Originally published in The Washington Post on Election Day 2020 DURHAM, N.C. — Civil rights activists in North Carolina sued the leaders of two local law enforcement agencies late Monday, two days after officers broke up a peaceful march to the polls with dispersal orders, pepper spray and arrests. Two lawsuits, filed in U.S. District […]
Judge declares much of N.C. ag-gag law unconstitutional
Click here for “Judge declares much of N.C. ag-gag law unconstitutional,” Food & Environment Reporting Network, June 2020.
Hope Rising
Click here for a PDF of “Hope Rising,” National Wildlife, June 2020.
A Woman Not of Her Time
Please click here to be directed to the PDF of “A Woman Not of Her Time,” Carolina Alumni Review, March-April 2020 issue.
Out of the Paper Cage
Twenty years ago, Ray Warren—Republican judge, former state legislator, suburban dad—called a pair of press conferences to announce he was gay. In North Carolina, it was a political watershed. Originally published in Charlotte Magazine. RAY WARREN SAT IN THE LIVING ROOM chair and cracked open his laptop. Weeknights were lonely in Flat Rock, in that […]
“We’re At that Tipping Point”
Anita Earls has been the North Carolina GOP’s chief antagonist in the courtroom. Now she’s running for a seat on the state Supreme Court as a GOP threat to pack the court looms. Originally published in Talking Points Memo JUDICIAL RACES IN NORTH CAROLINA tend to be low-key affairs. But the crowd gathered at a […]
What Happens After the Progressive Revolution Comes to a City Like Durham?
On the challenges of governing a bright-blue city in the middle of a hot-red state. Originally published in The Nation. LAST DECEMBER, AFTER HE WAS SWORN IN as mayor of Durham, North Carolina, Steve Schewel laid down his vision for a city where elected officials work alongside residents to resist regressive state and federal policy. […]
Law and Disorder in North Carolina
Since Republicans gained control of the North Carolina legislature in 2011, judges have emerged as some of their staunchest adversaries. Now lawmakers want to curb state court powers. Originally published in The American Prospect. THIS FALL, IN A DISPUTE OVER GERRYMANDERING, federal judges stripped North Carolina lawmakers of the power to draw their own state district lines. […]
Rebel Towns
Call it municipal disobedience: communities facing environmental threats are defying laws they deem illegitimate. Originally published in The Nation. THE 600 RESIDENTS OF SUGAR HILL, New Hampshire, have done a laudable job of keeping the vulgarities of modern life at bay. There are no fast-food restaurants, no neon signs. Instead, the former iron-mining town has […]
Expletive Deleter
As head of the FCC, alumnus Kevin Martin has tackled issues as controversial as when to allow dirty words on television and how much to rein in cable companies. But even though he has embraced Republican orthodoxy when it comes to indecency and media consolidation, FCC watchers have been fascinated by the frequency with which […]
