Rick Henderson, Carolina Journal editor-in-chief, discusses the N.C. General Assembly’s decision to return to Raleigh at least twice in August and September after the conclusion of its regular “long” 2017 legislative session. Henderson offered these comments during an interview with Donna Martinez for Carolina Journal Radio.
N.C. Treasurer Dale Folwell on Thursday announced that all three major national bond rating agencies reaffirmed the state’s “AAA” bond rating. All three noted stable outlooks as an upcoming sale of about $106 million of General Obligation Bonds and $300 million in Limited Obligation Bonds is set for later this month. Folwell has recently discussed a...
It’s been a decade since Rep. Bill Brawley, R-Mecklenburg, uncovered a sex trafficking ring at a hotel in west Charlotte. What he learned is forever branded in his memory. A new broker with a commercial real estate firm, Brawley was assigned to manage Charlotte Suites. He was shocked to learn the hotel was one of...
Gov. Roy Cooper ended the most recent session of the N.C. General Assembly much like he started it. The General Assembly in late June passed House Bill 576 — known as the “Allow Aerosolization of Leachate” bill. The Senate voted 29-14; the House, 75-45. Cooper, a Democrat, responded with another veto, his sixth. Lawmakers have overridden the first...
As state lawmakers returned home for a brief summer break, some members and their staffs were awaiting court orders outlining new General Assembly districts after federal judges declared the current map unconstitutional and racially gerrymandered. A U.S. District Court for the Raleigh area is expected to issue instructions soon that may break up 28 state legislative districts. The goal is making future General Assembly elections more competitive....
As a weak government, when not at war, is ever agitated by internal dissentions, so these never fail to bring on fresh calamities from abroad.
This decision is good news for every organization that has ever stood in government’s crosshairs for holding the “wrong” views. And it is good news for every North Carolinian who has ever written a check to a cause worth fighting for.
When a hedge fund stakes $20 million on a mass tort and walks away with $200 million, somehow the IRS is supposed to treat it like a lucrative investment into an early Silicon Valley unicorn.
By 1971, however, feminism and women’s rights were emerging issues, and North Carolina had not ratified women’s most basic political right, the right to vote.
On Wednesday, Dave Boliek was sworn in as the new state auditor of North Carolina and announced his hires for senior staff and says he will start work with an audit of the Department of Motor Vehicles.
The year 2024 was marked by significant developments across politics, the economy, education, and energy in North Carolina. As one of the nation’s most dynamic and closely watched states, it played a pivotal role in shaping regional and national conversations.
"Dan has been a tireless fighter for our MAGA Movement in the House of Representatives on the Judiciary and Homeland Security Committees," Trump said in a press release issued Tuesday night. "Dan will implement my cost-cutting and deregulatory agenda across all Agencies, and root out the Weaponized Deep State."
The North Carolina Democratic Party filed a lawsuit Friday to ensure challenges of 60,000 ballots in the state's latest election are addressed in federal court. Republicans filed the challenges with the State Board of Elections. The challenges could affect the outcome of the state Supreme Court race between Democrat Allison Riggs and Jefferson Griffin, along with a handful of state legislative contests.
Republican North Carolina Supreme Court candidate Jefferson Griffin is turning to North Carolina’s second-highest court for an order that would force state election officials to make a final decision about Griffin’s election protests Tuesday. The State Board of Elections had planned to hear oral arguments about the protests the following day, according to a document Griffin filed Friday with the state Court of Appeals.
Mitch Kokai, John Locke Foundation senior political analyst, discusses North Carolina’s high-profile US Senate race. Kokai offered these comments during an April 21, 2026, interview with WNCN (CBS17).
John Locke Foundation CEO Donald Bryson discusses current ideas for raising teacher pay in North Carolina. Bryson offered these comments during the April 10, 2026, edition of PBS North Carolina’s “State Lines.”
Mitch Kokai, John Locke Foundation senior political analyst, discusses Sen. Phil Berger’s concession in his primary election loss to Rockingham County Sheriff Sam Page. Kokai offered these comments during the March 27, 2026, edition of PBS North Carolina’s “State Lines.”
Nick Craig of the Carolina Journal News Hour and the John Locke Foundation’s Mitch Kokai discuss Senate Leader Phil Berger’s election concession on March 24, 2026.
Political scientist Chris Cooper of Western Carolina University and Carolina Journal Editor-in-Chief Donna King discuss recent polls in North Carolina’s 2026 US Senate race. Cooper and King offered these comments during the Jan. 23, 2026, edition of PBS North Carolina’s “State Lines.”
The articles may have been a bit out of touch, yes — but many of them were also really funny. And more importantly, students on campus should have the latitude to make clumsy jokes.
While we properly associate American pop culture with places such as New York, Chicago, and Los Angeles, I’d recently come to appreciate the pivotal contributions of North and South Carolinians to the pulp fiction of the early 20th century and the comic-book culture that followed it.
The Order of the Long Leaf Pine is one of North Carolina’s highest civilian honors, awarded to individuals with a proven record of extraordinary service to the state.
Although the debate is national in scope, NC has become an unexpected focal point, with figures like Greear, Wolfe, and Spangler reflecting an ongoing divide within American conservatism over the role religion should play in public life.
What YMCA's Youth and Government program is doing is remarkable. This year’s conference garnered interest from NC state legislators, mayors, policy analysts, and state officials.
Times change. When we introduce IOPL to potential fellows, partners, and donors, some hear the word “political” and think “toxic,” or at least “partisan.”
Like a faith gathering, it incorporated music, fellowship, shared meals, and thoughtful discourse — but with democracy as its central theme.
Political and cultural causes are important. They motivate us to make the world around us better and hone our sense of justice. Also, the excitement of fighting the good fight can be, for lack of a better word, fun. But everything has its time and place. And even if we think a particular political issue...
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...