It is hard to know things. It’s harder to know how to know things. Harder still is knowing how to know the right things. In North Carolina, Gov. Roy Cooper and much of the press corps have frequently repeated that he’s basing decisions about masks, bowling, schools, and anything else…
COVID-19 is a deadly virus. That’s indisputable. But information from state health experts and the governor are fraught with mixed messages and questions, which leaves people mostly confused and often afraid, one researcher says. A big problem is that, speaking for North Carolina, that…
I’ve about had it. Enough, already, with the mandates and decrees enacted to protect us from COVID-19. From each other. The inconsistent and obtuse data. The pedantic lecturing. Enough. I’m tired, and I’m not alone. I’m sure of that, evidenced by the myriad…
The coronavirus pandemic has kept North Carolina’s gyms and fitness centers closed, even as the state enters Phase One of reopening the economy. Meanwhile, gyms in neighboring states can open with safety precautions. Gov. Roy Cooper in a news conference Friday reiterated the importance…
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics released “The Employment Situation — April 2020” Friday stating the seasonally adjusted national unemployment rate was 14.7%. But on page three of the report, the agency explains that due to the unique nature of the coronavirus, “the overall unemployment rate would have been almost…
A Raleigh lawyer is criticizing Gov. Roy Cooper’s decision to allow only outdoor church services. The lawyer, Anthony Biller, with Michael Best & Friedrich LLP, says an executive order Cooper issued Tuesday continues to discriminate against religious practice. Biller criticized the…
The coronavirus recession, the Great Lockdown, and the Great Suppression are all terms used to describe the global economic downturn produced by COVID-19 mitigation measures. As elected officials issued stay-at-home orders and closed “nonessential” enterprises, unemployment skyrocketed. From mid-March to mid-April, about 22 million Americans, or roughly…
So, where is the state’s jobs expert? I haven’t seen one. Is it Secretary of Commerce Tony Copeland or one of his employees? Gov. Roy Cooper usually has Emergency Management Director Mike Sprayberry and Health and Human Services Director Dr. Mandy Cohen at his daily coronavirus briefings. Sprayberry talks about…
The N.C. Department of Transportation overspent its budget by $742 million last year, a new state audit report shows. The DOT is in hot water over poor money management, which, in 2019, sent its bank accounts plummeting close to a legally required cash floor.
Rep. Chuck McGrady, R-Henderson, said a provision in a pandemic-relief bill allowing restaurants to offer sealed, to-go cocktails may well survive negotiations with the Senate. The House approved a $1.7-billion omnibus bill Thursday, April 30, a day after the Senate passed its $1.3-billion version. The two…
