North Carolina

In America, Covid Vaccine Eligibility Is a ‘Crazy Quilt’ of State Rules

Across the country, a mishmash of rules to qualify for the Covid-19 vaccine is creating difficulties for people seeking the shots.

  • By Phil Galewitz, Kaiser Health News

States Offer Perks to Inmates who Get the Covid-19 Vaccine

North Carolina is the latest state to offer incentives—commissary credits, bonus visits and early release—to motivate inmates to receive vaccination shots.

  • By Kate Elizabeth Queram

In One State, a Racial Equity Task Force Suggests 100 Ways to Change the Criminal Justice System

North Carolina’s task force released a sweeping report calling for changes in policing and the courts.

  • By Emma Coleman

A New Day for Queer People in the South

North Carolina’s ban on local protections for LGBTQ people expires today. But more fights lie ahead.

  • By Giulia Heyward, The Atlantic

Why One Election Official Blocked Her Mother's Mail-In Ballot

Sara Knotts, elections director for North Carolina's Brunswick County, helped her mother complete her mail-in ballot. But then Anne Ashcraft died three weeks before Election Day, making her vote ineligible under state law.

  • By Kate Elizabeth Queram

North Carolina Will Help Test College Students for Covid-19 Ahead of Holidays

The state will distribute more than 74,000 rapid antigen Covid-19 tests to colleges and universities.

  • By Kate Elizabeth Queram

Republicans Maintain Advantage in Control of State Legislative Chambers

Democrats failed to make major inroads in state legislative races, in many places leaving them at a disadvantage in the upcoming redistricting process.

  • By Kate Elizabeth Queram

North Carolina Law Enforcement Spray ‘Pepper-Based’ Vapor on People—Including Children— Marching to Polls

STATE AND LOCAL ROUNDUP | Kansas recalls license plates with a lettering combo that could be read as a racial slur … Colorado will send out $375 payment to unemployed residents … Louisville police officer sues Breonna Taylor’s boyfriend for allegedly shooting him.

  • By Laura Maggi and Andrea Noble

How One Rural County Struggles to Find Polling Places

In a North Carolina county, polling places shuttered, and voter turnout decreased.

  • By Tim Henderson, Matt Vasilogambros, Carrie Levine and Pratheek Rebala, Stateline

Pennsylvania to Separately Count Late Mail-in Ballots

STATE AND LOCAL ROUNDUP | Water pollution linked to increased health costs in Wisconsin… Remote learning may have inflated Nashville school test results… Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis had trouble voting this week.

  • By Andrea Noble

These State Legislative Chambers Are Most Likely to Flip Blue

Democrats could take control in a handful of states, including North Carolina and Texas. But it won't be easy.

  • By Kate Elizabeth Queram

North Carolina's Treasurer Took On the Hospitals. Now He’s Paying Political Price.

State Treasurer Dale Folwell has unsuccessfully sought to lower the payments the state employees' health plan pays hospitals. But critics say he has refused to embrace other measures, such as convincing legislators to expand Medicaid.

  • By Jordan Rau, Kaiser Health News
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Voting By Mail? You May Not Get a Sticker That Says So.

Whether you receive an "I Voted" sticker with your ballot depends entirely on where you live. Some election officials are cautioning against dispensing stickers in person out of fears of spreading the coronavirus.

  • By Kate Elizabeth Queram

Contact Tracing in Two North Carolina Counties Shows Difficulty of Reaching Patients

The CDC found that in Mecklenburg County, just 77% of patients could be reached after testing positive for Covid-19. Contact information for those peoples’ recent contacts was provided only 52% of the time.

  • By Andrea Noble

A Town Turns to Analytic Modeling—and Data-Sharing—to Improve Flood Monitoring

The town of Cary, N.C., is launching a new flood-monitoring system that uses analytic modeling to predict near-term flooding. The data is shared with neighboring communities, warning officials that downstream flooding could be heading their way.

  • By Kate Elizabeth Queram

A Million Families in North Carolina Could Be Behind on Utility Payments

STATE AND LOCAL NEWS ROUNDUP | Georgia governor and Atlanta mayor talk settlement on governor’s lawsuit over city mask mandate … Ohio governor issues travel advisory for nine states … Pennsylvania governor criticizes mocking of his health director.

  • By Laura Maggi and Emma Coleman

How North Carolina Transformed Itself Into the Worst State to Be Unemployed

Across the country, unemployment systems are collapsing under an unprecedented number of claims. But some state systems, like North Carolina’s, have long made it harder to receive unemployment benefits.

  • By Ava Kofman, ProPublica

From Jacksonville to Louisville, Confederate Statues Are Coming Down

Calls to remove the statues, denounced as symbols of white supremacy, were reignited in the wake of national protests against police brutality and the death of George Floyd.

  • By Kate Elizabeth Queram

The Forgotten Governor’s Race

The pandemic has silenced the campaign to lead North Carolina, a major presidential swing state.

  • By Russell Berman, The Atlantic

With Traditional Rites of Passage on Hold, High School Principals Find New Ways to Honor Graduating Seniors

Prom and graduation are canceled because of coronavirus, but high school principals across the country are working to make sure that seniors still feel special.

  • By Kate Elizabeth Queram

School Districts Deploy WiFi-Equipped Buses to Expand Broadband Access for Students

School districts across the country are sending buses with WiFi to neighborhoods with limited broadband access to help students connect for full-time distance learning.

  • By Kate Elizabeth Queram