North Carolina Now; North Carolina Now Episode from 02/21/1997

Rian It's Friday February 21st. Tonight the debate over repealing the state's motorcycle helmet law in North Carolina now. Good evening I'm reading it right welcome to North Carolina now.

We have a variety of topics for you on this evening's program. We will continue our multi-part series on old time children's television shows. Also tonight Ralph Reed the executive director of the Christian Coalition will be our guest. And we'll check in with John basin at the legislative building to review this week's activities at the General Assembly. We start tonight though by examining the debate among lawmakers concerning motorcycle safety and public safety efforts have skyrocketed in the last decade with seat belt laws and laws requiring car seats for small children. But some lawmakers believe there is one law concerning motorcycles that really isn't needed. Sanya Williams reports there's a proposal to change the current motorcycle helmet law. People like you a little bit. Yeah the deep seat and wide front of this Harley puts Shelton maken in sort of a comfort zone

as he examines what he calls his dream bike shop has been shopping for a motorcycle for over a year. Dependable by what ultimately yes I do want to move into the holiday season I hope maybe I can go into this status and have a holiday cruise down the road. Yes I do. So can I have a good look at them. See what I want you to feel. He's got the front in front of the chrome. He's got a big drag by things as Shelton learns about the different safety features of motorcycles. If there's one piece of equipment he may not have to consider that some legislators have their way about modifying North Carolina's motorcycle helmet law. There is currently everyone is required to wear a helmet but some lawmakers are pushing to make it legal for bikers to write without a helmet if they are at least 21 years

old and have a motorcycle license or a motorcycle endorsement which is simply in addition to a regular driver's license that states a person is qualified to operate a motorcycle. Those are demonstrated skills in being a ride a motorcycle and I think it's reasonable to say that. 21 which I consider an adult. These are adults who are experienced and really should make their own decisions. I don't think inexperienced people or less mature people probably have the maturity to make those kinds of decisions for personal their personal safety. Whether they believe it be safe or not but there is really no statistical evidence to indicate that helmets prevent accidents for prevent fatalities based upon this just in fact the fatal accident reporting system. A federal government program researched the number of people killed in motorcycle accidents in

1994. Of those killed over a thousand were wearing helmets while just under 900 were not. The obvious interpretation of that as far as I'm concerned is that when you are wearing a helmet you get a false sense of security. But some people disagree and want the current laws to remain in place. Fact is that unhelmeted motorcyclist involved in crashes are three times as likely to sustain a head injury as helmeted cyclists motorcycle helmets offer the best protection from head injuries. We think safety is a number one concern. Legal mean is a form in itself. He didn't mean to say it very well. You got to have certain laws are protected you know. You know I think it's a good law. I'm pro-choice about I do real it myself is one choice or the house with as of two people should be certified if they were right without him.

Whether or not the current lies changed. Some people say regardless of their age they'll continue to wear their helmets. Not only for safety reasons but also as a fashion statement. But like him you know that's been one of those what I want to buy. Yes I do as if I would want him at all times. Still legislators like Representative Baker want to give North Carolinians a choice. I feel personally that that people are over regulated by the government and where there are are not needs for laws. Then if you have them you ought to get rid of them. If they're not serving a useful purpose full motorcycle people you have it. You're going to get injured. So they have to should be on accident prevention and that's where enforcement fraidy safety valid license not driving drunk. And those things coming. So now that the wheels are set in motion to change the law. Bikers like Shelton say they'll keep a

close eye on this legislative session and whether by wearing a helmet or taking motorcycle safety courses they'll do whatever it takes to stay safe. The proposed modification would also require adults to have one year of experience to be able to ride without a helmet and it would allow adult passengers to ride without a helmet as long as they're riding with a licensed adult. And joining us now to tell us more about what transpired at the General Assembly this past week is legislative correspondent John base and good to see you John primaried. Earlier this week the Senate Democrats came out with a proposal to redraw the state's congressional districts how was that proposal received. It's been received pretty well actually a redistricting plan sometimes can be very partisan and nasty. There's a deadline set by the federal courts for April 1st this time there's not much time to mess around and I think some people would say they're giving the Senate credit for coming up with a plan that. Pretty fair handed pretty even handed and the House is working on its own plans but this

Senate plan is getting a good look even by the House committee. So what happens now we have to wait for the House plan to come out and they compare the two or where what's going to transpire here. Well the House says they're working on a couple of plans of their own and they hope to have them out by next week I believe it's Wednesday afternoon at 3:00 here in the General Assembly they'll be a public hearing on redistricting where people will be able to comment on redistricting in general but also coming on the Senate plan and the House plans that may be released by then eventually obviously has to pass a plan through its body over to the other side and eventually they will go to what they call a conference committee and work out the details. I understand that campaign reform is back on track in the house what's going on there. The House Campaign Reform Committee election laws and campaign reform I think is the name of the committee held a meeting this week and they unveiled a House bill they say they want to take some time in and study a lot of proposals they're almost calling their committee a study commission to look at a lot of ideas but the House has some philosophical approaches that differ from the Senate. The Senate wants to limit campaign contributions reduce the top amount. The house is not

moving in that direction so there's it'll be a while there's a lot of study going on and some folks say that maybe there's not that much enthusiasm here for making big changes in campaign. Very quickly John what's the latest on the situation to tighten restrictions of former lawmakers becoming lobbyists. The Senate gave that Bill tentative approval that believe they have one more vote on it and it will be going over to the house. Some mixed feelings about that bill frankly whether it's good legislation. All right John well thanks so much and we'll look forward to speaking with you next week. Thanks. All right. For a complete wrap up of this week's legislative news be sure to tune into legislative week in review tonight at 10:00 right here on TV. Well coming up a conversation with Ralph Reed the executive director of the Christian Coalition. But first we're going to check in with Michel Louis for a summary of today's statewide news. Good evening Mitch. Thanks Marina. Good evening everyone. Governor Hunt's efforts to improve the quality of daycare in North Carolina tops our news this evening. The governor is asking the state's Human

Resources secretary to develop a new set of recommendations for improving the quality and affordability of daycare in the state. Says he's willing to consider tax credits for parents who stay at home with their children and for businesses that provide day care. The Marine Fisheries Commission is asking the state to re-evaluate the ban on shrimp trawling. The request comes after two weeks of protests from commercial fisherman. The ban which went into effect February 8th prohibits the use of shrimp trawlers on ocean going vessels between Beaufort ended and Cape Hatteras. It was designed to stop fishermen from getting around to fly net then by using the trawls to catch young men fish. A Washington D.C. based group says the air above some of America's largest urban areas including the triad is getting cleaner. The road information program analyzed air quality data from the Environmental Protection Agency. The group found that bad air days have dropped by 60 percent in urban areas with more than 500000 people. The Triad went from an average of five point three heavy ozone days a year

between 1986 to 1988 to an average of point 67 between 1993 to 1995. Looking ahead to tomorrow's weather warm temperatures are expected again for much of the state or coastal areas will reach the 70s while the rest of the state will be in the 60s and 50s. There's a good chance of rain and possible thunderstorms almost everywhere Saturday when the conditions are expected as well. In business news North Carolinians will be able to let their fingers do the walking in Spanish. A Charlotte couple is publishing the law in Espanol or the Yellow Pages in Spanish. A surging Hispanic population in North Carolina is prompting the need for the phone book. And now for a look at what happened on Wall Street today. The

Christian Coalition has more than 1.7 million members organized into more than 900 chapters throughout the nation. Its executive director is Ralph Reed who has been at the helm of the organization since its founding in 1989. Mr. Reed was in Raleigh yesterday to address the John Locke Foundation a conservative think tank. He took a few minutes to sit down with our Robin minea. Mr. Reed thank you very much for joining us this evening. Thank you. Thanks. I'd like to ask you about a recent controversy just a few days ago the finance former finance chairman of the Republican Party issued a letter warning that the party is in jeopardy because of the influence of the religious right. I think he means by that do you think he's accurate.

Well I haven't had a chance to talk to John Moran who's the individual who wrote the letter that you're referring to yet and I don't want to prejudge here or jump to conclusions about what he might be thinking we not had the chance to meet or talk and I'd like to wait until then before commenting on it to fully but I think that most of this is based on misperception and misunderstanding the Christian Coalition and other religious conservative organizations don't control the Republican Party and the Republican party doesn't control us. We're not a Republican organization we're a Christian organization and while we certainly agree with the Republican Party on a lot of issues such as abortion and taxes we disagree with the Republican Party on other issues such as legalized gambling and tobacco for example. So there are agreements or disagreements that transcend party lines. Having said that I think that we would have to say that the Republican Party.

And its support among religious conservatives evangelicals and Roman Catholics is a strength not a weakness to a party and I certainly don't think that anyone should send a chilling message or a message that they're not welcome or that somehow they're a liability to the party they're not. They're the main reason why the Republican Party is the majority party in America today in spite of the fact that Bill Clinton was re-elected. It was a largely hollow and Pyrrhic victory the Republicans controlled thirty two governorships they control a majority of state legislatures they control Congress and were re-elected for the first time in 68 years. That's not a time to start kicking people out of your party is when you've achieved those kinds of victories. The government has filed a lawsuit against the Christian Coalition arguing that the coalition has improperly aided Republican candidates through things like the voter's guide right. The Federal Election Commission's case in that particular dispute is specious. It is

unsupported by the evidence and we are absolutely confident that we have abided not only by the letter of the law but by the spirit of the law. And that we will ultimately win in the federal courts. It's unfortunate but the Federal Election Commission has spent taxpayer dollars litigating against many conservative pro-family and pro-life organizations and is batting about zero in the federal courts. They lost a major case involving a Right to Life organization distributing voter guides. They sued Newt Gingrich and go PAC his political action committee in federal court and lost they sued the National Rifle Association and lost. They sued the Colorado Republican Party in a major case last year and they lost in a landmark case. They have lost just about every major case that they have ever litigated before the federal courts and we trust that they'll lose this one as well.

You were warned against devaluing moral issues in politics what do you mean by that. Well I think that there is a tendency among many politicians to not feel that they can speak to issues of the soul issues of the heart issues of values. And I think that's unfortunate. There's a skittishness about the mixture of religion and politics. There's often a suggestion by some in the media and some among. For lack of a better term the opinion elites that religion poses a danger to democracy in the separation of church and state. I believe in the separation of church and state I don't want the government running the church or the other way around. But I do think that there is a danger that we have created what Yale law professor Stephen Carter has properly called a culture of disbelief. A public square that is stripped of religion or any reference to religion. And I think that's unfortunate and that's why groups like the Christian Coalition are so important to

encourage people of faith Jew Christian Muslim any faith to go out and get involved in the public square to work on behalf of their values. We are after all one of the few organizations that goes before a state legislature goes before a governor or goes before Congress. Not because we want to get a tax break or because we want to government contractor because we want to special break for our business. We have some profit motive involved. We're doing this because we want to help the country. And I think if we start excluding those kind of people we're really leaving politics to the labor unions big business and the special interests. You're here in Raleigh to talk about something that the Christian Coalition has just unveiled the Samaritan project What's that about. Well the Samaritan project is a bold and compassionate agenda to combat poverty and to restore faith and hope. We have inner cities today where 70 percent black unemployment is not uncommon. We have inner cities

where there are 20 percent graduation rates where an African-American male under the age of 35 has a higher likelihood of being killed than American soldier did in Vietnam where out of wedlock births constitute 68 percent of all live births and were about half of all pregnancies end in abortion. That is a tragic situation. It is not only an urban crisis it's a it's an American crisis. The question is what do we do about it. And what we're saying is government has a role. Government should continue to be involved in some form of welfare. Government should continue to try to help people. But government can't do it alone. The faith community charities the business community also have to do their part and so we've announced that we're going to raise approximately 10 million dollars over the next four years to help fund inner city ministries working with young people and women on welfare. We've announced that we're going to work for the creation of a hundred empowerment zones to help eliminate taxes in

inner cities to help spur job creation. And we've called for the creation of about 200000 inner city scholarships to help children who are trapped in schools that are currently war zones and where they're not learning go to schools that are safe and where they can learn. Mr. Reed thanks again for taking the time to join us this evening. Thank you. Pleasure to be with you. Thanks for that interview Robin. Two weeks ago we told you about Fred Kirby who was a favorite children's show host on WB TV and Charlotte for almost 40 years. But for over a decade Fred Kirby had a friendly competitor across the street at WSOC. His name was Joey The Clown. And as you're about to see he was the host of nor one of North Carolina's most imaginative children shows clown carnival. Maria Lundberg narrates this report produced by Scott Marsh. I couldn't help but where you're from Boyd and then get them make up their mind you know.

Kids in Charlotte didn't have trouble making up their minds about Joey The Clown. They loved him. But for an audience accustomed to Captain Kangaroo Joey was a little different then. Oh my father is a little close with his money and I forget every now and then. Your father and brother wait though a game plan. I think Joey would come closer to Mr. Green's control. Joey would be sort of like that except you know. So from the very. While we were everything else we wanted to have fun. We saw the kids reacting we knew we were. Lindsay was a veteran of radio and television and had been with about two years when he was asked to create a character for children. So my favorite bombs were

ready to stand up. But one of the funniest people to me. Add to that equation parts and you've got a children's show that gave the competition a run for their money. For years we were always in competition. I became very lucky and I got very good ratings so good that Carnival ran for 12 years on Channel 9 from 1959 till 1971. Jones fans tuned in each weekday afternoon for the first show that was both a raucous and unconventional. You see in Joey's world the station owner who Joey refers to as skinflint lives above the studio. He also has a lovely daughter who just happens to be Joey's sidekick. Miss Ginger as portrayed by actress Jennifer Simmons Heath Miss Ginger didn't

resemble any other sidekick in the known universe was a girl runner up beautiful clown Carnival had a special feature that kids loved when you pulled the rope. What happened. Famous for his feather duster and I kept it in my pocket all the time and I would just off the kids heads. I would test my hair and my head put the hat back on. Just a routine I did and they. If you didn't dust or head you didn't like it so I had a job when I go back. Name game. Well I was just some way to let them say their name and I just go along saying your name you know. OK GOOD want to remember.

In the sixties almost every kid in Charlotte knew how to make a jelly tree if you want to try this at home. All you need are some scissors some newspaper and about 17 cups of coffee and you have two or three clown carnival featured a number of visiting guests over the years. One in particular with a kindred spirit. Kelly was one of my favorites is a very gentle and a very gentle clown and we tried to get across to him that it is frozen into the picture and that eventually he would surprise you know we're going to come out of it. I want to pick your right or your He then became jealous he wanted to get and the big three. But Miss Ginger saves the day.

She will come over to get me straightened out because she knows I'm not supposed to do that and that's not nice. No I like it here in the sportsman. You know I'm going to take you remember the road we told you we'd show you what happened. The idea that we're not going rogue of course was an excitement for the kids. We wanted him to pull the rope that was the conclusion of this influx of women in a general type person I'm his clown in the ghetto. Wow. He couldn't bring it to so I had to go but through Him and in his ear as a hero and good. Whoa good used to that I haven't been here so long you look at

what I thought of my Dear me did it. It's with them each of us to be a clown. Joey had less than anybody else but he always goes. You always had fun. You always enjoyed life. That's why it worked great. Brooks Lindsay still lives in Charlotte with his wife surely. He is a charter member of the Elwood P Dowd drum and bugle corps which was recently featured in the comic strip Gasoline Alley. Well for those of you who grew up in the Raleigh area get your marching shoes out because next Friday it will be once again time for Uncle Paul. Well that's our program for tonight a reminder festival 97 gets under way starting tomorrow. This is the time of year when we ask you our viewers to provide financial support to you and CTV So stay tune and watch all the wonderful programming Festival has to offer and please make your contribution on Monday North Carolina now begins a multi-part series showcasing all the fabulous vacation destinations here in

our state. Have a great weekend everyone I'll see you tomorrow there in festival. And again on Monday for another edition of North Carolina now goodnight.