Opinion
Reading the Tea Leaves on Voting
Voter registration appears to have surged in North Carolina, but will voter participation follow? The history and partisan implications are complicated and inconclusive.
Opinion
Now the Numbers Do Matter
For months, those who fixated on political polls were missing important developments in the 2004 races. But now, the match-up numbers start to take on significance.
Opinion
No. 789: Cleveland Gets Stiffed by TIFs
Cleveland still tops the list of impoverished cities despite its use of tax increment financing, such as Amendment One.
Opinion
No Complacency on the Budget
The state had a small revenue surplus for the first quarter of the 2004-05 fiscal year, but that probably won't head off the budgetary train wreck coming next year.
Opinion
A Bipartisan Idea Worth Pursuing
While calls for bipartisanship can be fake and sometimes downright dangerous, there is no need to be cynical. Unemployment insurance reform shows that it can be worthwhile.
Opinion
Good Litigator, Wrong Defendant
Vice President Dick Cheney turned in an effective, sometimes commanding performance in a debate against a skillful but misdirected John Edwards. Won't matter much by itself, though.
Opinion
Shaky Performance in Schools Debate
Gov. Mike Easley is an effective debater and sees education as his signature issue. So why did his effort against Patrick Ballantine in Monday's debate fall so flat?
Opinion
No. 788: What Scandals? Victimized Public Deserves Some Answers
North Carolina's top officials owe some explanations to the public in the Frank Ballance and Margaret Scott Phipps scandals.
Opinion
Why Our Test Scores Are Worthless
As Mike Easley and Patrick Ballantine prepare to debate education issues, new disclosures reveal why past debates on North Carolina schools have been based on invalid data.
Opinion
The Mad, Mad World of Textbook Adoption
When the state mandates textbooks, it consistently produces second-rate textbooks that replicate the same flaws and failings over and over again. Adoption states perform poorly on national tests, and the market incentives caused by the adoption process are so skewed that lively writing and top-flight scholarship are discouraged.
Opinion
Two Men Enter, Two Men Leave
President Bush and Senator Kerry offered the voters a candid, informed, and revealing debate on national security Thursday night. But the dynamics of the race are unchanged.
Opinion
Master of the Domain
The Supreme Court will hear a case on just how and when local government can use the power of eminent domain. Some states say it can be used any time there is money to be made of taking some private property from one owner and giving to another.
