More money, more problems. (Robinson-Hill remix)

We reported earlier about the statement, featured on the lieutenant governor’s official website, which labels Mark Robinson “blessed to start, run, and sell a successful small business with his wife.”

A review of the Robinson family bio indicates that statement has to be referencing “Precious Beginnings” daycare center in Greensboro.  The daycare was documented as a part of Robinson’s bankruptcy proceedings — which began not long after the daycare opened.   Bankruptcy documentation indicates Robinson and his wife Yolanda Hill struggled at the time to pay their home and car loans.  So, it’s hard to see the rationale for describing the business as “successful.”

Some new info popped up in the drive-by media yesterday indicating that Robinson and Hill ran into significant trouble with state regulators while operating the daycare center:

As Republican Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson runs for governor, questions are being raised about his past bankruptcies and his failures to pay taxes. But there’s another problematic part of Robinson’s history that hasn’t received attention – how he and his wife were cited for numerous violations at the child care center they operated from 2000 to 2007, including a charge that the center presented falsified certification documents to state inspectors.

Robinson’s wife, Yolanda Hill, was the owner of Precious Beginnings Child Development Center in Greensboro. Robinson himself took over management of the center after his wife began a job elsewhere. State inspectors made several unannounced visits to the center and cited it for dozens of violations. Some were minor and corrected.

The violations included sanitary, safety and nutrition issues, but the most significant ones involved falsified documents. According to state Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) records, the Robinsons presented documents attesting to their training certifications and the completion of criminal background checks that the state had no record of issuing.

A June 21, 2007, inspection report says “Files for the owner and the husband of the owner contain North Carolina Early Childhood Credential Certificates when the Work Force Unit of the Division of Child Development does not have a record of having issued credentials. Additionally, Criminal Records Qualifying letters are on file for the owner and the husband of the owner.

The Criminal Records Unit of the Division does not have a record of having ever received criminal records forms nor issuing qualifying letters to you or your husband.”The report added that an administrative action against the center’s license was underway because of “attempts to falsify information regarding Credential Certificates.”

DHHS has not retained records on the center beyond the inspection reports, a DHHS spokesperson said. The Robinsons sold the center in the midst of the investigation and the agency indicated at the time that it would not pursue the matter once the center changed hands.[…]

One can almost hear the Robinson campaign’s spokes-parrot warming up to squawk his trademark cry of “Old News!”

Actually, “old news” is something that everyone already knows about and has been reported on extensively.  The Team Robinson strategy appears to be ‘circle the wagons’ and ‘clam up’ when uncomfortable information surfaces. That’s happening far too frequently these days.

It’s hard to win and maintain public support like that. It’s also a very risky path for the alleged leader of the state’s GOP ticket to be following this close to an important election.

There was even more info about the Robinson-Hill daycare center that begs for some explanation:

[…] Among the issues the inspector’s reports noted were: failure to put sleeping infants on their backs, a lack of proper refrigeration of infant formula, improper storage of medications, exposed electrical outlets, staff members talking on cell phones while supervising children and the absence of a certified administrator on site.

Robinson said the citations and record keeping demands moved his wife to get out of the business. He wrote, “She no longer wanted to deal with the frustrations of running the daycare under so much red tape.”[…]

If Yolanda was seriously so frustrated with government “red tape,”  WHY did she jump intoanother business — Balanced Nutrition — contracting with the NC Department of Health and Human Services? 

MORE:

[…] Exiting a business that had come under government scrutiny echoes Yolanda Hill’s recent response when a nonprofit she owned, Balanced Nutrition Inc., recently came under state review. Balanced Nutrition administered a free lunch program for North Carolina children. The Associated Press reported that “The nonprofit received $7 million in government funding since 2017, while paying out at least $830,000 in salaries to Hill, Robinson and other members of their family.” […]