When President Trump visited North Carolina he assured our state that the federal checkbook would be opened and that we would get almost anything we wanted from FEMA, the Federal Emergency Management Agency. We’re pretty good at spotting political hyperbole, but still hope these promises are fulfilled. There is pause for concern after we learned that FEMA recently transferred $10 million in funds designated for emergency response to ICE (Immigrations and Customs Enforcement). FEMA officials denied that disaster response money was transferred.
ICE fishing
Tom Campbell
About this time each year we looked forward to receiving the Sears Wish Book. This wonderful catalogue was about three inches thick, packed wi…
Many are saying that the November 6 elections are all about Trump, a referendum either affirming or refuting his leadership. Our president cas…
We talk a lot about today’s tribal, partisan politics, where the camps seem to migrate farther and farther to the right or left, screaming at …
Bill Friday was right. Friday, the founding president of the 16 campus University of North Carolina System, fought with then-Governor Bob Scot…
The 2018 midterm was one of the most interesting elections held in our state. While there wasn’t the “blue wave” many had predicted, this was …
Back in 1897, an eight-year-old girl, prompted by naysaying friends, wrote The New York Sun wanting the truth about the existence of Santa Cla…
Have you driven around North Carolina recently? More people have decorated with outdoor lights, blowups and festive displays than we’ve seen i…
It was Christmas Eve 1914. World War I was in its early stages and trench warfare was the rule of the day. Soldiers on opposing sides could he…
No self-respecting columnist passes up the obligatory prediction column the first week of the year. So here goes mine.
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…
What we are currently witnessing in state government feels like watching the movie “Groundhog Day.” Our legislature passes a bill, the governo…
North Carolina is about to undertake the greatest revolution in healthcare since the 1965 advent of Medicaid and Medicare. And yes, that inclu…
Labor Day was the saddest day of the year when I was young. It signaled the official end of summer and the start of the routine of getting up …
State Treasurer Dale Folwell administers the State Health Plan, the largest in our state. Folwell believes his office should know what various…
We should start a petition for the National Weather Service to eliminate names starting with the letter “F” in naming storms. Fran, Floyd, now…
It happened once again with Hurricane Florence. Whenever North Carolina is in crisis - such as with storms or other catastrophes – we collecti…
As a young boy I would sometimes walk out of my Greenville home and smell rotten eggs. My mother explained this smell came from the paper mill…
Every Saturday night our family would gather round the black and white TV to watch the latest Perry Mason episode. Before the hour was over Ra…
Note to readers: With all the recent activity regarding immigration we decided to repeat the column we wrote following a visit to Ellis Island…
“Whoever thought I was going to live so long,” my 96 year old mother asked? She isn’t alone. 10,000 of us turn 65 every day. In 1990, North Ca…
Even when July 4th falls in the middle of a week you can count on fireworks displays, flags hanging, neighbors gathering for cookouts, waterme…
