A new biography of former North Carolina Gov. Jim Martin written by JLF Chairman John Hood explores his legacy of reform in education, transportation and more. But it also looks at his impact on spurring a new generation of Republican leaders, many of whom serve in office today. Martin discusses why he ran for governor and the priorities of his administration. Then we turn to environmental policy. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is pursuing two policies described as “power grabs” by the head of North Carolina’s top state environmental regulator. Donald van der Vaart, secretary of the newly renamed Department of Environmental Quality, details the controversies surrounding proposed federal water and air regulations. He explains why DEQ has concerns about both sets of mandates from Washington. Next is a look at North Carolina’s law against cyberstalking, which has not covered a person using a Global Positioning System device attached to a car to track another person’s location. State lawmakers recently debated legislation designed to close that loophole. That’s followed by a look at religion and politics. Some people characterize evangelical Christians as a monolithic bloc with one set of opinions on public policy issues. Molly Worthen, assistant professor of history at UNC-Chapel Hill, dispels that notion in the recent book “Apostles of Reason.” Worthen explains how pundits and partisans miss the mark when they lump evangelicals together as one united group. And finally, we look at a revision of the worldwide medical coding system that has created chuckles for some of the maladies it details, but serious concerns as well for health care providers who must comply with the ever-growing rules and bureaucracy that surrounds health care. John Locke Foundation Health and Human Services Analyst Katherine Restrepo explains the code changes and what has providers wondering what comes next.
The Life and Legacy of Former Gov. Jim Martin
Related
Dems hope to defend governor’s office
Since the turn of the 20th century, North Carolina voters have picked Republicans for governor just four times: Jim Holshouser in 1972, Jim Martin in 1984 and 1988, and Pat McCrory in 2012. In each case, there was no Democratic incumbent. In each case, the GOP presidential candidate also won North Carolina. A similar scenario...
Former top lawmaker loses political discrimination case at state Appeals Court
The state Court of Appeals has rejected a political discrimination claim from Bill Culpepper, the former high-ranking Democratic lawmaker who was fired in 2022 from his job as general counsel at the Office of Administrative Hearings.
Yes, North Carolina governors matter
With my longtime friend Andy Wells, a former state senator, joining the Republican primary field for governor and Supreme Court Justice Mike Morgan publicly considering a run for the Democratic nomination, now seems like an opportune time to answer a frequently voiced question. Why in the world would anyone want to be governor of North...
Broyhill helped build the modern GOP
As the founder of one of North Carolina’s largest companies, James Edgar Broyhill helped build high-quality, durable furniture. His son James Thomas Broyhill, who died February 18 at the age of 95, helped build something just as lasting: the North Carolina Republican Party. For most of the elder Broyhill’s lifetime, the GOP was a minor...