Politics

July 17, 2014 - A new Facing South/Institute for Southern Studies analysis finds that super PACs and other outside groups spent more than $2.6 million targeting state races in North Carolina's 2014 primaries, with almost half targeted at a key seat for the state supreme court.

July 16, 2014 - The NC Mining and Energy Commission is taking public comments on the state's proposed fracking rules through Sept. 15. Meanwhile, environmentalists are urging the commission to reinstate the ban on the controversial gas drilling technique.

July 14, 2014 - Republican Mayor Adam O'Neal of Belhaven, NC is walking to the nation's capital to make the case for Medicaid expansion following the closure of a hospital critical to the residents of his rural coastal community.

July 11, 2014 - Clean-energy advocates are battling Duke Energy's plan to cut payments to homeowners with grid-tied solar panels for the excess power they sell back to the company. Meanwhile, a major investment bank says the falling price of solar panels and battery storage could encourage large numbers of U.S. homeowners and businesses to abandon utilities altogether and go off-grid.

July 10, 2014 - The number of full-time reporters covering state politics for newspapers has declined significantly over the past decade, even as more critical policy decisions are falling to the states. Southern states have an especially dramatic imbalance between the number of reporters and the residents they serve.

July 7, 2014 - Defenders of a controversial new North Carolina election law that's being challenged by civil rights groups cite statewide vote totals to argue against any racially discriminatory suppressive effect -- but local data tell a more complicated story.

July 3, 2014 - Most Southern states have opted not to expand the Medicaid health care program for the poor and disabled under the Affordable Care Act. A new report breaks down exactly what that means in terms of the impact on Southerners' health and quality of life.