The city of Durham is set to give monthly checks worth $500 to 115 formerly incarcerated people. The move is part of a nationwide basic income experiment, primarily bankrolled by Twitter co-founder and former CEO Jack Dorsey. Applications for the program open on Wednesday, Jan. 5, and checks will be sent throughout the year. Recipients...
A N.C. company looking to bring a lithium mine to Gaston County is facing pushback from environmental groups, despite a deal already in place to use the mine’s products for electric vehicle batteries. Piedmont Lithium has submitted an application to open a lithium mine near the town of Cherryville on about 1,500 acres of private...
Many North Carolinians breathed a sigh of relief last week when the GOP-led legislature and Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper came to terms on a budget for the new biennium. School choice advocates were among them and have plenty to celebrate in the new spending plan. “There is greater demand for educational options than ever before....
The N.C. General Assembly is expected to being voting Tuesday on the newly-released 2021-23 conference budget. The 2021-22 budget plan, out on Monday, represents a 4.3% increase over the previous plan with $25.9 billion slated to be spent. The fiscal 2022-23 portion of the biennial plan is $27 billion, and the state’s rainy day fund...
North Carolina’s self-described teachers’ union still has clout with many Democratic lawmakers in the legislature, but its influence — and popularity — with teachers and everyday North Carolinians appears to be waning. Over the past decade, the N.C. Association of Educators’ membership has dropped nearly 59%, and its revenue cut in half — from $11...
The N.C. House Redistricting Committee submitted its proposed state district maps Friday, Oct. 22, after two months of public hearings and open meetings. They can be viewed on the legislative website along with the state Senate’s five draft maps for congressional districts, with one proposed map drawn of their own districts. The much-anticipated district map...
In a new poll out Thursday, Oct. 21, there are rumblings that North Carolina voters are growing frustrated with President Joe Biden’s overall performance and his handling of jobs and the economy. With North Carolina a key state in the 2022 midterm elections, this statewide survey of 600 likely voters found 38% of respondents approve...
The judge in the long-running Leandro school funding case could issue an order as early as three weeks compelling the General Assembly to fully fund a court-ordered plan drawn up by California-based consultants. The news came during a hearing on Monday, Oct. 18. Superior Court Judge David Lee — the presiding jurist in the Leandro...
The N.C. Task Force for Safer Schools is finalizing a statement chiding parents for strongly voicing their views and at times disrupting recent school board meetings. The disruptions have come from parents — across the state and nation — concerned about school policies on everything from COVID-19 vaccination and masking to controversial instruction on race...
N.C. State Treasurer Dale Folwell has joined 24 state treasurers in signing a letter opposing a portion of national Democrats’ $3.5-trillion budget reconciliation bill that would expand the power of the Internal Revenue Service. The proposed legislation — backed by the Biden administration — would give the IRS new power to monitor American bank accounts...
A bill to establish a “regulatory sandbox” by waiving certain obstacles for a trial period for fast-emerging financial and insurance products and services is one step closer to becoming law. It cleared the Senate Commerce and Insurance Committee on Tuesday, Sep. 21. House Bill 624 would create the regulatory sandbox, which is similar to one authorized...
