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…
RALEIGH—The Administrative Office of the Courts announced last week that it is terminating the Warren County Drug Treatment Court program, which relies on the services of the John Hyman Foundation, an organization based in Warrenton and chaired by U. S. Rep. Frank Ballance, D-1st. In addition, last week the state…
RALEIGH — In his pursuit to build ethanol plants in eastern North Carolina, DFI Group President William Horton says he unwittingly got on the wrong side of the most powerful politician in the state. Economic developers’ enthusiasm over Horton’s promise to bring jobs and a market for locally grown farm…
RALEIGH — In 1998 voters approved, by a 51 percent to 49 percent ratio, $200 million in bonds to extend natural-gas pipelines to 22 unserved counties in the state. However, the weight of State Senate leader Marc Basnight’s influence apparently enabled political allies in eastern North Carolina to manage $188.3…
CHARLOTTE — A federal appeals court is deliberating whether the Federal Aviation Administration followed proper procedure in approving an expansion at Piedmont Triad International Airport outside Greensboro. Federal Express wants to establish a hub there but residents around the airfield strongly object to the prospect of increased noise associated with…
RALEIGH — As North Carolina moves away from state-created tests in favor of national standardized competency tests for reading and mathematics in public high schools, a bill sponsored by Rep. Alex Warner, D-Cumberland, attempts to mitigate the effects of more rigorous testing on certain students. According to the bill, it…
