General Assembly passes COVID relief, to consider fully reopening bars
The General Assembly has passed with a unanimous vote a new COVID relief bill that would direct nearly $1.7 billion in aid across the state.
Joe Coletti
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Budget failsafe means negotiations unlikely as lawmakers return to Raleigh
by Julie Havlak , Carolina Journal News Service RALEIGH — For the first time in state history, the governor is introducing a budget proposal in August. The fiscal year is already under way, but North Carolina’s budget is almost two years old. Gov. Roy Cooper, a Democrat, wants t
GOP lawmakers call Cooper’s budget proposal ‘spend now, pray later’
by Julie Havlak , Carolina Journal News Service RALEIGH, N.C. — On August 26, Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper proposed a $25 billion General Fund budget to expand Medicaid, increase unemployment benefits, give teachers higher bonuses, and cut funding to Opportunity Scholarships. Republ
Opinion: Extending unemployment benefits in N.C., and the president’s offer
by Joe Coletti President Trump signed a number of executive orders to circumvent a congressional impasse over another round of government relief and stimulus. Yuval Levin and Adam C. White provide a detailed critique of this return to Obama-era policymaking without regard to the co
State pensions OK for now, but COVID threat remains, Folwell says
by Julie Havlak , Carolina Journal News Service RALEIGH — The COVID-19 pandemic could still threaten the long-term stability of state employee pensions, even though the state pension plan has recovered from the stock market crash, the state treasurer says. The stock mark
Opinion: Going viral — Cooper, Cohen spread data; officials, media report it without context, proper analysis
by Joe Coletti It is hard to know things. It’s harder to know how to know things. Harder still is knowing how to know the right things. In North Carolina, Gov. Roy Cooper and much of the press corps have frequently repeated that he’s basing decisions about masks, bowling, schools, an
Cooper’s proposed unemployment rule could force parents to choose between job and kids’ schooling
by Julie Havlak When she found a job in May, Greensboro resident Alyssa Trent started working in a call center for unemployment benefits. Now she worries she will need those benefits herself. Trent is a working mother, and she faces a grim choice. If schools don’t reopen, she can’t kee
N.C.’s obsolete death reporting system keeps public in a fog
by Julie Havlak As death rates spike across the nation, no one knows how many North Carolinians have died since the COVID-19 pandemic struck. New York City’s deaths from all causes soared 663% for the week ending April 11, while deaths rose 41% across the U.S. That’s comp
State reveals more info about COVID-19 hospital cases, but large gaps remain
by Julie Havlak RALEIGH, N.C. -- North Carolinians know more about COVID-19 hospitalizations than they did a week ago. But data critical to the fight against COVID-19 remain missing from North Carolina’s dashboard, researchers say. North Carolina’s new dashboard shows a regional pic
Opinion: Atlantic Coast Pipeline deal, now defunct, shows Cooper’s pattern of overreach
by Kari Travis The end of the Atlantic Coast Pipeline shuts the door on one example of Gov. Roy Cooper’s executive overreach. But one policy expert fears Cooper might abuse his power again in a case involving school funding. Cooper’s many clashes with Republican lawmakers indic