Governor Roy Cooper
Gov. Cooper asks for 23% increase in DEQ budget to help cash-strapped agency
The NC Department of Environmental Quality is the Oliver Twist of state government, approaching the legislature, its empty bowl extended, and pleading: “Please sir, I want some more.” Over the past 10 years state lawmakers have been notoriously stingy in its appropriations to the department. They have flaunted their distaste of environmental regulation, not only […]
HPU Poll looks at favorability for governor, presidential candidates
The results of the latest High Point University Poll, released Wednesday, give some insight into how North Carolinians view everything from the job being done by Gov. Roy Cooper and President Joe Biden to the name recognition of potential candidates to replace them both in office. Cooper continued to have the strongest support of any […]
“An inherent conflict of interests”: Governors’ commission members talk lobbyists, diversity in UNC System governance
This week members of the Governor’s Commission on the Governance of Public Universities in North Carolina continued their series of listening sessions, meeting to hear from the public in Asheville. At their Tuesday meeting, the second of six planned sessions, members took on questions of diversity on the board and the thorny issue of whether […]
A look at the members of the Governor’s Commission on the Governance of Public Universities
Today in Wilmington the Governor’s Commission on the Governance of Public Universities in North Carolina will hold the first of six public forums. The stated mission of the listening sessions: “to seek ideas and suggestions on how to enhance and refresh the governance structure of our public universities.” The commission’s overall mission is to […]
Plagued by construction delays, ReBuild NC has spent $10.6 million to house Hurricane Matthew survivors in motels, rent storage units
This story has been corrected to reflect the first TRA payment was in August 2019, not January 2020. ReBuild NC has spent $10.64 million on motels, moving and storage unit expenses in three years for displaced Hurricane Matthew survivors, as construction and administrative delays have kept people from returning to their homes. The figures were […]
Legislative subcommittee to investigate ReBuild NC’s mismanagement of Hurricane Matthew recovery program
A 12-member legislative subcommittee will investigate the NC Office of Recovery and Resiliency’s handling of a Hurricane Matthew disaster relief program that has left thousands of people displaced, living in motels, with relatives, or in dilapidated houses for years. NCORR is familiarly known as ReBuild NC. This week House Speaker Tim Moore and Senate […]
NC Governor tests positive for COVID, symptoms mild
North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper announced on Monday that he has tested positive for COVID-19 and was experiencing very mild symptoms. The 65-year-old Cooper is vaccinated against the virus and has received two booster shots. He has also begun a course of Paxlovid, an oral antiviral pill. “I’m feeling fine,” said Governor Cooper in a […]
As NC marks National Gun Violence Awareness Day, gun reform faces an uncertain future in Congress.
On Friday, Governor Roy Cooper joined others in recognizing June 3rd as National Gun Violence Awareness Day, an effort to raise awareness and remember the lives lost to gun violence. North Carolina has the 17th highest rate of gun deaths in the nation. In 2020 there were 1,699 firearm related deaths in our state, […]
Gov. Cooper’s budget on environmental issues: what it contains and why it matters
Gov. Roy Cooper unveiled his $29.3 billion budget yesterday, 3% of which is devoted to natural and economic resources. Here are some highlights of the environmental sections and why they’re important: Department of Environmental Quality $2.49 million to address emerging compounds with additional staff and testing Why it matters: Are you tired of PFAS yet? […]
GOP Sens. Newton, Sawyer, McInnis lambaste Gov. Cooper’s clean energy order, call it “political theater”
Gov. Cooper signed Executive Order 246 on Jan. 7 at NC A&T University (Screenshot: Governor’s Facebook page) This story has been updated with a statement from the governor’s office and Duke Energy. In an icy letter to Gov. Roy Cooper, three Republican state senators — Paul Newton, Vickie Sawyer and Tom McInnis — lambasted the […]
Gov. Cooper executive order calls for deeper cuts in greenhouse gas emissions, focuses on environmental justice
Gov. Roy Cooper signed an ambitious executive order today designed to further reduce greenhouse gas emissions statewide and to emphasize environmental justice in agency decisions, beyond the NC Department of Environmental Quality. Executive Order 246 sets several targets to mitigate the damage of climate change, including the reduction of statewide greenhouse gas emissions by at least […]
Gov. Cooper nominates former DEQ lobbyist Elizabeth Biser to lead agency
Elizabeth Biser, who previously served as the director of Legislative and Government Affairs for the NC Department of Environmental Quality, is the governor’s new nominee to lead the agency. Biser also worked as a government relations policy advisor at the law firm Brooks Pierce, where former DEQ Secretary Bill Ross works. There, she successfully lobbied […]