News & Views

Bob Phillips, Executive Director of Common Cause North Carolina

It seemed like it might never happen, but we now know the winner of last November’s election for an associate justice seat on the North Carolina Supreme Court. Following federal Judge Richard Myers’ complete rejection of GOP candidate Jefferson Griffin’s effort to overturn his narrow defeat by tossing the ballots of thousands of voters, Griffin finally conceded and earlier this past week, incumbent Democratic Justice Allison Riggs was sworn in to serve a new and full eight-year term (albeit six months late).

And recently, Newsline’s Rob Schofield caught up with one of our state’s top government watchdogs, Common Cause of North Carolina executive director Bob Phillips – both to discuss this long-awaited news as well as some dramatic and deeply worrisome changes taking place at the state Board of Elections.

Click here to listen to the full interview with Common Cause of North Carolina executive director Bob Phillips.

Galen Bacharier (File photo)

Lawmakers in Raleigh recently concluded crossover week – a chaotic period in which they considered and voted on scores of bills in dozens of important subject areas in just a few days. And for better or worse, a lot of important and controversial measures won approval and remain eligible for final passage this session.

So, what passed? What failed? And what’s on the agenda going forward? Newsline’s Rob Schofield recently sat down with reporter Galen Bacharier, to find out. And as Galen told Rob, while the state budget debate is sure to be the chief focus of lawmakers going forward, several other high-profile topics – from culture war issues like “diversity, equity and inclusion” and gun control to the role of the state Auditor – will also remain on the political front burner.

Click here for the full interview with reporter Galen Bacharier.

NCIOM President Michelle Ries and NC Child's Erica Palmer Smith (courtesy photos)

For nearly three decades, a pair of nonprofits – the North Carolina Institute of Medicine and NC Child – have released a biennial study known as the Child Health Report Card. The goal, as you might expect, is to provide legislators, public health officials, school administrators, parents and other nonprofit leaders with the latest information on the health and well-being of our state’s kids.

This year – as in 2023 – the focus of the report is on the mental health struggles that plague so many children and the urgent need for better (and better funded) public responses. And recently, to learn more about this issue and several others detailed in the report, NC Newsline caught up with the leaders of the two organizations – Institute of Medicine President and CEO Michelle Ries and NC Child executive director, Erica Palmer Smith.

Listen to the full interview here with Institute of Medicine President and CEO Michelle Ries and NC Child executive director Erica Palmer Smith.

Click here to read the 2025 Child Health Report Card.

Jennifer Rublin (Courtesy photo)

It’s been six long months now, but North Carolina’s seemingly never ending state Supreme Court election may soon be over. This past week, federal Judge Richard Myers II – a Republican appointed by President Trump — issued a complete rejection of GOP candidate Jefferson Griffin’s effort to overturn his narrow defeat by tossing the ballots of thousands of voters. In a detailed 68-page opinion, Myers wrote that Griffin’s effort to change rules governing voter eligibility after the election violates the U.S. Constitution.

One advocacy group especially heartened by the ruling was the North Carolina League of Women Voters – which intervened in the case – and the day after the ruling came down, NC Newsline caught up with the League’s president, Jennifer Rubin.

Click here to listen to the full interview with NC League of Women Voters president Jennifer Rubin.

Rep. Zack Hawkins (Photo: NCGA)

This past week was crossover week at the North Carolina General Assembly – a chaotic period in which lawmakers considered and voted on scores of bills in just a few days – often with precious little informed discussion. It’s a tough time for legislators who take their jobs seriously and try to understand every proposal on which they’re voting – a task that some have more success with than others.

One lawmaker who’s gotten pretty good at the speed-reading and comprehension that crossover week demands is Rep. Zack Hawkins of Durham and earlier in the week NC Newsline caught up with Hawkins to learn more about how he’s been faring, and to get his views on some front-burner issues – including the controversy surrounding diversity, equity and inclusion in state government and the urgent need to better serve people with intellectual and developmental disabilities.

Click here to listen to the full interview with Rep. Zack Hawkins.

Hilary Harris Klein - Photo: Southern Coalition for Social Justice

The challenge of keeping state voting rolls current and accurate has always been a big task and today, in a fast-growing state with more than seven and a half million voters – many of them often on the move – it can be tougher than ever. That said, there are sound and accurate ways to do this important work that keep things up to date without disenfranchising voters who may simply have skipped an election or two — and as a new report from researchers at the Southern Coalition for Social Justice shows, this is an area in which North Carolina officials can and should do a better job.

Fortunately, as Newsline’s Rob Schofield was reminded in a recent conversation with the Southern Coalition’s senior voting rights counsel Hilary Harris Klein, the solutions in this area aren’t terribly complex and many are largely just a function of providing adequate funding to state and county election officials to hire necessary staff and purchase 21st century computer systems.

Listen to the full interview with Hilary Harris Klein of the Southern Coalition for Social Justice.

Click here to read the new SCSJ report.

NC Conservation Network's Grady McCallie and Luna Homsi (Courtesy photos)

Few issues on the public policy agenda in 2025 are more urgently important than the health of the environment. Whether it’s global challenges like climate change and the rise in weather disasters or hyperlocal matters like land use planning and access to clean drinking water, elected leaders undoubtedly have their work cut out for them.

Fortunately, thanks to the hard work of experts at the North Carolina Conservation Network, we now have a wonderfully comprehensive and data rich report that details exactly where things stand. The report – entitled simply enough, “North Carolina State of the Environment” – is based on the analysis of data from 114 different source indicators over a period of five years. And recently NC Newsline caught up with the Conservation Network’s Policy Director Grady McCallie and Campaigns Data Manager Luna Homsi, for a special two-part conversation to learn more.

In Part One of our recent extended conversation, we commenced discussing their organization’s new and remarkably comprehensive report on the state of the environment in North Carolina.

In Part Two of our chat, we took a closer look at some of the many specific environmental challenges confronting our state – including some encouraging news on air pollution, the importance of rapidly transitioning to a sustainable energy grid, the huge challenges posed by the spread of so-called forever chemicals, and the report’s inclusion of dozens of specific policy recommendations.

Click here for the full interview with the NC Conservation Network’s Grady McCallie and Luna Homsi.

Read the full report: North Carolina State of the Environment 2025.

Equality North Carolina executive director Eliazar Posada (Courtesy photo)

Donald Trump’s return to the White House has helped give rise to many disturbing trends in merican politics and policy in recent months, and one of the most troubling has been the crusade to marginalize and revive discrimination against LGBTQ+ Americans.

Both in Washington and Raleigh, conservative politicians and their appointees have been working hard to roll back hard won victories that allowed LGBTQ+ people to live normal lives free from harassment and even to, quite literally, deny their existence.

Thankfully, a cadre of smart and courageous activists has been helping to speak out and push back, and recently Newsline’s Rob Schofield got a chance to chat with one of their most eloquent leaders – the executive director of Equality North Carolina, Eliazar Posada.

Listen to the full interview with Equality North Carolina executive director Eliazar Posada

Sen. Graig Meyer (Courtesy photo)

Members of the North Carolina General Assembly took a post-Easter break last week as they prepared for what promises to be the busiest period of the 2025 session in May and June, but prior to that, Republican leaders in the state Senate unveiled and quickly approved their version of a new two-year state budget.

The proposal attracted sharp criticism from Democratic senators who blasted the tiny pay raises allotted to teachers and state employees, as well as the decision to double down on regressive corporate tax cuts at a time in which the state’s economists are warning of impending revenue shortfalls. And recently, NC Newsline caught up with one of those critics, State Senator Graig Meyer. He’s not only worried about the budget, he’s deeply concerned about what a host of other top state and national GOP priorities portend for our country’s future.

Click here for the full interview with Sen. Graig Meyer.

Common Cause of North Carolina Policy Director Ann Webb (Courtesy photo)

It’s hard to believe, but it’s now been nearly six months since the November 2024 election and one race remains officially undecided – the contest for an associate justice seat on the North Carolina Supreme Court. Two recounts have confirmed that incumbent Justice Allison Riggs was the narrow victor, but remarkably, challenger Jefferson Griffin refuses to concede and continues to pursue the audacious strategy of seeking to have thousands of ballots – ballots cast according to the rules in effect on Election Day – thrown out.

The challenge has led to multiple lawsuits and numerous state and federal court rulings and recently, in order to try and get a handle on where things stand, what’s at stake and what might happen next, NC Newsline’s Rob Schofield caught up with one of our state’s top good government champions, Common Cause of North Carolina Policy Director, Ann Webb.

Click here for the full interview with Common Cause of North Carolina Policy Director Ann Webb.