CHARLOTTE — December will mark the 100th anniversary of the world’s first airplane flight, which took place at Kitty Hawk. To commemorate the event, the state is conducting a yearlong celebration. But at the same time, several cities in North Carolina are losing scheduled airline service. Aside from the state…
RALEIGH—The House Appropriations Committee endorsed a bill Thursday that would create a program to promote North Carolina and attract more visitors to the state. Under the proposal, a Travel and Tourism Grant Committee would award grants to the owners of qualified projects to create, renovate or further develop travel and…
RALEIGH — When some North Carolina cities began using cameras to catch drivers running red lights, privacy advocates expressed concern that Big Brother had found a home at busy intersections around the state. But a General Assembly bill expected to become law this session authorizes the Charlotte-Mecklenburg police department to…
RALEIGH — Faculty salaries in the University of North Carolina system compare well with those of their peers, according to a study released in May by a Virginia public-policy think tank. The study, “Compensation of Campus Faculty: How Virginia Compares Within the Region,” was published by the Thomas Jefferson Inistitute…
RALEIGH — Thursday’s release of 2002 reading test scores from the National Assessment of Educational Progress has prompted North Carolina politicians to claim significant gains since 1998 — but most or all of these gains may well have nothing to do with a real improvement in student learning, according to…
RALEIGH — As recently as two decades ago the federal government routinely took the lion’s share of personal income from highly productive taxpayers. Thanks to the Reagan administration, that situation has changed, a leading public policy analyst says. Four presidents — Lyndon Johnson, Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford, and Jimmy Carter…
RALEIGH — Last year, the UNC system received $123.6 million in “overhead receipts” from research grants. That money is given on top of the actual grant amount and is intended to defray administrative and institutional costs. Those are costs, however, that the General Assembly has already covered with tax dollars.
RALEIGH — Sen. Fern Shubert of Union County is sponsoring a bill that would strengthen laws governing the issuance of driver’s licenses and voter registration in North Carolina. Carolina Journal sat down with the lawmaker recently to discuss the legislation, the impact of fraudalent IDs, and why some members of…
RALEIGH — Members of the Senate Appropriations Committee announced their latest budget proposals Wednesday morning, including higher taxes on cigarettes and alcohol products. Committee hearings began Monday afternoon. Representatives from state agencies, from the mammoth Department of Public Instruction to the tiny Bladen County Hospital, gathered in Raleigh to ask…
RALEIGH—Taking personal responsibility when tragedy strikes may not be easy or popular, but it is still the most honorable course of action, says the captain of the submarine USS Greenville when it struck and sunk a Japanese fishing boat two year ago. Cmdr. Scott Waddle (Ret.) was in charge of…
