All in Politics
Gov. Cooper and members of the Coronavirus Task Force will hold a briefing on COVID-19 updates at 3:00 pm today. Cooper is expected to unveil his plans to phase in reopening NC. Earlier this week he said that he would also discuss schools later in the week. At 4:00 pm today, Neuse News will interview Ashley Smith, founder of the Reopen NC Facebook Group, which held a large protest in Raleigh on Tuesday.
Today we welcomed Lt. Governor Dan Forest on Coronavirus Chat with Neuse News Publisher BJ Murphy. We discussed our healthcare system, the status of PPE's and testing, how to Reopen NC, what about going back to school, and more.
Today, Governor Cooper issued an Executive Order allowing furloughed employees who received compensation to also be eligible for unemployment compensation. He also addressed the need to make more funding available for small business owners through the Golden LEAF Foundation’s Rapid Recovery Program.
Governor Roy Cooper announced today that North Carolina has been approved for the new Pandemic Electronic Benefit Transfer (P-EBT) program, to help families purchase food for children impacted by school closings due to COVID-19. NCDHHS is working to operationalize the program and families will begin to receive this benefit in coming weeks.
The Paycheck Protection Program (“PPP”) authorized up to $349 billion in forgivable loans to small businesses to pay their employees during the COVID-19 crisis. The SBA is currently unable to accept new applications for the Paycheck Protection Program based on available appropriations funding. NC House Representative Chris Humphrey and colleagues issued a letter to the NC Congressional Delegation requesting more appropriations for the PPP.
In the last month, more than 630,000 people have filed for unemployment insurance benefits in North Carolina, mostly due to the impacts of COVID-19. By the end of the next week, the Division of Employment Security plans to have more than three times its original staffing in place to respond to the surge in claims and ensure payments go out as quickly as possible.
North Carolina lawmakers today blasted government restrictions that allow retail stores to operate at limited capacity while prohibiting churches from operating under those same rules. Senator Jim Perry in a letter to Governor Cooper wrote, “Why can’t houses of worship be subject to the same 20% occupancy restrictions that you’ve allowed businesses to operate under?”
US Senator Thom Tillis joined our Facebook Live to discuss the CARES Act, small business funding, stimulus checks, funding for the WHO, his relationships with President Trump and Governor Cooper's offices and more.
Rep. Chris Humphrey and Dr. Pradeep discuss the latest COVID-19 trends and our state's ability to open back up for business. We had a great discussion regarding the medical implications and policy initiatives.
Governor Roy Cooper today charted a path forward for eventually easing certain COVID-19 restrictions while still protecting North Carolinians from a dangerous second wave of the virus. Click here to read his statement and see his plan.
Just a few days ago, I was invited to join ReOpenNC by a Facebook friend. Curiously, I joined the group which included just over 100 members at the time. I noticed that the page began to grow with comments from everyday North Carolinians, who are scared of the financial blow to their well being.
In Lenoir County, there are officially 14 cases of COVID-19. Local business owner Waylon Adams started a conversation on Facebook about the economic impact of the Governor’s Stay-At-Home mandate.
“This is about people’s livelihoods,” said Adams. “I’m sure our restaurants and salons would have been more than happy to rearrange their dining rooms to comply with social distancing.”
NC Department of Public Safety Secretary Erik Hooks announced that the pandemic has prompted his department to transition some offenders to supervision in the community.
In a press conference Monday afternoon, Governor Roy Cooper stated, “What we are doing is working. We are saving lives. Our biggest enemy is complacency. The better we can be at staying home through April, the more likely we are able to ease restrictions. We are all looking toward a time when we can loosen these restrictions, and it will come…We are considering the most effective ways to modify executive orders to help boost the economy while continuing to prevent our hospitals from being overwhelmed with COVID-19 patients.”
The lack of clarity from the N.C. Division of Employment Security on the application process for the federal unemployment program it has been tasked to administer leaves thousands of North Carolinians in the dark. Instead of coming up with concrete timelines and solutions, unemployed North Carolinians are being left hanging for weeks. Now they have to worry about whether they’ll be able to pay their bills.
