Democracy
Last Wednesday, Gov. Roy Cooper outlined the benchmarks North Carolina needs to accomplish first before reopening business during the pandemic. In the press conference, the governor stated that expanded testing capacity, ability to trace contact of all infected people, and improved trends — in terms of the number of cases, hospitalizations, deaths, and the availability…
Read MoreA new report discovers that U.S Senator and Intelligence Committee Chairman Richard Burr, sold his D.C. townhouse off-market for above market-price to a donor and powerful lobbyist connected to him, raising possibilities that the purchase could violate Senate ethics rules. In 2017, Burr sold the town house in the Capitol Hill neighborhood to a group…
Read MoreThe COVID-19 outbreak is exposing not only the weakness in the U.S health system and economy but the lack of preparedness plagued by decades of cuts and lack of concern. In North Carolina, working families, vulnerable populations, and children may be victims of a legislature that favored benefits for the wealthy at the expense of…
Read MoreAmid the deadly spread of COVID-19, public health officials view the safest and most effective option to vote is through an expanded use of voting by mail. Five states currently conduct all elections entirely by mail, with North Carolina among several other states, considering the option in order to protect voters from the virus. Yet,…
Read MoreAcross the state, food banks have responded to the COVID-19 outbreak by overhauling their food distribution to minimize social contact and focusing efforts on at-risk clients. But with unemployment claims soaring to over 474,466, food insecurity for thousands may produce challenges for food banks that distribute food within their communities. In response to the encroaching…
Read MorePivotal measures such as self-distancing and social-isolation have been mandated across the United States in an effort to combat the COVID-19 pandemic. Numerous states have implemented “stay-at-home” orders, but what if individuals do not have homes to go to? According to a 2018 report by the US Department of Housing and Urban Development, on a…
Read MoreNorth Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper has announced a stay-at-home order for the state of North Carolina that will go into effect at 5 p.m. today until April 29, but “can be revised or extended”. The mandate is an effort to combat the COVID-19 pandemic as it continues to spread through the state. Travel is only…
Read MoreAccording to research by Carolina Demography, a research group affiliated with UNC-Chapel Hill, in the first 12 days that the 2020 Census forms were made available, only 16.6 percent of North Carolina households filled theirs out. Compared to the national average of 19.2 percent, North Carolina currently is ranked 41st for its response rate —…
Read MoreA second coronavirus emergency aid package came into law last week, named the Families First Coronavirus Response Act. The latest package includes a federal emergency paid-leave benefits program, free COVID-19 testing for the public and expanded unemployment benefits. The first emergency bill allocated over $8 billion for coronavirus prevention, preparation, and response efforts across the…
Read MoreAppalachian Voices: NC groups call for prohibition of all utility shut-offs in state due to covid-19
Over 30 North Carolina organizations are calling for the suspension of all utility shut-offs across the state during the coronavirus outbreak. In a letter addressed to the NC Utilities Commission, Governor Roy Cooper and key officials, the groups are urging for an immediate suspension of service disconnections and late payment fees for customers. The letter…
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