Most North Carolinians don’t approve of the state’s vaccine rollout. More North Carolinians favor getting the COVID-19 vaccine, but that doesn’t mean they can, according to an Elon University Poll of nearly 1,500 residents conducted Jan. 29-31.
All by Julie Havlak
Educators jump to the front of the vaccine line, even as many seniors wait
Education workers will leap to the head of the line for COVID-19 vaccines on Feb. 24. More than a million seniors are still waiting for their first dose.
After first missing the mark on vaccinations, N.C. hones in on target
After a slow start, North Carolina is ramping up its COVID-19 vaccinations. Some 9.2% of residents got the first shot of COVID-19 vaccines by Monday, Feb. 8, when 970,162 people had received a first dose, according to the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services. Two days earlier, an average 8.6% of COVID-19 tests came back positive.
Lawmakers, governor support reopening N.C. schools
Both political parties are throwing their weight behind school reopening in North Carolina. Gov. Roy Cooper, a Democrat, urged schools to allow students to return to the classroom. Republican lawmakers also Tuesday, Feb. 2 moved to mandate in-person learning as an option for all K-12 students.
Harrington becomes State Senate’s first female majority leader
Sen. Kathy Harrington, R-Gaston, doesn’t seem impressed at becoming the first female majority leader of the N.C. Senate. She is one of the most powerful lawmakers in Raleigh. She sports a concealed-carry permit, and her daughter is a law enforcement officer. She listens more than she talks, and she doesn’t forget.
She is not someone to cross.
Parents find learning pods help students struggling with online learning
“Learning pods have introduced the concept and necessity of school choice,” Terry Stoops, director of the Center for Effective Education at the John Locke Foundation, said. “The system is not well-suited to meet the needs of individual children. These parents have found a way to do that, and I don’t think they’ll want to give that up easily.”
Pandemic, shutdowns have staggered tourism, imperiling rural N.C.
The year of 2020 will leave little for Brant and Karen Barnes. Their income vanished when the governor shut down North Carolina in March. Barnes suffered a heart attack in June. A tree toppled across their house in July, and their pottery studio burned down. The latest blow was losing the Western North Carolina Pottery Festival.
Stith named new leader of state community college system
The N.C. Community College System elected Thomas Stith III to lead it through the coronavirus pandemic and steep enrollment losses.
Cooper’s virtual news briefings put him in the minority of governors
Gov. Roy Cooper, a Democrat, is one of 16 governors who holds only virtual press briefings without reporters in the room. He has scheduled one for 3 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 8, when he’s expected to issue tighter coronavirus regulations.
Gov. Roy Cooper is still selling Medicaid expansion, but Republican lawmakers still aren’t buying. The first meeting of the bipartisan N.C. Council for Health Care Coverage, held on Dec. 4, fractured into a partisan divide over expanding Medicaid. Cooper spent hours pushing for Medicaid expansion, but Republican lawmakers declared themselves disappointed in his focus.
Julie Havlak: Lawmakers slam state officials for lockdowns that left students behind
RALEIGH — More students face repeating a grade than any time in the past century, says David Stegall, deputy superintendent of innovation at the N.C. Department of Public Instruction.
Remote learning is failing North Carolina’s students. Roughly 19% of students aren’t attending classes regularly. State officials predict fewer students would graduate or advance to the next grade.