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House Speaker Thom Tillis and Gov. Pat McCrory had a big media event yesterday. They were touting the idea of separating education from the rest of the budget and passing the education part FIRST.
Published: Sunday, June 29th, 2014 @ 3:16 pm
By: Brant Clifton
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A move is afoot on Jones Street to consolidate state law enforcement in the executive branch.
Published: Sunday, June 15th, 2014 @ 2:44 am
By: Brant Clifton
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Will the real North Carolina conservatives please stand up? Game show aficionados will remember "To Tell the Truth," which aired in one form or another on CBS, NBC, and in syndication for decades. Hosted by the likes of Bud Collyer (the original voice of Superman on radio and motion pictures)...
Published: Saturday, June 14th, 2014 @ 3:56 pm
By: John Locke Foundation
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After November 2012, when Pat McCrory was elected North Carolina's first Republican governor since 1992 and voters reelected a GOP majority in both legislative chambers for the first time since the 1860s, displaced Democrats, liberal editorialists, and left-wing activists began pursuing a...
Published: Friday, June 6th, 2014 @ 12:33 pm
By: John Locke Foundation
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If you like your teacher tenure plan, you can keep your teacher tenure plan, Senate leader Phil Berger, R-Rockingham, told educators at a Wednesday press conference. Just don't expect a pay raise.
Published: Thursday, May 29th, 2014 @ 6:40 pm
By: John Locke Foundation
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Now that fact checkers for The Washington Post, WRAL-TV, and FactCheck.org have all taken the Senate Majority PAC to task for its false attack ad against Republican Senate candidate Thom Tillis, I've decided to intervene in the organization's defense.
Published: Tuesday, May 20th, 2014 @ 4:08 pm
By: John Locke Foundation
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The leader of the state Senate promised fast action to appeal a Wake County Superior Court judge's decision halting the General Assembly's plans to end teacher tenure. Meantime, the head of the state's largest teacher association, which brought the lawsuit challenging the end of career status, was d
Published: Tuesday, May 20th, 2014 @ 2:46 pm
By: John Locke Foundation
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The so-called legislative short session kicks off on Jones Street Wednesday. The N&O has already started smooching Phil Berger's posterior.
Published: Monday, May 19th, 2014 @ 7:09 pm
By: Brant Clifton
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As the ink begins to dry on vote totals from Tuesday's North Carolina primary, political observers in the Tar Heel state are preparing for what should be one of the most-watched races in the country: the U.S. Senate contest between incumbent Democratic Sen. Kay Hagan, Republican state House...
Published: Tuesday, May 13th, 2014 @ 1:18 pm
By: John Locke Foundation
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Nine Republicans are seeking to succeed 6th District U.S. Rep. Howard Coble, who's retiring after 15 terms in Washington. The winner of the May 6 GOP primary - and a possible July 15 runoff if no candidate gets at least 40 percent of the vote - will face the winner of the Democratic...
Published: Monday, May 5th, 2014 @ 5:43 am
By: John Locke Foundation
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Liberal activists may fume, and left-wing editorialists may grind their teeth, but legislative leaders are going to defend energetically their 2013 opportunity scholarship bill against lawsuits by the teacher union and other special interests.
Published: Saturday, April 19th, 2014 @ 12:17 pm
By: John Locke Foundation
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In early May, the North Carolina General Assembly will reconvene in Raleigh for its so-called "short session." Beyond approving adjustments to the second year of the state's two-year budget, lawmakers could consider a number of other key issues. Becki Gray, John Locke Foundation vice president...
Published: Sunday, March 23rd, 2014 @ 2:00 pm
By: John Locke Foundation
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Teachers finding their schedules packed with testing would get relief from education reforms promised by Gov. Pat McCrory and top Republican lawmakers, who say students would benefit from a streamlined list of required state and local exams.
Published: Tuesday, March 18th, 2014 @ 4:07 pm
By: John Locke Foundation
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House Speaker Thom Tillis (R-Mecklenburg) and Senate Leader Phil Berger (R-Rockingham) issued the following joint statement Monday in response to North Carolina's unemployment rate dropping to its lowest level since August 2008.
Published: Tuesday, March 18th, 2014 @ 1:02 pm
By: Stan Deatherage
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I'm talking about the political struggle over North Carolina's 3rd-grade reading standard, not the violent struggle between Paul Newman and the prison warden in "Cool Hand Luke." Nevertheless, the consequences could be severe if North Carolina's dispute isn't resolved. Any resolution, in turn...
Published: Sunday, March 16th, 2014 @ 11:48 am
By: John Locke Foundation
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The Rev. William Barber, president of the NC NAACP and initiator of the Moral Monday protests, continued his attack Tuesday on what he called "a monster voter suppression bill" and likened efforts to award Opportunity Scholarships to children from low-income families to segregationist actions of...
Published: Friday, February 28th, 2014 @ 12:24 am
By: John Locke Foundation
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Early career teachers will get pay raises starting in the fiscal year beginning July 1, and teachers with up to seven years of service will collect double-digit percentage increases, Gov. Pat McCrory announced Monday. The package is expected to cost less than $200 million and will not require a...
Published: Sunday, February 16th, 2014 @ 5:36 pm
By: John Locke Foundation
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This week Gov. McCrory, Lt. Gov. Forest, House Speaker Tillis, and I announced our plan to make North Carolina's starting teacher salaries among the highest in the Southeast.
Published: Sunday, February 16th, 2014 @ 1:44 pm
By: Stan Deatherage
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Governor Pat McCrory, Lieutenant Governor Dan Forest, Senate Leader Phil Berger and House Speaker Thom Tillis announced on Monday a unified strategy to make North Carolina's starting teacher salaries among the highest in the Southeast.
Published: Sunday, February 16th, 2014 @ 1:11 am
By: Stan Deatherage
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In laying out its legal case against the state over elimination of teacher tenure, the North Carolina Association of Educators cites some of the same constitutional constructs of contract law that state employees used two decades ago to overturn the General Assembly's repeal of income tax exemptions
Published: Saturday, February 15th, 2014 @ 12:03 pm
By: John Locke Foundation
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Sen. Bill Cook (R-District 1) announced today his support for a plan unveiled by Gov. Pat McCrory, Lt. Gov. Dan Forest, Senate Leader Phil Berger and House Speaker Thom Tillis to make North Carolina’s starting teacher salaries among the highest in the Southeast.
Published: Saturday, February 15th, 2014 @ 11:47 am
By: Bill Cook
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When Republicans took control of the legislature in January 2011, North Carolina's economy was struggling, the unemployment rate was 10.4%, citizens and businesses were burdened with a 1930s Depression-era tax code, and the state owed the federal government $2.5 billion.
Published: Sunday, February 9th, 2014 @ 10:51 am
By: Stan Deatherage
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Gov. Pat McCrory on Tuesday outlined the goals for his second year in office, which include increasing teacher pay, fast-tracking fracking, and calling on the General Assembly to embrace his wife's top project - enacting puppy mill legislation.
Published: Thursday, January 23rd, 2014 @ 4:41 pm
By: John Locke Foundation
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Sen. Thom Goolsby (R-New Hanover), co-chairman of the Senate Judiciary I Committee and the Appropriations Subcommittee on Justice and Public Safety, announced Friday he will retire from the General Assembly at the end of his term.
Published: Thursday, January 23rd, 2014 @ 2:44 am
By: Stan Deatherage
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The South Carolina-based Catawba Nation would not be the first Indian tribe to operate a casino in a state where it has no reservation if it is able to open an entertainment resort in Cleveland County.
Published: Tuesday, January 14th, 2014 @ 4:37 am
By: John Locke Foundation
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“It’s about time Kay Hagan finally admitted she could have helped North Carolina’s long-term unemployed, but the fact is she’s a year late and $600 million worth of benefits short.
Published: Tuesday, January 7th, 2014 @ 2:46 am
By: Stan Deatherage
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The Catawba Indian Nation's plan to build a $340 million casino/resort in Cleveland County would end the Eastern Band of Cherokees' gaming monopoly in North Carolina. First, the proposal must receive unprecedented federal approval in a case complicated by murky laws, allegations that campaign contri
Published: Thursday, January 2nd, 2014 @ 3:05 pm
By: John Locke Foundation
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North Carolina’s unemployment rate dropped sharply last month to 7.4 percent – the lowest rate in over five years.
Published: Sunday, December 22nd, 2013 @ 3:42 pm
By: Stan Deatherage
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Senate President Pro Tempore Phil Berger (R-Rockingham) and House Speaker Thom Tillis (R-Mecklenburg) issued the following joint statement today in response to yet another frivolous lawsuit filed by the North Carolina affiliate of the national teachers’ union.
Published: Tuesday, December 17th, 2013 @ 1:00 pm
By: Stan Deatherage
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The 2013 North Carolina state legislative session was a memorable one. The passage of historic and long-overdue reforms to state taxes, election laws and education made headlines throughout the year.
Published: Thursday, December 12th, 2013 @ 3:51 am
By: Civitas Insitute
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Senate President Pro Tempore Phil Berger and House Speaker Thom Tillis issued the following joint statement today in response to a lawsuit filed by the North Carolina affiliate of the national teachers’ union and a liberal special interest group.
Published: Thursday, December 12th, 2013 @ 12:29 am
By: Stan Deatherage
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The current annual median wage of Dare County residents – those who are suffering without a Bonner Bridge to get to and from their homes, jobs and doctors – is $27,395 per year.
Published: Tuesday, December 10th, 2013 @ 4:17 pm
By: Stan Deatherage
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Senate President Pro Tempore Phil Berger and Speaker Thom Tillis applauded Gov. Pat McCrory and Transportation Secretary Tony Tata for their leadership and joined their call for the Southern Environmental Law Center to stop obstructing construction of the economically vital new Bonner Bridge.
Published: Friday, December 6th, 2013 @ 7:24 pm
By: Stan Deatherage
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The N.C. Supreme Court has thrown out a lawsuit challenging changes the General Assembly made to the state's pre-kindergarten program in 2011, ruling that subsequent changes made that lawsuit "moot."
Published: Monday, November 11th, 2013 @ 3:55 pm
By: John Locke Foundation
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