Policy Watch Investigates

Transgender people born in North Carolina can now change the gender marker on their birth certificates without undergoing medical transition, according to a consent judgment in a federal law suit issued Wednesday. The lawsuit, filed last year by Lambda Legal, Baker Botts LLP and Brooks Pierce McLendon Humphrey & Leonard, challenged state restrictions on how transgender North Carolinians can change their gender markers.

Earlier this month, the Southern Poverty Law Center released the results of a poll designed to determine the extent to which extremist beliefs and narratives have become prevalent the general public. The poll of more than 1,500 Americans, conducted in late April, found a rising acceptance of the use of violence against political opponents and of the notion that marginalized groups such as LGBTQ people are inherently dangerous.

Millions of North Carolinians would be eligible for discounted or free hospital care, even after their insurance was billed, under proposed legislation debated this week.   People who make up to 200% of the federal poverty level – this year, that’s $55,500 for a family of four - would receive free hospital care, under House Bill 1039. People in households of four people with incomes between $55,500 and $166,500, or 600% of the federal poverty level, would be eligible for discounts.

This week House Bill 755 - the “Parents’ Bill of Rights” - is headed for one more procedural vote in the N.C. House and then to the desk of Gov. Roy Cooper. Cooper, a Democrat, has signaled he will veto the bill. But democratic lawmakers say tha will serve Republicans’ political purposes, letting them campaign on their opposition having killed a bill that would ban any instruction on sexual orientation or gender identity in Kindergarten through third grade.

Man's advocate says NCORR ignored requests for emergency repairs The grumbling of outboard motors announced that help had arrived.  In October 2016, Hurricane Matthew engulfed the city of Goldsboro in 15 inches of rain, lifting the Neuse River to a record 29.7 feet — 11 feet above flood stage.

For 28 years, Roverta and Franklin have owned a spacious mobile home and a lot in Dudley, in Wayne County. Here, they raised a family. They planted a flower garden. They barbecued in the backyard. Roberta ran a day care, as the couple’s own children grew into adults.

NC Policy Watch investigative reporter Lisa Sorg has documented in an ongoing series of powerful reports, the failure to deliver recovery services to scores of families who suffered grievous damage to their homes during Hurricane Matthew in 2016. That collection of reports is presented here.

Folasewa Olatunde didn’t want to go to the dentist. But sharp pain and inflammation in her mouth told her she should. The dentist told her she needed to have a molar removed and some cavities filled. The cost: more than $3,000.

While the political drama in North Carolina’s 1st Congressional district is focused on who will win the Democratic primary and the chance to succeed incumbent the U.S. Rep. G.K. Butterfield, Republican candidates in that district have raised about as much for their campaigns as the two most prominent Democrats combined.  

Durham police chief, sheriff, and D.A. agree that county's practices and experience can be a model for systemic reform Durham Police Chief Patrice Andrews teared up as she sat in a close circle of people in the Great Hall of North Carolina Central University’s Law School.

Despite the frustrations of her stormy final year in office, King remains optimistic about the future of the 'J School' and the profession it supports Last week Susan King was inducted into the NC Media & Journalism Hall of Fame, a career curtain call after completing a decade as dean of the UNC-Chapel Hill’s Hussman School of Journalism and Media.

Cindy Cross was diagnosed with breast cancer about 15 years ago and found compassionate medical care when she first visited Michelle Taylor Skipper’s office in Laurinburg.   Cross has been a patient of Skipper’s ever since, and her two adult daughters see her, too.

More than nine months after a UNC Board of Governors committee refused to reappoint a widely respected UNC Law professor to the University of North Carolina Press Board of Governors, the UNC System has released hundreds of pages of email communications Policy Watch requested in connection with the conflict.

North Carolina marked a major milestone last week. Unaffiliated voters surpassed Democrats and Republicans as North Carolina's largest group of voters. Independent now make up 34.6% (2,503,997 ) of North Carolina's registered voters. That edges out Democrats at 34.5% (2,496,434) and Republican at 30.3% (2,192,073). Libertarians (48,654) make up 0.7% of the state's voters.