Carolina Journal

News

Sparks fly as NC Senate committee OKs bill to fund waitlist for Opportunity Scholarships

The North Carolina Senate Appropriations Committee moved forward with a bill Wednesday that would fund scholarships for the estimated 54,800 applicants on the waitlist for Opportunity Scholarships. The proposed committee substitute for House Bill 823 includes $248 million in nonrecurring funding for the upcoming school year, plus $215.5 million in recurring support for scholarships for the 2025-2026...

David N. Bass
Opinion

UNC System should pivot from identitarian DEI to socioeconomics

The decision to remove Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) statements from the hiring and admissions process at universities within the University of North Carolina (UNC) System was a step in the right direction towards cultivating a campus life that embraces viewpoint diversity, tolerance, and free speech. Proponents of this move argue that, before legislators and...

Joshua Peters
Video

Carolina Journal’s Jeff Moore analyzes anti-Israel protests at UNC

Jeff Moore, Carolina Journal deputy editor, discusses recent developments during anti-Israel protests at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Moore offered these comments during a May 1, 2024, interview with the One America News Network.

Jeff Moore
News

Appeals Court tackles Chapel Hill inclusionary zoning challenge

North Carolina’s second-highest court will decide in the months ahead whether a developer can continue to seek a refund of more than $800,000 in fees paid to Chapel Hill in connection with the town’s inclusionary zoning rules. The developer challenges the fee as unconstitutional. A three-judge NC Court of Appeals panel heard more than an hour of oral arguments on the issue Wednesday.

CJ Staff
News

Federal judge strikes down part of NC law restricting abortion pill

A federal judge has thrown out part of North Carolina’s state law restricting access to an abortion pill called mifepristone. The judge ruled that state lawmakers cannot overrule the federal Food and Drug Administration’s previous decisions about the pill. Yet US District Judge Catherine Eagles’ 49-page order Tuesday also upheld portions of the law that the FDA has not addressed.

CJ Staff
News

Legislative leaders seek to pause third lawsuit challenging 2023 election change

Top Republican state lawmakers have asked a federal judge to pause a third lawsuit challenging 2023 changes to North Carolina’s state election law. The judge already has placed two related lawsuits on hold this month. Unlike the other two cases, plaintiffs from the left-of-center activist group Democracy North Carolina have not agreed to stay the proceedings in their case.

CJ Staff
News

UNC protesters remove American flag and fly Palestinian flag; chancellor personally puts it back up

Tuesday on the campus of UNC-Chapel Hill, protesters broke through police barricades to lower the American flag in the main quad and fly the flag of Palestine instead. Interim Chancellor Lee Roberts then walked to the quad surrounded by law enforcement officers to put the American flag back up. Counter-protesters surrounded the flagpole and chanted "USA," thanking Roberts for his intervention.

CJ Staff
News

NC Senate advances immigration bill that mandates cooperation with ICE

A bill that would mandate all North Carolina sheriffs cooperate with Immigration and Customs Enforcement was approved by the Senate Committee on Judiciary on Tuesday, positioning the proposal one step closer to becoming law.  House Bill 10 passed in the House chamber last year at the lead of primary sponsor Rep. Destin Hall, R-Caldwell. During...

Brianna Kraemer

Featured

Video

Locke’s Mitch Kokai analyzes court ruling against Cooper’s shutdown of NC bars

Mitch Kokai, John Locke Foundation senior political analyst, discusses the N.C. Court of Appeals’ decision against Gov. Roy Cooper’s decision to keep private bars closed during the COVID-19 pandemic. Kokai offered these comments during the April 19, 2024, edition of PBS North Carolina’s “State Lines.”

Mitch Kokai
News

NCSU Board of Trustees passes resolution in support of free speech, institutional neutrality

The North Carolina State University (NCSU) Board of Trustees University adopted a resolution Friday reaffirming the University’s commitment to freedom of speech, freedom of expression, and institutional neutrality. The resolution comes as college campuses around the country, several in North Carolina, experience disruptive protests related to the Israel/Gaza conflict. Chairman of the board, Ed Weisiger...

CJ Staff
Opinion

The necessity and dangers of anonymous speech

Wild, disruptive protests in support of the Palestinian cause are in progress at campuses across the country. At many of them, there are threats and antisemitic language. But it can be difficult to trace much of what is said back to particular people because of attempts by protesters to remain anonymous by covering their faces....

David Larson

Poll

Poll Results

Races for President, Governor Are Tightening in North Carolina

Opinion

01

Watch This

Video

Carolina Journal’s Brianna Kraemer discusses NC student suspended for saying ‘illegal alien’

Brianna Kraemer, Carolina Journal public policy reporter, discusses the suspension of a 16-year-old Davidson County high school student for using the words “illegal alien” in class. Kraemer offered these comments during an April 19, 2024, interview on One America News Network.

Brianna Kraemer
Video

Locke’s Mitch Kokai analyzes court ruling against Cooper’s shutdown of NC bars

Mitch Kokai, John Locke Foundation senior political analyst, discusses the N.C. Court of Appeals’ decision against Gov. Roy Cooper’s decision to keep private bars closed during the COVID-19 pandemic. Kokai offered these comments during the April 19, 2024, edition of PBS North Carolina’s “State Lines.”

Mitch Kokai
Video

Carolina Journal’s Jeff Moore analyzes anti-Israel protests at UNC

Jeff Moore, Carolina Journal deputy editor, discusses recent developments during anti-Israel protests at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Moore offered these comments during a May 1, 2024, interview with the One America News Network.

Jeff Moore
02

Polls

NC Voters Favor Trump, Robinson in General Election

RALEIGH – Once again, voters will find themselves choosing between President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump to take the White House in November. While the winners of this month’s primaries include many familiar faces, they also included some surprising upsets by political newcomers. This month’s Carolina Journal poll went in the field promptly...

Support for School Choice a ‘Call to Action’ in North Carolina

Raleigh – North Carolinians overwhelmingly support school choice, according to the latest Carolina Journal Poll. The survey of 600 likely North Carolina voters found majority support for Education Savings Accounts (ESAs), charter schools, private-school vouchers, and ‘backpack funding.’ A plurality of voters (48%) said they were unhappy with the quality of education students receive at...

Races for President, Governor Are Tightening in North Carolina

RALEIGH – Ballot-wide, Republican candidates in North Carolina are seeing a squeeze this month, as the party’s leads are narrowing across the board. A plurality of likely North Carolina voters (43.4%) said they intend to vote for Former President Donald Trump, and 39% said they intend to vote for sitting President Joe Biden – a...

03

State Government

News

Appeals Court tackles Chapel Hill inclusionary zoning challenge

North Carolina’s second-highest court will decide in the months ahead whether a developer can continue to seek a refund of more than $800,000 in fees paid to Chapel Hill in connection with the town’s inclusionary zoning rules. The developer challenges the fee as unconstitutional. A three-judge NC Court of Appeals panel heard more than an hour of oral arguments on the issue Wednesday.

CJ Staff
Video

Carolina Journal’s Jeff Moore analyzes anti-Israel protests at UNC

Jeff Moore, Carolina Journal deputy editor, discusses recent developments during anti-Israel protests at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Moore offered these comments during a May 1, 2024, interview with the One America News Network.

Jeff Moore

Elections

News

Federal judge strikes down NC crime for felon voting

A federal judge has struck down North Carolina’s law criminalizing felon voting. The law “was enacted with discriminatory intent, has not been cleansed of its discriminatory taint, and continues to disproportionately impact Black voters,” according to a court order US District Judge Loretta Biggs issued Monday.

CJ Staff

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