There is no real, definitive relief in sight. And North Carolina?s gasoline tax may increase again July 1 by a few cents.

North Carolina needs to revamp the tax code completely. We have some of the highest tax rates, like the corporate tax rate, in the country.

No 'Born on the 4th of July' stories anywhere in sight,

I love my State, because her people have been good and kind to me, and because her sky is above my home, as it will be above my grave.

....mountains. They stand at every view, like a mother offering a blanket in which to wrap everyday life and shelter it from useless. dreads. In june they are walls of white rhodendron blossom. In autumn the forests set themselves afflame with color. Even winter has its icy charms.

Barbecue is the third rail of North Carolina politics.