With the deadline to submit legislation approaching, Republican lawmakers bombarded the State Capitol with new policies during the past week. THE BAD No max class sizes (Senate Bill 516) Thirty kindergarteners in one classroom? Sure, why not? This bill would eliminate the cap on the number of students in classrooms for kindergarten through the fourth […]
Will Huntsberry
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N.C. Republicans seek exemption from U.S. Constitution (reality to follow)
GOP lawmakers haven’t floated the idea of secession yet, but that may be what’s next. A joint resolution filed by Reps. Harry Warren and Carl Ford argues that the establishment clause of the First Amendment does not—read NOT—apply to North Carolina, or any state for that matter. If the First Amendment doesn’t apply to the […]
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McCrory’s education budget is deceptive
Gov. Pat McCrory’s budget is not what it seems. It’s not even what you’ve been told it is. “McCrory’s budget: hires 1,800 more teachers…” trumpeted The News & Observer headline last Wednesday when the 300-plus-page tome was released. You can read a nearly identical sentence in the press release McCrory’s office issued that day, and […]
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N.C. State reaffirms position as Triangle’s leading college for general bigotry
Update, March 27: O’Rear lost his bid for Student Body President, coming in third with 12 percent of the vote. Just when racism at Duke and misogyny at Carolina were making me feel like my alma mater NC State might one day have a shot at the crown for “Triangle’s Most Progressive University,” this bullshit […]
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Raleigh Chamber comes down against county commission
In defending county commissioner’s hostile takeover of school ownership, commission chair Joe Bryan recently told INDY Week that the measure had widespread support, going back years. He was quick to say the Greater Raleigh Chamber of Commerce had pushed such a proposal in the mid-2000’s—as if the Chamber’s blessing signals that all reasonable people should […]
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Bill would upend Wake school board elections
Timeline of disfunction November 2009 First ever conservative majority elected to school board March 2010 Diversity policy scrapped, but no new policy put in place Summer 2010 Massive pro-diversity protests, 21 arrested January 2011 Tony Tata hired as superintendent, work begins on new assignment plan November 2011 Dems regain co ntrol of school board December […]
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Bill would upend Wake school board elections
If you don’t like redistricting, redistrict again. That’s the attitude of lawmakers supporting a bill that would upend how Wake County school board members are elected and how long some will serve. Senate Bill 325 would redraw school board districts and reconfigure elections to favor conservatives. It was introduced by Sens. Neal Hunt and Chad […]
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Legislature wants to renege on Dix park deal
Apparently, when you sign a contract with the State of North Carolina, the ink never dries. In December, then-Gov. Bev Perdue and the North Carolina Council of State voted to lease Dorothea Dix campus to the City of Raleigh for 99 years, so the city could create a massive public park. But on Thursday, several […]
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The slow, painful road to voter ID
Let the perfunctory public hearings begin. On Tuesday, lawmakers in Raleigh listened to more than 100 speakers debate the pros and cons of a law that would require North Carolinians to produce a photo ID on Election Day. Detractors say that requiring an ID to vote will disenfranchise hundreds of thousands of low-income, minority and […]
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Cities could be banned from regulating greenhouse gases
Currently, no municipalities or counties in North Carolina directly attempt to regulate greenhouse gases. And a bill that stalled in a Senate committee today would ensure they never do. Senate bill 171 would block municipalities from creating any “rule or ordinance that regulates greenhouse gas emissions or limits human activity for the purpose of reducing […]