Taylor Batten

In this space last Sunday, I wrote about Erskine Bowles’ plea for the nation to stop spending $1 trillion a year more than it takes in. Unless we fix that quickly, Bowles argued, “America is well on its way to becoming a second-rate power.”

Erskine Bowles is a little like John Parke, if legend is true. Both warned of impending disaster, only to be ignored. In Parke’s case, it led to 2,209 deaths. In Bowles’, it could lead to the dwindling of a great nation.

So you’ve probably heard: North Carolinians are going to decide on a constitutional amendment on gay marriage in a couple of weeks. You’ve probably formed an opinion and know how you’re going to vote.

Buzzing beneath the surface of Charlotte's traditional, button-down culture is an army of innovators who see the world just a little bit differently.

It's a classic hatchet job of a political ad, and it's powerful.

For years, a junkyard sat at the corner of Moretz Avenue and Lucena Street.

Bosses don't usually appreciate the previous boss hanging around, telling them what to do. This time, though, was different - up to a point.

A dangerous enemy threatens America. This threat is hard to confront, because it does not represent any one government and is not in any one location; it operates in smaller cells all over.

Charlotte Democrats' unprecedented rout of Republicans on Tuesday was an eye-opener.

I walked upstairs to get ready for work Tuesday. My shadow - aka Clara, our weimaraner - followed, of course, as she has for almost 13 years. I had just reached the top when my 4-year-old son, James, said: "Daddy, look at Clara."