Alanna Joyner
Last Friday marked the first of several public hearings in Alamance County over the potential Duke Energy rate hike request. Numerous residents spoke out against the rate increase — emphasizing the financial hardships that Duke Energy’s rate increase would cause. If Duke has its way, ratepayers’ bills would go up by 6.8 percent — essentially…
Read MoreNorth Carolina’s U.S. Senators Richard Burr and Thom Tillis chose party over country on Friday evening, voting with their Republican colleagues to block the Senate from calling witnesses in the impeachment trial. The final vote of 51-49 with Republicans Susan Collins of Maine and Mitt Romney of Utah joining 47 Democrats and independents, cleared way…
Read MoreFrom The Sanford Herald: Like countless N.C. educators, I’m forced to work a second job to make ends meet. Unlike most of my colleagues, my second job isn’t retail, it’s saving lives. Every Friday after I finish grading coursework, I head to my weekend job as an EMT/firefighter in Harnett County and pull 12-hour shifts.…
Read MoreDuke Energy is asking the NC Utilities Commission to raise electricity rates on its customers by an average of $8 / month for residents or almost $100 / year to pay for coal ash clean-up. The N.C. The Utilities Commission will hold public hearings in Alamance County on Wednesday and Charlotte on Thursday to take…
Read MoreDemocratic Gov. Roy Cooper and the Republican-led General Assembly have been at odds over the allocation of state money to public education. For the past three years, Cooper has asked state lawmakers to increase spending on education while Republican leaders continue to try to give tax breaks to large corporations instead of properly funding our…
Read MoreOn Wednesday, Bob Hall, a citizen watchdog, asked the State Board of Elections to investigate and discontinue the NC Heritage PAC, a political action committee connected to the NC Division of the Sons of Confederate Veteran. Hall filed a complaint alleging that the SCV illegally financed the NC Heritage PAC that gave donations to individuals…
Read MoreFrom The Daily Reflector: It’s certainly not unusual for teachers to stay in their classrooms long after school ends to grade papers and plan for upcoming lessons. It’s part of the job I expected when I became a teacher. But something I didn’t expect was having to work a second job to make ends meet…
Read MoreRepublican state lawmakers showed their support for areas that declare themselves “Second Amendment sanctuaries” ahead of the Virginia gun rally against gun control proposals from the Virginia General Assembly’s new Democratic majority. Fifty members of the North Carolina House Republican caucus, including House Speaker Tim Moore, signed a letter circulated last Tuesday during the legislature’s…
Read MoreFor years, communities across North Carolina stood up to Duke Energy (as well as the energy giant’s enablers in the McCrory administration and the General Assembly) and fought to get coal ash pollution cleaned up in their neighborhoods. The tenacity of those communities reflects the true spirit of democracy and resilience, now that Duke Energy…
Read MoreNC’s Republican-controlled state legislature remains calcified in its opposition to expanded Medicaid, which would bring down healthcare costs for everyone, even those with private health insurance. But a growing number of conservatives are calling on lawmakers to finally allow expansion. From WRAL: “We believe we have a responsibility to look after our citizens. It’s a…
Read More