As Gov. Roy Cooper enters his second term as governor, he sees North Carolina dragged down not just by the COVID pandemic, but by racism, unaffordable health care, and unequal opportunity. In a sharp contrast, Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson cast himself as an example of North Carolina’s successes as he was sworn in as the...
As he stood on his porch, watching the flames consume his studio, Brant Barnes wasn’t thinking about the fire. Barnes was remembering an old neighbor of his, a man who had died the night after just such a fire. He was thinking about the man’s bitterness, his death, and his own compromised heart. Barnes turned...
Moments after the N.C. State Supreme Court held its formal ceremonial investiture for all newly elected members, Republicans signaled that the extended closures of North Carolina’s judicial branch ordered by former Democrat Chief Justice Cherie Beasley due to COVID-19 can’t continue under the state constitution. Quoting directly from Article 1 Section 18, constitution’s open court...
North Carolina won’t fully open anytime soon. The governor’s unilaterally imposed curfews and shutdowns will continue for three more weeks. Dr. Mandy Cohen piled on Wednesday, Jan. 6. The head of North Carolina’s Department of Health and Human Services enacted a “secretarial directive” warning people to stay home, especially those older than 65. “We’re in...
Koka Booth Amphitheatre will remain dark this winter. All the small details are wrong. The courtyard is too clean, and the rain has had months to wash away any traces of visitors. The trash cans are filled only with dead leaves. The air smells of warmed wood and varnish. Humans have maintained the place, but...
It might be a new year, but remote learning isn’t over. As the legislature enters a new session, students are leaving the classroom. Learning is back online in many of the state’s major districts. Learning loss is reaching historic highs, and lawmakers must make sure students aren’t left behind. The Republican majority can’t reopen classrooms...
Gov. Roy Cooper won a second term. But he had no coattails. Republicans picked up four seats in the state House and lost only one state Senate seat. With Cooper officially a lame duck, the GOP’s 2021 legislative majorities — 69-51 House, 28-22 Senate — put them within a handful of votes of overriding Cooper...
Lawmakers are fighting to help small businesses afford health insurance, but they’re running out of time. As the pandemic and the shutdowns wreck the economy, thousands of North Carolinians continue to lose their insurance. North Carolina has nearly 1.2 million uninsured residents. Gov. Roy Cooper and his allies are pushing Medicaid expansion as the solution....
Each week, staff at Carolina Journal looks back at the week in N.C. politics and chooses several interesting, relevant stories you may have missed. Biden appointee: The Biden administration is tapping North Carolina’s top environmental official to lead the Environmental Protection Agency, according to multiple reports. Michael Regan, secretary of the N.C. Department of Environmental...
It took five weeks to settle the final race, but when the N.C. Supreme Court’s session opens in a few weeks, there will be a new chief in Raleigh. Republican Associate Justice Paul Newby defeated incumbent Democratic Chief Justice Cheri Beasley by roughly 400 votes. Nearly 5.4 million ballots were cast. Beasley, who was elevated...
The N.C. attorney general can’t keep and distribute money from a settlement over hog waste that leaked and overflowed from lagoons. A split 2-1 panel of the N.C. Court of Appeals, in an opinion issued Tuesday, Dec. 15, ruled money resulting from a settlement between Smithfield Foods and the N.C. attorney general must flow into...
