Death of George Floyd hits home for Durham County commissioner
The death of George Floyd after a former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin kneeled on his neck has revived painful memories for Durham County Commissioner Brenda Howerton. “My heart is heavy,”...
View ArticleDominion backs off plan to build natural gas pipeline along part of American...
Dominion Energy no longer plans to build a controversial natural gas pipeline along six miles of the American Tobacco Trail, Policy Watch has confirmed. Half the 13-mile underground pipeline would have...
View ArticleBerger claims Durham Public Schools’ fee for “learning centers” is...
Senate leader Phil Berger has accused Durham Public Schools of levying an unconstitutional tax on parents by charging for children to attend the district’s “learning centers,” which are day-long...
View ArticleDurham private schools where 26 students, teachers tested positive for the...
For nine consecutive weeks, Liberty Christian School, a private school in Durham, held in-person classes without a single teacher, student or staffer contracting the coronavirus. But two weeks ago, 20...
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Greensboro, Durham and Orange County all pass LGBTQ-inclusive...
The city councils in two of North Carolina’s largest cities unanimously passed LGBTQ-inclusive non-discrimination policies Tuesday, the latest in a series of municipalities to do so since a statewide...
View ArticleWhite teachers urged to use privilege responsibly in fight to keep Durham...
In Durham, plans to reopen schools for in-person instruction continues to play out in dramatic fashion. This week, Ronda Bullock, chair of education committee of the Durham Committee on the Affairs of...
View ArticleICYMI: A conversation about race, mass incarceration and criminal justice...
By all indications, North Carolina and the nation at-large have entered a critical and, perhaps, hopeful phase in their centuries-old conversations about race, crime, punishment and the undeniable...
View ArticleRegulatory “reform” bill targets local living wage ordinances
The following post was submitted to NC Policy Watch by Vicki Meath, Executive Director of the group Just Economics in Asheville. Another attack on workers and local governments By Vicki Meath Among the...
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Durham County Commissioners forced to limit living wage ordinance
The fallout from the destructive 2013 session of the North Carolina General Assembly continues to settle out across the state policy landscape. As you will recall, during the waning days of the...
View ArticleDurham Public Schools dumps Teach for America
As reported in the Durham Herald Sun and The Washington Post, the Durham school board voted last week not to keep its relationship with Teach for America (TFA) beyond the 2015-16 school year, allowing...
View ArticleWith an eye towards equity, Durham sets model for the region by coordinating...
Durham’s Joint City-County planning Committee spent last Wednesday morning hearing from city experts on the state of affordable housing near planned transit stations. As efforts to enhance mobility...
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The Durham Living Wage Project
As #WageWeek continues to celebrate local and state efforts to improve wages across the country, The Progressive Pulse is highlighting the work of advocates, businesses, and elected officials engaged...
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Conference: North Carolina doesn’t have to wait for legislature to stop...
There are more teens processed in the adult criminal system in North Carolina than the juvenile system. That may not come as a surprise to most, but what many officials don’t know is that they don’t...
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Durham precincts switch to paper sign-in system after reported electronic issues
Durham residents may have to wait a little longer than usual to vote today as each precinct has switched to a paper sign-in system. The county’s Board of Elections spokeswoman Briana Khan said there...
View ArticleState Board of Elections instructs local boards to dismiss McCrory protests...
The State Board of Elections has instructed all local boards to dismiss all protests filed by Gov. Pat McCrory’s campaign “that merely disputes the eligibility of a voter.” The announcement was made...
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In north Durham, scientists tackle the health of the Eno River Watershed;...
A map of the Eno River Watershed in Durham (Map courtesy City of Durham) For the next three weeks, a regiment of scientists and engineers, armed with dippers and water sampling bottles, will...
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Former segregated school in Durham reopens for pre-K, senior living
In case you missed it, perhaps one of the most fascinating public school reports this weekend came from The Herald-Sun in Durham. According to the paper’s Greg Childress, Durham seniors are now...
View ArticleTimothy Tyson on North Carolina’s anti-Confederate history
In the wake of Charlottesville and this week’s toppling of a Confederate monument in Durham, today’s N&O piece by best-selling author Timothy Tyson is well worth your time. In the piece Tyson,...
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People rally in Durham to support activists in toppling of confederate statues
A crowd of more than 100 people gathered outside the Durham County magistrate’s office Thursday to protest charges against activists who toppled a Confederate statue this week. More than 100 people...
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Durham DA: I will seek “a just resolution” in Confederate monument cases
Durham County District Attorney Roger Echols Durham County District Attorney Roger Echols made a public statement Thursday on the cases of 8 activists so far charged in the toppling of a Confederate...
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