The city of Durham is set to give monthly checks worth $500 to 115 formerly incarcerated people. The move is part of a nationwide basic income experiment, primarily bankrolled by Twitter co-founder and former CEO Jack Dorsey.
All in Opinion
The Woodshed: UNC professor claims only Democrats protect black voters' rights
A liberal UNC-Chapel Hill professor testified Tuesday in Wake County Superior Court that GOP-crafted election maps represent a conservative white backlash against rising black political power. Professor James Leloudis appeared on behalf of Democratic Party-aligned plaintiffs working to overturn voting maps passed by the Republican-led General Assembly, arguing that the maps are unfair to black North Carolinians.
Cooper extends vaccine, testing requirements for state employees
Gov. Roy Cooper on Tuesday, Jan. 4, said health experts, doctors, and scientists are learning more about COVID-19, and state officials and politicians are using that knowledge to keep schools open and to avoid more onerous shutdowns and suppressions.
School closures were too risky
When the news broke on January 3 that one of North Carolina’s largest school districts, Cumberland County, was considering a shift to virtual instruction in response to rising case counts of the Omicron variant, I felt my stomach lurch.
OPINION: Democrats' expert challenges narrative about 'fair' election maps
North Carolina is a purple state, nearly evenly divided between supporters of the two major parties. The state’s new congressional map should reflect that fact.
The Woodshed: Supreme Court Dems ditch effort to disqualify GOP justices
Democrats on the state Supreme Court will not use their narrow 4-3 majority to forcibly remove two GOP justices from a critical case dealing with state constitutional amendments. In an order released without fanfare just before Christmas, the court has in essence preserved the status quo.
Sheriffs, DAs, court clerks want N.C. Supreme Court to reopen candidate filing
Groups representing N.C. sheriffs, district attorneys, and Superior Court clerks want the N.C. Supreme Court to reopen candidate filing for their upcoming elections.
Those we've lost in 2021
As we close the books on 2021, the year leaves stories for the future: an awakening from the pandemic, renewed attention to public school classrooms, and indications that the 2022 elections could bring a Republican wave.
GOP senator calls out Democratic lawyer who drew 'secret' map in redistricting lawsuit
A co-chairman of the N.C. Senate's redistricting committee is drawing attention to a national Democratic operative's lead role in drawing alternative election maps for North Carolina. A redistricting lawsuit calls for courts to force North Carolinians to vote under the alternative maps in upcoming elections.
N.C.’s Apple deal named worst of 2021
The $846 million subsidy deal that North Carolina struck with Apple just topped the “year’s worst” list of a nonpartisan economic think tank. The Center for Economic Accountability selected the 39-year agreement to put Apple’s campus in Research Triangle Park as the “Worst Economic Development Deal of the Year,” saying that its annual $21 million cost to the state led the list of reasons.
N.C. ABC creates additional board to address bureaucracy problems
The N.C. Alcoholic Beverage Control system has a new commissioner. It gets continued reassurance from its boards and warehouse operator that they’ll get it right and, to that end, the newly created ABC Advisory Committee meant to push them to do so.
Controller urges N.C. Supreme Court to reject latest Leandro appeal
State Controller Linda Combs is asking the N.C. Supreme Court not to step into the latest dispute involving the long-running Leandro school funding case. At stake is $1.7 billion in taxpayer funds.
Worker shortage won’t end soon
On a recent road trip through Western North Carolina and North Georgia, I had occasion to stop at service stations, restaurants, hotels, and small businesses. Each establishment had a sign on the door conveying the same message: help needed.
OPINION: There's no easy path for throwing out unconstitutional N.C. law
Some laws turn out to be unconstitutional. It’s usually up to the courts to make that determination.
Protecting your right to grow your own food
Do you know where your food comes from? Aside from saying Harris Teeter, Food Lion, or Wegman’s, it is an important question to many North Carolinians.
Appeals Court to decide whether UNC, NCSU should refund student fees from COVID shutdown
The N.C. Court of Appeals will decide in the weeks or months ahead whether students from N.C. State University and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill can sue their schools for refunds of student fees.
Manufacturing continues to thrive
With the recent announcements of a new Toyota battery plant in Randolph County, a new Fujifilm Diosynth drug plant in Wake County, a large MasterBrand cabinet facility in Kinston, and a big White River Marine operation in New Bern for making saltwater boats, among other projects, North Carolina’s manufacturing sector appears to be thriving.
On becoming a political advertiser
On this matter, I’m inclined to believe the company (now called Meta by its CEO and nearly a dozen other human beings). That doesn’t make my latest encounter with the social-media giant any less frustrating, however.
Senator touts N.C. budget's measures to attack human trafficking
A state senator is drawing attention to the new N.C. state budget's measures to fight human trafficking.
Legal fight focuses on who should hear latest challenge to Opportunity Scholarships
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.