Editorials
Transparency foes don’t represent NC stakeholders
Who says North Carolina’s state employees and schoolteachers are against transparency? Lobbying eff...
NC should let public review body camera video
The standard objection, a familiar talking point recited so often it’s become a cliché, goes somethi...
Our Opinion: Lift veil of secrecy shrouding public employee records
Your taxes pay their salaries, but when police officers, teachers and other public-sector workers ar...
Our Opinion: Counties once again looking to operate in the dark
February 5, 2021Like a bad penny, legislation to hide public notices from the public is back in the N.C. General Ass...
Bring body camera videos into the sunlight
Now shrouded behind a veil of secrecy, police body camera and dashboard camera recordings could beco...
OUR OPINION: Bob Allen roved around and gave us a newspaper
A staple of this newspaper for nearly seven decades, Bob Allen’s column “Roving Around,” is missing from the pages this week. Its absence is glaring; Bob’s insight into life in Wake Forest …
Mask mandate drafts businesses as Cooper’s cops
Guest editorial North Carolina’s newest law enforcers won’t be sworn to protect and serve. They’ll be unarmed, and instead of badges, their uniforms will feature name tags from supermarkets, …
Police reform must start with transparency
As stakeholders work to repair North Carolina’s criminal justice system, they should make Louis Brandeis’ famous declaration their constant refrain: Sunlight is the best …
Open government guarantee belongs in NC Constitution
Along with public health, the COVID-19 pandemic is testing government transparency in North Carolina. State officials have withheld vital information about coronavirus outbreaks that would help …
Ask Congress to support local news during pandemic
During this coronavirus pandemic, access to accurate and trustworthy information in your community is as critical to life under quarantine and as sought after as hand sanitizer and face …
Protest is essential, even amid growing coronavirus crisis
With one unnecessary arrest and one tone-deaf tweet, police placed North Carolina smack dab in the middle of a national COVID-19 controversy. Videos from Tuesday’s #ReopenNC protest rally show …
Certificate of need laws could harm COVID-19 patients
As COVID-19 cases grow, state officials have suspended a rule that would have prevented North Carolina hospitals from adding beds. The N.C. Department of Health and Human Services announced March …
Put transparency laws to work this Sunshine Week
Guest editorial Want to know how much your police chief and school principal are paid? How about a full rundown of your city council’s spending during that out-of-state conference? The …
IN OUR OPINION: State helps Rolesville’s downtown dreams come true
January 31, 2020THUMBS UP to the town of Rolesville for earning about $4.8 million in state funding to move forward with its downtown streetscape dreams. Construction could start next year on two major projects. …
Banning hemp to fight pot is reefer madness
Eight decades after the anti-pot propaganda film “Reefer Madness” stirred a moral panic over marijuana, cops and prosecutors in North Carolina are bending the truth to bind hemp to its infamous …
Local news
PHOTOS: Zebulon kids enjoy Popsicles in the Park
ZEBULON — Zebulon Parks & Recreation held its third Popsicles in the Park on July 23 at Whitley Park...
Police K-9 helps finds child missing from Rolesville
ROLESVILLE — Multiple police departments worked together to find a missing girl in Rolesville on Fri...
Wake Forest band performs at FloydFest
WAKE FOREST — Two homegrown musicians competed at FloydFest this week, as venues and groups across t...