by Kimberly Jones | Jul 2, 2025 | Education, Kimberly Jones, Local Politics, North Carolina, North Carolina Community, North Carolina State Politics, Reclaiming Rural
You cannot ask schools to solve every societal ill while refusing to fund the systems that make solutions possible. Public education cannot be reimagined if it is underfunded, undermined, and politicized. At the very least, you should place a moratorium on the expansion of private school vouchers, which siphon vital resources away from the public schools that serve the vast majority of our children. I have said it before and will say it again: public dollars belong in public schools. We cannot keep pretending to champion success for all students while funding systems that are not held to the same standards of transparency, access, or accountability.
by Beacon Media | Jul 2, 2025 | Climate crisis, Cost of living, Environment, Local Organizing, Local Politics, North Carolina Community, North Carolina State Politics, Reclaiming Rural
An independent study commissioned by Duke Energy found that it could keep bills low and meet the carbon reduction targets by tripling the proposed solar on its grid by 2030.
Instead, Duke has planned the largest buildout of dirty fossil gas in the nation, according to data compiled by the Sierra Club.
by Preston Blakely | Jun 26, 2025 | Local Politics, North Carolina Community, North Carolina State Politics, Politics, Preston Blakely, U.S. Politics
Who could have imagined public service could be so dangerous? I became the mayor of a small town in Western North Carolina to serve my entire community. To sit in churches, barbershops, and kitchen tables, and have intimate and honest conversations. To represent and lead the people I meet, even when we cannot agree on everything.
by Dalton George | May 28, 2025 | Dalton George, Local Organizing, Local Politics, North Carolina Community, Reclaiming Rural
Regardless of party, most people hate politics, they distrust the system, and they feel left behind, unheard, and sidelined. I understood how they felt. So how could I reconcile this with being an elected official? I decided on an “ambitious” idea — aiming to talk to people.
These town halls have very little format, lots of me answering questions, sharing frustrations, and inviting people to help me solve the problems. It’s risky, no doubt, for an elected official to deviate from the script, but to meet this moment it’s also necessary. Opening yourself to a dialogue, answering any question asked can be a challenge, but importantly it also humanizes our decision-makers.
by Beacon Media | May 28, 2025 | Elections, Local Politics, North Carolina State Politics, Politics
The losing candidate — Court of Appeals Judge Jefferson Griffin — couldn’t steal the election, but he did immeasurable damage to the public’s faith in our democracy. He challenged 65,000 ballots from voters who complied with all the rules, and four justices on our state Supreme Court agreed to throw out some of them.
Griffin never presented any evidence that voters did anything wrong in casting their ballots, but it suddenly looked like their votes might not count.
by Beacon Media | May 20, 2025 | Climate crisis, Cost of living, Environment, Local Organizing, Local Politics, North Carolina Community, Reclaiming Rural, U.S. Politics
We depend on Duke for electricity. They need to deliver that. But Duke also shouldn’t put shareholder profits over careful stewardship of the natural resources that we all depend on.
