In 2021, Durham’s homicide rate jumped by 30%, reaching a record of 50 murders for the year. City leaders have been scrambling for solutions, and by a 4-3 vote, decided to adopt a pilot program for the gunshot-detection system ShotSpotter.
All in Opinion
State Supreme Court rules government retirees had contractual health care right
The N.C. Supreme Court has ruled, 4-2, that 220,000 state government retirees had a contractual right to premium-free health care benefits that had been promised to them. Now a trial court will have to determine whether state changes to those benefits a decade ago violated the contract.
OPINION: The high cost of our current energy policy
We live in boxes created for us by leftists. They control the news, education, law, politics, and they control the narratives from science. They increasingly have a near-monopoly on what and how we think.
State democrats get reality check
The North Carolina General Assembly is going to stay in Republican hands after the 2022 midterms. For state Democrats, this is a bitter pill to swallow. That they’ve already managed to swallow it, however, is evident in their manifest failure to recruit enough candidates to put up a credible fight this year for control of the legislature.
Democrats' 'no' votes on Free the Smiles veto override follow common pattern
Neither state Senate Democrat who initially voted for the Free the Smiles legislation last month was willing to stick with that "yes" vote this week. Both of their "yes" votes turned into "no" when they had a chance to help override Gov. Roy Cooper's veto of the school masking measure.
N.C. House passes resolution supporting Ukraine, adjourns marathon session
The N.C. House on Thursday passed a resolution supporting Ukraine before following the Senate’s lead and voting to adjourn its long-running session.
OPINION: Don't call it the gypsy moth and other outrageous stories
Below are a few of the interesting and outrageous stories that caught my attention during the week. Sadly, there's not enough time to highlight all of them.
OPINION: Bludgeoning the poor with higher gas prices
Many ideologues focus on the politics of higher gas prices and what it means for the November midterm elections. Yet, poorer North Carolinians and Americans across the country are bludgeoned by rising energy costs, particularly today’s sticker shock at the gas pump.
Letter to the editor: Electoral Count Act
The recent efforts by a bipartisan group of senators to pass updates to the Electoral Count Act (ECA) have caught the attention of media across the country, and rightly so. The 135-year-old ECA, as it currently stands, is unconstitutional, complex, and in desperate need of reform.
Appeals Court considers lawsuit challenging Cooper team's 2020 racetrack shutdown
Two years after Gov. Roy Cooper's administration shut down an Alamance County racetrack during the height of the COVID-19 scare, the track's owners continue a legal fight against the state.
Dems says too many private, homeschool parents on Truitt's advisory board
Democratic members of the N.C. State Board of Education have their sights set on Republican Superintendent of Public Instruction Catherine Truitt, saying Truitt was putting too many parents from schools of choice on a new advisory committee.
Property rights are worth defending
There’s always a cost to protecting property rights. No rational person has ever suggested otherwise. In free societies that place a high value on the individual right to own and control private property, it’s more expensive for governments to build roads or public facilities.
OPINION: Mr. President, read the room
Throughout the course of history, we’ve learned that whenever tyranny rears its ugly head, an uprising of freedom will face it down. Our constitutional republic is built upon freedom, and every free nation across the world is as well. Thousands of miles away in Europe, freedom is facing an onslaught, and the whole world is bearing witness.
Ukraine's social media warfare marks a turning point in history
Battlefield wedding ceremonies; a Ukrainian farmer stealing a Russian tank with his tractor and posting it on eBay; Ukrainian mothers and children fleeing to find a line of donated strollers from Polish mothers. These images have bombarded our newsfeeds ever since Feb. 24, when Russian troops invaded neighboring Ukraine.
U.S. Supreme Court votes 6-3 to deny N.C. legislators' redistricting appeal
The U.S. Supreme Court has voted 6-3 to deny N.C. legislators' request to block a court-drawn congressional map for North Carolina. The high court's decision should end legal action connected to new N.C. election maps for the 2022 election cycle.
Senator Berger urges N.C. congressional delegation to end purchases of Russian oil
Senate Leader Phil Berger (R-Rockingham) sent a letter to North Carolina's Congressional delegation today calling on them to take immediate action to stop American dollars from being spent on Russian oil.
OPINION: Let parents decide, not politicians.
At some point in time, we have all encountered permission slips in schools. Whether you were signing one for your child or having one signed by your parent, it’s the form that a school requires to send home with students to gain their parents’ permission for a field trip, movie, or event. It’s also likely that at some point, you may have forgotten to have your parent sign your permission slip, rendering you unable to participate in an event with your friends.
OPINION: GOP dominates in legislative candidate filing
Republicans “won” the candidate filing race in both chambers of the North Carolina General Assembly, with candidates in significantly more races than their Democrat counterparts for the 2022 elections.
Tillis, GOP Senate banking members send letter of concern over Fed nominee
GOP Senate Banking Committee members, including U.S. Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., sent a letter to President Biden on Thursday, March 3, with continued concerns of the president's selection of Duke University Law Professor Sarah Bloom Raskin for Fed Reserve Board vice chair of supervision.
Jordan Peterson returns to Durham 4 years after city moves to ‘cancel’ him
Canadian professor, author, and psychologist Dr. Jordan Peterson on Thursday offered a non-political and largely academic lecture on the psychology of beauty, dreams, and purpose. The reaction from city officials and activists to the address at the Durham Performing Arts Center was night-and-day from the one leading up to his appearance four years earlier.