Politics

March 28, 2019 - In 2001, the U.S. nuclear industry began hyping plans for new commercial reactor construction, which had skidded to a halt after the 1979 Three Mile Island nuclear disaster. But utilities' ambitious and expensive plans have fallen apart, leaving ratepayers in some Southern states forking over millions of dollars for nothing.

March 15, 2019 - To promote their anti-regulatory agenda, the billionaire brothers behind the Koch Industries oil and chemical conglomerate have funneled hundreds of millions of dollars into schools nationwide. Now a group called UnKoch My Campus is challenging those deals, and co-founder and campaigns director, Samantha Parsons, recently spoke with Facing South about its work.

March 14, 2019 - For the amendment banning sex discrimination by the federal and state governments to be enshrined in the U.S. Constitution, one more state needs to ratify it. Most of the states that haven't ratified the ERA are in the South, but ratification bills were introduced in seven Southern states this year.

March 13, 2019 - In response to Republican voter suppression efforts in the states, congressional Democrats want to restore the Supreme Court-stricken Voting Rights Act provision that required federal preclearance of election changes in places with a history of voter discrimination. Here's how they're proposing to do that and the places that would be covered.

March 12, 2019 - A state judge recently struck down a voter ID amendment to the N.C. Constitution because the legislators who ratified it were elected in unconstitutional, racially gerrymandered districts. Meanwhile, two white sheriffs who ousted black sheriffs with the help of a suspected election fraudster are also facing legal problems.

March 8, 2019 - With a growing number of banks refusing its business amid pressure from human rights activists, the U.S. private prison industry has been ramping up spending on lobbying and campaign contributions. Tennessee-based private prison giant CoreCivic just added to its powerhouse lobbying roster another influential firm for help on banking issues.

March 1, 2019 - A new coalition seeks to end Duke Energy's electric monopoly in North Carolina in hopes of hastening the shift to clean energy. There's also an effort underway to bring competition to the electricity market in Florida, where Duke operates as a regional monopoly.

February 28, 2019 - A bill in the Georgia legislature would overturn local reforms across the state that keep people from being locked up just because they can’t afford bail. The bail bonds industry lobbied for the bill, which would reverse recent bipartisan reforms, and contributed to the campaigns of lawmakers who back it. 

February 25, 2019 - House Democrats are traveling around the country to investigate discriminatory election practices and document the need to restore the Voting Rights Act. Events have already been held in Texas and Georgia, with the next set for North Carolina.