During Sunshine Week — seven days highlighting the public’s right to know about what happens behind the government’s closed doors — much of North Carolina’s health care system remains in the shade. State Treasurer Dale Folwell wants to rescue the State Health Plan with…
On St. Patrick’s Day, Cary’s Carolina Ale House — garishly decorated with Irish food and drink ads — wasn’t teeming with its usual swarm of thirsty, hungry customers. Instead, at 7:30 p.m., the rough hewn doors creaked open to an empty dining room. Empty bar. Empty waiting area. The…
State retirees and their dependents beginning next year won’t pay premiums on Medicare Advantage plans. The State Health Plan awarded Humana a new contract that will save taxpayers $590 million over three years. The savings will allow the State Health Plan to erase retirees’ monthly premiums…
Fears of a global economic slowdown, fueled in part by the coronavirus outbreak, took a $4.2 billion chunk out of North Carolina’s state pension plan. The coronavirus has sent stocks tumbling worldwide. North Carolina’s pension plan is more conservatively managed than most, so it slid only…
Now that North Carolina knows how much it can borrow, politicians are arguing about how much the state should borrow. But while the legislature and Gov. Roy Cooper wrestle over “credit card limits,” they are ignoring the red flags raised in the…
In New Hanover County, the possibility of selling the county-owned hospital has ignited a storm of gossip and conspiracy theories, pitted the county’s leaders against one another, and mobilized some 200 residents into attending a Save Our Hospital protest meeting Tuesday, Jan. 21. But if the…
North Carolina’s state pension plan is prepared to weather another recession, a Pew Charitable Trusts stress test says. North Carolina has the sixth best-funded state pension plan in the nation. It boasted a 90.7% funded ratio in 2017, leaping over the…
The N.C. Department of Transportation’s financial woes may be over, but its headaches live on. After the department overspent by $2 billion, the legislature gave the department $200 million, but at a price. The department must undergo a performance audit, and…
N.C. Transportation Secretary James Trogdon is a bad manager and should be replaced, says State Treasurer Dale Folwell. The transportation department, which is in a financial bind after overspending by about $2 billion this year, deserves a leader with better oversight,…
One of the most significant documents in N.C. public education is being kept under lock and key. The WestEd report is supposed to restart proceedings in the Leandro court case. After 25 years, the dispute over education opportunities hasn’t found a conclusion. …
