by John Hood If you’ve lived in North Carolina for even a few years, you’ve probably formed an opinion about whether statues and monuments honoring Confederate leaders and soldiers ought to remain in or near courthouses, town halls, state buildings, and other public property througho
by John Hood One morning in late March, I drove from my home in Southern Wake County to my office in North Raleigh to pick up some files so I could work from home. As I exited the Beltline onto Six Forks Road, I noticed a deer lying beneath the overpass, the apparent victim of a high
by Senator Thom Tillis Over the last several months, our families, our communities and our country have been in a war against COVID-19, a fight that continues to this day. The highly-contagious virus has taken countless lives and forced us to shut down sectors of our economy in order
by Jordan Roberts Amid the pandemic, state lawmakers and liberal advocacy groups continue a push to expand Medicaid, as allowed by the Affordable Care Act. Since the U.S. Supreme Court ruled Medicaid expansion is optional, state lawmakers have decided against moving forward with the
by Governor Roy Cooper Next week, thousands of North Carolinians who are out of work due to COVID-19 will see a drastic reduction in their unemployment benefits despite this pandemic being far from over. The additional $600 a week unemployed workers have received from the Feder
by Dr. Terry Stoops A Union County teacher recently declared, “This might be rude, but I don’t care about parent child care issues. That should not be a valid reason for opening schools. #ihave3” Of the 367 comments to that Facebook post, a sizable majority agreed. “It’s
by John Hood For inveterate optimists, the past several months have been excruciating. A global pandemic has produced great suffering and death. A protest movement that began with righteous anger about the death of George Floyd has devolved in all too many locations into vandalism, l
by Mitch Kokai HBO probably never expected one of its high-profile dramas to deliver a message about overly burdensome occupational licensing. But there it was Sunday night, playing a role in the latest episode of “Perry Mason.” It would be easy for the licensing message
by John Hood You may recall that back in early April, a panel of health analysts presented Gov. Roy Cooper with two forecasts: 250,000 COVID infections by June 1, if Cooper’s initial lockdown orders were kept in place, or 750,000 infections by June 1 if the orders were lifted.
by Andy Taylor This summer’s racial protests and violence have propelled the issue of slavery reparations under the national spotlight. It is a central feature of the list of demands forwarded by the Movement for Black Lives — a coalition of “Black Lives Matter” and
by John Trump Waiting. That’s what we do in North Carolina these days. We wait. Wait is one of the Cooper administration’s three Ws, somewhere between wash and wear. No ironing needed. We wait in lines, six feet between us and anybody else.
by George W. Little North Carolina has been hit hard by the coronavirus. Across the state, families are struggling financially, small businesses are trying to balance operating safely and generating revenue to remain open, and individuals have lost their jobs. I was born and raised her
