AltWeeklies Wire
Sexual harassment, Super PACs and frackingnew
N.C. Museum of Natural Science's board executive committee meets about sexually inappropriate advances; Super PAC injects cash into Durham elections; Pro-fracking attorneys assured N.C. lawmakers that horizontal drilling is safe.
How Democrats can reclaim North Carolina governmentnew

There is no shortcut to reclaim the state via the election of a Democratic or independent governor, though winning the governor's office in 2016 will be critical. The challenge for the Democrats is to win control of the Senate or House by 2020.
Republican National Convention, Day 1: red meat at the tea partynew

Marginalized at the RNC, Michele Bachmann and Hermain Cain light up the Unity Rally
RNC Day 2: "All the laws we have today came from Judeo-Christian views"new

Religious conservatives could be key to Romney-Ryan win.
Extraordinary security at RNC, DNCnew
Date on which the Democratic National Convention begins in Charlotte: Sept. 3 Amount in federal funds the city will spend on security for the gathering, expected to draw 6,000 delegates and 30,000 visitors: $50 million Number of officers the money will be used to hire from outside departments: 3,400...
Where's Howard Clement?new

Sidelined by a publicly unidentified illness that limits his mobility, the Durham City Councilman has missed 20 meetings over 150 days, including key votes on the 751 South development, a public arts project and a resolution on fracking.
Tags: Howard Clement
Love For All means Everyonenew

Amendment 1 would discriminate against thousands of people. Meet some of them.
Democratic candidates differ on reasons for opposing Amendment 1new
The five Democrats vying to be the next governor or lieutenant governor are unanimous on one issue: In the May 8 primary, Amendment 1 should be defeated. But they differ on why.
Durham DA Tracey Cline's fate awaits Friday rulingnew

Cline testified: "Even though this has been difficult, I promised to do what was right. And after doing all that I could do, I had to protect the people of Durham County."
The Art Pope Empire: Media Outlets, Think Tanks and Election Machinesnew

The Pope family -- through the John William Pope Foundation -- has been funneling millions of dollars into a network of conservative research, media and legal centers.
Tom Tancredo's second comingnew
When Tom Tancredo last visited the University of North Carolina, raucous student protesters shouted him down, broke a window, prompted campus police to discharge their pepper spray and chased the conservative speaker off campus. This week, he finally got to make his speech.
Tags: Tom Tancredo
For a Bogeyman, ACORN Sure is Smallnew

What's missing from the news media's ACORN stories is any sense of perspective or proportion. In North Carolina, the organization employs eight people, and it operates on a annual budget of between $400,000 and $450,000.
At Least Four North Carolina Dems Hope to Unseat Sen. Richard Burr in 2010new
Any of them has a good chance to win next year's Democratic primary, but whether they can beat Burr depends on the amount of money the candidates raise, the national sentiment toward Dems and the cachet the Democratic nominee carries, not only in the state's progressive locales, but in more conservative regions in the mountains and down east.
U.S. Rep. Brad Miller Stumps for Health Care Reformnew
While opponents took to the streets to attack the specter of socialism and the possibility that big government could deny them critical care, reform's defenders, including Miller, tried to focus public attention on the denials of care that private insurers are getting away with right now.
North Carolina GOP Still Caters to its Bible Base, Alienating Moderatesnew
The party's recent convention showed clearly that rather than reach out to attract more moderates, the Republicans are intent instead on solidifying their conservative base. The "liberal media," warned outgoing party chair Linda Daves, hitting a popular theme, "is trying to brainwash us" into being ashamed of America and abandoning basic Republican principles.