North Carolina’s fledgling “raise the age” policy plays a big role in the North Carolina House’s justice and public safety budget. Lawmakers, as of April 30, had allocated a $2.1 billion budget for fiscal year 2019-20, a $34 million increase over the previous year. Notably,…
Restaurateurs and retailers are getting behind a move by House lawmakers that would fix the antiquated way North Carolina stores, distributes, and sells spirits. The N.C. Restaurant and Lodging Association and N.C.Retail Merchants Association…
A stack of bills from lawmakers looking to modernize the way North Carolina distributes and sells liquor is growing. Another addition to the pile, House Bill 971, would reform the way spirits are stored and sold. The Modern Licensure Model for Alcohol…
We got lucky. By we I mean my family, which includes my wife and twin boys, who are now 16. They have never attended a traditional public school. They haven’t attended a private school, either. But that’s the great thing about freedom…
Lawmakers, union representatives, and government officials are calling for repeal of North Carolina’s prohibition on public-sector employee collective bargaining. Sen. Wiley Nickel, D-Wake, led a news conference Wednesday, April 24, calling for passage of Senate Bill 575. He’s a sponsor of…
The only thing more worrying than the federal government’s recent announcement that the debt had reached $22 trillion, or 104 percent of GDP, was that it generated such little attention. In the 1980s and 1990s, by contrast, the issue was a central feature of the national…
The Senate, in a 33-11 vote, approved a bill giving charter school operators the option to bypass local county commissioners in winning approval of charter facility bonds. Senate Bill 392 would allow the Superintendent of Public Instruction to approve the issuance of…
More than 500,000 N.C. students won’t be in class May 1 as school districts across the state close so teachers can attend a planned rally in downtown Raleigh. As of Tuesday, April 16, 11 school districts and two charter schools will be closed for the…
Graham Stanley was a drug user with no criminal background. At 25-years-old, he was caught and sentenced to a mandatory minimum of between 14.5 and 17.5 years in North Carolina prison. Ten-and-a-half years later, he is still incarcerated, and his mother, Tammy Stanley, is pushing…
A pair of bills representing steps toward reforming the way North Carolina governs alcohol are on the House calendar for Tuesday, April 16. The bills easily passed the House Rules Committee on Monday and should face little opposition. One bill would give a boost…
