As coronavirus cases continue to rise in North Carolina, Gov. Roy Cooper announced a statewide stay-at-home order during a March 27 news conference. His action was made without publicly available data and will cripple the economy, some state leaders say. The…
Responding to the coronavirus outbreak, at 5 p.m. Friday, March 27, more than a million more North Carolinians face a stay at home order, issued Thursday afternoon by the Wake County Board of Commissioners. Aside from unincorporated sections of Durham County,…
First of two parts Unprecedented times call for unprecedented measures. So North Carolina’s leaders and lawmakers say of the fight against coronavirus. That’s true, say a group of researchers from North Carolina’s John Locke Foundation. But those unprecedented measures should involve less bureaucracy, regulation, and government…
With K-12 schools across the state closed until May 15, lawmakers and education officials are working to ensure students are still able to get an education and that school employees are paid. The education working group of the House Select Committee on COVID-19 met virtually Thursday,…
Unemployment insurance benefits for workers affected by the coronavirus could flow as early as Monday, March 30, a spokesman for the Division of Employment Security told Carolina Journal. But is the agency ready to handle the volume of claims? DES…
North Carolinians laid off as a result of the coronavirus outbreak could receive benefits as early as Monday, March 30. A spokesman for the Division of Employment Security told Carolina Journal that moves by the Cooper administration streamlining the benefit process will…
The coronavirus, by its very nature, is forcing regulators, insurers, and doctors to embrace telemedicine. The Trump administration scrapped Medicare’s restrictions on telehealth, freeing doctors to treat seniors with telemedicine. The administration is pushing state Medicaid programs to track Medicare’s higher reimbursements for telehealth, and some…
Marty Kotis, a member of the University of North Carolina System’s Board of Governors, for years has pushed for more online learning programs from UNC’s college campuses. He hasn’t gathered much support, but that may change now that the coronavirus pandemic is uprooting traditional higher education. …
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: Burr stock sales: U.S. Sen. Richard Burr, R-N.C., chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, is…
During Sunshine Week — seven days highlighting the public’s right to know about what happens behind the government’s closed doors — much of North Carolina’s health care system remains in the shade. State Treasurer Dale Folwell wants to rescue the State Health Plan with…
