A save-the-system-not-the-student mentality is at the center of the “left-leaning” N.C. Association of Educators’ lawsuit to thrust a dagger into the heart of our state’s school choice options. “Vouchers for private schools are an affront to a state that has a long and…
During a 2020 legislative session immersed in financial doubt and civil unrest, Republican lawmakers flailed against Gov. Roy Cooper’s veto power, fighting executive orders they say hurt North Carolina. It’s a political game, much like the 2019 standoff over the General Assembly’s $24 billion budget bill, which Cooper vetoed. But now, in an election year, the…
Jens and Uwe Kruger, with bandmate Joel Landsberg, are three of the best string musicians on the planet. Jens and Uwe were born and raised in Europe, but, collectively, the Kruger Brothers play a brand of American music that’s simultaneously sweet, soulful, simple, and complex. …
Each week, staff at Carolina Journal looks back at the week in N.C. politics and chooses several interesting, relevant stories you may have missed. Here’s this week’s review: DRIVE Task Force: Gov. Roy Cooper has appointed members to a new task force with the goal of…
Millions of parents are emergency homeschoolers now. They’re adapting gamely to school closures necessitated by COVID-19. But parents are worried about learning in this brave new world. In a Gallup poll released April 8, 49% said they’re concerned the pandemic will negatively impact their child’s education. …
The coronavirus recession, the Great Lockdown, and the Great Suppression are all terms used to describe the global economic downturn produced by COVID-19 mitigation measures. As elected officials issued stay-at-home orders and closed “nonessential” enterprises, unemployment skyrocketed. From mid-March to mid-April, about 22 million Americans, or roughly…
Earlier this month, I was honored to attend “North Carolina and the Science of Reading,” an event sponsored by the Charlotte-based Belk Foundation. Speakers from the Barksdale Reading Institute in Mississippi and The Reading League outlined the ways policymakers and state education leaders responded to disappointing…
I used to live in Canonsburg, Pennsylvania, when I was young and could barely remember anything of substance. Just snippets of ragged memories. Things such as Roberto Clemente’s home run in the seventh game of the 1971 World Series. My grandparents’ grocery store, just off their kitchen, where…
The digital revolution has slashed profits for companies in the business of journalism, leaving the industry to reassess a longstanding yet faulty business model, says Charles Whitaker. Four decades ago, the student rate for an annual subscription to Time magazine was $200, said Whitaker, dean of…
NoDa Brewing Co., which collects awards like a brewer collects hops, continues to grow. The Charlotte brewery announced last week plans to distribute its beer throughout the Triangle. The easing of N.C. distribution rules now allows NoDa to distribute more of…
