Outdated NC laws stifle microschool innovation

Today roughly 3% of school-age children participate in nontraditional collaborative learning groups, whether called homeschool co-ops, learning pods, or microschools.

Western NC town comes for residential property rights

NC courts have never allowed amortization for low-intensity uses in residential zones. Highlands would be pushing the boundaries.

Despite labor shortage, NC workers continue to see licensing hurdles

Nearly 30% of US workers need a license to perform their duties, and the barriers to market entry can be onerous in North Carolina.

NC paralegals fight for your right to give advice

Courts have an access problem. Many civil procedures are too complex to navigate alone, yet many people cannot afford an attorney. The North Carolina Justice for All Project wants to help. The idea is simple. The organization’s members, all state-certified paralegals, want to host free clinics for people who need assistance filling out court-created forms...

Retired NC engineer gains free speech victory over state board

People can speak without government permission. The First Amendment guarantees it. But regulators in many states have found a workaround. They simply redefine some speech as conduct and then punish people for talking without an occupational license. Health coach Heather Kokesch Del Castillo received a cease-and-desist letter when regulators caught her talking about kale without...

NC Supreme Court gets second chance to do right thing on CON law

North Carolina regulators crossed a line in 1973 when they told a nonprofit hospital it could not build new facilities on its own land with its own money. A new law had given the regulators veto power, but the state Supreme Court intervened and declared the statute unconstitutional. The decision was not close. The justices...

North Wilkesboro homeless shelter beats zoning police in federal case

Many people will celebrate the grand opening of the Catherine H. Barber Memorial Homeless Shelter at its new location on Saturday, but not the zoning police in North Wilkesboro, North Carolina. They did everything they could to block the expansion, which they saw as a threat to a vague concept they call neighborhood “harmony.” Zoning...

NC trucker wins but still loses when police seize cash

Small businesses need cash to grow. So North Carolina entrepreneur Jerry Johnson came prepared when he flew to Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport in August 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic. He brought $39,500, which he had borrowed and saved from honest labor, to buy a third truck for his Charlotte transportation company. Carrying currency is...

NC patients lose when clinics duel for government favors

Two North Carolina rivals will meet Nov. 18 in a showdown that never should occur in the United States. Instead of competing for a sports trophy or academic prize, they will battle for government favoritism. Millions of dollars will be on the line. The winner will receive state approval to acquire and operate a fixed...