(Raleigh, NC) – Mayors from across North Carolina, who every day see in their schools the damage from the General Assembly’s education cuts, have issued an open letter asking the people of North Carolina to support Gov. Perdue’s plan to reverse the deep and unnecessary cuts the Republican-controlled General Assembly imposed on our schools.

The 53 mayors, from cities such as Wilmington and Durham to towns such as Bear Grass and Pilot Mountain, support the Governor’s proposal to temporarily restore a fraction of a penny that the General Assembly let expire and to devote all of that revenue to education – a fraction of a penny for progress.

“The legislature’s budget has hurt education at all levels – from pre-k all the way through higher education – and has led to higher class sizes and the loss of teacher and teaching assistant positions right here in our local schools,” the mayors wrote. “With their budget forcing even more teacher layoffs next year, we must act to prevent these additional cuts.”

The mayors echoed the Governor’s message that education is critical to our children’s future and to the economic future of the state.

“Investing in education is central to our ability to attract new jobs and businesses to our state,” the mayors wrote. “When companies talk about moving here or expanding, their first question is whether we have the educated, skilled workforce they need.”

MayorsLetter.pdf

Re-posted from: governor.state.nc

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(Raleigh, NC) – On Tuesday, January 17, 2012, Gov. Perdue issued the following statement regarding her plan for the future of North Carolina schools.

“Education has always been part of the fabric of who we are as a people in North Carolina and it’s the key to our future. We must stop the deep and unnecessary cuts that are going on in North Carolina’s schools. That’s why I’m for temporarily restoring three-quarters of the one-cent sales tax that the Republican-controlled General Assembly eliminated and for dedicating those funds to North Carolina schools.

I have cut spending to eliminate waste and make government more efficient. But we cannot allow the legislature’s extreme education cuts to continue. The North Carolina Association of School Administrators pointed out recently that North Carolina has fallen to 49th in the nation in per-pupil funding. The legislature’s budget has hurt education at all levels – from pre-k all the way through higher education – and has led to higher class sizes and the loss of thousands of teacher and teaching assistant positions. And their budget forces even more teacher layoffs next year — we must act to prevent these additional cuts.

Our children’s future is so important that today, I want to let you know that when I present my budget this spring, I will once again call on the Republican-controlled General Assembly to temporarily restore three-quarters of the one-cent sales tax as a vital step to funding our schools. Also, in the days ahead I will be speaking with you about other budgetary matters that affect North Carolina families.

Education is the key to our children’s future and to North Carolina’s economic future. Investing in education is central to our ability to attract new jobs and businesses to our state. We owe it to our children and our state to stop these cuts and make education a priority again – a fraction of a penny for progress.”

Re-posted from: governor.state.nc.us

“Last year, the Republicans passed devastating education cuts that harmed our children’s future. The cuts – from pre-k all the way through higher education – have led to higher class sizes, the loss of thousands of teacher and teacher assistant positions, and massive tuition hikes. Educators from across the state, including public school teachers, have been standing up and telling the truth about the harm that the Republicans’ cuts are doing to our children. Shortly after 1 o’clock this morning, the Republicans in the General Assembly convened an unconstitutional session so that they could exact revenge against North Carolina teachers who opposed the damaging cuts to schools. Standing up for education is the right thing to do and should not be punished. We all owe it to our children and our state to stop these cuts and make education a priority again.”

Re-posted from: governor.state.nc.us

Release date: 1/9/2012

(Raleigh, NC) -  Utilities commissioners should heed the economic damage to North Carolina consumers before signing off on Duke Energy’s rate increase, Attorney General Roy Cooper said Monday in a filing before the NC Utilities Commission.

Cooper opposes Duke Energy’s request to raise the rates it charges its customers for electricity, and filed official arguments in the rate case Monday.

“The commission should come down on the side of consumers when considering a fair rate of return for Duke, especially in this economy,” Cooper said.

Homeowners, businesses and other Duke customers have endured job losses, declining home values, lower manufacturing and sales, the brief notes. Some are even unable to pay their bills now, witnesses at a recent hearing acknowledged.

“We want to work together to move our state forward, but a sharp increase now would be difficult for many North Carolina families and businesses,” Cooper said.

Cooper’s Consumer Protection Division intervened in the rate case and questioned Duke Energy’s experts in November. During that hearing, AG attorneys questioned whether experts who calculated the rate of return to Duke Energy shareholders also took “changing economic conditions” into account as outlined in NCGS § 62-133.

The experts had not considered changing economic conditions, nor had they studied consumers’ protests over the proposed rate increase, according to testimony. That’s reason for the NC Utilities Commission to stop the rate hike, the brief argues.

In addition, the brief says that Duke Energy officials have stated the utility will file for another rate increase later this year, so Commissioners could consider then the impact of a lower rate of return on Duke Energy shareholders and the utility’s ability raise capital.

Earlier this year, Duke Energy applied to the Utilities Commission to request that the company be allowed to increase its revenues by approximately $646 million. That earnings increase would be passed along to consumers in the form of higher electricity bills. If approved by the Utilities Commission, the proposed rate hike would have raised the average Duke customer’s monthly bill by approximately 17 percent.

Hundreds of North Carolinians have written to Cooper asking for help and expressing their concern about higher electricity costs.

The Attorney General’s Office has filed copies of the letters with the Clerk for the Utilities Commission so that commissioners will be aware of consumers’ views on the proposed increase.

Reposted from: ncdoj.gov

(Washington, DC) — Congresswoman Virginia Foxx (NC-05) today announced that she will answer questions and discuss constituent concerns during a “Facebook Friday” event this Friday, December 2 on her Facebook page at facebook.com/RepVirginiaFoxx. For the first time, Foxx will use Facebook’s online format to discuss the issues of the day, gather feedback and help constituents who have problems dealing with the federal government.

“Thousands and thousands of Fifth District constituents are active on Facebook so I want to allow them to dialogue with me in a settingthat is convenient for them,” Foxx said. “There are countless methods for staying in touch with my constituents and Facebook is one of the many ways I use to hear from those I represent.

Constituents who wish to participate in Foxx’s “Facebook Friday” need only post a question or comment on Foxx’s Facebook page anytime on Friday morning, December 2. Foxx will then answer questions on Friday afternoon. It’s as simple as posting on Foxx’s wall at facebook.com/RepVirginiaFoxx.

“The great thing about a medium like Facebook is that it provides a mechanism for constituents to participate in many different discussions by making comments, asking questions and “liking” posts to show their approval or disapproval,” Foxx said. “It’s an incredibly helpful platform for gathering feedback and interacting with people in real time.”

Note: Due to House ethics rules Rep. Foxx is unable to discuss campaign-related issues on her official Facebook page at Facebook.com/RepVirginiaFoxx.

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(Raleigh, NC) – Governor Bev Perdue today called upon the General Assembly to reject a proposal that would merge dozens of mostly-rural community college campuses, saying it amounts to an attack on rural North Carolina – and yet another blow to the state’s education system.

“Community colleges are important economic drivers for their individual communities,” Gov. Perdue said. “They are crucial partners in growing jobs, especially in rural areas. Local control is essential for addressing local needs, particularly in the areas of job creation, training and economic development. To merge rural community colleges is to move our education system backwards. The General Assembly should reject that proposal.”

A report by the General Assembly’s Program Evaluation Division recommends merging community college campuses in mostly rural areas of the state. On the list for consideration are 26 colleges, four of which, according to their own report, have no other community college within 30 miles (indicated by an asterisk). The list includes:

1. Beaufort County Community College in Washington

2. Bladen Community College in Dublin

3. Blue Ridge Community College in Flat Rock

4. Brunswick Community College in Supply

5. Carteret Community College in Morehead City

6. College of the Albemarle in Elizabeth City*

7. Halifax Community College in Weldon*

8. Haywood Community College in Clyde

9. Isothermal Community College in Spindale

10. James Sprunt Community College in Kenansville

11. Martin Community College in Williamston

12. Mayland Community College in Spruce Pine

13. McDowell Technical Community College in Marion

14. Montgomery Community College in Troy

15. Nash Community College in Rocky Mount

16. Pamlico Community College in Grantsboro

17. Piedmont Community College in Roxboro

18. Richmond Community College in Hamlet

19. Roanoke-Chowan Community College in Ahoskie *

20. Rockingham Community College in Wentworth

21. Sampson Community College in Clinton

22. South Piedmont Community College in Polkton

23. Southeastern Community College in Whiteville

24. Southwestern Community College in Sylva

25. Tri-County Community College in Murphy *

26. Wilson Community College in Wilson

“North Carolina’s community college system is absolutely crucial to our economic development engine – I cannot say this loudly enough,” the governor said. “I have talked to hundreds of companies that specifically choose North Carolina because they know the local community colleges will train the workers they need. These companies bring jobs to our people and, in turn, the community colleges provide companies with skilled, ready workers.”

Gov. Perdue pointed to several recent jobs announcements made possible because of partnerships with community colleges:

• Beaufort Community College partnered to bring 239 jobs pledged with PAS Group and another 411 pledged with Fountain Powerboats.

• Rockingham Community College helped secure 68 jobs pledged with Loparex, 55 pledged with White Ridge Plastics and 95 pledged with Albaad.

• McDowell Technical Community College saw new jobs for the west by bringing 124 new positions pledged with Rock Tenn, 40 pledged with Jamesville Acoustics, 90 jobs pledged with Ethan Allen and 32 pledged with Wood Products.

• More western jobs were secured by Blue Ridge Community College, which helped bring 338 new jobs pledged with Continental Tevis.

• Richmond Community College worked to bring 250 new jobs pledged with Plastek.

“Take away the community colleges and where will those businesses turn for workers? What other state – or country — will get our jobs instead?” Gov. Perdue asked.

Press Release reposted from: Governor.state.nc.us

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Tonight, the Republican-controlled legislature turned its back on North Carolina’s long-standing commitment to our people to provide quality schools, community colleges and universities — all to save a penny. I vetoed the Republican General Assembly’s budget because I believe it will cause generational damage to this state. We must have a highly trained workforce for our state to be globally competitive, and that education begins in preschool classrooms and continues all the way through our community colleges and universities. They are all equally important.

This budget is shortsighted and irresponsible. It cuts a full half billion dollars more out of education than I proposed in my budget. It not only damages our education system but also hurts public safety, our environment and our ability to care for those who need us most.

Tonight the General Assembly may have undermined our schools, community colleges and universities. Tonight they may have cut our pre-k programs and turned our education system backwards. But tomorrow, the citizens of North Carolina and I will resume the fight for what we believe in – that education must be the one priority we never turn our backs on.

Press release reposted from: http://www.governor.state.nc.us/NewsItems/PressReleaseDetail.aspx?newsItemID=1880

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The Resolution is as follows:

A Resolution to Protect the Communities of North Carolina from the Harms and Loss of Local Control that Can Result From Unconventional Natural Gas Extraction, or “Fracking”

WHEREAS, practices in use in other states and under consideration to extract natural gas from deep shales underlying as many as 14 counties of North Carolina, including high pressure hydraulic fracturing and horizontal drilling, have been known to cause harms to many residents in communities where such harvesting has occurred over deep shale formations across the U. S.;

WHEREAS, those harms include massive depletion of local water resources to provide millions of gallons of water needed for hydraulic fracturing, cases of contamination of drinking water wells with natural gas, toxic volatile organic compounds and other contaminants in PA, TX, CO, WY and other states, severe air contamination with toxic volatile compounds in TX and CO; discharges to public wastewater plants and directly to surface water that have been harmful to downstream drinking water supplies and aquatic life in PA and WV; damage to surface buildings, vegetation and infrastructure in every one of the 30+ states where fracking is occurring, as well as noise, high volumes of truck traffic; and extreme hazards, including multiple reported instances of household water that is combustible, with risk of explosion; well and condensation tank explosions;

WHEREAS, regulation, agency enforcement action and study of these harms has been undermined by the passage of the Energy Policy Act of 2005, creating exemptions from many environmental, right to know and public health laws, and even an EPA study on potential impacts of hydraulic fracturing on drinking water supplies is quite limited in its scope and will not produce final results until at least 2014;

WHEREAS, any local protective regulatory limitations and prohibitions concerning natural gas extraction, along with zoning and land use provisions, must have full legal power, and must not be pre-empted by state law or overridden by any actions of resource extraction corporations claiming certain legal powers;

Be it resolved by the Rockingham County Democratic Party that:

1) There should be declared a ban on any state permitting program to allow horizontal drilling or hydraulic fracturing for natural gas extraction until at least the completion of credible scientific studies on drinking water, environmental and health impacts, in order to protect our public water resources and safe drinking water from ground and surface water supplies, as well as prevent toxic air quality impacts and quality of life degradation for communities. We need a stronger study of whether North Carolina should allow hydraulic fracturing.

2) The protection of residents, neighborhoods and the natural resources on which they depend constitutes the highest purpose of local governance, so that local communities must have the right to determine the best means of ensuring the rights of their residents and communities to protect their health, safety, and welfare and must not be overridden by extraction corporations claiming certain legal rights.

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Jones and Holloway, fielded questions from AAC member Jeff Parris on a variety of topics from Budget Items to current and proposed legislation being voted on in the General Assembly.

Rockingham Update’s Camera was at the Town Hall Meeting and you can see the entire meeting in the above video.

Also, on hand was Rockingham County Commissioner, Tommy Flynt who answered questions during the Forum as well, You can see that video by clicking HERE.

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HOUSE APPROPRIATIONS BILL TO CUT GOLDEN LEAF FUNDING FOR 2012, 2013

Proposed Legislation would divert almost $140 million away from rural, tobacco-dependent, and economically distressed North Carolina communities.

(Raleigh, NC) – In an email from Golden Leaf Foundation President, Dan Gerlach, that was received on April 27, 2011, it was stated that, upcoming proposed legislation could cut almost $140 million in funding. Below is a copy of the email that was received….

HOUSE APPROPRIATIONS BILL TO CUT GOLDEN LEAF FUNDING FOR 2012, 2013

Proposed Legislation would divert almost $140 million away from rural,

tobacco-dependent, and economically distressed North Carolina communities.

Dear North Carolinian,
 
Many of you have asked me to keep you updated on legislative activity regarding the Golden LEAF Foundation. I wanted to let you know that the House Appropriations Committee revealed that in H. 200, the Appropriations Act, the proposed House budget would intercept all of the 2012 and 2013 payments from the tobacco manufacturers that goes to Golden LEAF under a 1999 court order. This would result in a loss of almost $140 million for the Foundation’s work in your communities. While budgets in most agencies have been cut 10, or 15, or 20 percent, fully 100% of Golden LEAF funds would be diverted for two, and possibly more, years. 
 
Other states have used their tobacco settlement funds to balance their general funds. Now they have nothing to show for that use, and still face similar fiscal challenges to the one North Carolina faces. If the primary issue is job creation and the priority is keeping promises, this diversion should not occur.
 
Some may point out the Foundation has an endowment for its use, and we can continue to make grants from those funds. True enough, but the incoming stream of funding allows the Foundation to provide up to 10 percent of our endowment every year in grants, rather than the 5 percent that a traditional foundation would provide. If funds are diverted from the original promise, then future grants would be dramatically reduced. There is no way to say that $140 million taken away from the communities most in need is painless.
 
Supporters of this proposal may say this is the only way to balance the budget. But Governor Perdue provided a balanced budget to the General Assembly without such measures and vetoed an earlier effort to divert Golden LEAF funds, so obviously there are alternatives. The House plan also has surpluses in 2012 and 2013 in excess of the proposed diversion. To balance the state budget, the pain must be shared equally. It should not be on the backs of those communities who have the least amount of resources to begin with. 
 
Rest assured that we have been focused on those communities in need. Since inception, Golden LEAF has awarded over $483 million through more than 1,000 grants across North Carolina. This is money at work in your community – as over 96 percent of the funds we spend every year go to grants, not administration. It’s not about Golden LEAF’s benefit, but about the benefit to hard-hit North Carolina communities. A recent op-ed by Larry Wooten, President of the NC Farm Bureau, makes this point well. Read it here. 

While working with communities to meet immediate needs, we have strived to be good stewards so that Golden LEAF resources are available to rural communities long into the future. The Foundation has generated $214 million in investment earnings to support our grantsmaking. No taxpayer, no citizen had to yield one dime to generate that money – for it is the stewardship we are expected to practice.  
 
I believe that as our policymakers come to learn more about our work through your testimony, the more support we will have to protect the resources of the Foundation to help North Carolina move forward economically. I appreciate your continued efforts to provide witness about the needs that the Golden LEAF Foundation has met in your community to help move North Carolina forward. We all know there is much more work to be done. Please let us know how your conversations go.
 
Thank you for your leadership, and for your support of the work of the Golden LEAF Foundation.
 
Sincerely,
 
 
 

Dan Gerlach, President
dgerlach@goldenleaf.org

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301 NORTH WINSTEAD AVENUE·ROCKY MOUNT, NC  27804
(252) 442-7474 · (888) 684-8404 · FAX (252) 442-7404
www.goldenleaf.org · Email: info@goldenleaf.org