Nonprofits, food banks expand, but still struggle to serve all the people who can't afford groceries A crew of workers recently parceled flour, bags of broccoli, bottled water, bread, and other essentials into boxes, as vehicles lined up in the parking lot of a Durham apartment complex.
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COVID-19
As with many other public and private institutions, the North Carolina court system is slowly but surely reopening to more in-person proceedings as COVID-19 infection and death rates continue to trend downward. It could, however, be a very long time before things return to "normal." Indeed, if recently introduced legislation and the assessments of some experts end up holding sway, online proceedings could become a permanent part of state judicial proceedings.
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The pace of COVID-19 vaccinations has increased rapidly in North Carolina this month with the growth in vaccine supplies, the addition of new vaccination sites, and expanded eligibility. But the push to vaccinate millions of people continues to face challenges -- especially in historically underserved communities where strained relationships with the government and health care providers make some people resistant to accepting the shot.
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Last December, as North Carolina was hurtling toward an eviction tsunami, a diverse group of stakeholders met to brainstorm policy interventions. Thankfully, a crisis was temporally averted when Congress passed a second Covid-19 relief bill in late December that provided the states with $25 billion in rental assistance and extended the nationwide eviction moratorium.
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This month, thousands of migrant workers will begin the hard work of planting, tending and harvesting crops in North Carolina farm fields. The state Department of Health and Human Services, farmworker health groups, employers, and medical clinics plan to make COVID-19 vaccines available to workers whose close living conditions make for the easy spread of the coronavirus.
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WASHINGTON — As Democrats seek to send President Joe Biden their latest $1.9 trillion pandemic relief bill, federal lawmakers remain deeply divided on the question of whether state and local governments need another infusion of federal aid. Supporters of the bill — including numerous Republican mayors — say the answer is a clear “yes.”
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North Carolina is among several states facing criticism Frank Galloway falls into the most vulnerable categories for COVID-19: He is 87, he is Black, and he is experiencing homelessness. “It ain’t no joke,” Galloway said of the coronavirus, which has killed some of his friends in Greensboro, North Carolina. “I don't mind taking something that will help my life to keep going.”
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Legislation would require public schools to reopen, worrying Black parents about sending their kids back during a pandemic. They also fear their kids will fall behind academically without in-person instruction. Geraldine Alshamy is well-versed in the science that says schools aren’t big spreaders of the coronavirus, if districts follow state and federal health guidance.
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Dozens of tribal elders lined up outside the community building on Haliwa-Saponi land in Halifax County early Saturday morning to wait for the opening of the first COVID-19 vaccine clinic they could get to in this rural part of northeastern North Carolina. Jamie K. Oxendine, tribal administrator for the Haliwa-Saponi, pushed to bring a one-day vaccine clinic to the tribal grounds in tiny Hollister.
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The North Carolina Association of Educators says teachers shouldn’t return to classrooms until they have been vaccinated against COVID-19. The NCAE released that statement last week as both Republican and Democratic state lawmakers urged school districts to reopen for in-person instruction, to prevent further learning loss and to address students’ social and emotional needs.
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