The news of Rep. Tricia Cotham, Mecklenburg County, changing her party affiliation from Democrat to Republican has sent shockwaves throughout the North Carolina Democrat party, even making national headlines. The move now gives Republicans a veto-proof supermajority in the General Assembly. The proverbial question is, how does it affect the state Democrat party moving forward, including Gov. Roy Cooper?
A new study commissioned by the N.C. Cable Telecommunications Association warns that red tape regarding utility pole access could cost the state $3.5 billion in consumer value due to the resulting delays in broadband deployment. After examining broadband expansion programs underway in North Carolina, the report found that if changes aren’t made to address unreasonable...
Members of the University of North Carolina System’s Board of Governors want you to know something. They’re ready to move past the drama. Members projected that message Friday, Nov. 15, at a regular board meeting hosted by Elizabeth City State University. The gathering —led by the body’s newly installed chairman, Randy Ramsey — followed a...
If it were a film, North Carolina’s subsidy program wouldn’t be a box office smash. A recent study from the Western Carolina University Center for the Study of Free Enterprise says the $400 million North Carolina taxpayers have invested in film subsidies has failed to pay dividends. Kennesaw State University economics professor John Charles Bradbury...
Enrollment at Western Carolina University is at a record high now that a low-tuition plan for select University of North Carolina schools is in effect. WCU’s enrollment has spiked to 11,028. That’s almost 800 students more than were enrolled this time last year. Republican lawmakers link the growth to N.C. Promise, a $500 per semester...
The chairman of the University of North Carolina System’s Board of Governors says board members are still dealing with communication challenges and “high emotions,” but he didn’t offer details. The board is “tackling some issues that have plagued the system for a long time,” Harry Smith said during an Oct. 10 board meeting. The Greenville...
Major tuition cuts are paying off at three North Carolina universities. Data released Aug. 31 show jumps in enrollment at a handful of schools in the University of North Carolina System. The change comes after the legislature’s 2016 passage of NC Promise, a plan to cut in-state tuition at Elizabeth City State University, UNC Pembroke,...
The relationship between the University of North Carolina’s president and Board of Governors is strong, not strained, the board’s leading member said after the withdrawal of UNC President Margaret Spellings’ nominee for the open chancellorship at Western Carolina University. The statement follows a July 12 board meeting in which members were scheduled to vote on...
The search for a new chancellor at Western Carolina University is exposing a growing and contentious divide between the University of North Carolina’s Board of Governors and UNC President Margaret Spellings. On July 12, the full board was slated to vote on a nominee for WCU’s chancellorship, an official agenda released July 11 stated. The...
RALEIGH — Gov. Roy Cooper has proposed borrowing $350.7 million for state government structures and buildings in the University of North Carolina system. Voters won’t have a say. These are limited obligation bonds that don’t require a vote. And for the second consecutive year, the debt package fails to fund repairs and maintenance needs for...
Activists met this weekend at Western Carolina University to develop a “women’s agenda” for the 2003 legislative session that includes demands for more tax money. What’s worse, the meeting was sponsored by an arm of the university.
