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© NC Newsline
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Conversations with prominent state and national newsmakers – politicians, advocates, analysts, academics and activists – about the news, events and public policy debates that shape life in North Carolina.
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State lawmakers returned to Raleigh in late September for a brief stay, and in the aftermath of a horrific killing that had occurred just weeks before on a Charlotte commuter train, legislative leaders made criminal justice and their stated intention of “getting tough on crime” the central focus. Among the law changes sent to […]
The North Carolina General Assembly was back in Raleigh in late September to enact legislation that leaders say will quote “get tough on crime” by limiting access to bail and pre-trial release for more criminal defendants and jump-starting the state’s long un-used death penalty. Shortly after lawmakers departed the capital, Newsline caught up with […]
North Carolina is now into the second year of Hurricane Helene recovery and as we discussed in a special edition of News & Views last week, while there have been many encouraging and inspiring aspects to this story, the hard truth is that we have a very long way to go. And as Newsline […]
This past week marked the one-year anniversary of Helene – a deadly hurricane-turned tropical-storm that wreaked unprecedented havoc in western North Carolina. Helene caused widespread and massive flooding that killed scores of people and caused more than $60 billion dollars in damage to North Carolina’s mountain west. In the year since, clean-up and recovery […]
As with virtually all natural disasters, public funds and programs are at the heart of the ongoing recovery effort from Hurricane Helene. That said, federal relief from the Trump administration has been maddeningly minimal and slow, and that hard reality has helped force local private actors to display unusual resiliency and creativity in helping […]
If western North Carolina is going to fully rebuild and recapture the economic vitality it enjoyed prior to Helene, small businesses will be at the heart of the effort. And make no mistake, the challenges are enormous. Surveys show that 96% of small businesses in the region were impacted by the storm, and while […]
Over the last couple of decades, few if any American economists have played a more prominent role in the national debate over the economy or in actually crafting economic policy than Jared Bernstein. Bernstein served as chair of the national Council of Economic Advisers under President Biden and is currently a senior fellow at […]
It’s almost impossible to turn on one’s computer, phone or TV these days without hearing about or, indeed, experiencing the impact of AI – artificial intelligence. The rapid rise of this remarkable technology is reshaping our world in many important ways – some that provide grounds for great hope and others that give rise to […]
North Carolina state government continues to operate without a budget for the fiscal year that commenced July 1. Thanks largely to a disagreement between Republican leaders of the House and Senate over whether the state should plow ahead with a series of scheduled tax cuts – even as fiscal analysts warn of big impending […]
It’s an interesting fact that while North Carolina’s population continues to steadily increase, enrollment in public schools is trending in the opposite direction. Part of the explanation for this is to be found in demographic shifts, but as Newsline learned in a recent conversation with veteran education policy analyst Kris Nordstrom of the North […]
The 2026 midterm elections are still a long way off, but that isn’t keeping debates over voting rights and election laws off the front page. Indeed, both here in North Carolina and around the country, Republican politicians and their appointees are continuing to aggressively pursue policy changes that will – according to an array of […]
Ever since the world was overtaken by the COVID-19 pandemic, public health policy and vaccine policy have been front and center in the national political debate. And tragically, despite a longstanding and overwhelming consensus among public health experts across the globe about the efficacy of vaccines and their vital importance in protecting human health […]
In our fast-changing world, few technological developments of recent years have had a bigger impact on young people than the emergence of instant communication and social media. And while it’s not difficult to identify the positive impacts of these phenomena, the worrisome impacts are also numerous. And this is a trend that seems certain […]
One of the most controversial bills to win approval by the North Carolina legislature during the 2025 session was a bill (SB 50) to allow any person 18 or older to carry a loaded concealed weapon without any kind of permit or background check. Gov. Josh Stein vetoed the measure, but the question of […]
Another Labor Day is upon us and in anticipation of that, Oxfam, the global nonprofit that works to fight inequality and end poverty and injustice, has released the seventh edition of its Best States to Work Index. The index tracks 27 policies across three dimensions—wages, worker protections, and rights to organize—that support low-wage workers […]
After several months of uncertainty and waiting, the State Health Plan board finally made some decisions recently about how it will deal with the half-billion-dollar shortfall it’s been running. And topping the list, as had been expected, will be some new and not insignificant premium hikes for state employees. The increases – especially when […]
The recent action of the State Health Plan Board to raise employee premiums at a time in which teacher and state employee salaries remain stagnant is causing great concern in many circles – especially among the employees who will see their take-home pay decline even further. Indeed, as became clear in a recent conversation […]
Duke Energy. Most households in North Carolina pay their electric bill each month to the Charlotte-based energy giant. What many may not realize, however, is that there are two Duke Energies — Duke Energy Carolinas in the west and Duke Energy Progress in the east. And now, thirteen years after they first got together, […]
It’s been six weeks now since President Donald Trump signed the so-called one big, beautiful bill act into law and as you’ve no doubt heard, the new law will soon bring massive funding cuts and policy changes to core safety net programs like Medicaid and SNAP food benefits. Meanwhile, here in North Carolina, state […]
Gerrymandering. Most Americans have come to be familiar with this phenomenon in which politicians rig electoral maps and elections for partisan purposes, but unless you’re a serious political observer, you may not be up to speed on just how far out of control this destructive practice has gotten of late or, indeed, how unless […]
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