Eleanore Wood

“Two-Faced Tillis’s” latest game of mental gymnastics

By Eleanore Wood / June 18, 2019 / Comments Off on “Two-Faced Tillis’s” latest game of mental gymnastics

As he gears up for a tough reelection campaign, Thom Tillis has become less of an occasional flip-flopper and more of a mental gymnast, capable of taking one contradictory position after the other as he attempts to curry favor with North Carolina voters while also sucking up to Donald Trump. This time, “Two-Faced Tillis” claims…

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Cooper & pro-choice champions beat back deceptive anti-abortion bill and NC-GOP’s shameful political stunts

By Eleanore Wood / June 11, 2019 / Comments Off on Cooper & pro-choice champions beat back deceptive anti-abortion bill and NC-GOP’s shameful political stunts

The deceptive so-called “Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act” has been defeated once and for all, even though House Speaker Tim Moore tried to postpone the veto override vote at least NINE times. He wanted to sneak in a vote when pro-choice champions like Rep. Sydney Batch of Wake County, who is currently recovering from breast cancer treatment, were not…

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The Washington Post: How a dead man’s hard drives are exposing the GOP attack on democracy

By Eleanore Wood / June 11, 2019 / Comments Off on The Washington Post: How a dead man’s hard drives are exposing the GOP attack on democracy

First, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the NC-GOP racially gerrymandered legislative districts to dilute the voice of black voters. Now there’s evidence that key North Carolina Republicans lied in federal court to avoid facing voters in a special election in 2017. A 2017 special election that would have threatened the GOP’s super-majorities. Instead, voters…

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The GOP’s Gerrymandering Lies

By Eleanore Wood / June 7, 2019 / Comments Off on The GOP’s Gerrymandering Lies

New court filings by Common Cause of North Carolina accuse Republican state lawmakers of lying in federal court about the existence of updated redistricting maps so the GOP could avoid a special election in 2017 after their districts were ruled as racially gerrymandered. Even a conservative U.S. Supreme Court with Trump appointees had ruled that North Carolina…

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Public News Service – Study: Black Women May Be Most Affected by NC Abortion Restrictions

By Eleanore Wood / June 4, 2019 / Comments Off on Public News Service – Study: Black Women May Be Most Affected by NC Abortion Restrictions

In North Carolina, the number of people without access to health care is disproportionately women of color. Without this access, it is very difficult for these women to obtain expensive contraceptive medication. Because North Carolina lawmakers refuse to expand Medicaid, contraception and prenatal care are nearly impossible for lower-income women. North Carolina already has one of the…

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Wake schools work to fight re-segregation

By Eleanore Wood / June 4, 2019 / Comments Off on Wake schools work to fight re-segregation

In the face of growing school resegregation caused by the explosion of charter schools and private school vouchers — as well as the aftereffects of institutional policies such as redlining — the Wake County school board is making a commitment to make school enrollments more racially and socioeconomically diverse. District-wide, a total of 38% of…

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GOP budget proposals fall well short of supporting public schools

By Eleanore Wood / June 4, 2019 / Comments Off on GOP budget proposals fall well short of supporting public schools

Once again, Republican leaders completely ignored the tens of thousands of teachers who marched in Raleigh last month for better classroom funding. Instead of meeting the educators’ demands, this budget shows politicians would rather give huge tax cuts to big corporations and millionaires than invest in our schools and our students. Adjusted for inflation and enrollment…

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NC General Assembly stoops to new low in latest attack on women’s right to an abortion

By Eleanore Wood / May 28, 2019 / Comments Off on NC General Assembly stoops to new low in latest attack on women’s right to an abortion

The NC House of Representatives do not have the votes to override Gov. Cooper’s veto of SB 359, the so-called “Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act,” when all House members are present. So they have placed the bill on the voting calendar and then postponed it ten times in hopes of finding a moment when enough pro-choice champions…

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Protests against immigration bills that force sheriffs to act like ICE agents

By Eleanore Wood / May 8, 2019 / Comments Off on Protests against immigration bills that force sheriffs to act like ICE agents

A group of immigrants and activists came together Saturday morning to rally outside of the North Carolina Sheriff’s Association against House Bill 370 and House Bill 135. They are urging Governor Roy Cooper to take a stand against two bills, which according to Members of the immigrant community makes them feel as if they are “captive in a community…

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NC still well below national average in teacher pay, classroom funding rankings

By Eleanore Wood / May 8, 2019 / Comments Off on NC still well below national average in teacher pay, classroom funding rankings

The National Education Association has released its annual teacher pay rankings for 2018-19, and North Carolina still lags behind the national average. According to the new list, North Carolina ranks 34th in the country with an average teacher salary of $51,231 — over $8,000 less than the national average of $59,859. But adjusted for inflation, teacher salaries…

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