OPINION: Popular ed school fads fail students who need help the most
The fight over Critical Race Theory grabs headlines. But there’s a more fundamental problem plaguing public schools.
Opinion
N.C. auditor details alleged embezzlement, some $430K, in Spring Lake
The state auditor’s office found that a former accounting technician in the town of Spring Lake misappropriated more than $430,000 in taxpayer funds for personal use and has referred its report to the FBI and State Bureau of Investigation for a possible criminal investigation.
State of emergency continues with new ways to measure COVID
Gov. Roy Cooper said North Carolina's state of emergency will continue, despite declining COVID numbers.
Why Carolinians liked strong legislatures
How should North Carolina be governed? The same question can be asked about any other state in America, or any other country in the world. It’s a critical question. It lies at the heart of every political dispute you can think of, from education reform and environmental protection to tax policy and economic development.
OPINION: Time to celebrate and protect worker freedom
Happy anniversary to North Carolina’s right-to-work law!Seventy-five years ago, on March 18, 1947, North Carolina became one of the first states in the country to give workers the freedom to choose whether or not to pay a union.
Drug money: How NC will spend the $750M opioid settlement
The opioid epidemic is killing more than 100,000 Americans each year. Fentanyl alone — not counting other opioids such as heroin, oxycodone, and morphine — now top the list as the No. 1 cause of death for adults 45 and younger. That's more than suicides, car wrecks, and COVID-19.
College majors vary widely in cost
It costs a lot more to train a future engineer than to train a future journalist. Some smart aleck might suggest the cost differential is entirely understandable, since a poorly trained engineer will tend to wash out of her profession while a poorly trained journalist might well rise to the top of his.
N.C. Appeals Court rules Greenville red-light camera program unconstitutional
A unanimous three-judge panel of the N.C. Court of Appeals has ruled Greenville's red-light camera program unconstitutional. The judges agreed the program does not provide enough of its proceeds to local schools.
Daylight Savings clock-shifting continues in NC despite legislative effort
There aren’t many things that bring people from all sides together politically these days. But ending the practice of putting our clocks forward in the spring then backward in the fall is one that enjoys wide, bipartisan agreement.
Late COVID unemployment checks tangled in red tape, according to new state audit
Nearly half a billion dollars in first-time unemployment benefits in North Carolina were not paid out in a timely manner during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. That’s according to an audit released from State Auditor Beth Wood’s office on Monday. The Division of Employment Security didn’t issue $438 million of first unemployment benefit payments during the period of January 1, 2020, through March 31, 2021.
Gunshot-detection system targets spiraling gun violence in Durham
In 2021, Durham’s homicide rate jumped by 30%, reaching a record of 50 murders for the year. City leaders have been scrambling for solutions, and by a 4-3 vote, decided to adopt a pilot program for the gunshot-detection system ShotSpotter.
State Supreme Court rules government retirees had contractual health care right
The N.C. Supreme Court has ruled, 4-2, that 220,000 state government retirees had a contractual right to premium-free health care benefits that had been promised to them. Now a trial court will have to determine whether state changes to those benefits a decade ago violated the contract.