All by Donna King

Cooper, Winston-Salem officials address mental health, gun issues after shooting

The shooting death of a student at Mount Tabor High School in Winston-Salem this week brought local and state leaders together Thursday in mourning and to recognize the heroism of local police and faculty. Gov. Roy Cooper traveled to Winston Salem for the news conference and took the opportunity to call for more school spending on “wraparound services” and more gun control measures.

House passes interstate agreement for licensing mental health counselors

The N.C. House unanimously passed a bill Monday to allow mental health counselors to work across state lines. Aimed at increasing public access to professional counseling services, House Bill 791, Licensed Counselors Interstate Compact, would enter North Carolina into an agreement with member states allowing a counselor’s license from one state to be accepted in the others.

U.S. Supreme Court backs donor privacy

The U.S. Supreme Court backed donor privacy in a decision released Thursday, July 1. The closely watched ruling was based on a case from California in which the state's then-Attorney General Kamala Harris tried to require nonprofit organizations to disclose the identities of donors by requiring them to file an unredacted “Schedule B” with their taxes, which would reveal the identities of anyone giving $5,000 or more in money or goods.

State eviction moratorium to expire this week

The state moratorium on evictions expires June 30, 2021, after being extended twice during the COVID-19 pandemic. First enacted by an executive order from Gov. Roy Cooper in October 2020, and twice extended by a vote of the Council of State, the government order prevented property owners from enforcing eviction due to nonpayment of rent.

Cooper welcomes Centene as company settles Medicaid lawsuits

N.C. Gov. Roy Cooper was in Charlotte Monday to welcome the Centene Corporation, a provider of managed care services for Medicaid, public, and private health plans. It claims to be the largest provider of Medicaid services in the nation. The company announced last year that it selected Charlotte for its East Coast regional headquarters after North Carolina offered $338 million in tax incentives through a “transformative” Job Development and Investment Grant.

Bill would provide rescue education grants for NC parents

This summer may not be filled with pools and part-time jobs for students across the state who’ve struggled with a year of mandated remote school. In March of 2021, the State Board of Education reported that in May of 2020, after two months of remote school, test scores were at their lowest point with 75% of North Carolina third-graders falling below the proficiency thresholds in reading.

Gas lines snake through North Carolina towns

If you’re seeing long lines at gas stations, you’re not alone. The Colonial Pipeline shut down this weekend, saying it was hit with a ransomware attack Friday, May 7. The pipeline supplies nearly half of the fuel for the eastern part of the country and may be largely down through the rest of the week.