Mar 29, 2019
Doc: I have some good news and some bad news. Patient: Give me the bad news first. Doc: OK you have an incurable illness. Patient: That’s horrible; what’s the other…
Feb 28, 2019
Holy moly February 11 was an exciting day! It was great to welcome 500-600 of you to Raleigh in person to the Emerging Issues Forum, ReCONNECT Rural and Urban, and…
Jan 24, 2019
It was noon on a December morning 1999 during the final meeting of the Rural Prosperity Task Force. The goal of this meeting was to find consensus among the 25…
Dec 20, 2018
Hot New Song: “The 12 Numbers of IEI” I was reading yesterday about the most popular new holiday song of the past 30 years, “All I Want for Christmas” by…
Nov 29, 2018
It’s been an exciting, exhausting, inspirational, fun week for us at the Institute for Emerging Issues. On Monday, we met with a group of western North Carolina leaders, including UNC…
Oct 25, 2018
In November of 1992, I was working as a reporter when a strange call came in. “We’d like to talk to you about working in government.” I have to say…
Sep 28, 2018
I was dragging a load of mangled shutters and twisted aluminum siding to the street at my grandmother’s house in New Hanover County this weekend when a neighbor came up…
Aug 27, 2018
My wife and I live in a house on a hill. Our relationship with the couple two doors up may be a lot like the one you have with…
Jul 26, 2018
Every summer, I try to spend at least one week at the beach. And every beach week, I make a deal with myself that by the end of the week…
Jun 27, 2018
Bizarro World or North Carolina? When I was growing up, I looked forward to the regular DC Comics issues on “Bizarro World,” where Lex Luthor was good and Superman was…