News

Sunshine Week puts spotlight on what N.C. government tries to hide

If a Florida parent wants to see the personnel file for their child’s public school teacher, the school would hand it over. In North Carolina, that parent probably would be turned away, said media lawyer John Bussian, who represents Carolina Journal and other media outlets.  That’s one reason North Carolinians should care about Sunshine Week...

Brooke Conrad
News

Judge sets deadline for Silent Sam’s return to the UNC system 

Orange County Superior Court Judge Allen Baddour has given a local Confederate group 45 days to return Silent Sam to the University of North Carolina system.  Baddour filed the order Thursday, Feb. 20. The N.C. Division of the Sons of Confederate Veterans must return the Confederate monument to the UNC System within the designated time....

Lindsay Marchello
News

UNC System lawyer suggests a do-over with Silent Sam 

The University of North Carolina System hopes to return to square one with the Silent Sam case, a letter from a lawyer representing the UNC System said.  Superior Court Judge Allen Baddour tossed the $2.5 million settlement transferring ownership of the Confederate monument to a N.C. chapter of the Sons of Confederate Veterans on Feb. 12...

Lindsay Marchello
News

Judge tosses $2.5 million Silent Sam settlement

A Superior Court judge has reversed course on a $2.5-million settlement granting a Confederate veterans group ownership of Silent Sam.  Judge Allen Baddour threw out the deal during a hearing Wednesday, Feb. 12, about whether the Sons of the Confederate Veterans had legal standing to sue in the case. The judge ruled the group didn’t...

Lindsay Marchello
News

CJ politics week in review, Jan. 27-31

Each week, staff at Carolina Journal looks back at the week in N.C. politics and chooses several interesting, relevant stories you may have missed. Here’s this week’s review: School choice: U.S. Rep. Virginia Foxx, R-5th District, took to the House floor to praise school choice on Jan. 27. Foxx, who is the senior Republican on...

Lindsay Marchello

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News

Lawsuit over transparency no guarantee UNC changes its approach toward records

The plaintiffs in a lawsuit challenging the University of North Carolina System over transparency issues hope their case will pave the way for greater openness and accountability at UNC.  But even if UNC loses the case — which could take months or longer to resolve — there’s no guarantee the administration will change its approach...

Brooke Conrad, Kari Travis
News

CJ politics week in review, Dec. 16-20

Each week, staff at Carolina Journal looks back at the week in N.C. politics and chooses what we think are some interesting, relevant stories you may have missed. Here’s a week in review: Silent Sam: Orange County Superior Court Judge Allen Baddour will hear arguments Friday, Dec. 20, against a controversial deal involving Confederate statue...

Lindsay Marchello
News

UNC leadership continues defense of Silent Sam deal

A civil rights organization is trying to send Confederate statue Silent Sam back to UNC Chapel Hill’s campus, a top official says.  Silent Sam — which was illegally toppled by protesters in August 2018 — stirred up more conflict in late November. The day before Thanksgiving, a committee of the University of North Carolina System’s...

Kari Travis
News

Silent Sam secrecy continues tradition of opaqueness inside UNC operations

The University of North Carolina System’s Board of Governors has a transparency problem. Again.  This time, the board’s secretive handover of Confederate monument Silent Sam to the controversial Sons of Confederate Veterans organization has drawn public ire and scrutiny. A November deal with SCV, announced the day before Thanksgiving, took place behind closed doors and...

Kari Travis
News

UNC BOG gives Gusciewicz permanent job while revealing little more about Silent Sam deal

“No BOG, no racist UNC, no payout!”  Forty protesters marched out of a Chapel Hill meeting room Friday, Dec. 13, raising their voices against a recent decision surrounding Silent Sam, the Confederate monument that formerly stood on UNC Chapel Hill’s campus.  The protest, which was quiet and orderly compared to those at other UNC events,...

Kari Travis
Opinion

UNC board ready to move on … to next scandal

We sent the December print edition of Carolina Journal to the printer Tuesday, Nov. 26. On the cover, we teased a news story inside the paper about the UNC Board of Governors wanting to “move on, despite behind-the-scenes drama.” As they say sarcastically on Twitter, that didn’t age well. The next day, the board offered...

Rick Henderson