News - Carolina Journal

Foxx lashes out against Title IX rewrite

Virginia Fox and others responded negatively to Title IX rewrite.

Katherine Zehnder

Anti-school choice Democrats send threatening letter to private schools

An anti-school choice Democratic state senator has sent a letter to at least 16 private schools threatening a misdemeanor charge if they don’t comply with an information request. Sen. Michael Garrett, D-Guilford, sent a letter dated April 15 to the schools that receive funds for Opportunity Scholarships, the state’s voucher program that makes a private...

David N. Bass

NCInnovation reports $25 million in private donation commitments

NCInnovation (NCI), a private nonprofit organization which aims to use taxpayer money to select particular research projects emanating from North Carolina’s public universities for help in commercialization, announced Tuesday the organization surpassed $25 million in private fundraising commitments. In a press release, NCI executives noted pledges from SAS, Pinnacle Financial Partners, and the Huntington Foundation....

Jeff Moore

Sowing Resilience Hero: Mike Jones

Mike Jones owner of MAE Farm Meats talks food deserts, food insecurity, and changes in agriculture.

Katherine Zehnder

Politics should be less important

It might sound odd to hear this from someone who’s been writing a syndicated column on politics for nearly four decades, but politics has become vastly more important in our lives than it should be. Virtually every decision we make in our ostensibly free society is now subject to review, refinement, and reversal by some...

John Hood

The W(rong)PATH on gender medicine

WPATH (World Professional Association for Transgender Health) produces standards of care that are considered the gold standard for transgender care. Colleges, universities, the media, and even churches adopted WPATH’s approach, whether or not they realized where it came from. Recent revelations have shown that not all that glitters is gold. More than 100 pages of...

Mark Herring

Which candidate for NC governor will connect with voters?

Democrat Attorney General Josh Stein and Republican Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson might offer the sharpest contrast on policy, personality, background, and education in a race for governor that North Carolina has seen in the last century. In almost every way, these two men, who are popular with their home political parties, are polar opposites. But which...

Dallas Woodhouse

North Carolina has good reason for early Law Day celebration

April 28 marks the one-year anniversary of three significant decisions from North Carolina's highest court.

Mitch Kokai

White House title-insurance waiver program would hurt NC residents

During the State of the Union, President Biden announced an array of proposals aimed at making homeownership more accessible for those who have struggled to enter the housing market. While the administration’s efforts to expand homeownership are admirable, one program in particular — which would waive title-insurance requirements on refinancing transactions for certain borrowers — would...

Laura Martin

Federal judge strikes down NC crime for felon voting

A federal judge has struck down North Carolina’s law criminalizing felon voting. The law “was enacted with discriminatory intent, has not been cleansed of its discriminatory taint, and continues to disproportionately impact Black voters,” according to a court order US District Judge Loretta Biggs issued Monday.

Jon Hardister to resign effective April 8

Rep. Jon Hardister, R-Guilford, announced Thursday that he will resign his position in the North Carolina House, telling Carolina Journal that he would not rule out a return to public service at some point in the future, but for now he will be working in the private sector.

Theresa Opeka, Jeff Moore

Simmons elected to chair the NC Republican Party

As expected, the North Carolina Republican Party’s executive committee selected current Executive Director Jason Simmons as the new chair in Selma on Tuesday.

NCSBE certifies 2024 Primary and gets ready for May 14 runoff

The North Carolina State Board of Elections (NCSBE) certified the March 5 primary during a board meeting Tuesday.

Theresa Opeka

Trailing in the NC polls, Biden and Harris return to Raleigh

On Tuesday, President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris were in Wake County to deliver speeches with Gov. Roy Cooper, a fellow Democrat, on healthcare costs. The visit comes during the week of the 14th anniversary of the passage of the Affordable Care Act under the Obama administration.

EXCLUSIVE: Trump doubles down on endorsement in NCGOP chair race

The Republican Party of North Carolina will elect a new chair, by vote of their executive committee, next Tuesday, March 26. As the vote approaches, former President Donald Trump is doubling down on his endorsement for the next leader of the NCGOP.

Carolina Journal’s Brianna Kraemer discusses NC student suspended for saying ‘illegal alien’

Brianna Kraemer, Carolina Journal public policy reporter, discusses the suspension of a 16-year-old Davidson County high school student for using the words “illegal alien” in class. Kraemer offered these comments during an April 19, 2024, interview on One America News Network.

Brianna Kraemer

Locke’s Mitch Kokai analyzes court ruling against Cooper’s shutdown of NC bars

Mitch Kokai, John Locke Foundation senior political analyst, discusses the N.C. Court of Appeals’ decision against Gov. Roy Cooper’s decision to keep private bars closed during the COVID-19 pandemic. Kokai offered these comments during the April 19, 2024, edition of PBS North Carolina’s “State Lines.”

Mitch Kokai

The Debrief: The latest on a NC student’s suspension, plus citizen-only voting, Vinfast in reverse

CJ story on suspended high school student goes viral nationwide, Citizen-only voting might be on your ballot, VinFast is going in reverse, and UNC maybe getting rid of DEI, all on this week’s Debrief!

Carolina Journal’s Donna King analyzes CJ Poll numbers for president, governor

Donna King, Carolina Journal editor-in-chief, discusses the latest Carolina Journal Poll numbers in North Carolina’s races for president and governor. King offered these comments during the April 12, 2024, edition of PBS North Carolina’s “State Lines.”

Donna King

The Debrief: Republican runoffs ahead, DOJ clears decades-long backlog, and the latest CJ Poll

This week on the Debrief, former president Donald Trump wades into the Republican runoff for Congressional District 13, the state finally clears an embarrassing backlog of more than 10,000 untested rape kits that sat on shelves for decades, and the state’s high court hears arguments in big cases. Plus, the latest Carolina Journal poll reveals...

The Debrief: Is this the end of DEI on campus?

This week on the Debrief, Vice President Kamala Harris is back in North Carolina, for the second time in two weeks, and there will be s a new name on your November presidential ballot. What is a “benefits cliff?” We’ll explain how a raise can be a net loss for those on entitlement programs, plus...

The W(rong)PATH on gender medicine

WPATH (World Professional Association for Transgender Health) produces standards of care that are considered the gold standard for transgender care. Colleges, universities, the media, and even churches adopted WPATH’s approach, whether or not they realized where it came from. Recent revelations have shown that not all that glitters is gold. More than 100 pages of...

Mark Herring

Manning, Foxx call for expulsions, firings to end campus antisemitism

On Monday, on the eve of Passover, Rep. Kathy Manning, D, NC-06, was among four members of Congress calling for an end to antisemitism at Columbia University and on college campuses across the country.

Theresa Opeka

Politics should be less important

It might sound odd to hear this from someone who’s been writing a syndicated column on politics for nearly four decades, but politics has become vastly more important in our lives than it should be. Virtually every decision we make in our ostensibly free society is now subject to review, refinement, and reversal by some...

John Hood

UNC Board of Governors committee votes to remove DEI from policy manual

The UNC Board of Governors' Committee on University Governance voted unanimously Wednesday in support of a resolution to remove and replace Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) language from the UNC System's policy manual.

Jeff Moore

Wake up call: Student suspended for saying ‘illegal alien’

Most people recognize the absurdity of "birthing person" or "uterus owners" in activists' social media posts. But the degradation of the English language and the shift of common culture happens in baby steps, ones we often don't recognize until after they've happened.

Donna King

Flashback: North Carolina’s Easter Monday tradition forged on the baseball diamond

On Good Friday state offices will be closed in North Carolina for Holy Week, along with 10 other states. However, that has not always been the case in North Carolina. The Monday after Easter — rather than Good Friday — was a legal holiday in North Carolina for 52 years, and for many years before...

Dallas Woodhouse

Carolina Journal’s Donna King discusses Disney going ‘woke’

Donna King, Carolina Journal editor-in-chief, discusses Disney’s controversial programming changes. King offered these comments during the April 8, 2022, edition of PBS North Carolina’s “Front Row with Marc Rotterman.”

Donna King

Locke’s Mitch Kokai discusses New York Times’ warning about free speech

Mitch Kokai, John Locke Foundation senior political analyst, discusses the New York Times’ column warning about America’s “free-speech problem.” Kokai offered these comments during the March 25, 2022, edition of PBS North Carolina’s “Front Row with Marc Rotterman.”

Mitch Kokai

Jordan Peterson returns to Durham 4 years after city moves to ‘cancel’ him

Canadian professor, author, and psychologist Dr. Jordan Peterson on Thursday offered a non-political and largely academic lecture on the psychology of beauty, dreams, and purpose. The reaction from city officials and activists to the address at the Durham Performing Arts Center was night-and-day from the one leading up to his appearance four years earlier. It...

David Larson

Ukrainian people in NC rally to support homeland

As the Russian invasion of neighboring Ukraine continues to escalate, North Carolina’s local Ukrainian population is rallying to bring attention to the suffering of people in their homeland and to gather supplies to help them. Donna Goldstein, co-president of the Ukrainian Association of North Carolina, finds herself at the forefront of these efforts. Goldstein has...

David Larson