Feature

As Andrew Brown Jr. is laid to rest, the family and Elizabeth City community continue to demand answers

By Alanna Joyner / May 4, 2021 /

Andrew Brown Jr., the 42-year-old Black man who was fatally shot by sheriff’s deputies, was laid to rest on Monday in Elizabeth City. In the wake of Brown Jr.’s funeral, the Family and community members are continuing their demands for justice and transparency. Last Wednesday, a state judge ruled that Brown Jr.’s family were allowed…

In police killing of Andrew Brown Jr., a small NC town crisis on national stage

By Alanna Joyner / April 27, 2021 /

In the wake of the conviction of Derek Chauvin, North Carolinians have taken to the streets of Elizabeth City after Pasquotank County deputies shot and killed Andrew Brown Jr., an unarmed Black man in his car, while serving a warrant Wednesday.  While the guilty verdict from the Chauvin trial felt like a victory for some,…

NC panel signs off on Duke Energy orders on rates, coal ash

By Alanna Joyner / April 19, 2021 /

On Friday, the N.C. Utilities Commission approved two orders involving Duke Energy’s two electric subsidiaries in the state over rate increases requested back in 2019 and a settlement announced in January by Duke Energy, Attorney General Josh Stein and a conservation group over how coal ash clean-up cost. According to the Triad Business Journal, the…

The Progressive Pulse: Democrats decry racial health disparities in their renewed push for Medicaid expansion

By Alanna Joyner / April 14, 2021 /

Last week, state Democrats renewed their calls for Medicaid expansion in an effort to address the state’s long-standing racial health disparities and to help out the state’s economic recovery from the pandemic.  Under the American Rescue Plan, the state would receive more than $1.7 billion in federal funding in addition to incentives targeted at helping…

The News & Observer: Families are struggling while billions sit unused in NC. Legislators are to blame

By Alanna Joyner / December 8, 2020 /

Both federal and state unemployment, protections against evictions and other key stimulus programs are set to expire in the coming weeks. Without the new aid, millions of Americans are at risk as the pandemic worsens.  After months of failed negotiations, the House and Senate have resumed stimulus amid the impending housing and economic crisis, yet…

We know how to prevent up to 40 million people from being evicted. It’s up to Congress to do it

By Alanna Joyner / November 27, 2020 /

New Year’s Eve marks the end of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) national eviction moratorium. The expiration of the eviction moratorium would result in millions of Americans losing their homes as COVID-19 cases continue to surge. According to the Aspen Institute, nearly 40 million Americans could face eviction over the next several…

Voters of NC – Marva

By Eleanore Wood / November 10, 2020 /

“It is a matter of life and death. The things that have been done and the things that are weird, we’re not going anywhere.  Sometimes I feel like we’re a bunch of hamsters and the trail just keeps spinning and spinning and spinning. We’re all nervous. We’re all scared.  We know our health needs to…