The N.C. Senate passed House Bill 110 on Wednesday, Sept. 8, which would modify rules to the HOPE rental assistance program. The bill comes as state and local leaders struggle to quickly distribute the federal rental assistance aid they’re tasked with administering. The changes will let landlords apply for assistance on behalf of tenants, along...
Climbing COVID-19 hospitalizations in North Carolina have energized the campaign for renewed mask mandates. The rules have also sparked protests from some who view it as a threat to personal liberty and dispute the efficacy of masking toward mitigating the spread of coronavirus. A group of young liberty-minded Republicans from Wake County organized a protest...
“The right to live includes the right to work.” That simple statement opens the text of a state law that has helped boost North Carolina’s economic competitiveness for nearly 75 years. The state will mark the milestone 75th anniversary of its right-to-work law on March 18, 2022. “Research continues to indicate that right-to-work states not...
Avangrid Renewables wants to erect 69 wind turbines, spread out over 50,000 acres, 27 miles offshore of Corolla, North Carolina. The project hasn’t gotten final approval from federal regulators, and in recent comments to the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, one expert urged environmental reviewers to refrain from proceeding with the project because of significant...
Family members and lawmakers, in Washington, D.C., and Raleigh, representing N.C. residents are mourning the deaths of a Marine and soldier who died in a terrorist attack while helping Americans and others evacuate from Afghanistan. Thirteen service members, including a Fort Bragg soldier and Camp Lejuene Marine, died while supporting Operation Freedom’s Sentinel, the Department...
Criminal justice reform is a bipartisan issue, a phrase lawmakers frequently use when noting the parties coming together and advancing legislation. True to form, Senate Bill 300, Criminal Justice Reform, was approved by the General Assembly with strong bipartisan support and awaits the governor’s signature. “Since coming to Raleigh I’ve worked tirelessly to correct the...
The N.C. House voted unanimously Wednesday, Aug. 25, to pass a resolution urging Congress and the Biden administration to take additional steps to ensure all U.S. troops, American citizens, and Afghan allies are evacuated from Afghanistan before withdrawing a U.S. presence there. The resolution comes on the heels of a decision by the Biden administration...
A new study commissioned by the N.C. Cable Telecommunications Association warns that red tape regarding utility pole access could cost the state $3.5 billion in consumer value due to the resulting delays in broadband deployment. After examining broadband expansion programs underway in North Carolina, the report found that if changes aren’t made to address unreasonable...
A new poll of North Carolina unaffiliated voters shows President Joe Biden is tanking with voters who claim no allegiance to any political party. Between August 13-15, 2021 Spry Strategies contacted nearly 500 households of registered, self-described unaffiliated voters. Voters were only included in the poll results if they also confirmed they were registered as...
When the calendar flipped from 2020 to 2021, some breathed a sigh of relief. The advent of COVID-19 and the associated pandemic policies were a whirlwind of emergency measures that threw the state, nation, and world into disarray. What has transpired over the first half of this year could well be considered the aftermath, even...
College students are returning to campus amid delta variant fear spikes, restrictions, and, now, some University of North Carolina faculty pushing for a return to remote instruction. But how does a return to campus affect students psychologically? “It’s kind of a mood-killer,” said Grayson Rosas, a senior at N.C. State University. College campuses are full...
