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The Raleigh Report - June 20, 2013
As the June 30 deadline quickly approaches, the NC House has given final approval to its budget plan. The majority voted 77-40 to adopt the proposal written mostly by its leaders. The passed budget followed nearly 11 hours of debate and votes on more than 25 amendments, which in the end made very few changes to the measure. The final vote on the full budget comes three weeks after the Senate approved its proposal, which spends almost exactly ...
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Along These Lines: Every dog has his day again
And this year, that day is Friday (June 21) — the 15th national “Take Your Dog to Work Day.” Once again, dog owners throughout North America will be prodding their poodles and pulling their pugs to patronize their place of employment. The event is promoted by Pet Sitters International (see www.takeyourdog.com if you think I’m pulling your paw), and has been growing in leaps and bounds nationwide since the first year, according to spokeswoma...
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Campbell
My Spin: High ground or high horses
I went to last week’s Moral Monday protest to learn what all the rancor is about and gained some insights from the experience. I didn’t find a bunch of lefty loonies, morons or outsiders. Because of tornado alerts and impending rainstorms the crowd numbered less than a thousand. The call from episcopal religious leaders across the state brought out a large number of clergy persons. The crowd contained more whites than blacks and obviously t...
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Tar Heel View: Holshouser was a trailblazer
Jim Holshouser, who died Monday at 78, retained that flat, mountain accent of his home turf in Boone all his life, long after he’d left the mountains for politics in Raleigh and then the practice of law in Southern Pines. Asked about his election as governor in 1972, when he became the first Republican elected to the office in the 20th century, Holshouser would reckon that the most help he had “was from George McGovern,” the Democratic presid...
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Martin
Germanized English and North Carolina environment issues
What does the German language have to do with one of the most contentious environmental issues facing North Carolinians? First of all, remember that some of our best words come from the German language. Think about it. Kindergarten, aspirin, blitz, diesel, doppelganger, flack, gesundheit, hamburger, kaput, Neanderthal, poltergeist, realpolitik, rucksack, schadenfreude, strudel, ubermensch, verboten, wanderlust, wunderbar, wunderkind, and ...
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Hamilton
Congress needs to remember how to make policy
I’ve noticed a recurring question as I talk to people about Congress. What can be done, they wonder, to get Congress back on track? It’s an institution with very little to show for its efforts. There’s a reason for this. Few legislators know how to make it work any more — respect the legislative process and know it intimately, have mastered the substantive and procedural details, and have the political savvy and skill to move a bill to enac...
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Our View: Jobs for the future
Great news last week for Richmond County Schools, and particularly for the future of the hundreds of middle school students this windfall will ultimately impact. In short, seeds will be planted and vast opportunities will grow. The Golden LEAF Foundation announced it has awarded a $110,000 grant to Richmond County Schools for 3-D scanning and modeling technology to introduce middle schools and early college students to Science, Technology...
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Hudson
This Week in Washington for June 15, 2013
Creating a strong system for defense both at home and abroad is the key to the United States’ ability to continue acting as a defender of freedom. The past decade has taught us that many national security threats no longer come from traditional nations, but rather from determined groups of extremists who desire to wreak havoc on the American dream. The War on Terror is an ongoing battle against evil, and in order to be effective on this battl...
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Medicaid costs are exploding
During the past year, North Carolinians have heard many things about Obamacare, Medicaid, and health care reform that turned out to be untrue. For example: • North Carolinians were told that regardless of whether the state set up its own Obamacare exchange or allowed the federal government to do so, state government would have to fund the exchange’s operating costs. This claim was false. • They were told that unless North Carolina accepte...
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First Light: To trust a stealing nanny
“He was a lonely ghost uttering a truth that nobody would ever hear.” ― George Orwell, 1984 Ever since the towers fell on Sept. 11, 2001, Americans have been split between those who wave flags and stand by their nation to fight terrorism across the globe and those who ask harsh questions and distrust those in the positions of power that direct this great country. Conspiracy theorists grew in numbers, and asked, “Who really caused th...
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Tar Heel View: On saving senior services
It is a curious bit of funding manipulation by the N.C. Senate. Many services for the elderly are funded through something called the Home and Community Care Block Grant, which is made up of federal, state and local money. Currently, it amounts to about $60 million. Now the state Senate wants to put $2.9 million from that fund into Project CARE, a good program that helps people who care for those with Alzheimer’s disease. But the money woul...
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Along These Lines: Gorillas in our midst
Come on, admit it. Sometimes you’re overwhelmed with an irresistible urge to dress up in a gorilla suit, conceal yourself behind the bushes at the local park, and leap out on unsuspecting citizens as they innocently stroll by. Actors, of course, have been dressing up professionally as gorillas for decades. In the early Hollywood years, these certified gorilla-men starred in horror films with the express purpose of scaring audiences with the...
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Tar Heel View: On state tax reform
Those seeking reform of North Carolina’s antiquated tax code correctly contend that it no longer effectively or fairly generates the revenue needed to fund state government. Given that much of the structure was implemented during the Great Depression, its approach no longer matches an economy that depends increasingly on services rather than manufactured goods. The proposals now circulating in Raleigh all seek to reduce the reliance on indi...
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Campbell
My Spin: Tax reform or tax tweaking?
Before the January start of this legislative session leaders of both houses proclaimed major overhaul of North Carolina’s tax codes to be among their highest priorities. Three weeks before the July 1 start of the new fiscal year, when tax and spending measures are to be implemented, these promised reforms haven’t materialized, begging the question whether lawmakers have the courage to make dramatic changes or will, like previous legislatures,...
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Tar Heel View: On increasing teacher license fees
Talk about adding insult to injury. Legislation that went before the House Education Committee recently would have raised teacher-license fees by between $15 and $40 a year, depending on the license sought. The committee rejected the bill. The bill would not have applied to most current teachers who apply for license renewals through their school districts. It would have applied only to those applicants who are new teachers, changing jo...
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