Lawmakers at the General Assembly got a sweet treat from their wary constituents today: coal ash cupcakes. And unlike the 39,000 tons of real coal ash that Duke Energy spilled into the Dan River this year, the cupcakes are non-toxic. Residents from all over the state took cupcakes around to all 170 Senators’ and Representatives’ […]
Jane Porter
Jane Porter is Wake County editor of the INDY, covering Raleigh and other communities across Wake County. She first joined the staff in 2013 and is a former INDY intern, staff writer, and editor-in-chief.
Posted inBest of the Triangle
Get your thrills, Chapel Hill
The best things about Chapel Hill, the best town in the Triangle, are the things steeped in its 260-year history, but there is so much else that makes it unique. Its 50 percent student population, for example. Its main street, named after a U.S. founding father, who had nothing to do with the town. The […]
Posted inNews
How the Senate budget hurts nearly everybody
N.C. Senate President pro tempore has been touting an 11 percent pay increase North Carolina teachers would receive in exchange for their tenure. However, Berger hasn’t told the public where the money would come from to pay for the raises, on average, $5,800 per teacher. The $21.2 billion budget was crafted outside of subcommittees and […]
Posted inNews
Wake County teachers lured to Texas, Commissioners consider pay increase
It’s been a week—well, really a good seven years— of ups and mostly downs for North Carolina teachers, who haven’t seen a raise in at least that long, as surely as the class sizes have been growing and the resources waning. Last week Senate president pro tempore Phil Berger announced that the Senate budget would […]
Posted inNews
N.C. House opposes Funeral Board fee increase
A bill to disapprove of the North Carolina Board of Funeral Service’s petition to increase its fees on funeral directors and licensees in the state passed unanimously in the state House of Representatives this week. The bill, sponsored by Rep. Sarah Stevens, R-Surry and Wilkes Counties, follows a state audit last May which found that […]
Posted inNews
Fracking bill passes NC House in 64-50 vote
North Carolina is one step closer to to being a fracking state. After debate on the House floor that lasted nearly two hours this afternoon, during which Democrats submitted amendments to the bill that were either defeated or tabled (so there would be no voting record), the House approved S786, the Energy Modernization Act. It […]
Posted inNews
Fracking bill passes House on second reading
Updated: S786 was added to the House calendar this afternoon over objections of Democratic lawmakers. After speeding through two House committees yesterday evening and this morning, the bill passed its second reading by a small margin, 63-52. Lawmakers can submit amendments to the bill before Thursday’s session and the bill’s third reading. After narrowly passing […]
Posted inUncategorized
Bill would eliminate Actual Innocence Commission
The state Supreme Court’s Chief Justice should abolish the North Carolina Actual Innocence commission because it is obsolete. That’s among several proposals couched within Senate Bill 734, the Regulatory Reform Act. A large bill, it includes provisions to decriminalize cursing on public sidewalks and to streamline environmental reforms. The Actual Innocence Commission was established through […]
Posted inNews
N.C. Senate bill asks to eliminate Actual Innocence Commission
The state Supreme Court’s Chief Justice should abolish the North Carolina Actual Innocence Commission because it is obsolete. That’s among several proposals couched within Senate Bill 734, the Regulatory Reform Act. A large bill, it includes provisions to decriminalize cursing on public sidewalks and to streamline environmental reforms. The Actual Innocence Commission was established through […]
Posted inNews
N.C. Senate clears fracking bill
The Senate passed a massive fracking bill Thursday which would lift North Carolina’s fracking moratorium and allow drilling to begin as early as July, 2015. S786, or the Energy Modernization Act, could be heard in the House next week. One of the most egregious provisions in the bill which made disclosing fracking trade secrets a […]
