The latest legal challenge to North Carolina's Opportunity Scholarship Program could be decided by a single judge or a three-judge panel. Arguments presented in recent days to the N.C. Court of Appeals focus on the case's destination.
All in Opinion
Op-Ed Todd Johnson: Concern over inflation renews need for competitive payments marketplace
As inflation continues to drive soaring costs across the U.S., Americans are in need of relief. Unfortunately, as Capitol Hill begins its mad dash to raise the debt limit prior to the New Year, credit card companies are yet again planning to hike swipe fees. This move will hit businesses and spike already high prices on everyday products for American consumers. North Carolinians are counting on our Congressman Patrick McHenry, as the ranking member of the House Committee on Financial Services, to oppose another swipe fee increase.
Got to pick a pocket?
’Tis the season to reference a different Charles Dickens classic, I know, but I happen to have Oliver Twist on the brain. You may recall that Fagin is the rogue who takes in orphans and runaways, trains them to pick pockets and swindle marks, and then distributes the proceeds between himself and street tough Bill Sikes.
Samaritan’s Purse brings Christmas joy, relief to tornado-ravaged communities
Yuri Lopez was orphaned at the age of two and spent her childhood shifting between 14 orphanages in Honduras. But her life was transformed one Christmas when she received a shoebox filled with gifts from the North Carolina-based international Christian ministry Samaritan’s Purse. That’s when she “experienced hope for the very first time.”
Unanimous N.C. Supreme Court rules charter school is not 'arm of the state'
A unanimous N.C. Supreme Court has ruled against the former Kinston Charter Academy and its leader in a dispute involving state funding tied to inflated enrollment projections.
OPINION: Christmas can never be canceled
As political strife intensifies and people are increasingly canceled for their opinions, the reality of Christmas should ground us in deeper truths.
Cooper gets national media attention as potential '24 presidential candidate
A major cable television network and one of the nation's leading mainstream newspapers both mentioned N.C. Gov. Roy Cooper this week as a potential 2024 presidential candidate.
N.C. gets low overall ranking for pandemic response
North Carolina ranks among the bottom 10 states in the country on Politico's new State Pandemic Scorecard. The Tar Heel State's overall ranking of No. 41 combines high marks for health and the economy with low scores for social well-being and education.
NAACP defends Earls, repeats call for disqualification rules in latest Supreme Court filing
Lawyers representing the state NAACP defend N.C. Supreme Court Justice Anita Earls in their latest filing at the state's high court. At the same time, the civil rights group repeats its call for clear standards that could lead to Republican justices' removal from a high-profile case.
Modems removed from voting machines in five N.C. counties
The N.C. State Board of Elections recently removed analog modems from voting equipment in five counties, a move that has drawn criticism from the N.C. House Freedom Caucus.
Yes, college (usually) pays off
Is the purpose of a university education to prepare graduates to get jobs? I’ve never thought so. But then again, I’ve never thought that going to college should be a near-universal experience.
School closures still on the table this winter
Outgoing N.C. Health Secretary Mandy Cohen told lawmakers recently that schools could still close in the event of a COVID infection surge this winter. Cohen delivered this news as teachers and students scramble to wrap this semester and kids try to catch up from the year of remote and missed school.
School closures still on the table this winter
Outgoing N.C. Health and Human Services Secretary Mandy Cohen told lawmakers recently that schools could still close in the event of a COVID infection surge this winter. Cohen delivered this news as teachers and students scramble to wrap this semester and kids try to catch up from the year of remote and missed school.
GOP lawmakers score well in N.C. Chamber's annual 'How They Voted' report card
Republicans lawmakers in North Carolina scored well in the 2021 “How They Voted” report card released by the N.C. Chamber of Commerce on Monday, Dec. 13.
Imperial city loses on mandates
On September 15, I wrote a column responding to President Joe Biden’s announcement of a new federal mandate that large employers, federal contractors, and certain other business establishments require their employees either to be vaccinated or to undergo frequent COVID-19 testing.
OPINION: Virginia proves now is America’s school choice moment
America has reached its school choice moment. The decades-long fight to create and expand school choice programs accelerated during the COVID-19 pandemic and finally played out politically as the eyes of the nation watched the gubernatorial race in Virginia on Nov. 2.
Governor Cooper gives a 50-50 response to six final bills for 2021
N.C. Gov. Roy Cooper signed three bills into law Thursday, Dec. 9, but also vetoed three bills. Getting the veto stamp were House Bill 220, Choice of Energy, and Senate Bill 725, Prohibit Private Money in Elections Administration, which would have banned private groups from funding local elections offices in North Carolina. The issue came up when a group founded by Mark Zuckerberg provided money for elections in 2020 in communities that leaned Democrat.
N.C. budget includes $100 million teacher pay supplement for lower-wealth counties
The Tar Heel State’s budget for the new biennium includes $100 million in supplemental pay for public school teachers in some of the state’s smallest, poorest counties.
Generosity and freedom go together
In places where governments are smaller, taxes are lower, regulations are lighter, and property rights are more secure, people tend to be more generous, trustful, and tolerant. Although progressives may find this proposition hard to accept, there’s an ever-increasing stack of empirical evidence to support it.