To the Editor:

On April 12, 1776, North Carolina was the first state to call for independence from Great Britain. Her Provincial Congress, meeting at Halifax, North Carolina, passed a resolution that has come to be known as the “Halifax Resolves.” 

Cherokee is moving one step closer to full adult recreational cannabis use.

The newest advance will come July 4 when the Great Smoky Cannabis Company will be allowed to legally sell marijuana to adults over the age of 21 who are enrolled members of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians or any other federally recognized tribe. 

Without immediate action from the General Assembly, Pandemic-era federal grants to child care providers will run out on July 1 — plunging the state into a child care crisis that will hamper economic and workforce development, make child care more difficult to find and further burden North Carolina’s working parents already feeling the pinch from unaffordable housing and the relentless corporate greed that’s driving inflation. 

Hoping to build on the momentum of a successful off-year election cycle, even amid violent threats, members of Western North Carolina’s LGBTQ+ community are wary of what might happen in the General Election and are calling for the codification of rights already enjoyed by other Americans. 

It was just about 12 years ago when I first rolled into Waynesville. After a solo 18-hour, 1,000-mile trek from my native Upstate New York to Western North Carolina, I found myself sitting in an office chair awaiting an in-person interview with Smoky Mountain News publisher/founder Scott McLeod. 

Macon County will be able to cover all its upcoming capital projects in the 2024-2025 fiscal year budget without a property tax increase, allowing it to maintain the lowest tax rate in North Carolina. 

North Carolina is becoming a national leader in expanding choice and competition in education. For some North Carolinians, this is a source of pride. For others, it’s shameful. 

Despite stiff opposition, the N.C. Senate voted this month to double the funding for Opportunity Scholarships to boost enrollment in privately run K-12 schools; more than $200,000,000 is earmarked for kids in high-income families. 

An estimated 38 million motorists are expected to travel by roadways this Memorial Day weekend and the State Highway Patrol is working to ensure residents and visitors to our state reach their destinations safely. 

Southern Appalachian Highlands Conservancy (SAHC) is celebrating 50 years of conserving clean water, plant and wildlife habitat, farmland and scenic beauty in the mountains of North Carolina and Tennessee.