On the cover

• Spotlight on rural health care: The great divide

• Criminal code a mess and needs a makeover, expert says

 

News

• Quick Takes, Pages 2 – 6

• Birth center advocates caution against overzealous regulations, Page 7

• Amazon Wind Farm interference with radar remains a concern, Page 8

• Cooper’s political strategy may lie with the N.C. Supreme Court, Page 9

• The great divide, Page 10

• A steep road to care, Page 11

• Access to health care taking on new sense of urgency, Page 12

• Nurturing a love for learning, Page 14

• Polls, Page 24

 

Interviews

• Scott Bullock: Civil forfeiture deals between feds, local law agencies a threat, Page 18

• Adrian Moore: Libertarian analyst urges N.C. to consider mileage-based transportation fee, Page 19

 

Opinion

• Terry Stoops commentary: Innovative School District: A promising idea for improving schools, Page 15

• Mitch Kokai commentary: State Supreme Court can join or avoid political fight, Page 15

• Jenna Robinson and Joseph Warta commentary: University foundations enable waste, fraud, and abuse, Page 16

• Kristen Blair commentary: World without walls: virtual reality’s role in the classroom, Page 17

• Shannon Watkins commentary: N.C. universities affordable, but there’s room for improvement, Page 17

• Editorial: Partisan elections shouldn’t lead to a partisan judiciary, Page 20

• Becki Gray commentary: Stay the courts in 2018 for short-session success, Page 20

• John Trump commentary: China tariffs would hurt America’s native spirit, N.C. producers, consumers, Page 22

• Michael Walden commentary: Can we reduce invisible unemployment?, Page 22

• Andy Taylor commentary: Facebook caught up in vilification of entrepreneurs, Page 23

• Marc Rotterman commentary: McCarthy poised to be the next House speaker, Page 23

 

Commentary by John Hood

• Six statistics Carolinians should know, Page 21

• Peer pressure produces good policy, Page 21

• Time to revoke some licenses, Page 21