Lessons learned from the COVID-19 pandemic include the importance of keeping money in savings to cushion an economic shutdown. Accurate and transparent data, we’ve learned, is critical. Restrictions to freedom must be temporary. Emergency calls for innovation, w…
I’ve about had it. Enough, already, with the mandates and decrees enacted to protect us from COVID-19. From each other. The inconsistent and obtuse data. The pedantic lecturing. Enough. I’m tired, and I’m not alone. I’m sure of that, evidenced by the myriad…
[Editor’s note: This story has been updated] Problems with policing and race relations must be dealt with, North Carolina’s leading politicians say. But meeting to talk about the issues doesn’t guarantee change, experts say. Many North Carolinians are asking lawmakers to do something…
Mitch Kokai, John Locke Foundation senior political analyst, discusses the nationwide civil unrest following George Floyd’s death in Minneapolis. Kokai offered these comments during the June 5, 2020, edition of UNC-TV’s “Front Row with Marc Rotterman.”…
The Cooper administration supports North Carolinians’ right to gather and peacefully protest in the wake of the horrific death of George Floyd, officials say, even as the spread of COVID-19 remains a concern. Their messaging has changed. More than a month ago, the administration opposed mass…
Like many gym owners in North Carolina, Neil Strother and his wife, Ann, just want to reopen their Wilson business, Victory Fitness. The couple tried to do so Memorial Day weekend, after Gov. Roy Cooper announced fitness centers would stay closed…
Unemployment, homelessness, depression, and a host of mental health issues are on the rise for North Carolina’s military veterans. Veterans face challenges even during prosperous times. But COVID-19’s social distancing mandates and the economic shutdown have taken an outsized toll on those who were teetering before…
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. …
As Republican lawmakers fight Gov. Roy Cooper over the COVID-19 economic lockdowns, even their approach to news briefings has diverged. Senate leader Phil Berger, R-Rockingham, held an in-person news conference Monday, May 18. But secretary of the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services Mandy Cohen…
UPDATED, 5:30 p.m. The COVID-19 outbreak can’t be an excuse to outlaw most indoor worship services in North Carolina, a federal judge ruled Saturday, May 16. U.S. District Judge James Dever issued a temporary restraining order preventing law enforcement from enforcing parts of executive orders Gov. Roy Cooper began…
