I’ve long been bullish on North Carolina’s community colleges. In the past, I’ve praised the system’s cost-effectiveness, its capacity to serve nontraditional students, and the impressive labor-market returns for associate degrees and other certificates in such fields as industrial technology, home repair, computer sciences, and health care.
Significant attention has been given to how we conduct and certify presidential elections ever since the events following the 2020 election - and for good reason. The existing procedures are far too vague and contributed to the confusion we witnessed in the months following the election.
I’ve long thought the North Carolina General Assembly should reform our state’s archaic and anti-competitive requirement for certificates-of-need. In the post-COVID world we are entering, however, CON reform is no longer just a good idea. It’s an imperative.
Today, Governor Roy Cooper granted a Pardon of Innocence for Darryl Anthony Howard of Durham, who was convicted of crimes he did not commit. Howard’s pardon application was thoroughly reviewed by the Office of Executive Clemency, the Office of the General Counsel and the Governor.
