RALEIGH — A court battle over legislative redistricting escalated Tuesday, July 2, into a tug-of-war over records that may or may not be considered public.

The presumption of innocence.

It’s a hallowed maxim of American jurisprudence.

HAMLET — Federal officials say the Hamlet Police Department failed to comply with requirements regarding weapons acquired through the Law Enforcement Support Services Program.

RALEIGH — When describing access to public records, “slow” is the first word that comes to mind, Ken Eudy, a senior adviser to Gov. Roy Cooper said Monday, March 11, during a talk on government transparency at Elon University.

RALEIGH — “Chapel Hill professors question group’s public records requests.”

“Governor and NC media settle dispute over McCrory’s records.” 

“Public records lawsuit filed against state Rep. Beverly Boswell.” 

All real headlines. All spanning North Carolina’s news cycles over the past decade. All present important questions about transparency and access to government records, which are, by statute, open to everyone — not just journalists — for inspection.

HAMLET — The recently ousted Depot Museum director is speaking out about her termination.

Stephanie Thornsbury, who held the position of museum manager and downtown coordinator from June 2016 until Dec. 20, released a statement to the Richmond Observer late Friday afternoon, a day following the posting of the position.