General election candidates for the 2022 N.C. Senate District 46 and District 49 races share their positions with Xpress.
Tag: N.C. General Assembly
Showing 22-42 of 127 results
Letter: Pay teachers what they’re truly worth
“The bottom line is: Without higher salaries for educators, not only will our students suffer, but so will the entire community.”
GA short session yields both change and inertia for WNC
From occupancy tax allocations and hemp production to private bar membership, state legislators voted on several measures that are consequential to WNC in their recently concluded short session.
Letter: Yes to allowing medicinal cannabis
“Yes, yes, yes. Legalize medicinal marijuana!”
How zoning, land-use rules work
Court rulings and state laws sometimes mean local governments can’t adopt zoning rules their constituents might like — and in some cases, it’s uncertain just how much authority municipalities have, say Asheville City Attorney Brad Branham and other lawyers working in the field.
Letter: Let’s push Asheville to regulate single-use plastics
“Because the presence of a pollutant that is harmful to both human health and the environment has been documented in our region (we have the water samples to prove it), Asheville and Buncombe County not only have the power to act, they have a legal duty to protect its residents.”
2022 Primary Voter Guide: N.C. Senate District 46 — Republican
Candidates in the N.C. Senate District 46 Republican 2022 primary share their positions with Xpress.
2022 Primary Voter Guide: N.C. Senate District 49 — Democratic
Candidates in the N.C. Senate District 49 Democratic 2022 primary share their positions with Xpress.
2022 Primary Voter Guide: N.C. House District 115 — Republican
Candidates in the N.C. House District 115 Republican 2022 primary share their positions with Xpress.
Let’s ban open burning in Buncombe County
“Residents’ health shouldn’t have to suffer when there are practical alternatives to open burning.”
Letter: Hoping Supreme Court requires fair district maps
“It is wrong for politicians of either party to create maps that serve themselves rather than their constituents.”
Letter: General Assembly needs to work together
“First, he noted that the maps drawn for North Carolina followed previous court orders. That in no way should imply that the maps were drawn fairly.”
N.C. House vacancies pave way for new faces in 2022
The planned retirements of Reps. John Ager, Susan Fisher and Brian Turner — all three multi-term Democratic members of the N.C. House from Buncombe County — mean the county’s state-level representation is set for a big shift in the upcoming election.
Letter: Let cities regulate short-term rentals
“The state legislature shouldn’t tell municipalities how to run their towns.”
Letter: Families need reliable, sustainable child care system
“An increase in the subsidy rate formula will allow more centers to continue operating and to increase pay for the child care workforce.”
Census data paves way for WNC redistricting
The N.C. General Assembly must take census results into account as members create new voting district boundaries that reflect the state’s population growth and follow strict legal criteria. Western North Carolina’s state Senate and U.S. House districts are both likely to see changes for the 2022 election cycle.
Enhanced French Broad monitoring highlights water safety issues
A $25,670 grant from The Community Foundation of WNC is helping MountainTrue continue testing begun last year; eventually, the group wants to be able to give rivergoers up-to-the-minute information about E. coli levels.
Local Democrats reluctant to support government transparency bill
When Xpress asked each of Buncombe County’s state-level representatives if they would support the new transparency measures contained in House Bill 64, only Republican Sen. Chuck Edwards gave an unequivocal yes.
Canton and Maggie Valley consider additional occupancy tax
House Bill 412 would enable the two Haywood County municipalities to levy a 2% occupancy tax on accommodations like hotels, motels and Airbnbs, which would then be managed by new town-specific tourism development authorities.
BCTDA plans $15M in marketing for 2021-22
The TDA would spend at least $10.6 million on advertising buys, an 8% increase over its last pre-pandemic fiscal year. Just over $3 million would go toward the production of new content, with the remainder of the marketing budget spent on research.
Letter: Legislators should work on something useful
“Get your minds off of what might or might not be in someone’s pants, legislators, and work on something useful like expanding Medicaid or increasing teachers’ pay.”