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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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Berger balks on budget cuts: What’s in the fine print?

By Logan Smith / May 29, 2019 / Comments Off on Berger balks on budget cuts: What’s in the fine print?

Despite the lofty promises in his budget rollout, Sen. Berger and cronies fail to list the cuts contained in the fine print RALEIGH — It happens every year like clockwork. Republican leaders cherry-pick the best parts of their budget to give to reporters, but refuse to go into detail about the budget cuts that allow…

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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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Tillis in a Panic as a GOP Civil War and “Circle of Death” Brews on Dark Side of Moon

By Logan Smith / May 28, 2019 / Comments Off on Tillis in a Panic as a GOP Civil War and “Circle of Death” Brews on Dark Side of Moon

North Carolina’s junior U.S. Senator Thom Tillis is one of the most vulnerable Senate Republicans up for re-election in 2020. Tillis will have a primary challenger in Raleigh business owner Garland Tucker, as Tillis tries to claim he is both moderate and a Republican loyal to hard-right principles. Any claim of Thom Tillis as a…

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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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Another bait-and-switch GOP budget leaves NC educators hanging

By Logan Smith / May 2, 2019 / Comments Off on Another bait-and-switch GOP budget leaves NC educators hanging

House leaders misled tens of thousands of educators about their raises, which would not take effect until halfway through the next school year RALEIGH — Progress NC Action released the following statement on Thursday in response to the House GOP’s latest bait-and-switch budget proposal: “How convenient that House Speaker Tim Moore and GOP House members of…

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