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Thursday, June, 20 2013

Woefully Austere

Asheville Mayor Terry Bellamy’s trip to Paris reportedly only cost a measly $3340, and was funded through the local Economic Development Coalition. Once again, we mustn’t ask how many bus tickets that could buy for a poor person to get to and from work because, unlike the bourgeoisie, government money isn’t fungible. In hush-hush, back-page [...]

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A Siamese Cat of a Girl

The folks at the Mountain Xpress continue to access emails indicative of the legislative delegation’s intent to impose district elections or even delay municipal elections a year if Asheville City Council does not roll over and play dead with any and all terms and conditions presented for control of the city’s water system.

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Voters Don’t Care How Much You Know until . . .

If people die from carbon monoxide poisoning in the same hotel room two months apart, a normal person would probably not rent the room until the source could be identified and eliminated. An elected person, however, would lobby the legislature to require all hotel rooms in the state to have CO detectors. In other words, [...]

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Here ‘Tis

In an exclusive article, the Asheville Citizen-Times announced Mayor Terry Bellamy is in Paris for the announcement of GE Aviation as the proud identity of Project X. Please understand, the mayor is only representing those dumb taxpayers helping GE who can’t even afford to get to and from work. Besides, the mayor will neither wine [...]

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Western N.C.'s Greatest Hits

Transit system impact

Asheville's transit system has the smallest impact on regional travel, according to a report by Dr. David Hartgen of UNCC.

Asheville congestion

Future road congestion could threaten North Carolina’s economy, but Asheville is better prepared for congestion than most other N.C. cities.

Shuler and amnesty

U.S. Rep. Heath Shuler, D-N.C., and several Republican members of Congress try get Senate to resist attempts to grant amnesty to illegal immigrants.

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Research

Carolina Cronyism: Introduction, Overview, and Reforms

Cronyism is an umbrella term covering a host of government activities by which an industry or even a single firm or speculator is given favors and support that they could not attain in market competition. This report explains what opens government to cronyism, gives a brief rundown of recent examples of cronyism in North Carolina, and offers several possible reforms.

By the Numbers: What Government Costs in North Carolina Cities and Counties FY 2010

County and municipal governments provide many key services while taking in billions of dollars in revenue, but finding comparative data is hard. That's why this report provides information of how much local government costs in every city and county in North Carolina.

Raleigh Convention Center: Throwing good money after bad

This report examines 52 contracts signed by the Raleigh Convention Center for the period of July–December 2011 and is a follow-up to the September 2008 John Locke Foundation report “The New Raleigh Convention Center: A taxpayer-funded money pit.”

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