• John Locke Update

    Time for Constructive Dialogue about District School Facilities

    posted October 11, 2017 by Dr. Terry Stoops
    Earlier this week, I participated in the first of three Hometown Debates, a debate series sponsored by The N.C. Institute of Political Leadership (NCIOPL).  The event featured yours truly, Senator…
  • John Locke Update

    Property Rights are Cool Again

    posted September 28, 2017 by Julie Tisdale
    This week, Carolina Beach’s Town Council met to discuss regulations on accessory buildings.  According to the Town Council’s own documents, the discussion started because “A few of the Commissioners…
  • John Locke Update

    Pump the Brakes on Golf Cart Regs

    posted August 24, 2017 by Julie Tisdale
    Sometimes, local governments seem to create solutions to problems that may not even really exist in the first place.  And usually, when they do, those “solutions” create tremendous burdens on…
  • John Locke Update

    A Bad Deal for Kannapolis’s Taxpayers

    posted July 13, 2017 by Julie Tisdale
    This week, the City of Kannapolis approved an incentive package.  This sort of thing has become commonplace in recent years, and there’s nothing particularly unique about the Kannapolis deal. …
  • John Locke Update

    Real Economic Development in Rocky Mount

    posted June 28, 2017 by Julie Tisdale
    Over the past year, I’ve spent quite a lot of time writing about Rocky Mount’s ill-conceived event center, so when I received an invitation to a discussion about economic…
  • John Locke Update

    State Budget Includes $20 Million in Local Government Grants

    posted June 22, 2017 by Julie Tisdale
    This week, the North Carolina General Assembly released its 2017-18 conference committee budget.  And there are certainly implications for local governments!  I’ve spent this week trying to figure out just…
  • John Locke Update

    Paper or Plastic? Consumers Should Be Able to Choose

    posted June 8, 2017 by Julie Tisdale
    Senate Bill 434 has a pretty inspiring title: “An Act to Amend Certain Environmental and Natural Resources Laws.”  But the significance of the legislation is far greater than the…
  • John Locke Update

    State Lawmakers Should Keep the Cap on Light Rail Spending

    posted June 1, 2017 by Julie Tisdale
    The North Carolina House of Representatives has released its budget and, as I expected, there are few policy changes that affect local government operations.  But there is, on page 300,…

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