Nancy McFarlane is my mayor. She has led Raleigh through explosive growth, including a new train station, the purchase of Dix Park, promotion of Raleigh as an arts scene and tourist destination and recognition on many “best of” lists. Why is she stepping down?
President Donald Trump's proposed budget for 2020 is a fairly standard list of conservative priorities. Trump would spend more on the military…
There’s a famous quote by American poet Ralph Waldo Emerson about the purpose of life. Emerson tells us, “The purpose of life is not to be hap…
Sometimes it is hard finding truth. That’s where I am regarding the UNC Board of Governors.
Last week, I was thrilled to host many constituents who were in Washington for the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) national c…
Now that the Mueller report has removed the cudgel of Russian collusion from Donald Trump’s opponents, we can look ahead and hope the messy po…
Will Gov. Roy Cooper have a wall this summer?
So far, several Democrats running for president in 2020 and their allies in Congress have embraced socialism as more of a fashionable buzzword…
At long last it is Spring, when daylight hours grow longer, temperatures turn warmer and flowers burst into bloom. The Anglo-Saxon word for Sp…
Joe Biden’s recent struggles were at once predictable and a symptom of the current political climate. As the acknowledged frontrunner in a cro…
Nelson Mandela, the former President of South Africa, once said, “Our children are our greatest treasure. They are our future. Those who abuse…
Who is the best North Carolina-based political columnist?
RALEIGH — After Durham businessman Greg Lindberg, state Republican Party Chairman Robin Hayes, and two of Lindberg’s business associates were …
In a normal political climate, Nancy Pelosi would never become a sympathetic character. These, of course, are not normal times in national pol…
CNN reports, "For the first time 'No Religion' has topped a survey of Americans' religious identity, according to a new analysis by a politica…
Our legislature has been in session since January 30th and at last count 17 bills had been approved by both houses of the legislature and sent…
RALEIGH — Did you know that manufacturing employment in North Carolina has gone up more than 10 percent since 2010? I didn’t either, until I t…
America is known as “The Land of Opportunity.” That’s because America is a country founded on independence, and I work hard to promote policie…
The rousing comeback of Tiger Woods ranks as one of the top sports stories of all-time. Woods was bedfast at various times in recent years, hi…
April 26 marks the 33rd anniversary of the 1986 radiation disaster at Chernobyl reactor Number 4 in Ukraine, just north of Kiev the capital. I…
RALEIGH — While election scandals, national issues, and candidate announcements for 2019 and 2020 races have dominated the political headlines…
Is it just one more small-town business that has closed its doors?
Ask any college senior where the best jobs are, and you'll probably hear a list of coastal metropolises: New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco.
Every year there are certain things we can count on when spring starts to roll around. People head outside to enjoy the warmer weather, family…
As an educator at the high school level for the last eight years I’ve often considered whether teenagers today are profoundly different from s…
Long term prosperity is jeopardized by short term thinking on the part of the GOP-led tax cut at the federal level. Income disparity is made…
Looking for something to do this weekend? We’ve found a few things happening around the area.
Applications are now being taken for American Legion Auxiliary Tar Heel Girls State, a week-long practical study of the structure and operatio…
This weekend marks the end of a sports era. Since I was around at the beginning, I want to join others in mourning the loss of over-the-air br…
RALEIGH — In the twilight of his political career, Ronald Reagan made the media rounds to discuss his administration, legacy, and unfinished b…
From the opening moments of Apollo 11, as a missile crawler-transporter is delivering a Saturn rocket to its launch pad, viewers know that som…
Here’s a good news-bad news story that needs a happy ending. The good news is that as of January our state’s unemployment rate was 3.6 percent…
How did a close election in the Ninth Congressional District of North Carolina lead to this column?
RALEIGH — If you own it, you control it. That’s what it means to enjoy a property right, in a nutshell. It is a right safeguarded by North Car…
We all share the same goal to end gun violence in this country. But in the course of this debate, House Democrats say they want to “do somethi…
With a clear-eyed perspective on my place in politics (I don’t have one) this column is intended to give advice to the Democrat Party as it at…
8 things we learned in the 9th District hearings
As your Congressman, I have the honor of hosting the Congressional Art Competition in our district to recognize the artistic talents of studen…
Do you remember the important North Carolina connection to “A Tree Grows in Brooklyn,” one of America’s most loved novels?
How much are you paying for health care? You may say too much, you may even cite the cost of a recent procedure you’ve had, but do you know wh…
A newscaster on a cable network recently referred to a candidate “throwing his hat into the ring” in the 2020 race for president. Those words …
Do you remember the TV game show Family Feud? It was good fun as one family competes with another for cash prizes, but we all know that real l…
Why would anybody want to spend months walking from the South Carolina coast, up through the Piedmont to present-day Charlotte, and then back …
A social and political sea change has occurred in recent years, and those wielding political power are not the only stakeholders in what has b…
The proposed DMV move brings to mind one of the old Three Stooges comedies, the one where one of the zany trio says, “I’ve cut this board thre…
