On the cover

• Shifting sands

 

News

• Polls and issues, Page 2

• Conway out at Blue Cross; mega-deal with West Coast Blue pending, Page 3

• For many, damage from Dorian is just beginning, Page 4

• Major hurricanes to hit North Carolina, Page 5

• Building on barrier islands, Page 6

• With fewer patients during storms, hospitals must adjust financially, Page 7

• UNC Board of Governors searching for new leadership, Page 8

• Given constraints, new maps as fair as possible, experts say, Page 10

• N.C. budget timeline … so far, Page 11

• Reading scores stagnant despite efforts to boost performance, Page 12

 

Features

• In Memoriam: Beverly Lake dies, leaving legacy of justice and reform, Page 18

• Q&A: Thomas Cushman: Political polarization affects support for free speech, Page 19

 

Opinion

• Becki Gray commentary: Indiana Medicaid unsound, not a good model for N.C., Page 13

• Terry Stoops commentary, Taking inventory of social justice teaching in public schools, Page 14

• Kristen Blair commentary: This is your brain (drain) on smartphones, Page 15

• Shannon Watkins commentary: Advising and peer connections: Helping transfer students earn a degree, Page 15

• George Leef commentary: Donors beware: College officials have their own ideas about using your money, Page 16

• Mitch Kokai commentary: Centuries-old legal idea could help fight N.C. health care restriction, Page 17

• Editorial: Reform should accompany new districts, Page 20

• John Trump commentary: Defenders of state ABC system inadvertently show why it needs replacement, Page 22

• Andy Taylor commentary: Putting rightward nature of political polarization to rest, Page 23

• Michael Walden commentary: How’s the North Carolina economy doing?, Page 23

• Jordan Roberts commentary: Trump administration spearheads health care reform, Page 24

 

Commentary by John Hood

• Uncertain policy has economic cost, Page 2

• Time to make voter ID work, Page 21

• Special election offers three lessons, Page 21