State Auditor Beth Wood is questioning a plan by the Local Government Commission to sell bonds to buy the assets of the Bald Head Island Transportation System, saying the body needs to verify system valuation before placing the applications on the agenda. Wood sent a letter to State Treasure Dale Folwell on Nov. 15, insisting...
A N.C. company looking to bring a lithium mine to Gaston County is facing pushback from environmental groups, despite a deal already in place to use the mine’s products for electric vehicle batteries. Piedmont Lithium has submitted an application to open a lithium mine near the town of Cherryville on about 1,500 acres of private...
Below are a few of the stories that caught my attention this week. The left’s fascination with canceling American figures — including the author of our Declaration of Independence — continues. The inability to contextualize history is a scary ideology and reminds me a little of the Khmer Rouge and their utopian quest for year...
With an ever-expanding federal government, the U.S. has fallen out of the top five countries for economic freedom, according to a new report from the Fraser Institute. America now ranks as No. 6, behind Hong Kong, Singapore, New Zealand, Switzerland, and Georgia. The U.S. ranked particularly poorly in its size of government and freedom to...
“We should bow in gratitude to God for His many favors,” wrote Calvin Coolidge in his 1925 Thanksgiving Proclamation.
Many North Carolinians breathed a sigh of relief last week when the GOP-led legislature and Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper came to terms on a budget for the new biennium. School choice advocates were among them and have plenty to celebrate in the new spending plan. “There is greater demand for educational options than ever before....
The roots of the N.C. ABC extend to Prohibition, the unintended consequences of which shattered the country. The Alcoholic Beverage Control system, as designed, was meant to control the sale and consumption of liquor. It has done anything but. Rather, this antique system has enabled problem drinkers, even catering to alcoholics needing a large quantity...
A number of key election reforms moved through the N.C. House this week. Included on that list is a bill that switches up the deadline for absentee ballots and another measure that bans outside private money from flowing to county boards of elections. According to sponsors, the bills are designed to shore up voting integrity...
The N.C. legislature passed the Accountability and Fair Play in Athletics on Wednesday, Nov. 17. The conference report for this bill is one of several policy measures working its way quickly through committees as lawmakers look to wrap up a drawn-out legislative session. House Bill 91 is an effort to reform the management of high...
Leadership or staff from the company contracted to operate the state’s liquor warehouse and delivery system won’t meet with lawmakers to explain why N.C. ABC stores around the state have so many empty shelves. The state warehouses are stocked with popular products such as Jack Daniel’s and Tito’s vodka, yet those same products aren’t showing...
Rampant inflation, supply chain issues, and the COVID-19 pandemic aren’t dampening the Christmas spirit at the international Christian charity Samaritan’s Purse. Volunteers are hard at work this week collecting shoeboxes filled with gifts for needy children across the globe. Operation Christmas Child began in 1993 as a simple way to deliver shoebox gifts — filled...
