The State of Things

In Steven Burke and Randy Campbell’s Hillsborough home, 1,200 miniature buildings are on display . The extensive collection of American folk art buildings represent everything from movie theatres, to gas stations, to family homes, and they reflect a wide swath of American architecture.

Many of writer Ariel Dorfman ’s works explore power dynamics in a post-colonial world. His latest novel is no exception. “ Darwin’s Ghosts ” (Seven Stories Press/2018) centers on a man whose life is changed on his 14th birthday when his father takes a Polaroid picture of him. However, in the photo protagonist Fitzroy Foster’s face is not his own. Instead, his face is that of a stranger.

North Carolinians had their say at the polls Tuesday in the 2018 primary election. There were primary challenges in almost every Congressional district, and Democrats running for every legislative seat in the state.

At an Easter dinner gathering in 2016, Jonathan Wilson-Hartgrove ’s teenage son and his grandfather began to butt heads. The topic was the upcoming election and then-candidate Donald Trump. While his conservative, Christian grandfather supported the idea of “Making America Great Again,” his black son questioned whether or not his grandfather understood what that meant. In an attempt to reconcile these worlds Wilson-Hartgrove wrote “ Reconstructing the Gospel: Finding Freedom from Slaveholder

At the arts celebration “ A Series of Fortunate Events ,” actors, visual artists, and musicians with disabilities showcase their creations and their talent. But the event goes beyond representing art, it is also a platform for artists to advocate for their own place in the North Carolina arts economy.

The Trump administration’s new refugee restrictions have drastically cut the rate of refugees arriving in the United States and in North Carolina. In 2016, more than 3,000 refugees were resettled in the state. In 2017 there were fewer than 2,000 – the lowest rate in at least a decade. With the new stricter federal vetting policies in place, North Carolina is set to admit fewer than 900 refugees by the end of 2018.

Across North Carolina, police departments in urban and rural areas are getting into the drone game. A statewide de facto moratorium on law enforcement drone use ended in 2015 . Since then the technology has become more affordable and police departments are purchasing the aerial tools for a range of reasons – from chasing down suspects to showing off to kids at community events.

One in 57 8-year-old children in North Carolina is diagnosed with autism, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention . But new reporting from North Carolina Health News and EdNC shows many families around the state are struggling to access specialized treatments that could transform how their children with autism behave.

For more than two decades, Charles Johnson was the lead singer for the Durham-based gospel quartet The Sensational Nightingales. His hit single, “It’s Gonna Rain” spent dozens of weeks on the Billboard gospel charts. The album of the same name reportedly sold one million copies.

The 2018 midterm election is shaping up to be one of the most important in recent memory, and much of what happens in November will be determined tomorrow in primary elections around the state. There are no statewide races on the ballot, but there are primary challenges in almost every Congressional district, Democrats running for every legislative seat in the state, and many contentious local races for positions like sheriff and county attorney.