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.

The Virginia Pilot: Editorial: Ignoring waste lagoons’ is a lasting risk

By Eleanore Wood | September 27, 2018

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…

Our View: Stopping GenX is only 1 step toward safer water

By Eleanore Wood | August 30, 2018

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…

The New York Times: A Leader in the War on Poverty Opens a New Front: Pollution

By Eleanore Wood | August 28, 2018

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…

Daily Reflector: Activists rally around healthcare, reproductive rights at Greenville Town Hall

By Eleanore Wood | August 20, 2018

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…

Spectrum News: Pro-Life group concerned free speech rights are jeopardized at clinics

By Eleanore Wood | August 16, 2018

Members of anti-abortion group, Cities4Life, are complaining about police officers ‘infringing on their First Amendment rights’. An executive director of Cities4Life cites a Charlotte-Mecklenburg police officer as the source of concern. The CMPD officer threatened to issue a citation to a member under an ordinance that prohibits blocking or interfering with pedestrian and vehicle traffic.…

Devastating: Argentina keeps abortion illegal

By Eleanore Wood | August 9, 2018

This week Argentinian senators created another roadblock for abortion rights in their country. Currently abortion is only legal in cases of rape or if the parent’s health is at risk. These conditions are difficult to prove, and many people in Argentina have suffered or even died because of this law. Senators voted 38 to 31…

QNotes: Local abortion provider concerned over Trump Supreme Court pick

By Eleanore Wood | August 3, 2018

Trump ran on anti-abortion rhetoric and claimed he would overturn Roe v. Wade. If his supreme court nominee, Brett Kavanaugh, is confirmed Trump will have the means to make good on his campaign promise. This is alarming to a Charlotte abortion provider who’s had to deal with almost 20,000 protestors in the past year. She knows…

Rewire: To See the Potential ‘Devastating’ Effect of Trump’s Domestic Gag Rule, Look to Colorado

By Eleanore Wood | July 31, 2018

The Trump administration’s proposed domestic gag rule is another clear attack on abortion access. The rule mimics a 90s executive order in Colorado. Trump is forcing health clinics to “disentangle” themselves from abortion services or lose federal funding. In Colorado, it was nearly impossible to prove health clinics were separate from abortion services. Nearly half of Planned…

WRAL: Raleigh events protest Trump immigration stance

By Eleanore Wood | June 21, 2018

Over 2,000 immigrant children and babies have been separated from their families and placed into shelters and camps since April of this year. This practice is immoral, inhumane, and un-American. That’s why North Carolinians took to the streets on Wednesday to demand an end to the Trump Administration’s human rights abuses, and for families to…

Mountain Express: Mayor Manheimer joins nationwide mayor group in opposition to abortion gag rule

By Eleanore Wood | June 5, 2018

Anti-Trump and pro-abortion, these NC mayors got it right. Trump’s new nationwide gag rule makes it illegal for healthcare facilities that receive Title X funding to tell patients how to safely, and legally access abortion. Taking away access to reliable truthful healthcare information is an attack on those who need it most. Mayor Esther Manheimer of Asheville…