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Religion
Funeral of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei
In early July, the funeral was held for the Iranian Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed in a joint attack in February by Israel and the United States. The event lasted six days and included mass demonstrations in...
Public Policy
The Affordable Housing Act
Everyone has been talking about needing more affordable housing for decades. Congress recently took bipartisan action. Although the President refused to sign the act, he did not veto it. It would become law within 10 days, except that Congress has taken a 2-week break. Congress has just passed a major, sweeping piece of housing legislation: the omnibus 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act....
Politics
The Duel
For the past year, North Carolina has been the only state in the Union without an operating budget. They’re not even discussing the upcoming budget yet! Unlike the Federal Government, North Carolina cannot operate at a deficit. The impasse was the result of a duel between Senate Leader Phil Berger and Speaker of the House Destin Hall. They are both Republicans,...
LGBTQ+
Gay Pride Events...
Governor Stein declared June as LGTBTQ – Pride Month. Metropolitan areas celebrate June, with the exception of Asheville and Durham that also have events in September. Charlotte events are scheduled for August. Nearly all suburban communities in Wake County have events scheduled. Over the years the event grew until many cities joined in the celebration. Some have parades, and others have “festivals” or street fairs. Given the historical trend of the NCGLA to pass anti-LGBTQ legislation, the trend of growing state-wide celebrations is....
Travel
J.C. Raulston Arboretum
The J.C. Raulston Arboretum is a facility of North Carolina State University in Raleigh and is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year. It is named in honor of its first director. The 10 acres are operated by a small staff and 200 volunteers and is free and open to the public year-round....
General
Cable News Network (CNN)
In contrast with the broadcast networks, CNN in 1980 originally appeared only on cable service providers as a 24/7 news channel. ABC and NBC started in the 1920’s as radio broadcast networks and morphed into TV shortly before WWII with limited distribution. Ted Turner took his experience with a local independent broadcast channel in Atlanta and bet on the expansion of cable providers around the nation at that time, when cable was something of a novelty....