I met Leanne Powell on a searing hot June day in 2016, as I was writing “Still & Barrel.” She popped out of a newer-model Camaro — I can’t remember the color — dressed all in black. She wore a long skirt and a T-shirt…
U.S. Education Secretary Betsy DeVos and N.C. Lt. Gov. Dan Forest this week gathered a roundtable of school-choice advocates to pitch Education Freedom Scholarships. The idea from the U.S. Department of Education is designed to enhance school-choice efforts. If…
State lawmakers, to their credit, have started to listen. The loudest proponents of alcohol reform in North Carolina — lawmakers such as Rep. Chuck McGrady, R-Henderson, and Sen. Rick Gunn, R-Alamance — now have their colleagues’ unwavering attention. Finally. Breweries and wineries…
On a Tuesday in June, mothers who lost children to distracted driving took a minute to speak. The mothers stood alongside N.C. lawmakers, who are pushing for legislation requiring drivers to put down their phones. Holding a phone while driving is akin to holding a weapon, Jeanette Nash told those…
North Carolina continues to see growth in homeschooling, charter schools, and private schools, a recent report from the N.C. Department of Public Instruction says. The report shows more than 80,000 additional students have chosen an educational option beyond their locally assigned district school between 2008…
There will be parades, speeches, picnics, and gatherings across North Carolina this month to celebrate freedom. The General Assembly will be wrapping up its work, at least for the meantime, this month. In many of the public policy debates this session, it seems to me freedom is in peril.
Republicans are in a strong position. The party has the White House and Senate, and a majority on the Supreme Court. No sitting president has been denied a second term for more than 30 years. Despite a recent cool down, the economy is humming. Polls…
In a landmark victory for N.C. Republican lawmakers, the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled gerrymandered congressional districts are a political issue, which federal courts should not decide as a matter of law. In writing the 5-4 majority opinion for…
The N.C. Senate on Wednesday, June 26, unanimously passed House Bill 770, which prevents occupational licensing boards from automatically denying a license because of a prior conviction. The measure, otherwise known as the Freedom to Work bill, returns to the House…
The Governor’s Commission on Access to a Sound Basic Education is getting closer to putting forth recommendations to meet the Leandro mandate. Leandro refers to a two-decade-old court ruling requiring that every child in North Carolina have the opportunity…
