Eleanore Wood
The politicians in Raleigh have done almost nothing to reverse the long-term cuts to our public schools that are making it harder and harder to give our students the quality education they deserve. Instead of reinvesting in public education, lawmakers would rather give huge tax breaks to millionaires and big corporations. Educators have had enough.…
Every North Carolinian should be able to access the health care they need without going bankrupt. Expanding Medicaid in North Carolina would provide coverage to about 500,000 low-income people. Unfortunately, the General Assembly continues to reject federal funding to expand Medicaid, choosing politics over the health and the well-being of North Carolina families. Since the General…
North Carolina is poised to make one of the biggest changes to state policy in a generation. Democrats have introduced a pair of bills that would make our state’s health insurance program, Medicaid, available to the very poor. And they’ll do so primarily at the expense of the federal government, who are already paying for…
Last week almost every single one of the Democrats in the General Assembly gathered to announce two bills expanding the state’s Medicaid program. This was a huge move that could bring more than half a million people access to health care. Even better, the cost of this expansion would be almost entirely covered by the federal government.…
Last week, democracy advocates including Progress NC, the NC NAACP, Democracy NC, and NC Voters for Clean Elections held a day of action demanding that lawmakers not disenfranchise college students and other groups with their flawed new voter ID bill. Thankfully several of these demands were met, but the new bill still desperately misses the…
Retired Justice John Paul Stevens has said he doesn’t believe that Brett Kavanaugh is the right person for the job of Supreme Court justice. And it’s not just Justice Stevens. Add to that over 2,400 law professors who think Kavanaugh is not a good fit. Yet the Republican-dominated Senate is still trying to ram his…
Cutting taxes has consequences. One of those is a lack of staff and funding to keep water clean and prepare for hurricanes. From The Virginia Pilot: The threat of hurricanes is a constant in eastern North Carolina, as much a part of the landscape as the golden fields of tobacco that once dominated the region…
The Cape Fear Public Utility Authority is planning to install a water-treatment plant which would remove GenX and other pollutants (PFAS) from Wilmington customers’ water. The source of the pollution, Chemours, has stopped dumping PFAS into waterways and is incorporating new equipment to capture emissions. Experts plan to see a reduction of more than 70…
Environmental justice has strong ties to economic and racial justice. Poor people, people of color, and people living in rural areas are disproportionately affected by climate change. In Forsyth County, coal ash from Belews Creek Steam Station is polluting drinking water and affecting the health of local residents. Belews Creek is a predominantly black community…
Several advocacy groups, including Progress, met in Greenville to speak on the issues of a second Trump Supreme Court confirmation. President Trump nominated Brett Kavanaugh after Justice Kennedy announced his retirement. Kavanaugh has a long history of ruling against contraception, abortion, and the Affordable Care Act, which makes his nomination all the more troubling. Because…