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.
In what might be called a case of whiplash, Vietnamese electric vehicle maker VinFast has once again changed plans for its $4 billion electric vehicle factory in Moncure, Chatham County.
Currituck County and its Tourism Development Authority want North Carolina’s highest court to consider a dispute involving local occupancy taxes. The state Court of Appeals ruled against the county in March.
Rep. Tricia Cotham, R-Mecklenburg, has been appointed as chair of the North Carolina House Education Appropriations Committee for the short session, gaveling in later this week. Tasked with setting appropriations for education, the Committee oversees the largest portion of the state budget. She will replace former committee chair Rep. Jon Hardister, R-Guilford, who resigned from...
A federal report finds that the cost incurred to move a single passenger one mile is $18.71 on the Charlotte’s Gold Line streetcar. This comes in addition to logistical problems faced by CATS Gold Line rail over the past three years.
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...
I’ve never been more delighted to be mistaken. A couple of weeks ago, I wrote a column observing that, over the first eight months of the 2023-24 fiscal year, the state’s General Fund revenue was down slightly from what was collected during the first eight months of the previous fiscal year. North Carolina faced no...
If policymakers are serious about supporting communities in North Carolina, they need to make it easier to break the cycle of crime and poverty. As a veteran and criminal defense attorney in Forsyth County, I’ve seen firsthand that access to credit and banking can drive real change by transforming communities and creating opportunities. However, federal regulators have made decisions that will do quite...
While many were justly distracted by other headlines about North Carolina higher education this week — like the UNC Board of Governors moving against DEI — there were a number of headlines regarding a rise in crime on college campuses. ABC 11 had a story entitled, “College students talk about campus safety amid string of...
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.
As expected, the North Carolina Republican Party’s executive committee selected current Executive Director Jason Simmons as the new chair in Selma on Tuesday.
The North Carolina State Board of Elections (NCSBE) certified the March 5 primary during a board meeting Tuesday.
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.
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.
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.”
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!
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.”
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...
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 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.
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.
The words “diversity, equity, and inclusion” have positive meanings that solicit broad, generic support for their core definitions. When I first heard them used together, 10 or so years ago, like everyone else, I thought they were a modern-day iteration of Dr. King’s message of bringing all people together and leveling the playing field for...
The inaugural meeting of the North Carolina General Assembly’s Semiquincentennial Committee convened Tuesday to discuss the state’s plans for commemorating America’s 250th Anniversary on July 4, 2026.
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.”
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.”
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...
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...
The fourth estate, journalism, is racing to receivership unless we can rescue it from its rapacious self. The hubris hasn’t always been this bad, this blatant, or this biased, yet it worsens daily. In the town I grew up in, Nashville, Tennessee, there were two newspapers in the 1950s and 1960s, one for the morning,...