A recent state Court of Appeals dissent reminds us that government rules limit officials' ability to act.
Children in North Carolina are being targeted by the porn industry on a daily basis. The NC General Assembly has passed several pieces of good legislation that address obscene materials children are allowed to access in schools and at public venues. One piece of legislation that passed recently is a bill addressing pornographic materials children...
Now that the North Carolina General Assembly has finally passed a state budget for the 2023-25 biennium — and Gov. Roy Cooper has decided not to veto it, allowing it to become law without his signature — conservatives have a great deal to celebrate. The bill achieves major victories for fiscal restraint, tax and regulatory...
What happens when dialing 9-1-1 doesn’t involve criminal activity? Traditionally, overburdened and shrinking law enforcement agencies are the first responders to calls involving complex social issues like homelessness, mental health crises, and substance abuse. It’s a dual role that demands a balance of authority and compassion, and for the past 50 years, North Carolina has...
While most of North Carolina’s political observers have been focused on the long-awaited completion of the state budget, there have also been other bills progressing through the legislature — like SB 189, Fentanyl Drug Offenses and Other Related Changes, which increases fines and penalties for distributing the drug and sets up a task force to...
Among the policy changes in the 2023 state budget is a small mention of public records that has escaped notice by nearly everyone, except journalists. In section 27.9, a small paragraph from bill writers empowers records “custodians” at the NC General Assembly to determine what qualifies as a “public record” and what does not. That...
Recently on the local news, there have been two incidents, within a matter of weeks, where someone had a firearm on the campus of UNC Chapel Hill. One was a graduate student who allegedly shot and killed his professor. In the other one, an individual flashed a firearm on the same campus inside a bagel...
