Ready or not, spring is here and it is time for a seasonal update on new books important to North Carolinians. This month’s most important literary news is the release of “Life After Life,” popular author Jill McCorkle’s first novel in 17 years. McCorkle fills a southeastern North Carolina retirement facility with quirky residents, staff, […]

Are you tired of the partisan divisiveness that is poisoning the political environment of our state and nation? Do you wish that the politicians from the two parties would work together more often on issues of common concern? Me too. Maybe we are getting what we wished for, thanks to the North Carolina lottery and […]

Mention on-line education around some of my friends and you will get an emotional reaction. Some senior university faculty members teach classes filled with several hundred students and they worry that famous on-line lecturers could take their places. Others wonder if they can transfer their talents to the on-line market and, if so, how much […]

Portsmouth where? Maine? Virginia? Like many North Carolinians, my friend had not heard of Portsmouth, North Carolina. He was resisting my push to visit Portsmouth in connection with a planned trip to Ocracoke Island to participate in a program for public school teachers organized by the North Carolina Center for the Advancement of Teaching, known […]

“The reports of my death are greatly exaggerated.” So said Mark Twain after hearing that his obituary had been published in the New York Journal. And many of the more than 1,000 people who attended the Emerging Issues Forum last week are saying something similar about the reported death of manufacturing in North Carolina. “Manufacturing […]

North Carolina Republicans are trying to do what the Democrats did in our state for 50 years: Hold back the tide! Until about 1960, North Carolina was part of a “Democratic Solid South.” But a Republican “Southern Strategy” and changing loyalties brought about a rising GOP tide that attracted conservative Democrats who followed Strom Thurmond […]

It was as if aliens had attacked and taken over the state’s university system. At least that is how upset my university friends and faculty reacted to Governor Pat McCrory’s remarks about higher education. He said, “I think some of the educational elite have taken over our education where we are offering courses that have […]

Three recent books with North Carolina connections have gained national recognition. You should certainly know about them. Tim Gautreaux is widely admired in our state’s literary community. For instance, popular Hillsborough author Lee Smith, writing about Gautreaux’s latest book, “The Missing,” said, “I have just finished, biting my nails and staying up almost all night […]

What should a public figure do when caught in a mistake or telling a lie? Any experienced political advisor will urge, “Stop lying, tell the truth, and get the whole story out in one fell swoop.” Further lying or delay in telling the whole story makes it worse. Day after day, the news media’s reports […]

What was the best Christmas present? For me, it would be something a family member made, like the pictures and the book my granddaughters made and gave to me last month. Or, maybe it would be the certificate for “free violin lessons” from my seven-year-old grandson Jake. Jake has been taking violin for about a […]