Mayor Susan Kluttz said she hasn’t decided if she will stop fighting a proposed law that would restrict the ability of cities to get into the broadband business.
House Bill 129, or “Level Playing Field/Local Government Competition,” is being rewritten to exempt Salisbury and a handful of other North Carolina cities that already run municipal broadband […]
So… yesterday the state House Republicans could not muster the votes to override Gov. Bev Perdue’s veto of H2, the bill that seeks to exempt North Carolinians from the federal health care law. The vote was 68-51, four short of the three-fifths majority the House needs for a veto override.(Details in today’s e-edition.)
Done deal, right.
Nope.
Along […]
North Carolina’s ferry system isn’t merely a tourist attraction that transports carefree visitors to the Outer Banks or between Southport and Fort Fisher. It is an extension of the state’s highway system, as essential to some residents as good roads. The Honorables need to consider that point as they ponder changing the fare structure.
They should […]
The Census Bureau tells us that the Cape Fear region grew like crazy over the past decade. But you already knew that. The housing bust may have slowed growth after 2008, but our three counties reported a population boom, increasing their number of residents by 25 percent to nearly 50 percent in that 10-year stretch. […]
In a way, it’s the perfect tea party issue. Trying to put annexations by cities to a vote of communities affected would likely stop annexation in its tracks. For one thing, it’s easier to muster opponents than it is proponents. And on its face, annexation and the fees and higher taxes that come with it […]
NC State Senator Proposes Ending Gas Tax (NBC17)
RALEIGH, N.C. — A state senator wants to eliminate North Carolina’s gas tax to help consumers deal with skyrocketing prices. The state’s gas tax is 32.5 cents per gallon, the highest it has ever been.
That money goes to the state’s Highway Transportation Fund. “I hate the gas tax […]
With fuel prices on the rise, GOP lawmakers are considering capping the state’s tax on gasoline again. Two years ago, lawmakers eliminated the cap and set a minimum tax of 29.9 cents per gallon. The gas tax, which is tied to the wholesale price of fuel, is set every six months and is now at […]
I have a number of updates for you today, so be sure to read all the way through.
First, the Joint Transportation Appropriations Committee met today and heard presentations of varying levels of cuts to the NCDOT Aviation and Ferry Divisions. The Committee will continue on Ferries tomorrow, hear from the Rail Division, and then hear […]
Billboard bill another sign of disdain for municipal decisions.
Two things are troubling about Onslow Republican Sen. Harry Brown’s proposed Senate Bill 183, purporting to establish standards for “selective vegetation removal” and erection of outdoor advertising.
It does a few other selective things, too, such as allowing private interests to remove roadside trees and bushes that might […]
The Senate has taken another step toward hitting the pause button on involuntary annexations.
Senators by a 36-12 vote gave their final approval to a bill that would place a moratorium on involuntary annexation until July 1, 2012. The bill now goes to the Senate.
The bill, sponsored by Sen.Andrew Brock,R-Davie, would not affect voluntary annexations.
It’s one […]
