Trying to survive at the bottom:

In the wealthiest nation on earth, millions of North Carolinians spend every day just trying to survive. Low wages, lack of investment in an infrastructure of opportunity, and an economy with rules rigged for the wealthy few have resulted in the lucky few amassing unimaginable wealth while children and families go hungry and struggle to get ahead. This moral and economic failure touches people across the state and is particularly present in communities of color that have long faced barriers to prosperity and security erected through policy choices and systems of exclusion.

This cycle won't break itself, it requires actions on several fronts. Hunger leads to malnutrition, and malnutrition has a direct and detrimental effect on learning and performance in the K-12 school environment. Which leads to severely limited economic opportunities as an adult, which brings us right back to hungry children. And a stuttering economy:

As usual, YDNC is leading the way:

YDNC successfully conducted its virtual convention, this past Sunday. Elections were held for the 2020-2021 executive board.

This next week will be a transition period, to allow new officers to adjust to their positions. Stay tuned, for updates and introductions! #ncpol

— Young Democrats of NC (@ydnc) April 7, 2020

Now if we "not so young" Democrats can pull this virtual thing off without too many hitches, I'll be impressed.

Because what's the problem with a little leakage?

The EPA's proposal would ease regulations for the liners that coat the bottom of coal ash pits in order to stop the cancer-linked substance from leaking into groundwater. It would also in some cases allow the use of coal ash in closing landfills.

“These common-sense changes will provide the flexibilities owners and operators need to determine the most appropriate way to manage [coal ash] and the closure of units based on site-specific conditions,” EPA administrator Andrew Wheeler said in a statement. Environmentalists, however, said that the changes would weaken environmental protections.

I am getting really sick of these Orwellian statements coming out of Trump's Kakistocracy. Wheeler is a former lobbyist for coal giant Murray Energy, and this is not his first effort to undermine safety when it comes to coal ash:

This needs to be fixed, like yesterday:

"We are asking our health care co-workers to put their lives on the line without adequate protection — as a country we would never do this for our military soldiers." @WesleyBurksMD, CEO of @UNC_Health_Care #ncleg #ncga #ncpol https://t.co/RbJnaogAHX

— Lanier Swann Hodgson (@lanierswann) March 23, 2020

There are some 3 million sets of personal protective equipment in the national stockpile. It's not enough, but most of those should have already been deployed to shortage areas. Somebody needs to ask Trump about this during his daily circle-jerk press conference.