Blog – Moore County Edition

Apr

27

2022

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By North State Journal Staff

School choice expo will highlight education options

Businesscharter schools, Education, homeschooling, options, private schools, public schools, school choice

RALEIGH— A free event taking place on May 7 will offer information about a wide range of K-12 education options to Moore County parents. The Moore County School Choice Expo and Education Summit will be an open house style event being held from 1-5 p.m. at the Pinehurst Village Hall located at 395 Magnolia Road in Pinehurst. The expo’s description says it will “bring education providers and parents under one roof so that parents can learn about the variety of educational options in our county.” One of the expo’s lead organizer is Caroline Kelly, who grew up in the United Kingdom…

Apr

21

2022

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By Ben Shapiro

SHAPIRO: Yes, it’s Biden’s inflation

Opinionseditorial, inflation, opinion

Last week, America received news of yet another shocking inflation report: over the past 12 months, inflation has skyrocketed 8.5%, outpacing wage gains by 2.9%. That inflation has flooded every area of American life, from gas (up 48%) to airfare (24%) to furniture (16%) to milk (13%). Inflation is costing the average American family hundreds of dollars per month — and, as we know, inflation is a highly regressive tax, harming those at the bottom of the income spectrum the most. For its part, the Biden administration blames Russian President Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine. White House press secretary and…

Apr

20

2022

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By Michael Barone, Washington Examiner

BARONE: The verdict on lockdowns: High cost, minimal benefits

Opinionscost, editorial, lockdowns, mandates, opinion

What were the benefits and costs of the COVID-19 restrictions implemented over the last two years? It’s a good time to ask that question, especially now that the masks are coming off and the lockdowns are canceled. One useful scorecard comes from the prestigious National Bureau of Economic Research, in the form of a paper by three market-friendly economists, Casey Mulligan (University of Chicago), Stephen Moore (Heritage Foundation) and Phil Kerpen (Committee to Unleash Prosperity). They evidently disagree with the nation’s most prominent advocate of massive restrictions, Dr. Anthony Fauci, who recently argued, “I don’t think we’re ever going to…

Apr

20

2022

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By Associated Press

South Carolina inmate picks firing squad over electric chair

Newsdeath penalty, electric chair, firing squad

COLUMBIA, S.C. — A South Carolina prisoner scheduled to be the first man executed in the state in more than a decade has decided to die by firing squad rather than in the electric chair later this month, according to court documents filed Friday. Richard Bernard Moore, 57, is the also first state prisoner to face the choice of execution methods after a law went into effect last year making electrocution the default and giving inmates the option to face three prison workers with rifles instead. Moore has spent more than two decades on death row after being convicted of…

Apr

20

2022

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By Associated Press

GOP states eye voting system upgrades

Government, News, StateGOP, upgrades, voting

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — For years, Tennessee Democratic Senate Minority Leader Jeff Yarbro’s call to require the state’s voting infrastructure to include a paper record of each ballot cast has been batted down in the Republican-dominated Legislature. But as the fallout around the 2020 presidential election — and some GOP voters’ distrust of voting machines — Tennessee Republican lawmakers who have held off are coming around on a paper-backed mandate. A similar scenario is playing out in some of the five other states -- most of which are Republican-led -- that do not currently have a voting system with a paper…

Apr

20

2022

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By Ryan Henkel, North State Journal

Southern Pines moves closer to changing municipal election process

Government, Newsmunicipal elections, The Town of Southern Pines Council

SOUTHERN PINES – The Town of Southern Pines Council met Tuesday, April 12 with public hearings for the St. John Paul Catholic School expansion and changes to the municipal election structure as the key items on the agenda. The council held a public hearing on a proposed amendment to the town charter to change the process for municipal elections. The proposed amendment would change municipal elections to the plurality method, essentially eliminating the primary and having just a single vote in the general election for council members. The ordinance would also potentially save the town about $20,000 according to the…

Apr

20

2022

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By Ryan Henkel, North State Journal

Pinehurst approves five-year financial plan

Government, Newscouncil meeting, financial plan, housing, renters, short-term rental, Village of Pinehurst

PINEHURST – The Village of Pinehurst Council met Tuesday, April 12 to discuss the five-year financial plan for the upcoming fiscal years and to continue the community dialogue on short-term rentals through the public comments. The council was presented with an operating plan for the 2023 Fiscal Year and along with a five-year financial plan through 2027. The council normally builds a five-year plan to help project finances and their impacts on the village, but those plans are subject to changes each year. “What the five-year plan methodology does is let us build a budget that is adopted by the…

Apr

20

2022

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By Associated Press

Budd, McCrory still close in NC Senate campaign fundraising

Government, Newsfundraising, NC Senate, Pat McCrory, Ted Budd

RALEIGH — North Carolina Republican U.S. Senate candidates Ted Budd and Pat McCrory remained neck-and-neck with their campaigns’ own fundraising entering the final full month before the May 17 primary. Campaign finance reports for the first quarter show McCrory, the former governor, and current U.S. House member Budd collecting essentially the same level of contributions and other funds. But Budd is separately benefiting from a political action committee that has already spent several million dollars on ads and mailers praising Budd and attacking McCrory. A pro-McCrory super PAC is trailing. Budd also has received former President Donald Trump’s endorsement. Looking…

Apr

19

2022

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By Associated Press

Abortion ban after 15 weeks signed into law in Florida

Newsabortion, ban, Florida

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a 15-week abortion ban into law last week as the state joined a growing conservative push to restrict access to the procedure ahead of a U.S. Supreme Court decision that could roll back abortion rights in America. “This will represent the most significant protections for life that have been enacted in this state in a generation,” DeSantis said as he signed the bill at an evangelical church in the city of Kissimmee. Republicans nationwide have moved to place new restrictions on abortion after the U.S. Supreme Court signaled it would uphold a…

Apr

15

2022

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By U.S. Rep. Richard Hudson

HUDSON: Biden’s border crisis

Opinionsborder crisis, editorial, Joe Biden, opinion, rep. richard hudson

“Border security is the most basic and necessary responsibility of a sovereign nation.” Former Secretary of Homeland Security Kirstjen Nielson is exactly right. Sadly, President Biden and Democrats in Washington have failed on this most basic responsibility. And the worst may be yet to come. Last week, despite outrage from me and dozens of Republicans and Democrats in the House and Senate, the Biden administration announced its plan to end Title 42 protections at our southern border. Title 42 is a commonsense regulation that gives government officials the authority to quickly turn around migrants at the southern border to protect…