Free Republic

It's been one of the biggest stories of the year in eastern North Carolina. State Senator RC Soles is under criminal investigation following a series of stories we broke on WWAY. The Columbus County Democrat is being investigated for allegations of child molestation and for shooting a man at his home. Our coverage started in August 2008, after we learned a number of Sen. Soles' young, male legal clients were repeatedly arrested at the Senator's home and office. The charges ranged from trespassing and theft, to more serious offenses like extortion and arson. We spoke with several of the young...

Raleigh, N.C. – John Lassiter has taken a 50-46 lead in Public Policy Polling’s final survey of the Charlotte Mayoral race, an outcome that is still within the poll’s margin of error. White undecideds moved in Lassiter’s direction over the final days, giving him a staggering 68-29 lead with that group. Foxx leads 86-12 with African Americans. Lassiter leads 51-40 with independents, continuing a double digit lead he’s shown with those voters in every poll of the race. He’s also winning 17% of the Democratic vote while Foxx is only getting 9% of Republicans to cross over. The primary reason...

The Young Republicans of Union County are hosting a “Tea Party” rally at Marshall Park in uptown Charlotte on Saturday October 31, 2009 from 10 AM until noon. Press Release ………………………………. We're all invited to the TEA Party in Charlotte on Halloween Day (10/31/09). Hope to see you there! We come from diverse backgrounds, but we believe in these basic principals: 1. The Constitution was written to limit the powers of the government, not the freedoms of the people. 2. Personal responsibility, Free Markets, and a Laissez-faire (hands off) government is what creates jobs, wealth, and greatness in America 3....

Don't forget to vote in your local election today!

Hundreds of protesters massed behind the legislative building Wednesday, with a simple message in dark financial times. "No more taxes!" they shouted. Some carried signs and "Don't Tread on Me" flags for the event, dubbed "Take Back Our State Tea Party." A collection of conservative groups brought in nationally recognized speakers such as FOX News' Mary Katharine Ham and Joe "The Plumber" Wurzelbacher to speak against proposed tax increases in next year's budget. Wurzelbacher, whose questioning of Barack Obama's tax policies in the 2008 campaign brought him prominence, urged people to get involved in politics and hold government officials accountable....

The unemployment rate in North Carolina inched up by only 0.1 percentage point in March, to 10.8 percent – the smallest jump in five months. But that figure could be deceiving, some analysts said Friday. Seasonally adjusted, total non-farm industry employment declined by 41,300 jobs during the month, points out John Quinterno of the Raleigh-based North Carolina Budget & Tax Center. That makes March the second worst month for job losses since the recession began in December 2007. The North Carolina Employment Security Commission, which reported the unemployemnt numbers Friday, said that the total number of jobless workers, 492,512, is...

Here is the updated information for anyone interested in coming to the Hillsborough/Orange County North Carolina Tea Party (maybe we should call it the Regulator Tea Party?) Date: 15 April 2009 Time: 5:30-6:30 PM Location: The grounds of the Historical Orange County Courthouse, 104 E. King St., downtown Hillsborough, NC Contact info: No website/Facebook yet, but please FReepmail me if you want the email or cell phone - I will be able to check email and FR until late this evening, after that, I'll be out of town until Saturday evening. Bring your tea bags, your protest signs, and yourselves!...