Alanna Joyner
During the last meeting of the Governor’s Commission on Access to Sound Basic Education, WestEd’s “Leandro report” authors provided additional information showing that the recommended spending levels are quite reasonable and within the state’s capacity to readily implement. North Carolina’s 26-year-old Leandro education finance lawsuit came to a close last month as a state Superior…
Read MoreOn the heels of the impeachment acquittal, Trump visited Charlotte’s Central Piedmont Community College for the North Carolina Opportunity Now Summit. With no surprise, Trump commented on his impeachment trial, claiming it was an “impeachment hoax” and gave special praise to North Carolina Sen. Thom Tillis for choosing party over country, as he voted not…
Read MoreA water sample taken from the Sanford sewage treatment plant that discharges into the Deep River, revealed a shocking concentration of forever chemicals. Documents released from the N.C. Department of Environmental Quality uncovered high levels of potentially carcinogenic chemicals in rivers and streams throughout the Cape Fear River basin in North Carolina — from Reidsville…
Read MoreOn Wednesday, the U.S Senate acquitted Trump on the charges that he abused his power by pressuring a foreign government to interfere in a U.S. presidential election and then obstructed a congressional investigation into his actions. The vote was entirely partisan with an exception to Republican Sen. Mitt Romney of Utah, who voted to convict…
Read MoreOn Saturday, hundreds of mental health advocates raised questions about the priorities and concerns of the mental health community in North Carolina. The 42nd annual Mental Health Legislative Breakfast at UNC Chapel Hill, brought over 400 health providers, advocates and consumers into a discussion to make state lawmakers aware of the need for improved and…
Read MoreDocuments show Lt. Gov. Dan Forest’s chief of staff initiated meetings with indicted financier Greg Lindberg, who had deposited $2.4 million in political committees backing Forest’s current run for governor. Forest’s Chief of Staff Hal Weatherman, set up a meeting through his private email between Greg Lindberg, John Gray, and Insurance Commissioner Mike Causey. This…
Read MoreLast Friday, attorneys for a subsidiary of Smithfield Foods, the world’s largest pork producer, went before the Fourth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals and asked three judges to overturn a $3.25 million jury award in a lawsuit filed by neighbors of a large North Carolina hog farm. The attorneys were met with surprise as a…
Read MoreAccording to the Center for Health Services Research at UNC Chapel Hill, over one hundred rural hospitals have closed across the United States since 2010. In a recent report by iVantage Health Analytics, almost 600 rural hospitals are at risk of closing. In these studies, both closures and at-risk hospitals are in the 14 states…
Read MoreThe UNC Board of Governors is not the only board under scrutiny. Two members of the East Carolina University Board of Trustees are accused of offering money to fund an ECU student’s campaign for student body president in order to gain a vote. A letter from ECU board chairman Vern Davenport, Vice Chairman Fielding Miller…
Read MoreOn Monday, a group of prominent UNC-Chapel Hill professors delivered a petition to the new UNC-Chapel Hill Chancellor Kevin Guskiewicz, petitioning to end the moratorium. UNC professors are asking the UNC Board of Trustees to allow the university to rename buildings and historical places on campus — particularly those tied to a racist or white…
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