Read on Twitter
One of the things I really hate is writing essentially the same story again and again and again. But sometimes it's important.
Case in point...
Case in point...
For two. full. years. we have been asking @NC_Governor Roy Cooper's commerce department for records related to NC's failed quest for Apple's new campus.
Apple selected Austin in 2018. And normally, when the state loses deals, we request and obtain records in less than a month. Those documents are revelatory, because they show what public money the state puts on offer to these companies if they come here and create jobs.
Take for example, our failed bid for Amazon's HQ2. @zeanes reported that state and local incentives combined meant $2B was on the table for the company, which went elsewhere. https://www.newsobserver.com/news/business/article221641250.html
So what did NC offer Apple, one of the wealthiest companies on the planet?
Two years later, we have no idea. https://www.newsobserver.com/news/politics-government/article247777485.html
Two years later, we have no idea. https://www.newsobserver.com/news/politics-government/article247777485.html
That's because the Cooper administration continues to claim that recruitment of Apple is "open" and that it doesn't have to hand over the records.
So that means for 2+ years (since talks began early in 2018 at least), this effort has been in some sort of limbo.
And the effect is that the details of a deal worth millions in public funds has been kept totally secret.
And the effect is that the details of a deal worth millions in public funds has been kept totally secret.
I wrote about this when the state's refusal to hand over the records hit the six-month mark. https://www.wral.com/long-after-apple-picks-texas-nc-officials-silent-on-recruitment-efforts/18444937/
And the 8-month mark. https://www.wral.com/is-nc-still-seeking-apple-after-8-months-no-change-in-project-s-status/18566763/
And the 12-month mark. https://www.wral.com/as-apple-expands-in-texas-nc-officials-withhold-details-on-efforts-to-land-tech-giant/18821997/
For that story, reported for @WRAL, Commerce Secretary Tony Copeland told me the project will be closed "when Apple tells us it's closed." https://www.wral.com/as-apple-expands-in-texas-nc-officials-withhold-details-on-efforts-to-land-tech-giant/18821997/
And - daggum - is that an incredible amount of power for a private company to hold over records that belong to the public.
But here I am, two years later, writing the same story. And we are no closer to finding out what state and local officials offered Apple than we were then.
To put a finer point on it: State commerce officials have spent half the Cooper administration refusing to hand over these records.
These records do not belong to Apple. Or to the Department of Commerce. And they're not mine.
They're yours. https://www.newsobserver.com/news/politics-government/article247777485.html
These records do not belong to Apple. Or to the Department of Commerce. And they're not mine.
They're yours. https://www.newsobserver.com/news/politics-government/article247777485.html
So unless something changes... I guess I'll see you next year.
