THE SHELBY INDEPENDENT

By Alan Wooten | The Center Square file graphic | The Shelby Independent (The Center Square) – Precedent setting cases at the U.S. Supreme Court and the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals guided a federal judge to upholding North Carolina’s photo identification voter requirement Thursday. North Carolina voters approved voter identification at the polls in 2018 through a constitutional amendment on the November ballot. In those midterms, 55.49% of nearly 3.7 million votes were

By Alan Wooten | The Center Square Airline passengers are seated inside a cabin of a commercial plane. | Oxana Melis / Unsplash CHARLOTTE — Cancellations and delays at North America’s seventh busiest airport were down 90.7% and 35.5%, respectively, for the Friday-Saturday-Sunday weekend compared to the one before, analysis by The Center Square shows. The spike March 13-15 at Charlotte Douglas International Airport coincided with the f

By Alan Wooten | The Center Square file graphic | The Shelby Independent AFFECTS LOCAL – North Carolina has joined antitrust litigation filed in California seeking to block Nexstar’s $6.2 billion acquisition of rival Tegna, a move Attorney General Jeff Jackson says will send cable and satellite bills rocketing higher while local newsrooms are gutted.  The first-term Democrat says eight northeastern counties, and the markets around Charlotte and Greensboro have 2 million cons

By Alan Wooten | The Center Square courtesy media file photo (The Center Square) CHARLOTTE – More than 100 flights were canceled and another 1,200 delayed over the weekend at North America’s seventh busiest airport for passengers. Charlotte Douglas International Airport, where 90% of flights are operated by American Airlines, needs hundreds of TSA workers for passenger, baggage and cargo areas. The Transportation Security Administration is within the Department of Homeland S

By Alan Wooten | The Center Square (The Center Square) – Angela Hawkins has succeeded Bob Rucho as a Republican member of the North Carolina State Board of Elections, the office of the state auditor says. Rucho tendered his resignation this week. The decision, according to a spokesman in Boliek’s office, “was mutually agreed on and due to reportable candidate contributions.” While Rucho has drawn attention for support of state Sen. Phil Berger, R-Rockingham, in a primary rac

By Alan Wooten | The Center Square A vehicle is refueled at a gas pump as evening light reflects off its surface.  Alan Wooten / The Center Square (The Center Square) – Transportation energy costs for the overwhelming majority of North Carolinians are rising as much as 10 cents in the past month with Thanksgiving travel about to begin. Nearly 82 million Americans are expected to travel at least 50 miles from home between Tuesday and Dec. 1, the time defined by the American

By Alan Wooten | The Center Square file photo (The Center Square) – Government operations in North Carolina using only rainy day funds would last 41.5 days, says analysis by the Pew Research Center. The insight said the funds are 11.4% of $3.61 billion in spending. The total days is a decrease of 17.8, fifth most from the previous year. Pew said in October the balance was $3.62 billion. Additionally, first-term Republican state Treasurer Brad Briner told the Carolina Journal

By Alan Wooten | The Center Square North Carolina state flag file photo (The Center Square) – Savings of North Carolina taxpayer money over the next eight years is $10.75 million through the sale of limited obligation refunding bonds through an underwriting group led by San Francisco-headquartered Wells Fargo. First-term Republican Treasurer Brad Briner said the average of $1.34 million per year is another in the step of “always looking for ways to make the most of taxpa

By Alan Wooten | The Center Square The North Carolina Legislative Building, home to the General Assembly, stands on Jones Street in Raleigh, N.C. Photo: Alan Wooten / The Center Square (The Center Square) – State budget negotiations have stalled between North Carolina Republican leaders in the General Assembly and the calendar year appears headed to an end without a new two-year spending plan. The budget by state law was due July 1 and Wednesday represented Day 114. Lawmakers

By Alan Wooten | The Center Square A carton of large eggs rests on a kitchen stove.  Alan Wooten / The Center Square (The Center Square)...

Stein, former two-term attorney general, said his review of public safety legislation gets one simple test: “Does it make people safer,” he said.

By Alan Wooten | The Center Square (The Center Square) – North Carolina has more than enough money to pay its outstanding bills and...

By Alan Wooten | The Center Square