By Leah Asmelash For Titianna Goings, foster care has been one of the most permanent things in her life. Her mom was in foster care and she was born into the system in New York City, but came to North Carolina when she was adopted by her aunt. When her aunt died, she and her […]
By Rose Hoban Crossover is the deadline by which legislators must get policy-focused bills passed through one chamber of the General Assembly, lest it die for the rest of the biennium. This year, the crossover deadline was midnight on April 27, which made for many late nights last week on Jones St. This year’s session […]
N.C. veterans with PTSD could receive lesser sentences under proposed law By Taylor Knopf and Rose Hoban Legislation that could lessen criminal sentences for veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) breezed through a judiciary committee and then a floor vote in the state House of Representatives on Tuesday. House Bill 483 would allow a judge […]
By Taylor Knopf After police shot and killed a Charlotte man who was deaf last year, some North Carolina lawmakers want to take a closer look at law enforcement mental health and disability training. House Bill 591 would direct the state Departments of Justice and Public Safety to study different types of training available for […]
For the second year running, North Carolina’s child mortality rate crept upwards. By Rose Hoban Another measurement of child well-being in North Carolina slipped in 2015. The rate of child deaths, encompassing mortality for all children from birth to age 17, ticked upwards to 58.3 per 100,000 children, up from an all-time low in 2013. […]
A story published in N.C. Health News in October looked at pending Congressional legislation over trucking rules. Now that bill has been signed into law, but safety advocates say there are big problems. By Brian Joseph Fair Warning A $305 billion highway bill approved by Congress and signed by President Obama in December includes several […]
An investigation finds trucking-industry influence could be endangering the health of the driving public. By Brian Joseph FairWarning Big rig crashes kill nearly 4,000 Americans each year and injure more than 85,000. Since 2009, fatalities involving large trucks have increased 17 percent. Injuries have gone up 28 percent. Given these numbers, you might expect Congress […]
Close to three months late, the state budget is finally here. By Rose Hoban Members of the health care community who have been waiting for months, actually years, for a final deal on the long-anticipated overhaul of North Carolina’s Medicaid program will have to wait a few days longer. That’s because language on Medicaid reform […]
By Rachel Herzog Updated June 21, 2015 North Carolina teens could end up hitting the road with less driving knowledge under their seat belts, due to an amendment in the Senate budget. On Tuesday, Sen. Ralph Hise (R-Spruce Pine) proposed a repeal to the requirement that North Carolina teens attend a driver’s education program that […]
The Child Fatality Task Force prepares recommendations to legislators for the short session. By Rose Hoban Teenage girls heading to their high school proms will be a little paler in the future, if members of a Child Fatality Task Force subcommittee have their way. Members of the Unintentional Death Committee approved a recommendation this week […]
