STATESVILLE, NC - I-CARE, Inc., a Community Action Agency, is actively seeking individuals and families in Lincoln and Iredell Counties who may qualify for Weatherization Services. Working through the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Weatherization Assistance Program, this service reduces energy costs for low-income households by increasing the energy efficiency of their homes. These services result in lowering household expenses.
Weatherizing a home involves conducting an energy assessment to identify the most cost-effective energy improvements that need to be performed on a dwelling, and then making those improvements at no cost to the household. Additionally, the Heating Appliance Repair and Replacement Program repairs/replaces inefficient heating and air systems in the homes of low-income families, especially families with children, elderly and individuals with disabilities. These services are provided at no cost to qualifying individuals in Iredell and Lincoln Counties.
More ↠
STATESVILLE, NC – Mitchell Community College’s Nu Tau Chapter of Phi Theta Kappa (PTK) Honor Society was recently honored as a 2021 PTK Recognizing Excellence in Acceptance and Completion with Honors (REACH) Rewards chapter.
The REACH Rewards program encourages membership by rewarding chapters who achieve or exceed 15 percent for their membership acceptance rate. Mitchell currently has 175 members who are enrolled in coursework at the College and a total active membership (members since Fall 2017) of 360. After four years of active membership, members are granted alumni membership status, which they hold for life.
To be eligible for the PTK Honor Society, students must have completed 12 credit hours at Mitchell and hold a 3.5 cumulative GPA or higher. Members participate in various projects and events to benefit the campus and community as a whole. Past projects include volunteer fairs, clothing drives, mental health awareness events, speaker events, and more.
More ↠
The NC Democratic Party has new top leadership in the person of former state Rep. Bobbie Richardson of Franklin County, the first Black woman ever to hold that post. Richardson’s work is certainly cut out for her, given that the 2022 midterm elections are right around the corner, and given the mixed results for Democrats in November 2020 general election statewide, observers say mistakes made then cannot be repeated now.
Even though Black voter turnout actually went up 4% in the November election from the 2016 election, voting by Black youth ages 18-25 was nowhere as dramatic. In fact, according to William Munn, a senior policy analyst with the Health Advocacy Project at the North Carolina Justice Center.
In fact, a 12-point drop-off since 2012, Munn adds.
Part of the reason is the failure of evidence for Black young people, the voting actually helps to change their immediate circumstances when it comes to improving opportunities to better themselves.
Another reason is simply not feeling part of the political process.
Couple that with the fact that the Democrats get-out-the-vote (GOTV) efforts, particularly in rural areas of North Carolina, were woefully weak compared to the Republican Party, which maintained control of the NC General Assembly, and won several top judicial seats on the state Supreme and Appellate courts. More ↠
A proposed law in the NC House, if passed by the NC General Assembly, would “…create a respectful and open world for natural hair.”
House Bill (HB)170, otherwise known as the North Carolina CROWN Act is sponsored by representatives Kandie D. Smith of Pitt, Carolyn G. Logan of Mecklenburg, Vernetta Alston of Durham, and Amber M. Baker of Forsyth.
All are Black women and, all are Democrats.
The acronym “CROWN” stands for “Creating a Respectful and Open World for Natural Hair.
The proposed measure, which passed first reading and was referred to the House Judiciary 2 Committee on March 1, seeks to make “…discrimination against persons based on traits historically associated with race, hair texture, or hairstyle prohibited.”
HB 170 adds, “No person, firm, corporation, unincorporated association, Stare agency, unit of local government, or any public or private entity shall deny or refuse employment to any person or discharge any person from employment because of traits
More ↠
WASHINGTON, DC – U.S. Representative Hakeem Jeffries (NY-08), the National Action Network and Gwen Carr, the mother of Eric Garner, announced the reintroduction of the Eric Garner Excessive Use of Force Prevention Act which criminalizes the chokehold and other strangulation tactics under federal civil rights law. The bill, originally introduced by Rep. Jeffries in 2015, is included in the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act, which will be considered in the House later this week.
“There are good men and women in police departments across the nation, and there are brutal ones. Instances of police violence have undermined the relationship between law enforcement and communities of color throughout America, including in New York City. George Floyd and Eric Garner are just two examples of the deadly effects of the epidemic of police brutality, and it is time to prohibit the use of chokeholds and other brutal restraints that apply pressure to the neck and result in
More ↠
