Sen. Michael Lee, R-New Hanover, has been elected as the new Majority Leader of the North Carolina Senate following the departure of former Sen. Paul Newton. Lee has been in the state Senate since 2014 and is currently serving his fifth term while holding several leadership positions.
Two counties in North Carolina have been selected to pilot an Artificial Intelligence (AI) School Safety Program that could soon be installed in all public schools across the state to enhance security measures for student safety.
New Hanover County, which is home to the city of Wilmington, has gained national attention as a political bellwether. The county voted for Republican presidents for 44 years. In 2016, it supported Trump by a four-point margin, reflecting the state's overall result. However, in 2020, the county flipped, with Joe Biden winning by two points, in contrast to Trump's 1.4% victory statewide.
Should activism be promoted in classrooms? Most of the general population would say, no, it does NOT belong. But the actions of outside organizations with powerful influence on education are worrisome to parents across the state. The question becomes, how do we stop it? There is a statewide competition for public schools in North Carolina called the...
New technology is exciting, but politicians who flex their influence and power to force premature adoption do a disservice to their communities. As a New Hanover County commissioner, I write to caution my county — and all the other counties and municipalities in North Carolina — against imposing harmful electric vehicle (EV) mandates. In January,...
The New Hanover County Board of Education voted 4-2 to dissolve the Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI) Committee at their December board meeting.
A Wilmington adult entertainment club, Cheetah Premier, is currently engaged in a heated battle with New Hanover County’s Board of Commissioners over a recent eminent domain declaration. On November 6th, the Board of Commissioners unanimously voted to explore using eminent domain on Cheetah Premier to secure more parking space for the county’s new government complex...
In a narrow decision, the New Hanover County Board of Education voted 4-3 to temporarily limit access to the book “Stamped: Racism, Antiracism, and You” by Jason Reynolds and Ibram X. Kendi.
During this November’s midterm elections, five counties will vote on a referendum to raise their county’s sales tax by a quarter of a percent. Many other counties are proposing bond referendums to fund various projects within their counties.
Donald Trump’s visit to New Hanover County, specifically the Wilmington International Airport, highlights the importance of the “Port City” and its home county, one of two North Carolina counties that embraced Trump in 2016 and rejected him in 2020. New Hanover has become one of the most purple counties in North Carolina, and the largest...
The N.C. Alcoholic Beverage Control system has a new commissioner. It gets continued reassurance from its boards and warehouse operator that they’ll get it right and, to that end, newly created groups meant to help them do so. Yet, in myriad ways, it’s mostly still the old N.C. ABC system. Liquor held by local boards...
