Colin Campbell | Stories

N.C. History: Noteworthy first ladies

Several of North Carolina’s first ladies in the 20th century left legacies that were separate from their husband’s work as governor. I’ve been reading NCPedia’s biographies of them, and several stuck out to me for their work that expanded the influence of what’s sometimes a ceremonial role:

Legislative credentials not a slam dunk in local races

Several current and former legislators ran for less-prominent elected offices this year and lost.

Atrium merger draws criticism from Stein, Folwell

Atrium Health announced Friday that it's closed a merger deal with Illinois-based Advocate Aurora Health, forming a new health care organization called Advocate Health that will serve six million patients across six states.

Poll Watch: Cooper leads favorability ratings

High Point University’s Survey Research Center released a new poll Wednesday, and as has been the case for months, Gov. Roy Cooper has far better approval ratings than his Democratic colleague, President Joe Biden.

Candidate Watch: Secretary of State

Gaston County Commission Chairman Chad Brown, a Republican, has filed paperwork to run for secretary of state in 2024.

New county tier designations show changes

The N.C. Department of Commerce on Wednesday released its new “tier” ratings used to assess each county’s level of “economic distress” for economic development programs.

NC has its own December runoff election

While all eyes will be on Georgia next week for the Senate runoff there, North Carolina will have a runoff election too – for an extremely small group of voters.

Get to know Sen.-elect Benton Sawrey

Johnston County is one of the fastest-growing counties in the state, but Senate district lines have carved it into multiple districts represented by people from neighboring counties.

Groups launch new traffic safety effort

Several insurance and transportation-related organizations have teamed up to create a new nonprofit that has launched its first traffic safety campaign.

Stein says he can't intervene in Atrium merger

Attorney General Josh Stein said late Thursday that he has no legal authority to block the proposed merger of Charlotte-based Atrium Health with Advocate Aurora of Illinois, but he still has concerns about the impact of the merger on health care in North Carolina.

Gov. Roy Cooper celebrates Christmas trees

Gov. Roy Cooper has become something of a hype man for North Carolina-grown Christmas trees and holiday agricultural exports in recent weeks.

Cheap tuition program now serving 20,000 students

State legislators got an update Tuesday on the program that provides $500-per-semester tuition at four UNC System campuses.

Mail-in ballot signature matching still contentious

There was one partisan disagreement that bubbled up during Tueday’s Board of Elections meeting – and it’s one that might result in legislative action next year.

Election canvass finalizes results with no snafus

For all the fears of a chaotic, contentious election process, North Carolina’s midterm proved to be about as smooth and mundane as possible.

Poll Watch: 2024 hypothetical primaries for governor

We’re only a few weeks out from the 2022 election, but there’s already a poll evaluating possible candidates for the 2024 governor’s race.

New report looks at unaffiliated voters

Several of North Carolina’s best-known political scientists released a new report Monday digging into the available data on the state’s unaffiliated voters.

2023 Senate leadership posts announced

Sen. Paul Newton, R-Cabarrus, is getting a promotion next year as his Republican colleagues elected him to serve as Senate majority leader.

Sales tax hikes voted down in five NC counties

Five counties across North Carolina had the worst political timing this year: They asked voters to raise local sales tax rates amid sky-high inflation.

Cooper announces picks for new UNC commission

Gov. Roy Cooper on Wednesday announced his appointments for his new Governor's Commission on the Governance of Public Universities in North Carolina – and it’s a bipartisan group.

More wrangling in solar tax credit legal dispute

A long-running legal dispute over who qualified for solar tax credits seemed to be nearing its conclusion last year when the N.C. Department of Revenue reversed its position in a lawsuit with Integon National Insurance, a subsidiary of Allstate that used the tax credits.

Legislative committee rooms get facelift

Several of the Legislative Building’s most heavily used committee rooms are getting a long-overdue face lift ahead of the 2023 long session.

Get to know N.C. Rep. John Autry

Rep. John Autry, D-Mecklenburg, is in his third term representing a section of Charlotte east of the city center. He’s known for sponsoring legislation on clean energy and other environmental issues as well as affordable housing.

Stein wants lenders to help Pink Energy customers

Attorney General Josh Stein reached out Tuesday to five companies involved in financing home solar systems provided by the now-bankrupt Pink Energy. He urged them to suspend loan payments and interest for customers who never got a working solar power system from Pink Energy.

Groups criticize NC pension fund's ties to corporate landlord

Progress Residential is among the national companies in the headlines for buying up single-family homes to convert to rental properties, driving up home prices and making it harder for first-time homebuyers to buy property.

Starring role for NC's McHenry in crypto hearings

U.S. Rep. Patrick McHenry, a Republican from Lincoln County, could become one of the most influential members of Congress on cryptocurrency issues heading into next year.

Three counties that flipped blue to red in 2022 election

While the outcome of the U.S. Senate race this year wasn’t all that different from 2020, three counties flipped from blue to red. Back then, Democrat Cal Cunningham won the most votes in Wilson, Nash and Anson counties – where Republican Ted Budd came out on top this year.

New election equipment rules could be rejected

The Rules Review Commission will meet today to review regulations proposed by the State Board of Elections that would add restrictions on access to proprietary information about voting systems.

Revenue challenges at N.C. Industrial Commission

Speaking of budget shortfalls, the head of the N.C. Industrial Commission told lawmakers this week that it’s struggling to cover employee salaries from fee revenue alone.

Get to know Rep.-elect Ken Fontenot

For Wilson County’s new legislator, the second time was the charm.

OAH expands to open Onslow County location

The Office of Administrative Hearings has added a new satellite office in Onslow County to better handle cases in Eastern North Carolina. The expansion was funded by the state budget.

Moore says four Democrats might vote with GOP

Needing just one vote to override Gov. Roy Cooper’s vetoes next year, House Speaker Tim Moore voiced optimism last week that he’ll have enough support from the minority party when he needs it.

Pikeville could come off Folwell's naughty list

In recent years, the N.C. Local Government Commission has acted frequently to take financial control of struggling small towns and local governments. Now it’s handing the car keys back to one town that will once again drive its own finances.

Sine die ceremony could be coming in December

As the legislature opened yet another brief no-vote session Tuesday, House Speaker Tim Moore wants to see lawmakers show up to the final such session in December.

House panel looks to change school calendars

One of the most active interim legislative committees this year has been the House Select Committee on An Education System for North Carolina's Future. It’s held hearings all over the state and heard presentations on a broad range of education issues.

Berger floats possibility of an abortion compromise next year

Abortion will clearly be one of the most contentious – and hardest to predict – issue that the legislature will tackle next year.

Stein involved in massive Google privacy settlement

North Carolina will get a $17.6 million share from a $391.5 million multi-state settlement with Google over its locating tracking practices.

New report critical of Certificate of Need law

As negotiations over Certificate of Need regulations continue to tie up Medicaid expansion, the conservative Americans For Prosperity Foundation issued a report Monday criticizing the CON process for expanding health care infrastructure.

Democrats' setbacks contributed to losses in two key districts

As election results nationally are increasingly a much better picture for Democrats that most everyone expected, North Carolina’s “Red Wave” results in legislative races seem like a mysterious outlier.

No concession yet in key House race

Another N.C. House candidate where the vote tallies are close said Thursday that he’s not yet ready to concede defeat.

DPS says it's facing major staffing shortages

Secretary of Public Safety Eddie Buffaloe sounded the alarm Thursday on major staffing vacancies facing the state’s juvenile detention facilities and law enforcement agencies.

Tillis talks inflation solutions, 2024 plans

I had a chance to chat more with Tillis after Thursday’s event. He told me last week’s election results were about what he’d expected, and while Washington will likely soon be facing a divided government again, “I’m still optimistic that we’ll get stuff done.”

Tillis negotiating with Democrats on immigration bill

U.S. Sen. Thom Tillis says he’s working on bipartisan immigration legislation that could help address the labor shortage by raising caps on guest worker programs.

A look at the demographics of the 2023 legislature

This year’s election didn’t change the demographics of the legislature much, although Democrats did add to the number of women in their caucuses in both chambers.

Five takeaways from Tuesday's election results

Now that I’ve had some sleep and lots more caffeine after the election results came in, here’s some thoughts on the lessons we can learn from this year:

GOP confident it can get a Democrat on vetoes

Will House Republicans be able to override vetoes from Gov. Roy Cooper next year even though they fell short of a supermajority? It depends who you talk to.

Legislative leaders discuss possible action on tax cuts, redistricting, abortion

Senate leader Phil Berger and House Speaker Tim Moore told reporters on Wednesday that they don’t expect to hold any votes during the brief scheduled legislative sessions later this month and in December. Moore, who’d previously floated the idea of a December session for action on redistricting and/or Medicaid expansion, said “I don’t want to interfere with Christmas.”