All in Columns

John Hood: Deaths of Despair Need Careful Analysis

According to the latest-available set of comparable data, North Carolina ranks 33rd in the nation in “deaths of despair” — that is, in the combined rates of suicides, fatal drug overdoses, and alcohol-induced deaths. In 2020 our age-adjusted rate was 55.5 deaths of despair per 100,000 residents, slightly higher than the national average of 54.8. From 2018 to 2020, our rate rose by 26%. 

Meet Me Greene County: Melanie Morgan

Neuse News is beginning a series to introduce Greene County readers to some of the influential, interesting, and decision-making leaders of our community. Consider this “Meet Me Greene County” column a look into what makes Greene County the special place it is to live, work, and play. This installment features someone who impacts our entire region: Lenoir, Jones and Greene Counties. Let me introduce you to Melanie Morgan, the Director of the Neuse Regional Library System.

Cooking with Tammy Kelly: Blessings for the New Year

The New Year offers us an opportunity to make a clean start on developing new life habits and even leave some behind us. Be sure to start your new year with an extra boost of good fortune by enjoying a meal sure to promise good blessings. The traditional foods in the South relating to good fortune are beans, greens and pork.

John Hood: Democratic Court Blew It on Redistricting

I’ve been on the redistricting beat a long time. Back in the early 1990s, I wrote numerous articles criticizing the collaboration among Republican and NAACP activists to maximize the number of black-majority districts. After the egregious Democratic gerrymander of 2001, I cheered on the lawsuit that ultimately became the Stephenson v. Bartlett case, which overturned the gerrymander and enforced the state constitution’s rule against unnecessarily splitting counties in legislative maps.