The path to the polls
The two-year journey from the primaries to the polls is almost over – but not until you cast your vote! Follow along with this handy guide to make sure you have what it takes to make your voice heard.
N.C. leaders remain – indignantly – on wrong side of HB2
When it comes to HB2, our state’s Republican leadership will eventually prove to be on the wrong side of history. Just give it some time.
Until then, however, the fallout from the so-called “bathroom bill” continues to reverberate around the nation and the state as hundreds of millions of dollars — perhaps billions — are sucked from the North Carolina economy. Our citizens and our communities are being forced to pay a steep price for this legislative intransigence at the same time we are beginning to work our way out of this stubborn recession.
Meadows introduces bill to save floating houses
U.S. Rep. Mark Meadows, R-Cashiers, introduced a bill last week to halt the Tennessee Valley Authority’s plan to ban floating homes on all of its 49 lakes.
Charter schools a mixed bag, statewide and locally
Charter schools have long been touted by proponents as an innovative and enticing option for parents of children in low-performing schools, but according to numbers recently released by the North Carolina State Board of Education, charters had both a higher percentage of failing schools and a higher percentage of excellent schools.
Haywood schools improve in state rankings
School performance indicators issued last week paint a picture of a very good Haywood County School System that continues to improve but is still haunted by a few troubling issues.
Supreme Court denies McCrory’s request to reinstate voter ID
A request by Gov. Pat McCrory to reinstate North Carolina’s 2013 voter identification requirement and shortened early voting period was denied by the U.S. Supreme Court last week.
Presnell, Schandevel war chests offer insights
It was the best of times, it was the worst of times — the second quarter, that is.
Voter ID law struck down in N.C.
Ruling that North Carolina’s 2013 voter identification law purposely targets African-Americans with “almost surgical precision,” the U. S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit struck down the measure last Friday, stating that there was evidence that “because of race, the legislature enacted one of the largest restrictions of the franchise in modern North Carolina history.”
Tale of the tape
If you find yourself charged with a crime and can’t afford an attorney, one will be provided to you; if you can’t afford your utility bills, support programs exist; if you can’t work, unemployment assistance is available.
Battling the twin evils of gerrymandering and money
By Martin Dyckman • Guest Columnist
Most of Europe’s aristocracy didn’t think the infant United States would last a decade, and there were Americans who doubted it also. Yet here we are, 240 years after bidding an unaffectionate farewell to George III and his progeny.
Those years have fulfilled the prophecy of a foreign observer, the Baron Hyde de Neuville, who wrote after the First Congress had adjourned in 1791: