remain to be done, when parts of the community no longer show outward signs of the devastation? “While we’re grateful for every dollar we’ve received, we still need to receive more, because there are just tremendous needs out there, whether it’s community-wide infrastructure, or it’s support for small business, and everything in between, including housing.” “So I welcome them to take a look at it,” she said of the G20 delegates, “and hope they can see both sides, to see the two cities that exist, and the two realities that exist.” Raker said additional, significant federal investment is required to make sure that the region continues to recover. *The Watchdog* asked Raker, are we talking billions of dollars of additional needed federal aid? “Oh, yeah. Yeah, yeah,” Raker said. “I’d say this is a 10-year recovery. And we’ll be two years this September.” Asked if he had a message for the G20 Finance Track delegates coming to Asheville this month, Raker said: “While folks are struggling, on the positive side, 80 percent of people are confident that they’ll make a full recovery. So, the outlook is good. I do think that shows if there was the right-sized kind of federal recovery investment into the region, people know exactly where to put that to get to recovery. So it would make a big difference.” “And people want to recover,” Raker said. --- *Asheville Watchdog welcomes thoughtful reader comments on this story, which has been republished on our* [*Facebook*](https://www.facebook.com/avlwatchdog/)*,* [*Instagram*](https://www.instagram.com/avlwatchdog/?ref=down-ballot.info)*,* [*TikTok*](https://www.tiktok.com/search?q=asheville%5Fwatchdog&t=1784848453157&ref=down-ballot.info)*, and* [*YouTube*](https://www.youtube.com/@AshevilleWatchdog-WNC?ref=down-ballot.info) *pages. Please submit your comments there.* --- [*Asheville Watchdog*](http://avlwatchdog.org/?ref=down-ballot.info) *is a nonprofit news team producing stories that matter to Asheville and Buncombe County. Peter Lewis is a former New York Times senior reporter, columnist and editor. The Watchdog’s local reporting is made possible by donations from the community. To show your support for this vital public service go to* [*avlwatchdog.org/support-our-publication/*](http://avlwatchdog.org/support-our-publication/?ref=down-ballot.info)*.* ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/ee/78/ee782f90-8fa8-4806-b44d-c225d61a342e/content/images/2026/08/Screenshot-2023-08-01-at-12.50.33-PM.webp) --- # A Three-Year-Old Tries to Cope Without his Beloved Papi by Cora Cervantes, MindSite News August 19, 2026 ![](https://dl3wjxrn8qv3a.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/13123228/image-4-1024x671.png) Jazmin Carino rocks her son, Carlos, at a park in Los Angeles. Her husband self-deported to Mexico City after five months in an ICE detention center in California's Central Valley. **Text by Cora Cervantes. Photos by Julie Leopo for MindSite News/CatchLight** *This story was reported by MindSite News and was produced in partnership with* [*CatchLight*](http://catchlight.io/?ref=down-ballot.info) *as part of its three-year* [*Mental Health Visual Reporting Initiative*](http://catchlight.io/mental-health?ref=down-ballot.info)*.* When the father of pre-schooler Carlos Carino\* was taken into custody in Los Angeles last September by ICE agents and brought to a detention center in California's Central Valley, the changes in Carlos were immediately evident. He refused to participate in circle time at preschool. He cried frequently in school and at home. And he started calling everyone ‘Papi,’ – Daddy in English, but also a term of endearment for children in Latin American countries. *Names in this story indicated by \* have been changed to protect the identities of the people described. A fact-checker and an editor have worked with the reporter on this story to verify the information about each person whose identity was withheld.* For six months, the family navigated the separation as they fought in court for the release of Carlos's father, Miguel Carino\*. They had reason for hope – or so they believed. Carlos is like one of every five children in California – [they live in mixed-status families](https://www.immigrantdataca.org/indicators/mixed-status-families?ref=down-ballot.info) in which at least one member is undocumented; across the country, there are some 4.7 million mixed-status households. As these families cope with aggressive immigration enforcement, a parent's detention can launch them into multiple layers of trauma, buffeted by events they can't control. The consequences are severe: A [report](https://psychiatryonline.org/doi/10.1176/appi.pn.2025.08.8.19?ref=down-ballot.info) by six psychiatrists in Psychiatric News noted that prolonged separation between children and their immigrant parents "can undermine attachment security and increase children’s vulnerability to anxiety, depression, and behavioral problems." Carlos' father had been living in Los Angeles for nearly 25 years, owned a small construction business in his neighborhood of East Los Angeles and employed other workers. Jazmin, his wife of five years, is a U.S. citizen, and Miguel had applied for an "adjustment of status" based on his marriage. Then he was detained during what his attorneys assumed would be a routine check-in with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Enforcement (USCIS). ![](https://dl3wjxrn8qv3a.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/13123318/image-5-694x1024.png) Jazmin Carino has taken on additional housekeeping work to support her family since her husband's detention and subsequent self-deportation. Jazmin, 24, tried to keep the family connected while taking on extra house-cleaning shifts. She and Carlos started making the five-hour round-trip to the Central Valley twice a month. But the visits were painful, and they distressed Carlitos. “We couldn’t hold hands, we couldn’t get up from our seats,” Jazmin recalled. “When it was time to say good-bye, my son didn’t want to let go of him.” But after a while, even these constrained visits seemed to help Carlos. One morning, he arrived at his pre-school wearing a hand-knit beanie that his father had made for him. “He kept it on all day and was happier than he had been,” recalled Ana Soto\*, an early education assistant at the preschool. He wore the beanie daily, as if he were wearing a piece of his father. “One day, I called for him: ‘Papi, come over here,'" Soto said. "He looked at me and said, ‘I am not Papi, I am Carlos.’" To Soto, that signaled a greater sense of security. But in March, faced with the prospect of his likely deportation and exhausted by the brutal conditions at the detention center, Miguel decided to self-deport to Tijuana, Mexico. Jazmin tried to cope, taking Carlos to visit him in Tijuana. Then, in April, Miguel moved further south to Mexico City so he could seek work to support himself. Mexico City is far away, and the family does not have the resources to fly there. Carlos hasn't seen his father in person for three months and it's unclear when he will see him again. Now the family must try to stay connected through video and phone calls, and Carlo's confidence and ease are fading again. When a parent is taken away, a child’s world collapses. Being forcibly separated from family members can cause emotional deregulation and ratchet up their insecurities, says Tatiana Londoño, an assistant professor of social welfare at UCLA's Luskin School of Public Affairs. Her work explores the ways that Latino immigrants navigate and adapt to detention, deportation and family separation. > ***Separation is not merely stressful for young children — it is toxic.*** > > –Clinician commentary, New England Journal of Medicine "Even a small separation from parents, no matter how short, can have a rupture on that child's developmental well-being,” Londoño says. "We are leaving a long-term, potentially multi-generational impact on these families." Children learn that a parent – the person they most rely on – "is no longer my secure base," Londoño says. "They learn that no one is safe for them. They might have issues in future relationships, or they might not be able to discern a healthy relationship from an unhealthy relationship.” Studies show that exposure to harsh immigration enforcement and separation from a primary caregiver is a form of "toxic stress“ that increases future risks of physical and mental illness. Such risks are heightened when they occur on top of "prior exposure to violence, poverty, and family loss in countries of origin," according to the Psychiatric News report. ![](https://dl3wjxrn8qv3a.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/13123521/unnamed-16-1024x674.png) Jazmin touches her son's hand-knit beanie — a gift his father made for him while in immigration detention. His preschool teacher noticed Carlos was "happier than he had been" on the days he wore it. A 2022 study in the Journal of Policy Analysis and Management looked at the ways that the children of immigrants living near Morristown, Tennessee, were affected over the year following a massive immigration raid in that community. The researchers found "a substantial spike in absences from school in the month of the raid and significant increases in exclusionary disciplinary actions and in diagnoses of substance use disorder, depression, self-harm, suicide attempts or ideation, and sexual abuse." Another study, [published in 2020 in the Journal of Traumatic Stress,](https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/jts.22576?ref=down-ballot.info) looked at 458 migrant children and adolescents who were seen in mental health clinics and found that 43% of them were diagnosed with PTSD and 24% with depression. Of those, almost half of the children — 49% — said they were experiencing three or more problematic behaviors ranging from academic problems and skipping or acting out in school to substance use, having suicidal thoughts or attempts, or being physically aggressive towards others. In a commentary [published in March in the New England Journal of Medicine](https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMp2601176?ref=down-ballot.info), a team of clinicians and researchers made this point: "For physicians, mental health clinicians, and public health professionals, the evidence is unequivocal: separating parents and caregivers from young children causes preventable, policy-driven trauma with long-term consequences for child health and development. Separation is not merely stressful for young children — it is toxic." Compounding the problem is that at the very moment ICE raids are creating trauma, the Trump administration is also cutting food assistance and other services that help support families in distress. Londoño and other advocates are urging the state of California to help fill the gap by increasing funding to organizations working to meet immigrant families' basic needs so parents can be "emotionally available to their children." ![](https://dl3wjxrn8qv3a.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/13123650/image-6-1024x682.png) Jazmin walks Carlos home from his early childhood education program in Los Angeles. Since her husband's departure, she relies on family and community for support in caring for their son. She also knows her family is far from alone. She has seen families from as far away as Florida waiting to visit their spouses in the lobby of Central Valley Annex, the massive detention center run for ICE by GEO Group, the private prison company. > ***We are leaving a long-term, potentially multi-generational impact on these families.*** > > –Tatiana Londoño, assistant professor at UCLA's Luskin School of Public Affairs “I recall a woman with six children, including one child with autism and a newborn," Jazmin said. "I saw newborns from out of state visiting and being held by their fathers for the very first time.” Carino hopes she may one day be able to bring her husband back to the United States and reunite her family. For now, though, she is focused on economic survival – and easing the emotional impact on Carlos, who turned 3 in May. His preschool threw a party for him and the family celebrated via a video call with Miguel in Mexico City. To his mother, it was bittersweet: It was Carlitos' first birthday without his Papi. This [article](https://mindsitenews.org/2026/08/19/ice-detention-a-three-year-old-tries-to-cope-without-his-papi/?ref=down-ballot.info) first appeared on [MindSite News](https://mindsitenews.org/?ref=down-ballot.info) and is republished here under a [Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/?ref=down-ballot.info). --- ![](https://mindsitenews.org/?republication-pixel=true&post=17608) # The race to power AI could reshape North Carolina’s grid — and its communities by Will Atwater, North Carolina Health News August 18, 2026 > **Takeaways:** > **Data centers could raise electricity costs for North Carolina customers.** > **Amazon’s Richmond County data center project faces scrutiny over 645 proposed diesel generators.** > **Flexible data-center power use could delay costly grid upgrades.** On July 24, nurses and environmental advocates gathered outside the General Assembly in Raleigh to protest the North Carolina AI Leadership Council’s new[ strategic road map for the state’s adoption and use of artificial intelligence](https://governor.nc.gov/news/press-releases/2026/07/01/governor-stein-announces-ai-strategic-roadmap-protect-and-better-serve-north-carolinians-prepare?ref=down-ballot.info). Protesters raised concerns, among other topics, about electricity costs and new energy infrastructure required to power proposed data centers across the state. “Duke Energy has received tax breaks for three data centers that it owns, and the utility is proposing a 15 percent rate hike on its North Carolina customers,” Ajamu Dillahunt-Holloway, an N.C. State University assistant professor of African American History and Public History and a [North Carolina Environmental Justice Network ](https://ncejn.org/?ref=down-ballot.info)board member, told the crowd in front of the legislature. A week after the General Assembly protest, Richmond County residents and allies gathered outside the Old Richmond County Courthouse in Rockingham before a public hearing held by the[ N.C. Department of Environmental Quality](https://www.deq.nc.gov/?ref=down-ballot.info). The[ hearing](https://www.deq.nc.gov/news/events/public-hearing-preliminary-determination-air-quality-permit-applications-amazon-data-services-and?ref=down-ballot.info) concerned separate air-permit applications from Amazon and Duke Energy tied to Amazon’s proposed data-center campus. ![Ajamu Dillahunt-Holloway speaks at a podium outside the North Carolina General Assembly as rally participants hold signs reading “Trust Nurses Not A.I.” and a National Nurses Organizing Committee banner.](https://www.northcarolinahealthnews.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/DSC04989-scaled.jpeg) Ajamu Dillahunt-Holloway, an N.C. State University assistant professor and North Carolina Environmental Justice Network board member, speaks at a July 24 rally outside the General Assembly in Raleigh. Protesters opposed the use of AI in patient care and raised concerns about the electricity demand and community impacts of data-center expansion. “We were sold a story about investment, jobs and progress,” Shaun Ingram said during a press conference at the Rockingham event. ”But now we are looking at air permits, generators, turbines, emissions, noise, water demand and risks to communities that are already overburdened.” The concerns about electricity’s costs extend beyond data-center opponents. Attorney General Jeff Jackson said last month that [Duke Energy Progress understated the impact of a proposed settlement reached with the state over energy rates](https://ncdoj.gov/duke-energy-gave-incorrect-residential-rate-increase-families-to-pay-9-3-more-not-6-8/?ref=down-ballot.info). Duke told regulators that residential rates would rise 6.8 percent over two years, but Jackson’s office argued that residential customers would instead pay about 9.3 percent more. “The details matter here, and Duke got it wrong under oath,” Jackson said in a news release from his office. The protests and permit fight point to a broader question for North Carolina: How should the state meet the enormous electricity demand expected from hyperscale data centers? Critics fear the answer will be new power plants and the pollution that comes with it, new transmission lines, higher customer bills and additional pollution in rural communities. #### **Who pays for growth?** The [North Carolina Energy Policy Task Force reported ](https://governor.nc.gov/documents/files/nc-energy-policy-task-force-2026-report/open?ref=down-ballot.info)that data centers make up 30 percent of economic-development projects in Duke Energy’s pipeline in North and South Carolina but account for 80 percent of their projected energy demand through 2030. All that extra need calls for more capacity to power it. Aside from the rate settlement, Duke Energy Carolinas has asked state regulators to approve a rate increase that, if approved as filed, would raise the average residential bill from about $143 a month to about $168 by 2028 — an increase of about $25 a month, or 17 percent over two years — according to the[ N.C. Department of Justice](https://ncdoj.gov/attorney-general-jeff-jackson-fights-to-save-north-carolina-families-nearly-1-4-billion-on-duke-energy-carolinas-bills/?ref=down-ballot.info). That’s all as Duke Energy Corp. is booming, [reporting $4.9 billion in profits in 2025](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1326160/000132616026000007/er-20251231xearningsreleas.htm?ref=down-ballot.info). Amazon has said it will[ invest $10 billion](https://www.aboutamazon.com/news/aws/aws-investment-north-carolina-ai-cloud-infrastructure?ref=down-ballot.info) in the Richmond County AI and cloud-computing campus and create at least 500 jobs. Richmond County is a state-designated Tier 1 county, placing it among North Carolina’s 40 most economically distressed counties. ![A group of Richmond County residents and advocates stands outside the Old Richmond County Courthouse in Rockingham after a press conference, holding signs opposing a proposed data center and raising concerns about water, health and pollution.](https://www.northcarolinahealthnews.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/Richmond-County-scaled.jpg) Richmond County residents and advocates pose for a photo outside the Old Richmond County Courthouse in Rockingham on July 30, 2026, after a press conference ahead of the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality’s public hearing on air permits tied to Amazon’s proposed data-center campus and Duke Energy’s temporary diesel generators. Duke Energy’s applications cover 645 diesel-fired generators: 588 emergency backup generators proposed by Amazon and 57 temporary generators Duke Energy would operate to provide “bridge power” until the site can connect to the grid, according to an N.C. Department of Environmental Quality[ release](https://www.deq.nc.gov/news/press-releases/2026/07/21/reminder-deq-announces-joint-public-hearing-amazon-data-center-and-duke-energy-air-quality-permits?ref=down-ballot.info). The agency’s[ Division of Air Quality](https://www.deq.nc.gov/news/press-releases/2026/07/21/reminder-deq-announces-joint-public-hearing-amazon-data-center-and-duke-energy-air-quality-permits?ref=down-ballot.info) said air-dispersion modeling found that emissions from each facility were not expected to violate health-based air-quality standards. But diesel engines emit fine particulate matter, often called soot, and nitrogen oxides. Exposure to these pollutants can worsen asthma and other respiratory illnesses, especially for children, older adults and people with existing heart or lung conditions. “This is an area that has a disproportionately high amount of people with disabilities,” said Jasmine Crockett, a staff attorney for the[ Southern Environmental Law Center](https://www.selc.org/?ref=down-ballot.info). “There is a high population of children under the age of five. There’s a high population of elderly people here, and those are the exact people who are expressly impacted by pollution that comes from diesel-powered generators.” #### **Buying time** Some argue there are ways to have both data centers and less demand on the grid. A 2025 analysis by Duke University researchers offers one way to buy time before the capacity and the grid need to grow. The [report co-authored by Tim Profeta of Duke’s Nicholas Institute for Energy, Environment & Sustainability](https://nicholasinstitute.duke.edu/publications/rethinking-load-growth?ref=down-ballot.info), found that data centers and other large electricity users could help delay the need for some new power plants and transmission lines by agreeing to briefly reduce their electricity demand during the handful of hours each year when demand on the grid is highest. On an average day, the U.S. grid uses 53 percent of the capacity it has,” Profeta said. “The other 47 percent is unused because we don’t build the grid for an average day. We build it for the hottest day in the summer or the coldest day in the winter, when everything is running and we need to make sure the power doesn’t go out.” Profeta and his colleagues argue that there’s flexibility built into the system that would allow utilities to connect large new customers sooner while giving utilities and data-center developers more time to determine what long-term generation and grid upgrades are actually needed. They estimated that this approach could defer some grid-expansion needs by about five years. The analysis found that the existing U.S. power system could potentially accommodate 76 gigawatts of additional demand if new large electricity customers agreed to reduce their use during periods of peak demand by only an average of a quarter of one percent of their annual operating time. That’s roughly equivalent to the annual electricity use of 63 million average U.S. homes. The amount of additional demand the grid could accommodate would increase if new large customers committed to greater flexibility. Lori Bennear, the Stanback Dean of Duke’s Nicholas School of the Environment and a professor of energy economics and policy, compared the approach to using the middle seat in a car rather than buying a larger vehicle for an occasional extra passenger. “You have two kids, and you’re driving them to soccer practice all year long,” Bennear said. “Every once in a while, you’ve got to have a third kid in the car. You don’t go buy a bigger car; you just use the middle seat. We get the middle seat open a lot on our grid. But the challenge is how do you shift the load so that you’re using that middle seat more often rather than going out and buying all new cars?” #### **What’s at stake** In addition to finding ways to use the existing grid more efficiently, Profeta said there are two additional ways data centers could reduce the pressure they place on the grid in the short term. One option would be for companies to build dedicated on-site power systems, such as gas turbines or generators that serve only the data center rather than connecting to the broader grid. That could ease near-term demand on the system. The problem, though, is that this approach could also extend reliance on fossil fuels, depending on the technology used. A second option would direct investment toward homes and businesses through rooftop solar, batteries and efficiency upgrades. When coordinated through software as a “virtual power plant,” those distributed resources can act together as a grid resource, potentially reducing peak demand while lowering homeowners’ bills and improving resilience for participating households and businesses, Profeta said. “The appeal of this moment is that the federal policy incentives are not really needed to build these \[virtual power plants\] if the data center companies invest in what is needed (in order to free capacity and speed their path to power),” Profeta said in an email. The N.C. Department of Environmental Quality’s Division of Air Quality is considering whether to issue the Amazon and Duke Energy air permits after the public hearing and comment period, which ended on July 31. This [article](https://www.northcarolinahealthnews.org/2026/08/18/the-race-to-power-ai-could-reshape-north-carolinas-grid-and-its-communities/?ref=down-ballot.info) first appeared on [North Carolina Health News](https://www.northcarolinahealthnews.org/?ref=down-ballot.info) and is republished here under a [Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/?ref=down-ballot.info). ![](https://i0.wp.com/www.northcarolinahealthnews.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/cropped-favicon02.jpg?fit=150%2C150&ssl=1) ![](https://www.northcarolinahealthnews.org/?republication-pixel=true&post=69340) --- # University Medical Center firing violated city ‘ban the box’ law, attorneys say by Robert Stewart, Verite News New Orleans August 19, 2026 A group of civil rights attorneys is accusing University Medical Center New Orleans (UMC) of violating the city of New Orleans’ “ban the box” law — which prohibits public employers from discriminating against job applicants and current employees because of past arrests or convictions — when it fired employee Devon Jones in April, allegedly due to his criminal background. The attorneys also requested that the city conduct a full investigation of the employee’s termination. The nearly eight-year-old [ban the box law](https://www.nola.com/news/new-law-bans-city-contractors-from-initially-asking-job-seekers-about-criminal-history/article%5F03b11104-25c7-5fda-982a-eb80686b5b1a.html?ref=down-ballot.info) restricts both city agencies and city contractors from making adverse personnel decisions based solely on past convictions. While the law allows those employers to conduct criminal background checks, they have to show that a past conviction would directly interfere with an applicant or employee’s job duties. City contractors such as UMC, which administers a publicly funded violence prevention program for the city, must now sign a sworn statement pledging to comply with the ban the box policy. But in an [Aug. 12 letter addressed](https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/28565326-employment-discrimination-attorney-letter-8-12-2026/?ref=down-ballot.info) to the city’s Chief Administrative Officer Joe Giarrusso and circulated to New Orleans City Council members, attorneys representing Jones allege that he was fired from his position as a violence interrupter based solely on his conviction for a 2009 armed robbery. Violence interrupters, whose jobs are funded through the city prevention program, work closely with victims of violent crime to help them address trauma and prevent retaliatory violence. The city and various partners have operated [some version of the violence interruption program](https://www.nola.com/news/crime%5Fpolice/ceasefire-program-to-reduce-street-violence-launches-in-central-city/article%5Fd79c3bf1-fbd1-5c6d-b9cb-e035b4f23e3c.html?ref=down-ballot.info) for more than a decade. For the past several years, it has been based out of UMC. The hospital’s CEO signed a contract earlier this year agreeing to comply with the ban the box policy, prior to Jones’ firing. Jones’ “conviction bears no relationship to his job duties — his lived experience was, by the program’s own account, a basis for his hiring — and he has an extensive, documented record of rehabilitation,” the Aug. 12 letter reads. The letter was signed by four attorneys representing Jones: Ilona Prieto of criminal justice reform advocacy group Voice of the Experienced (VOTE), civil rights attorney and Loyola Professor William Quigley, civil rights attorney Ronald Wilson and Emily Early of the Center for Constitutional Rights. LCMC Health, the nonprofit health care network that manages UMC, did not respond to multiple requests for comment. According to the letter from Jones’ legal team, LCMC relied on a provision of state law that prohibits hospitals from hiring people with certain serious convictions. But Jones’ attorneys say the nonprofit is misinterpreting the law. New Orleans [passed](https://council.nola.gov/news/archive/2018/october-2018/council-passes-ban-the-box-ordinance-by-district/?ref=down-ballot.info) its first ban the box ordinance in 2018, which went into effect the following year, after the [federal government](https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/the-press-office/2016/04/11/fact-sheet-white-house-launches-fair-chance-business-pledge?ref=down-ballot.info) and cities and states across the country [had taken up](https://www.nytimes.com/2017/11/22/business/small-business-criminal-record.html?ref=down-ballot.info) similar measures to find ways to ensure formerly incarcerated people had access to work opportunities. The original version of the law prohibited hiring managers from requiring applicants to disclose past convictions on job applications and allowed them to conduct background checks only after conducting an interview with an applicant. In 2025 those protections for the formerly incarcerated expanded. The New Orleans City Council [voted unanimously](https://www.nola.com/gambit/news/the%5Flatest/new-orleans-strengthens-ban-the-box-law/article%5Fd60cd5e1-23d5-434d-93d1-15ddf0d7d2da.html?ref=down-ballot.info) that spring to enhance the ban the box ordinance, by adding language that requires the city and its contractors to consider the relationship between the conviction and the nature of the job and to explain in writing how the employer came to their employment decision. According to the letter, Jones was notified that he was fired on April 22, 2026, and a day later a member of the program's staff informed him that his termination was based on his criminal history. “You cannot discriminate against a person because of a mistake they made in their life 10-15 years ago,” said Ronald Marshall, the chief policy analyst for VOTE. “You have to give people an opportunity to prove themselves, otherwise, you’re abandoning an enormous population of people from mainstream society.” Marshall, who [had served](https://www.voiceoftheexperienced.org/rmarshallbio?ref=down-ballot.info) 25 years in prison, was a major advocate for strengthening ban the box laws and championing the [Fair Chance Amendment](https://veritenews.org/2025/09/12/fair-chance-2025-election-criminal-jobs/?ref=down-ballot.info) — a 2025 ballot initiative that amended the city’s charter to recognize the formerly incarcerated as a protected class. Prieto, who sent out the letter to city officials, said that having passed the strengthened ban the box measures more than a year ago, and approaching the year anniversary of New Orleanians voting overwhelmingly for the Fair Chance Amendment means that city officials now have an opportunity to show their commitment to ensuring formerly incarcerated individuals get a fair shake. ![](https://cdn.veritenews.org/uploads/2026/08/18161842/3U0A3222.jpg) University Medical Center New Orleans The mayor and the city’s Chief Administrative Officer, Joe Giarrusso, who both voted in favor of the enhancements to ban the box as members of City Council, did not respond to requests for comment. New Orleans City Councilmember Eugene Green declined to comment on Jones’ firing, citing potential litigation. Councilmember Aimee McCarron’s office said the council received VOTE’s letter and has requested a legal review. Other City Council members did not respond to requests for comment. Jones, who sent his [own letter](https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/28563404-devon-jones-letter/?ref=down-ballot.info) to the city as well, said that the termination from a career he grew to love in the two-and-a-half years he worked as a violence interrupter came as a blow. “I'm beyond traumatized,” Jones said in an interview. According to Jones, he received an email saying he was no longer working with the organization, and that after requesting a reason for his firing, a member of the program’s outreach staff sent a text message saying that background check law mandated immediate termination. ### ‘If I didn’t pivot, then I’d be like my peers’ In 2009, when Jones was 16, he was arrested for an armed robbery, and he was tried as an adult in 2010\. In October of that year, he was sentenced to 15 years of hard labor with the Department of Corrections, but he only ended up spending about 12 years in total in the system. He was released in 2021\. Jones said that it was while in detention that he acquired some of the very knowledge that he would need to apply working in violence interruption such as understanding one's emotions and recognizing one's own ability to overcome traumatizing experiences. He said he needed to learn to overcome that past in an environment not conducive to emotional recovery. “If I didn’t pivot, then I’d be like my peers who I have seen, \[who\] lost themselves in the prison system because they feel like the system failed them, and they have to prove a point, right?” Jones said. “So, I took a different path, and in prison, that’s not easy to do because the abnormal is normal and the normal is abnormal, right? Evil is perceived as good, right, and good is perceived as weakness." Jones said that on the morning when he received the termination notification he felt like he was taken back to the moment he was sentenced at the age of 16\. He hoped that instead of seeing him as a criminal, the organization would see him as the 33-year-old man who entered a workforce development program, enrolled in college and developed into a capable professional. In an interview, Jones said his past experiences made him more qualified to work for the violence intervention program. ![](https://cdn.veritenews.org/uploads/2026/08/18162100/3U0A1538.jpg) Jones said that his past made him more qualified to work as a violence interrupter. For Jones it was through overcoming the experiences of his youth and learning how to understand his own emotional needs that he developed some of the insight to provide trauma-informed care, a [therapeutic approach](https://www.cdc.gov/community-violence/prevention/index.html?ref=down-ballot.info) Jones said he was trained in that helps people process traumatic experiences and develop coping strategies to deal with that trauma. For him overcoming the past was a qualification for the job. It’s a qualification for UMC too. According to a current [job posting ](https://careers.lcmchealth.org/us/en/job/JR0037303/Violence-Interrupter?ref=down-ballot.info)for the violence interrupter role, the organization lists [personal experiences](https://careers.lcmchealth.org/us/en/job/JR0037303/Violence-Interrupter?ref=down-ballot.info) overcoming violence and incarceration as part of qualifications it considers for a violence interrupter. The same posting says that according to [Louisiana law](https://www.legis.la.gov/legis/Law.aspx?d=964764&ref=down-ballot.info), some convictions, including any conviction for armed robbery, make an applicant ineligible to work in health care. In the letter to the city, Jones’ attorneys point out this state law and argue that it is not applicable to Jones because it applies to health care workers. His legal team argued that they believe Jones’ position as a violence interrupter did not qualify him to be considered a health care worker under that law. “He's not providing health care services. He's a community liaison,” Prieto said in an interview. Prieto also added that some language in the job description has only recently been added. According to Prieto, the job posting previously said background history is not a deterrent to applying for the position. A search in Orleans Parish’s court database showed that outside of Jones’ 2010 conviction, he has a pending court case stemming from an August 2025 domestic incident with a former girlfriend, who he said also worked at UMC. The Orleans Parish District Attorney’s office said it is pursuing charges of unauthorized entry and theft of an electronic device. The former girlfriend could not be reached for comment. Jones’ legal team said that his current case holds no bearing on their allegations that he was wrongfully terminated from a city contractor. "It's important to note that the legal system presumes that all persons are innocent until proven guilty, and that applies with Devon as well, regardless of a mistake he made more than a decade ago,” the legal team said in an emailed statement. Jones said he hopes that his search for accountability for his employment termination will ultimately ensure that organizations who are subject to the city’s ban the box requirement will adhere to the law. Jones said he hopes his firing "is highlighted and looked at as a serious matter, to hold people accountable to adhere to these laws that \[are\] in place to help people like myself.” This [article](https://veritenews.org/2026/08/19/ban-the-box-university-medical-center-new-orleans/?ref=down-ballot.info) first appeared on [Verite News New Orleans](https://veritenews.org/?ref=down-ballot.info) and is republished here under a [Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/?ref=down-ballot.info). ![](https://cdn.veritenews.org/uploads/2022/05/21230447/cropped-Verite-icon-150x150.png) ![](https://veritenews.org/?republication-pixel=true&post=32831&ga4=G-MBPTYVCMYR) --- # At first redistricting hearing, Mississippians call push for new maps a ‘power grab’ by Michael Goldberg, Mississippi Today August 18, 2026 TUPELO *–* Mississippi residents who spoke on Tuesday at the first of several public hearings on redistricting around the state urged lawmakers to not redraw electoral maps, calling the effort a needless power grab aimed at diluting Black political power in a state with a sordid racial history. The Republican-dominated joint House and Senate committee on redistricting kicked off its slate of public hearings in a nearly packed room at Itawamba Community College in Tupelo. Leaders of the committee say the hearings will allow lawmakers to solicit feedback before making recommendations on new voting maps to the full Legislature in a likely special session this fall. The push to redraw maps comes after the U.S. Supreme Court issued a decision in the [Louisiana Callais case](https://mississippitoday.org/2026/04/29/callais-supreme-court-mississippi/?ref=down-ballot.info) in May. The ruling gutted part of the Voting Rights Act and, by removing protections for minority districts, cleared the way for Republican-controlled state legislatures to redraw political lines in their favor. ![](https://cdn.mississippitoday.org/uploads/2026/08/18210734/IMG_0878.jpg) A crowd of residents attended a legislative redistricting public hearing in Tupelo on Aug. 18, 2026. President Donald Trump, who is working to protect a slim GOP majority in Congress in this November’s midterm elections, has pressured states his party controls to redraw maps, and many have already complied. ![](https://cdn.mississippitoday.org/uploads/2026/06/21222052/MT-Voters-Voices-Logo-Final.png) In Mississippi, the joint House and Senate committee is expected to do the bulk of the work of redrawing Mississippi’s legislative, judicial and congressional voting lines. But with Mississippi having had its federal midterm primaries months ago, it appears unlikely congressional maps would be redrawn for November's federal election. Only 10 of the 20 members on the state joint committee were in attendance on Tuesday. The room was dominated by Mississippi residents who oppose redistricting. Many of those who spoke said the Callais decision doesn’t require Mississippi to redraw its maps, and that doing so would create confusion for voters and impose a financial cost on localities. They also said hard-won progress to increase Black representation in Mississippi since the Jim Crow era would be eradicated. The Reverend Jeffrey Gladney, pastor of a Church in Shannon, said redrawn maps would “eliminate Black districts” and attack “Black voices that represent the Black community." “If maps are redrawn, they will split neighborhoods, divide communities, take away resources from already weakened communities,” Gladney said. ![](https://cdn.mississippitoday.org/uploads/2026/08/18210709/IMG_0902.jpg) Resident Jim Newman speaks at redistricting public hearing in Tupelo. on Aug. 18, 2026. Jim Newman, chairman of the Lee County Democratic Party, said the Legislature should redistrict after the next U.S. Census in 2030 rather than rushing to redraw maps at President Trump’s urging as states such as Texas have done. “Y’all are looking for a power grab, plain and simple,” Newman said. “It didn’t have to happen. But the president asked for it, and by God, everybody bends over to take care of the president. And it’s not any different here in Mississippi.” Teresa Roberts said redistricting would impact the social and economic well-being of “marginalized people.” “These are people who need us, who need you, and you are going to take away what little strength they already have,” Roberts said. “Shame on you.” Katie Gilbert said she came straight from work to attend Tuesday’s hearing. She was raised in Tupelo and went to Tupelo High School. She said redistricting would contribute to the "brain drain" flight of young people out of Mississippi. “We wonder a lot of times why we have a brain drain in Mississippi, why a lot of educated young folks leave this state. It’s because of decisions like this that are leaving us in the past,” Gilbert said. “Mississippi has a very dark history, but we do not need to continue on with a dark future. Equitable maps lead to a stronger Mississippi.” Walter Jones said his family lived down the street in Chicago from the family of Emmett Till, a Black youth whose murder in Mississippi helped spark the Civil Rights Movement. He said he moved to Mississippi because of the progress the state had made in overcoming its history of racial discrimination, but he now wonders whether he made the wrong move. “I came down here because things have changed. Mississippi was becoming a great place to stay. People was people. Everybody like everybody,” Jones said. “If this is what y’all want to do to Mississippi after all the hurt and struggles y’all went through to get to where we’re at today, I made a bad decision.” Only one person in attendance, Mike Walker, appeared to speak in favor of redistricting. “All I’ve heard up here today is bashing these elected representatives for what they’re trying to do,” Walker said. “So let me ask you, what color is your soul? It’s a soul thing people. It ain’t Black or white. It’s a soul thing.” Many civil rights leaders, Black lawmakers and voting rights advocates believe the hearings are a pretext for the Legislature moving to dismantle majority-Black districts and weakening Black political power in the state. Democratic Rep. Rickey Thompson of Shannon, who is not on the joint committee but attended the hearing, said he doubted his Republican colleagues would take community feedback into account. “They already have their plans together,” Thompson told Mississippi Today. “They’re just going through the motions.” Republican leaders believe that when the U.S. Supreme Court issued its ruling in the Callais decision, it ended an improper practice of allowing for the consideration of race in drawing political maps. Since the Callais decision, some GOP leaders in Mississippi and Washington, D.C., have called for heavy partisan gerrymandering, including redrawing of incumbent U.S. Rep. Bennie Thompson’s district to help oust him, the state’s only Black member of Congress and only Democrat. Cliff Johnson, a University of Mississippi law school professor who is the Democratic nominee challenging Republican U.S. Rep. Trent Kelly in this year's midterms, attended the hearing and mingled with attendees. He said the hearing showed Mississippians didn't want a redistricting process that inflamed racial and partisan divides. “I thought it was very powerful to see people stand in front of a bunch of legislators and ask to have a say. My sense as a lifelong Mississippian is that our diversity is such a strength,” Johnson said. “The notion of having representatives chosen by a cross-section of our population is something that makes us stronger.” The committee is encouraging the public to participate in future hearings. The public can offer comments at any of the seven remaining public hearings, or submit written comments to Ted Booth, the committee’s attorney, at ted.booth@peer.ms.gov. Below is the schedule of the future planned redistricting hearings. Each will start at 6 p.m. - Aug. 27 at Northwest Mississippi Community College in Southaven - Sept. 1 at Delta State University in Cleveland - Sept. 8 at Alcorn State University in Natchez - Sept.10 at Meridian Community College in Meridian - Sept. 17 at the University of Southern Mississippi in Hattiesburg - Sept. 22 at Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College in Gulfport - Oct. 1 at the state Capitol in Jackson This [article](https://mississippitoday.org/2026/08/18/redistricting-hearing-mississippi-tupelo/?ref=down-ballot.info) first appeared on [Mississippi Today](https://mississippitoday.org/?ref=down-ballot.info) and is republished here under a [Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/?ref=down-ballot.info). ![](https://cdn.mississippitoday.org/uploads/2026/04/21223401/cropped-mt-favicon-512-1-180x180.png) ![](https://mississippitoday.org/?republication-pixel=true&post=1186725&ga4=G-VSX4B701MS) --- # Wisconsin to hold commutations hearing Friday by Natalie Yahr / Wisconsin Watch August 18, 2026 - Gov. Tony Evers reopened the commutations process in April – the first time in 25 years Wisconsin prisoners had the opportunity to request shorter sentences. - The Commutation Advisory Board will meet from 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. on Friday. The virtual meeting is open to the public with no registration required. - It will stream at [www.youtube.com/@GovCommutations](http://www.youtube.com/@GovCommutations?ref=down-ballot.info) and/or [wiseye.org/live](http://wiseye.org/live?ref=down-ballot.info). - Natalie Murphy, one of 12 people who will speak at the hearing, told Wisconsin Watch she spent two weeks reading through her application before submitting it. - The ACLU of Wisconsin also released new polling this week that shows a majority of Wisconsinities favor some form of clemency for some individuals. A dozen incarcerated Wisconsinites will publicly make their case for clemency on Friday. Those individuals represent a fraction of the people who’ve applied for commutations since Gov. Tony Evers [reopened the process](https://wisconsinwatch.org/2026/04/wisconsin-prison-commutations-are-back-what-incarcerated-people-should-know/?ref=down-ballot.info) in April, marking the first opportunity in 25 years for Wisconsin prisoners to request their sentences be shortened. The Commutation Advisory Board, appointed by the governor, will recommend which applicants’ sentences Evers should commute. Initial announcements said the board would hold its first meeting in June, but it’s [now scheduled for Friday, Aug. 21](https://publicmeetings.wi.gov/view/11a88fd9-3cdf-44f1-8a1e-a7e2e696113c/1?ref=down-ballot.info), from 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. The meeting, which is virtual, is open to the public with no registration required. It will stream at [www.youtube.com/@GovCommutations](http://www.youtube.com/@GovCommutations?ref=down-ballot.info) and/or [wiseye.org/live](http://wiseye.org/live?ref=down-ballot.info), according to the governor’s office. Among those addressing the committee Friday is Natalie Murphy, who was sentenced in 2016 to 20 years in prison and six and a half years of extended supervision for first-degree reckless homicide and second-degree recklessly endangering safety. Incarcerated at Taycheedah Correctional Institution, she’s spent the last seven years working full time as a certified peer specialist, sharing her own experience and offering a listening ear to fellow prisoners for $1 an hour. “Being able to take the things that I have made mistakes in, or the pain that I have … and show people that there’s hope to get through that, is crucial to who I am at this point in my life,” Murphy said. When she heard the governor’s commutations announcement, she filled out the 17-page application. For two weeks, she read through it every day. “I’d start in the morning, like, ‘OK, does this reflect who I am as a person?’ And then I would tweak it,” Murphy said. When she was ready, she got it notarized and mailed it. At the end of July, she got a letter saying she’d been selected for a hearing. “I was shaking quite a bit,” Murphy said. “I just wasn’t expecting it.” Murphy acknowledges that one purpose of the legal system is to punish people for their crimes by removing them from the rest of society. But she thinks the commutation process shows people that rehabilitation matters too. “If we do not emphasize rehabilitation and second chances and putting faith back into people, it can create a really dangerous and toxic environment,” Murphy said. ## **Poll shows Wisconsinites favor clemency** The majority of Wisconsinites favor some form of clemency for at least some individuals, according to [a new poll](https://www.aclu-wi.org/publications/gbao-clemency-memo/?ref=down-ballot.info) commissioned by the ACLU of Wisconsin. The poll, conducted in March by public opinion research firm GBAO, surveyed 800 registered voters in Wisconsin. Of those voters, 51% support ending or shortening the sentences of prisoners “who meet certain selected criteria” if courts determine they can “successfully and safely re-enter their communities.” Thirty-seven percent opposed the idea. The poll found voters were more likely to support early release for incarcerated individuals who are on hospice or need extensive care in their old age, as well as for female prisoners who killed or attacked an alleged abuser, and for prisoners who have served 20 years or more for a crime they committed as a minor. Respondents also support pardons for a variety of Wisconsinites who’ve served their sentences. Pardons, which Gov. Evers has issued throughout his tenure, officially forgive an offense and restore the person’s civil rights. In Wisconsin, pardons are currently available only to individuals who completed their full sentences, including any extended supervision, at least five years ago. Though these pardons don’t shorten sentences, they can make it easier to get a job, housing or a professional license. Eighty percent of ACLU survey respondents said they support pardons for individuals convicted of nonviolent crimes, and 50% said they support pardons for those convicted of violent crimes. Wisconsin’s next governor will determine whether Wisconsinites will continue to receive commutations after Evers leaves office in January. In April, Republican U.S. Rep. Tom Tiffany’s gubernatorial campaign [told Wisconsin Watch](https://wisconsinwatch.org/2026/04/wisconsin-governor-evers-commutations-prison-election-candidates-democrat-republican/?ref=down-ballot.info) he would rescind Evers’ executive orders on commutations because they allow people convicted of murder to apply. Under Evers’ executive order only those previously convicted of sexual assault, physical abuse or sexual exploitation of a child, trafficking of a child, incest or soliciting a child for prostitution are ineligible for commutations. Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley, who [won the Democratic gubernatorial primary](https://wisconsinwatch.org/2026/08/wisconsin-democratic-governor-primary-election-results-race-crowley-hong-nomination/?ref=down-ballot.info), told Wisconsin Watch in April he would work with the Legislature to “institutionalize” Evers’ commutations process but that he “would not allow commutations of murderers.” For now, many Wisconsin prisoners are holding out hope that their applications will be granted before any potential changes to the process. On Friday, Murphy will read from the personal statement she was told to prepare, explaining why she’s in prison, what rehabilitation she’s done, what she’d do if she got out and why she thinks she deserves a commutation. Beyond that, she’s not sure what to expect. She doesn’t know when or how she’ll learn what the board and the governor decide. If she doesn’t receive a commutation, she’ll remain incarcerated until her scheduled release date in 2036\. Meanwhile, Wisconsin’s prison population is nearing a record high. As of Friday, Aug. 14, the system held 23,789 prisoners, just 37 shy of the record set in 2019\. That’s nearly 6,000 people more than the system was designed for, according to the Department of Corrections. *Wisconsin Watch reporter Brittany Carloni contributed to this report.* This [article](https://wisconsinwatch.org/2026/08/wisconsin-commutations-hearing-prison-sentences-clemency-governor-evers-pardon/?ref=down-ballot.info) first appeared on [Wisconsin Watch](https://wisconsinwatch.org/?ref=down-ballot.info) and is republished here under a [Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/?ref=down-ballot.info). ![](https://i0.wp.com/wisconsinwatch.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/cropped-WCIJ_IconOnly_FullColor_RGB-1.png?fit=150%2C150&quality=100&ssl=1) ![](https://wisconsinwatch.org/?republication-pixel=true&post=1319861&ga4=G-D2S69Y9TDB) --- ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/ee/78/ee782f90-8fa8-4806-b44d-c225d61a342e/content/images/2026/08/Alaska_mg_0.jpg) Voters line up on Aug. 17, 2026, at the early voting station set up in Anchorage's Midtown Mall. Voters reported waiting about an hour to cast their primary election ballots. (Photo by Yereth Rosen/Alaska Beacon) ## Alaska on course to approve new campaign donation limits in Ballot Measure 1 By James Brooks (Alaska Beacon) Published: August 19, 2026 Early tallies from Tuesday’s statewide primary election showed overwhelming support for a ballot measure that will restrict the amount of money that political candidates can accept from groups and individuals. With 377 of 402 precincts reporting by 2 a.m. Wednesday morning, Ballot Measure 1 had the support of 71.5% of participating voters. That’s only slightly less than the 73% margin that a similar ballot measure received in 2006. The limits imposed by that 2006 measure remained in place until 2021, when a three-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals [ruled that Alaska’s limits on campaign contributions were so tight that they violated the First Amendment](https://www.adn.com/politics/2021/07/30/federal-court-ruling-likely-allows-unlimited-cash-in-alaska-political-campaigns/?ref=down-ballot.info). Gov. Mike Dunleavy’s administration declined to appeal that decision, and the state’s 2022, 2024 and 2026 elections have taken place without limits on the amount of money that candidates may accept. A poorly funded group called Citizens Against Money in Politics [gathered thousands of signatures](https://alaskabeacon.com/2024/10/19/alaska-lt-gov-dahlstrom-approves-campaign-finance-ballot-measure-for-2026-vote/?ref=down-ballot.info) to put a measure on the ballot. The Alaska Legislature [passed a substantially similar bill](https://alaskabeacon.com/2026/05/20/alaska-legislatures-last-day-action-could-cancel-campaign-finance-ballot-measure/?ref=down-ballot.info) this year, but [Dunleavy vetoed it](https://alaskabeacon.com/2026/07/10/alaska-governor-vetoes-new-limits-on-political-donations/?ref=down-ballot.info), clearing the way for the measure to appear on the August primary ballot. Vote-counting is expected to continue through Aug. 28, the deadline for mailed absentee ballots to reach the Alaska Division of Elections. Barring legal challenge, the measure would take effect after this year’s elections. When enacted, the new law would prohibit political donors from giving a candidate more than $2,000 per election. Groups would be allowed to give no more than $4,000 per candidate per election. Both limits would be adjusted for inflation every 10 years, and they will only apply to state-level elections — for governor, state House and state Senate. Candidates themselves would still be allowed to spend as much of their own money as they want on their own campaign. Federal elections — those for President, U.S. Senate and U.S. House — operate under different limits in federal law. The measure does not affect the amount of money that can be spent by groups operating independently of candidates’ campaigns. The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in 2010 that limiting those groups amounts to restricting their free speech. Also this year, the Supreme Court ruled that political parties may spend unlimited amounts of money in conjunction with candidates for federal office. That decision does not directly affect state candidates but could implicate them in the future. [SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE](https://alaskabeacon.com/donate?ref=down-ballot.info) --- \-30-