News
Senate attack ad shines light on little-known NC textbook authority
The N.C. Textbook Commission was targeted in a Senate primary campaign ad as parents raise concern over identity politics in school curriculum.
Opinion
McCrory deserves credit for disaster-relief bill
Hyperbole is alive and well in Raleigh. The superlatives, at one point this week, were flying. Tuesday, lawmakers unanimously approved a $200.9 million disaster relief package for North Carolinians whose lives were uprooted this fall by Hurricane Matthew and western wildfires. The package, as we reported, includes $20 million to the Housing Trust Fund for...
Opinion
Defining ‘rain’ in the N.C. rainy day fund
Legislators consider new rules to guide use of N.C. state government's emergency savings reserve.
News
N.C. Experts Leery of Trump’s Down-Ballot Effect
Republicans across the country have voiced concerns that Donald Trump’s likely presidential nomination could harm down-ballot Republican candidates’ electoral fortunes. But some political analysts say time and Trump’s unpredictable pivots to soften his image may ease some of those concerns as the general election approaches. In contrast, Democrats believe the combination of Trump’s brashness, his...
Opinion
Journalism as Street Theater
Don’t you hate it when you read a story in a newspaper or online, or watch a news report on TV, and the reporter seems to have completely missed the essential question? I know I do. It happens more than you think. Sometimes it’s a product of lack of time, in the case of a...
News
Modest Spending, More Tax Cuts Could Highlight Short Session
The state’s top three Republicans — Gov. Pat McCrory, Senate leader Phil Berger, and House Speaker Tim Moore — agree that state General Fund spending should rise by no more than 2.9 percent in the 2016-17 budget they expect to adopt in the General Assembly’s short session. Berger and Moore say they can accomplish that goal and...
News
Executive Order Extends LGBT Protections, Reinforces Privacy Measures
Gov. Pat McCrory on Tuesday issued an executive order expanding equal employment and nondiscrimination rights of state employees to include sexual orientation and gender identification in an attempt to alleviate some of the fallout related to House Bill 2. “Simply put, I have listened to the people of North Carolina,” McCrory said in a video...
News
Incumbent McCrory Touts Record As He Seeks GOP Nomination – UPDATED
Editor’s note: Please see update at the end of this report. Gov. Pat McCrory is proclaiming the success of the tax cuts and job creation he calls the Carolina Comeback as reasons voters should award him a second term, along with a willingness to fight political opponents and even his own party to do what...
News
Political, Business Leaders Praise Delay in Energy Regulations
Gov. Pat McCrory and a host of business leaders were quick to praise the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision on Tuesday blocking President Obama’s signature climate change program from moving forward until a trial in federal court is concluded. McCrory lauded the 5-4 decision that could spell legal doom for the administration’s Clean Power Plan, which...
News
NCDOT Still Evaluating CSX Project
Opposition by governor and local residents to project will not stop agency from ranking viability for state subsidies of rail hub near Selma.
Podcast
Good News/Bad News In State Of The State Speech
Rick Henderson on key ideas in SOTS speech; legislative Republicans debate Medicaid reform; N.C.'s U.S. House members debate Obamacare; Matt Bryant on DOT' actions that threaten property rights; Jenna Robinson on her vision for N.C. higher education
Podcast
Milestone: JLF Celebrates 25th Anniversary
Kory Swanson on JLF anniversary & 2015 vision; Patrick McHenry & Mark Meadows grill Jonathan Gruber; Aldona Wos urges caution on Medicaid reform; Heywood Sanders on folly of convention centers; George Leef on legal trouble for producer of Liberty Dollar
