Cover • What was the General Assembly’s solution to the state’s budget problems this year? Higher taxes, onetime money, more borrowing and ignoring efficiency ideas seemed to be the answers. Page 1 North Carolina • Two reports released in August conclude that North Carolina’s primary job creation program, the William…
Cover • In the just-passed budget, the legislature authorized the state to purchase what once was its only two significant private prisons from the property trust company that owns them. The budget provisions signaled that the state plans to get out of privatization and will operate prisons itself for the…
Cover • A total of $1.3 billion is needed for repair and renovation of state buildings and property. Observers say the problem stems from the setting of wrong priorities rather than lack of money. Page 1 North Carolina • A bill that has passed the state House would turn what…
Cover • A taxpayer-funded natural-gas pipeline project for eastern North Carolina, at the center of a government conspiracy alleged by a Raleigh businessman, was facilitated by State Sen. President Pro Tem Marc Basnight and steered to the control of friends under his direct influence. Page 1 North Carolina • U.S. Rep.
Cover • Tear-jerking stories about victims of cuts in the state budget are commonplace in the media these days. Now read about some real-life North Carolinians who suffer from an onerous tax burden. Page 1 North Carolina • The director of a Warren County substance abuse program that has received…
Cover • North Carolina’s county governments have submitted to the state Department of Health and Human Services the first part of their strategic plans to reform mental-health care. The actions, required by a state law passed in 2001, represent a large step forward in a process that is required to…
Cover • A Raleigh businessman is suing a consortium of interests, one of them linked to publicly funded Golden LEAF, for allegedly conspiring to keep him from building an ethanol plant in Beaufort County. His accusations include racketeering, extortion, corruption, and conspiracy, which reach “the highest levels of state government.” Page…
Cover • In August Golden LEAF, led by Chairman S. Lawrence Davenport, awarded $10 million to the North Carolina Grain Growers Cooperative, which is co-run by Davenport’s brother Charles. The decision raised questions about conflicts of interest among LEAF’s board members. Page 1 North Carolina • A June 2002 study…
Cover • The North Carolina state budget, barring unforeseen circumstances, seems to be on target for this year. But the new legislature beginning in January will have a doozy of a deficit to fill for fiscal 2003-04. Page 1 North Carolina • The North Carolina Economic Development Board released its strategic…
Cover • When Golden LEAF announced its $85.4 million biotechnology “stimulus” initiative in August, its leaders claimed that they operated independent of political influence. However, documents related to the stimulus deal reveal that intense pressure was placed on the foundation by North Carolina’s two most powerful politicians. Page 1 North…
