Guilford County
Dispatches from the North Carolina court system: Guilford County’s ‘jail docket’
Shaletta Ryans went to court Monday afternoon without even having to leave jail. She appeared in a Guilford County courtroom via a live video feed, her image beaming onto five computer screens in front of prosecutors, a public defender and a judge. She didn’t say much, but the courtroom’s speakers rattled with the sound of chains, the cacophonous soundtrack of jail.
Carolyn Coleman, civil rights trailblazer and Guilford County Commissioner, dies at 79
Carolyn Q. Coleman, a trailblazing civil rights activist and Guilford County commissioner, died late Wednesday. She was 79. Coleman represented East Greensboro and Pleasant Garden on the board for nearly 20 years and was the first Black woman to chair the board. As a child she lived through racial segregation in Savannah, Georgia and was […]
With all eyes on NC Supreme Court Chief Justice race, margin shrinks to 35 votes
All eyes were on the North Carolina Supreme Court Chief Justice race Friday as most of the state’s 100 counties completed their canvas and reported final vote totals. The race went narrowly back and forth between Chief Justice Cheri Beasley, a Democrat, and her Republican challenger, Justice Paul Newby for most of the day and […]
Counties holding virtual town halls on COVID-19 pandemic
With schools, business offices and even houses of worship going online this week to help slow the spread of COVID-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus, state lawmakers are working with local government leaders to organize virtual town hall events on the pandemic. In Guilford County, Democratic Sen. Michael Garrett is helping to organize one […]
Guilford County on the hook for legal fees in redistricting lawsuit
Redistricting and gerrymandering are getting plenty of attention these days at the state level — but a more minor partisan redistricting fight from 2015 could end up costing Guilford County $600,000. As the News & Record in Greensboro reported this week: The legal fees stem from a federal lawsuit the residents and city of Greensboro […]
In one of NC’s many food deserts, a co-op grocery store closes
When Greensboro’s Renaissance Community Co-Op opened in 2016, it was the area’s first since grocery store since 1998. Last week the store, in largely Black and low-income East Greensboro, announced it is closing at the end of the month. Despite demonstrable need in the under-served, low income area the store simply didn’t maintain the sales strength […]
Democrats saw gains in suburban, typically Republican areas
Last week we wrote about the historic sweep of Black sheriff’s candidates in (and beyond) the state’s seven largest counties. This week Jordan Green of Triad City Beat has a good piece about from where the votes in two of those counties – Guilford and Forsyth – seem to have come. From the piece: As […]
To concede or not concede? Wade reaction to loss echoes history
When Michael Garrett upset State Senator Trudy Wade (R-Guilford) in last week’s election, it was by a fairly slim margin – less than a full percentage point, just 763 votes in complete but unofficial results. Those familiar with Wade’s career were immediately reminded of Wade’s last narrow loss – and wondered how she would respond […]
Editorial: Federal judges right to dismiss GOP redistricting pleas
As Policy Watch reporter Melissa Boughton reported late last night, the three judges overseeing an end to racial gerrymandering in North Carolina legislative maps have dismissed the latest absurd pleas of Republican lawmakers that they should be provided with yet another opportunity to redraw the districts they have kept illegal and unconstitutional for seven years. […]
NC paramedic recounts stories from front line of heroin epidemic
A weekend piece at Salon takes a look at North Carolina’s opioid epidemic through the eyes of a Guilford County paramedic. The piece, by Salon’s Young American journalist Lauryn Higgins, is worth your time – particularly if you’ve been following our recent coverage of the issue at NC Policy Watch. From the piece: In 2015, […]
Five Questions with Guilford County Sheriff BJ Barnes on concealed carry
Guilford County Sheriff BJ Barnes is one of the most popular and longest serving Republican sheriffs in North Carolina. When first elected in 1994, Barnes was the first Republican to hold his office in the left-leaning county in nearly three decades. He’s had a lock on it ever since, winning re-election comfortably whether challengers come […]
Success stories in affordable housing, minimum housing standards
Worth your time today: This column by Susan Ladd of the News & Record in Greensboro that looks at too-seldom celebrated success in the movement for affordable housing and strengthening minimum housing standards. The story centers on efforts by the Center for Community Progress, Greensboro Housing Coalition and the city’s Minimum Housing Standards Coalition to […]