U.S. Sen. Richard Burr, a distant relative of 19th century Vice President Aaron Burr, trounced Democrat Elaine Marshall in 2010 with the largest percentage of the vote in North Carolina’s U.S. Senate races since the Watergate era. This year Burr faces what he has called “the race of my life” against former state representative Deborah...
A lawsuit filed by the president of a conservative policy organization says the North Carolina Constitution requires payments from a 2000 agreement between pork producer Smithfield Foods Inc. and the North Carolina Department of Justice go to public schools instead of being used by the attorney general to award discretionary grants. Civitas Institute President Francis...
Editor’s note: This story was corrected after initial publication to clarify several statements Dr. Frank Moretz made to Carolina Journal. RALEIGH — Democratic incumbent Rep. John Ager and Republican challenger Dr. Frank Moretz have deep roots in Western North Carolina, and hold similar views on some matters. But as they battle in a tight race for...
Days without power have reminded us just how much we really on this basic human need.
Changing technology could point the way toward an important role for nuclear power in the future for North Carolina and the United States. The head of UNC’s Center for Sustainable Energy, Environment, and Economic Development offered that assessment during a presentation Monday to the John Locke Foundation’s Shaftesbury Society. David McNelis included his remarks about...
Democratic challenger Linda Coleman repeatedly attempted Tuesday night to paint a dismal picture of public education in North Carolina, but Republican Lt. Gov. Dan Forest countered with a list of Republican spending increases and expanded school choice options that he said put the state on the right track. The candidates squared off in an hour-long...
Motor vehicle “biofuels” like ethanol made from corn and soybeans may cause more carbon emissions than gasoline, based on a new study from John DeCicco, a professor and researcher at the University of Michigan Energy Institute, challenging claims by environmentalists that vehicles using biofuels are better for the environment than cars and trucks running on...
This is the third part of a three-part series looking ahead to N.C. legislative priorities for 2017. Follow the links to read part 1 and part 2. Often the best thing government can do is get out of the way. We’ve seen the results of that type of approach over the last six years with...
North Carolina ranks No. 19 overall and is rising among all states when combining economic and personal freedoms, according to a major national report released today that used more than 230 variables to set the rankings. “It definitely sticks out as one of the biggest improvers since 2011,” said Jason Sorens, a lecturer in the Department...
A letter dated July 22, sent by nine Democratic U.S. senators to John Locke Foundation President and CEO Kory Swanson and the heads of 21 other free-market public-policy organizations, restated accusations that the groups are part of a “web of denial” about the role of human activity in climate change and reiterated a demand for the organizations...
The federal government issued tax credits in North Carolina approaching a half-billion dollars for renewable energy investment in the five most recent years for which records are available, and high-income earners have benefited the most from the tax favors. But the names of beneficiaries of that $466,928,000 in carve-outs from 2009 to 2013, the...
