Podcast

Carolina Journal Radio No. 736: Beaufort County community fights solar facility

As N.C. state government continues to consider policies that benefit the solar energy industry, residents of one Beaufort County community are fighting a proposed 600-acre solar facility planned near a local school. Rick Henderson, Carolina Journal editor-in-chief, explains why people in Terra Ceia are raising concerns about the project. North Carolina lawmakers have been debating...

Rick Henderson, Jon Guze
News

Craft breweries make constitutional challenge to beer distribution laws

Craft brewers say North Carolina is suppressing growth and have filed a complaint saying that two state laws are unconstitutional and nothing more than economic protectionism. The complaint, filed Monday in Wake County Superior Court, seeks a permanent injunction against enforcement of the state’s distribution cap and franchise laws. It says the distribution cap and...

John Trump
Opinion

Lawsuit may be the next option for craft breweries

It would be hard to find a more blatant example of cronyism than the North Carolina law forbidding brewers who produce more than 25,000 barrels per year from selling their products directly to retailers. The law serves no legitimate purpose and exists for two reasons only: to protect the national and international beverage conglomerates from...

Jon Guze
News

Craft brewers not giving up on expanding self-distribution

North Carolina lawmakers late Tuesday night stripped from House Bill 500 a provision that would have lifted the proverbial cap on the state’s most successful brewers and effectively allows distributors to retain control of the retail market. Rep. Chuck McGrady, R-Henderson, a primary sponsor of H.B. 500, called parts of the current law for the...

John Trump
Opinion

Sending mixed message, confusing North Carolinians

Mixed signals. Some things are clear — lower taxes, fewer regulations, skilled workers, and efficient infrastructure lead to economic growth. A robust and growing business community creates jobs. Vouchers offer opportunities to low-income students, and school choice leads to better and more fulfilling educational outcomes. Investments in education and public safety pay off. Some things...

Becki Gray

Help Support Non-profit Journalism & Donate Today

Opinion

New poll reinforces public support for N.C. craft brewers

Craft beer and small breweries have grown well beyond niche markets. What was once a novelty is now ingrained in a culture that prefers local products emphasizing quality over quantity. Yet North Carolina brewers — and to a larger extent the state’s distillers — are entangled in a mess of rules and regulations, including government...

John Trump
News

Americans for Tax Reform joins effort to raise cap on craft beer distribution

Grover Norquist is using his considerable influence to push North Carolina lawmakers toward reforming restrictive laws governing craft beer. Norquist, founder of Americans for Tax Reform, is calling for an end to the state’s “protectionist, anti-consumer restriction on craft brewery self-distribution.” Norquist in 1985 founded ATR, which promotes a system in which taxes are simpler,...

John Trump
News

Survey shows major support to lift cap on craft beer distribution

North Carolinians have an insatiable taste for craft beers, and they have little tolerance for lawmakers who want to tamper with how they get their stouts and IPAs. A survey of North Carolina voters bears that out. Brewers around the state, some 180 of them, simply want what’s fair. One goal of craftfreedom.org — a...

John Trump
News

NCGA roundup: Immigration reform, UNC Board of Governors on agenda

RALEIGH — State lawmakers have introduced a broad bill aimed at cracking down on certain undocumented immigrants. The bill, sponsored by Rep. Harry Warren, R-Rowan, would increase penalties for people who manufacture or sell false ID cards. It would also make it more difficult for people not lawfully in the country to post bond if...

Barry Smith
News

Craft breweries try again to raise cap on self-distribution

RALEIGH — State Rep. Michael Speciale, R-Craven, has filed a bill that would increase the amount of beer smaller craft breweries could brew and sell without having to contract with a wholesale distributor. House Bill 67 would increase the cap from 25,000 barrels per year to 100,000 barrels per year. A barrel of beer is 31...

Barry Smith