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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June 3, 2009
RALEIGH — Oak Ridge would have a say about what kind of housing developments and businesses are built between its town limits and the Forsyth County line under a bill approved Wednesday by a state House committee. The measure has the unanimous backi...
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June 2, 2009
The Food and Drug Administration would be able to regulate tobacco products under a bill the Senate is expected to take up as soon as today and which Sen. Richard Burr hopes to rewrite before it passes. Burr, a Republican, has fought off similar measures...
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June 1, 2009
RALEIGH — Legislative budget writers want to shut down the Greensboro crime lab less than a year after it opened, sparking an outcry from law enforcement officials who say it should not be sacrificed. The planned trim is among hundreds of cuts lawm...
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May 29, 2009
RALEIGH — Rep. Cary Allred announced his resignation after facing weeks of questions about a speeding ticket and behavior at the legislature that has sparked an inquiry by the Legislative Ethics Commission. Although Allred still faces a...
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May 28, 2009
RALEIGH — Rep. Cary Allred, a Burlington Republican, says he plans to resign from his legislative seat after facing scrutiny for his behavior during a night session last month. Allred faces charges that he was driving over 102 mph on his way to the...
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RALEIGH — The North Carolina Banking Commission paid $478,081 in bonuses to 72 employees last year and wants to set aside funds for another round this year. The bonuses and potential bonuses have drawn the attention of legislators, who are trying to...
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May 27, 2009
RALEIGH — The N.C. Banking Commission paid $478,081 in bonuses to 72 employees last year and wants to set aside money for another round this year. The bonuses and potential bonuses have drawn the attention of legislators, who are trying to bri...
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The House honored the High Point Furniture Market’s 100th anniversary, passing a resolution that declared “the High Point Market should be recognized for 100 years of providing a world showcase for home furnishings and the State of North Carol...
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May 26, 2009
RALEIGH — A week after he watched the smoking ban he pushed through the legislature get signed into law, Rep. Hugh Holliman is recovering from surgery that removed part of his lung.Holliman, 65, has had lung cancer since 1999 and underwent a second...
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U.S. Sens. Richard Burr and Kay Hagan traveled overseas as Congress began its weeklong Memorial Day recess. While Hagan, a Democrat, visited troops in Afghanistan, Burr, a Republican, helped lead Memorial Day ceremonies at the Normandy American Cemetery i...
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Sen. Kay Hagan got a chance to see Afghanistan and some of the problems faced by the U.S. military there this Memorial Day weekend. She and four other senators spent two days in the country this weekend, evaluating efforts to rebuild the war-torn country...
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RALEIGH — The next chairman of North Carolina’s Republican Party is going to have a rebuilding task, say rank-and-file activists, elected officials and those running for the job. When the party gathers for its convention June 12-14, members wi...
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May 24, 2009
RALEIGH — Inches. They were probably not enough to save Stephen Gates’ life the night in October 2003 when he stopped to fix a flat tire on an interstate exit ramp. The space his tire occupied on a white line would not have buffered Gates from...
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GREENSBORO — Parts of playgrounds at nine Guilford County elementary schools are off limits to children participating in after-school programs because state inspectors say they are not safe. However, that same equipment is open for many of the same...
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May 22, 2009
RALEIGH — State Rep. Cary Allred, facing calls from fellow Republicans to resign his seat, declared Thursday that he plans to reregister as unaffiliated after a report critical of his behavior on April 27. In that report, other GOP lawmakers harshl...
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May 20, 2009
RALEIGH — Gov. Bev Perdue signed a law that bans smoking in bars and restaurants at a ceremony this morning in the state Capitol. The measure will go into effect Jan. 2, 2010."It's really an historic moment for North Carolina," Perdue said...
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May 18, 2009
The possibility that detainees from the Guantanamo Bay prison could be housed in a mainland U.S. prison or released into the United States has raised concerns among members of Congress, particularly Republicans. Rep. Howard Coble was among those questioni...
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It was a long week at the legislature and started with the Senate wrestling over — and passing — a smoking ban for bars and restaurants. At one point, Sen. Phil Berger, an Eden Republican, wanted to exempt for-profit private clubs — join...
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May 17, 2009
RALEIGH — Do you have lights on your bicycle? Is your pet snake properly stored? Is your favorite herb on its way to being outlawed? The General Assembly moved hundreds of bills last week in advance of a self-imposed “crossover” deadline...
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RALEIGH — Regulatory changes that phone companies say they need to compete with wireless providers and cable companies could hurt consumers, particularly those who buy only the most basic land-line services, say consumer advocates. The measur...
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May 15, 2009
RALEIGH — Don’t blame Rep. Earl Jones if you get the swine flu from a shopping cart while you’re out gathering swine for the breakfast table. The Greensboro Democrat pushed a bill all the way to the House floor that would have encouraged...
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May 14, 2009
RALEIGH — Smoking will be banned in bars and restaurants starting Jan. 2 under a pending law that the General Assembly passed Wednesday and Gov. Bev Perdue says she will sign. Although the measure stops short of the more sweeping ban favored by supp...
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RALEIGH — Even at the General Assembly, a body that knows a thing or two about adherence to tradition and ceremony, the cadets from Oak Ridge Military Academy stand out. Wearing the 158-year-old academy’s uniform and moving smartly from one st...
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May 12, 2009
RALEIGH — A bill that environmental regulators say weakens North Carolina’s efforts to curb air pollution cleared a House committee Monday. The measure approved by the House Environment Committee on a show of hands, would exempt from state rev...
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