July 6, 2009
GREENSBORO — Rep. Howard Coble spent part of the July 4 Congressional recess in Russia chatting up members of the Duma about everything from copyright law to adoption policy. Because of his work on the Judiciary Committee, the Greensboro Republican...
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July 5, 2009
RALEIGH — To become a legislator and have the responsibility of unraveling the thicket of problems surrounding the state budget, one first has to run for office. And to run for office, candidates need to raise money from some of the same people who...
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July 3, 2009
The federal government would create a public health insurance provider under a health care reform plan agreed to Thursday by a group of key Senate Democrats, including Sen. Kay Hagan. “We have crafted a plan that will stabilize health care costs and...
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RALEIGH — Nicole Corbett has seen the announcements and news reports on $132 million in federal tax money flowing to North Carolina to help low-income families like hers cool and heat their homes. So why, asked the Climax resident and single mother...
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July 1, 2009
GREENSBORO — RF Micro Devices will use much of the same technology it has now as it starts working to help produce a new generation of cells that convert sunlight into power, company officials said Wednesday. “As big as the cell phone in...
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June 30, 2009
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled Monday that attorneys general can bring nationally chartered banks to account for violating state laws, something that pleases N.C. Attorney General Roy Cooper.“It’s critical that states have the right to enforce...
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June 28, 2009
RALEIGH — Lawmakers will miss their July 1 deadline for putting a new state budget in place as they wrangle over which programs to cut and which taxes to raise. Barring a major blow-up, North Carolina will operate off a temporary spending plan...
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Editor's note: This article has been corrected to reflect that Nationwide no longer writes insurance policies for mobile homes in North Carolina. RALEIGH — Plans to cope with a storm that causes havoc along the coast could leave insurers and ho...
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June 26, 2009
RALEIGH — Online retailer Amazon.com carried through with threats to end its relationship with online businesses based in North Carolina Friday, raising the stakes in a game of chicken over online sales taxes. The local businesses, which Amazon call...
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June 25, 2009
RALEIGH — Oak Ridge would be able to govern what is built between its borders and the Forsyth County line under a bill the House gave tentative approval of Thursday. The measure also gives the town powers to annex the land in that area if residents...
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June 24, 2009
RALEIGH — U.S. Sen. Kay Hagan wants the federal government to put in its 2 cents — well, probably a great deal more than that — about financial literacy. The North Carolina Democrat has authored a bill that would give grants to sta...
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June 23, 2009
RALEIGH — Gov. Bev Perdue signed the Nicholas Adkins School Bus Safety Act Monday afternoon, increasing the penalty for those who strike and kill someone when they run through a school bus’ stop arm. The new law, which goes into effect Dec. 1......
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RALEIGH — Asked about her take on health care reform Monday, U.S. Sen. Kay Hagan started with the pragmatic realities. “First of all, the president would like to have a bill by October,” Hagan said on her way to the airport. To get that...
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June 21, 2009
A coalition of union and liberal groups began running television ads on health care reform in North Carolina focused on getting the attention of one particular television viewer: Sen. Kay Hagan. There is ongoing debate in the U.S. Senate over how to craft...
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June 17, 2009
GREENSBORO — Two young girls greeted Gov. Bev Perdue at Smith High School auditorium with signs that set the tone for the afternoon. “Save teacher jobs, save class size.” Perdue told gatherings of teachers in Greensboro and Raleigh on We...
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RALEIGH — Kayla Fay opened an e-mail from Amazon.com on Wednesday warning about a pending change to state tax law and could think only one thing.“They’re killing me, they’re killing my business,” said Fay, who runs a number o...
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June 16, 2009
The House Judiciary I Committee voted 9-5 in favor of a bill that would require school districts to adopt polices that discourage bullying. Sponsored by Sen. Julia Boseman, a Wilmington Democrat, the measure has already cleared the Senate and next heads t...
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June 11, 2009
RALEIGH — Speeders, litterbugs and other scofflaws would pay more in fines and just about anyone who does business with the government would pay more in fees and taxes under a bill the full House could begin debating as soon as Friday. In total, $88...
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June 10, 2009
RALEIGH — A key House committee approved $783.6 million in tax increases after 14 hours of start-and-stop meetings Tuesday, taking a major step in the effort to bridge a more than $4 billion budget gap. The House Finance Committee agreed to raise sa...
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June 9, 2009
House members have begun committee debate over tax and budget bills that would raise more than $940 million in new taxes. However, agreement over the tax proposals is hard to come by. Although Democrats control the House, some rank-and-file members are pu...
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RALEIGH — The state’s wealthiest residents would pay more income taxes and all of us would pay more sales tax under an approximately $940 million revenue proposal House members will consider today. North Carolina has at least a $4 billion gap...
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June 8, 2009
North Carolina’s U.S. senators — Republican Richard Burr and Democrat Kay Hagan — find themselves rowing against the tide of tobacco regulation this week, with few other colleagues willing to man the oars. The two were among only 11 &ldq...
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June 7, 2009
RALEIGH — North Carolina will be a much different place next year if legislators are to be believed. Classrooms and state prisons will be more crowded. Health care will be harder to come by for the working poor. People with publicly funded Medicaid...
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June 4, 2009
The Senate has passed a measure named for a Rockingham County teenager that would allow school systems to install cameras on their school bus stop arms. Known as H 440, The Nicholas Adkins School Bus Safety Act, the measure is named for a 16-year-old stud...
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A bill sponsored by Rep. Earl Jones that would legalize video poker is due to be heard in a House Judiciary Committee today.“It’s for discussion purposes only,” said Jennifer Weiss, a Cary Democrat and vice chairman of the House Judiciar...
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