Our take
Everyday the government makes decisions that affect our lives; from the water we drink, the food our kids eat and how much money we bring home. Being informed is one of the first steps in building our power and creating change in our communities.
WRAL: NC sees decline in teachers passing exams and decline in teachers from colleges of education
A 20% drop in the number of teachers being produced in North Carolina can be directly related to a lack of real investment into teacher pay by lawmakers in Raleigh. The most recent and rejected pay plan gave hard-working educators a paltry pay increase with some outrageous political strings attached. Our legislators need to address this teacher…
The Washington Times: FDA must fast track insulin for the millions of Americans living with diabetes
Did You Know? Three Canadian researchers discovered insulin almost a century ago and sold the patent for $1 so the world could access this life-saving medicine for diabetics. Today just three big Pharma companies control the U.S. market for insulin. Result? The price of insulin has gone up 900% in the last 18 years. From…
2020 legislative maps finalized, congressional maps still up in the air
Could it be? Is our long statewide nightmare over gerrymandered political maps finally over? Well… not quite yet. The 2020 legislative maps appear to be final after the State Supreme Court declined last week to take up yet another legal challenge. However, we’re still waiting to find out whether the newly-passed congressional maps will pass a court…
NC Teachers Back Governor’s Choice to Veto Pay-Raise Bills
Gov. Cooper on Friday vetoed what he called “paltry” pay raises for public school educators that were passed by state lawmakers with almost no Democratic votes in the state legislature. Teachers stood with Gov. Cooper during his veto announcement and teachers across the state are thanking Cooper for standing up for public education and against…
Long-awaited sexual assault bill finally clears the General Assembly
At long last, North Carolina is no longer the only state in the country where a woman cannot revoke consent to have sex once sex has begun. After years of NCGA leaders killing bills to update North Carolina’s sexual assault laws, the legislation finally made it to Gov. Cooper’s desk last week. Before this law was passed, if…
Deadline passes for NC universities to change student IDs for use in voting
The deadline has passed for North Carolina colleges and universities to decide whether to update their student IDs so students can use them to vote in next year’s elections. So which colleges decided not to make it easier for their students to vote, and whose fault is it? All 17 UNC system schools applied to…
A third of female undergraduate UNC students reported sexual assault, survey found
A new study has found that nearly half of women who have been studying at UNC-Chapel Hill for four or more years say they have been sexually assaulted that is at a four-year level or higher. This survey also stated that more than a third of all female undergraduate UNC students reported being sexually assaulted as well.…
Wake Schools offers praise, an apology to 14-year-old who exposed student racism. Parents demand more.
Cenayia Pope Edwards stood her ground against racist group messages that had hateful messages against black students at East Wake HS in Wendell, NC. This Tuesday at the Wake County Public Schools board meeting, her courageous efforts were acknowledged by the superintendent and board members. Cenayia’s efforts were praised, but those standing with Edwards want…
News & Observer: A third of female undergraduate UNC students reported sexual assault, survey found
A new study has found that nearly half of women who have been studying at UNC-Chapel Hill for four or more years say they have been sexually assaulted that is at a four-year level or higher. This survey also stated that more than a third of all female undergraduate UNC students reported being sexually assaulted as well.…
Teacher iPads shrouded in controversy finally delivered.
The office of Superintendent Mark Johnson says 3,200 iPads, some collecting dust in a Raleigh textbook warehouse for the past year, have finally – FINALLY – been delivered to educators around the state. Johnson, never missing a photo-op, has been posing with teachers across the state delivering iPads to schools in yet another act of self-promotion.…