Capital Goods: Would a superhighway from Raleigh to Norfolk be a bigger boost to business than building a $4 billion deepwater port in North Carolina?

The state's tax system, mired in the past, no longer works. But bringing it into the 21st century will take a lot of guts.

Most of the state’s major corporations apparently believe the referendum on gay marriage is none of their business.

Gearino: It’s always fun when tax season coincides with an election cycle.

Mooneyham: On this, there can be no debate: Beverly Perdue made history.

Mooneyham: In this down economy, politicians on both the left and right have tried to sell themselves to constituents as being all about jobs.

Gearino: North Carolina’s newest corporate resident-to-be, Chiquita Brands International Inc., recently found itself in the odd situation of simultaneously being a boycotter and boycottee.

Once again, G.D. Gearino reviews the year that was, putting such a spin on it that 2011 feels quite dizzy.

In January, state Transportation Secretary Gene Conti appointed one of his predecessors interim statewide logistics coordinator, a new position that will oversee the state ports and Global TransPark.

2012 Legal Elite winner: Antitrust - JONATHAN HEYL, Smith Moore Leatherwood LLP, Charlotte

2012 Legal Elite winner: Bankruptcy - KENNETH M. GREENE, Carruthers & Roth PA, Greensboro

2012 Legal Elite winner: Criminal - LOCKE T. CLIFFORD, Clifford Clendenin & O’Hale LLP, Greensboro

2012 Legal Elite winner: Business - AMALIE L. TUFFIN, Whitmeyer Tuffin PLLC, Raleigh

2012 Legal Elite winner: Construction - WILLIAM H. GAMMON, Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough LLP, Raleigh

2012 Legal Elite winner: Corporate Counsel - LISA D. INMAN, Waste Industries USA Inc., Raleigh

2012 Legal Elite winner: Employment - N. RENEE HUGHES, Gardner & Hughes PLLC, Charlotte

2012 Legal Elite winner: Environmental - WILLIAM CLARKE, Roberts & Stevens PA, Asheville

2012 Legal Elite winner: Family - D. CALDWELL BAREFOOT JR., Barefoot Family Law, Raleigh

2012 Legal Elite winner: Intellectual Property - E. ERIC MILLS, Ward and Smith PA, New Bern

2012 Legal Elite winner: Litigation - DANIEL L. BRAWLEY, Williams Mullen, Wilmington