People wanting to learn the fate of Silent Sam will have to wait a bit longer. The University of North Carolina Board of Governors has approved an extension of the deadline for board members to devise a plan for the confederate monument. Originally, a UNC BOG task force on Silent Sam had until March 15...
State taxpayers would save hundreds of millions of dollars in health insurance costs, thanks to a unanimous ruling Tuesday from the N.C. Court of Appeals. The decision said government retirees don’t have a contractual right to get health insurance coverage from the state, premium-free, for life. The court said enrollment in the State Health Plan...
Western Governors University has partnered with the USO of North Carolina to offer eight $2,500 scholarships to members of the state’s military community. WGU is a fast-growing online college providing degrees for nontraditional and adult students. A nonprofit with affiliates in nine states, the college accepts no state money, and offers students “all you can...
State Treasurer Dale Folwell says the state pension plan hemorrhaged $4.1 billion in 2018. Officially known as the N.C. Retirement Systems, the plan reported losses of 1.47 percent for the just-completed calendar year, underperforming its actuarial assumed rate of return of 7 percent. The pension plan paid out more than $6 billion in benefits for...
Student IDs across the University of North Carolina System aren’t fully eligible for use under the state’s new voter ID law, but the university is working to make sure qualifying students and employees can vote, a top UNC official says. Under the state’s voter ID constitutional amendment — which has an uncertain future after a...
Gov. Roy Cooper’s second State of the State address included plenty of proposals liberals and Democrats cheered. But Republicans and conservatives, who dominate the General Assembly that would put these policies into effect, aren’t likely to embrace many of them. The governor’s speech focused on rural economic development, along with higher spending for traditional public...
Many congressional Democrats, including potential 2020 presidential contenders, have endorsed the idea of providing “Medicare for All.” Roy Cordato, John Locke Foundation senior economist, examines the proposal. He explains why an expansion of the existing federal health insurance program for older Americans would not lead to the results “Medicare for All” proponents are proposing. The...
March is madness for high school seniors. Each year, seniors mark March as the final month in the agonizing wait for college decisions. Early application timelines mean the admission process is blessedly over for some. But many still wait, even as stakes soar and odds seem to dwindle. UNC-Chapel Hill, for example, received nearly 45,000 first-year...
The newly minted N.C. State Board of Elections meets next week to discuss an investigation into absentee ballot irregularities in the still unsettled 9th District congressional election. Rick Henderson, Carolina Journal editor-in-chief, analyzes the latest developments in the electoral battle between Republican Mark Harris and Democrat Dan McCready. One of the hottest topics in the...
Former University of North Carolina System Board of Governors member Bill Webb, who resigned in January, vacated his seat for financial reasons, according to his resignation letter. The document, tendered to UNC Board Chairman Harry Smith on Jan. 31, says, “I believe it is past time to maximize my earning potential in order to better...
Enrollment at Western Carolina University is at a record high now that a low-tuition plan for select University of North Carolina schools is in effect. WCU’s enrollment has spiked to 11,028. That’s almost 800 students more than were enrolled this time last year. Republican lawmakers link the growth to N.C. Promise, a $500 per semester...
