- News & Opinion
NC Senate Passes Bill to Restrict Homeless Encampments, Expand Drug Penalties
The NC Senate approved legislation last week that would prohibit local governments from allowing homeless encampments on public property and create enhanced penalties for some drug crimes committed near homeless service providers. House Bill 437 would bar cities and counties from regularly allowing public camping or sleeping on public property, including…
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Could Technology Stop Repeat Speeders? Some NC Lawmakers Think So.
Matt Simpson was on a bicycle ride with his wife and two young children when a Volkswagen Jetta barreled through a crosswalk near their Durham home in July 2022. The car, which was traveling at nearly twice the posted speed limit, struck Simpson, who died from his injuries at a local hospital. “Matt was…
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How a Charlotte Program Connects Formerly Incarcerated People to Green Jobs
Getting reestablished is an uphill struggle for people who are coming home from prison or were otherwise involved in the criminal justice system. That was the experience of Candace Beverly, who was involved in the criminal justice system 20 years ago. “My crime was not one that warranted me serving…
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New Report Highlights Hurdles to Iryna’s Law Implementation
A new preliminary report from a state-funded research group identifies “key pressure points that need to be addressed” to fully implement Iryna’s Law, which passed quickly late last year. The report also outlines initial recommendations for lawmakers to help address existing gaps in North Carolina’s mental health and criminal justice systems.…
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Formerly Incarcerated Man Buys Old NC Prison to Open Reentry Campus
In January 2018, Kerwin Pittman was nearing his release after more than 11 years incarcerated, unsure how he would rebuild his life. Where would he work? How would he navigate a society that had changed so much while he was behind bars? Eight years later, he’s purchased a prison. When…
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Amid Shortage of Juvenile Detention Beds, Mecklenburg’s Sole Facility Sits Empty
Mecklenburg County sent the second-highest number of young people into North Carolina’s detention system last year — yet it has no juvenile detention center. In 2025, 2,186 people were admitted to juvenile detention centers statewide, according to the state Division of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention. Nearly one in eight…
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Inside North Carolina’s Expanding Peer Support Network
Thanos first stepped into the peer cafe across from the bus station in downtown Raleigh looking for his friend — and the promise of a free coffee. What keeps him coming back months later is a community of people and group sessions that have supported his substance use recovery. “Everybody in this…
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Light Rail Killing Exposes Gaps in NC’s Mental Health System
In early September, video of a man stabbing 23-year-old Ukrainian refugee Iryna Zarutska to death on a light rail car in Charlotte shocked the country. People from across the political spectrum demanded answers: How does a horrific, unprovoked attack occur between two strangers? What needs to change so something like…
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Child Care Industry Advocates Fight for Survival After Loss of Federal Aid
Charlotte has evolved over the years, and industries have followed suit, growing and improving — except for the child care industry. That was Laterria Lassiter’s message when she addressed about 85 people during an NC Day Without Childcare demonstration at Pathway Preschool Center in east Charlotte’s Shannon Park neighborhood on…
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Man’s Death Highlights Jump in Solitary Confinement Suicides in NC
When the calls from prison suddenly stopped in February 2024, Erik Ramsey’s family started worrying. Frequent communication was their way of trying to help the 29-year-old Ramsey, who’d been diagnosed with schizophrenia and bipolar disorder, get through the time until his scheduled release in February 2026. In isolation, Ramsey couldn’t…
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NC Juvenile Detention Centers Under Scrutiny for Use of Isolation
Teenagers in North Carolina’s juvenile justice system are routinely being locked alone in their rooms for as much as 23 to 24 hours a day, according to an ongoing federal lawsuit and advocates for young people in custody, despite state officials’ own acknowledgment of research showing that prolonged isolation causes…
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Western NC Thirsts for Water in Wake of Hurricane Helene
The powerful remnants of Hurricane Helene that deluged western North Carolina with fierce winds and raging stormwaters left a wide swath of the state in desperate need of potable water. As of early Sunday afternoon, 145 water systems were either without power, suffering infrastructure damage or under boil-water alerts, depriving individuals, businesses…
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Skarure Waccon Tribe Speaks Out About River Contamination
Before Europeans came to North Carolina, the Skarure Woccon tribe (Cape Fear Indians) sustained themselves by hunting, fishing and harvesting herbs and other plants in the lower Cape Fear River Basin. More popularly known as Tuscarora Indians, many tribal members continue to live spread across land, including Bladen, Columbus and…
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Advocates Say Tougher ‘Death by Distribution’ Law Will Increase Overdose Deaths
With drug overdoses and deaths increasing in North Carolina, as they have in many parts of the country, a bill to strengthen penalties for illegal drug distribution is quickly moving through the state legislature. Senate Republicans introduced Senate Bill 189 in early March during a news conference where lawmakers were…
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NCGA Republicans Reach Medicaid Expansion Deal, but Governor Questions Timeline
Leaders of the North Carolina Senate and House of Representatives announced Thursday morning that they had reached an agreement on how to expand the state’s Medicaid program to cover hundreds of thousands of mostly low-income workers with health care. “We reached this deal late last night, but put the finishing…
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Some Health Providers Endanger Patients by Ignoring Psychiatric Advance Directives
In late summer 2021, Sue came home from work to find her 24-year-old son Michael confused. He shrugged in response to most questions and muttered words that didn’t make much sense. Sue knew something was wrong because this wasn’t the first time this had happened. Michael was involved in the Eagle…
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