County Impact

Poverty is not just a seven-letter word; it is a state of being for over 46 million Americans and their families and over 1.7 million or 18% of North Carolina families. It is invasive and merciless when it comes to measuring quality of life and the potential future of not only communities but regions such…

Rural northeastern North Carolina has undergone tremendous challenges since its history. Its ability to lure companies to help it move from its complexity of economic development, has an opportunity to inject youth and young adult leadership into the mix. Important to the work of communities is how they define the role of their youth and…

From text messaging to video feeds, young people are being drawn to smart technology in ways that are changing the way they think, innovate and process critical data. Their ability to comprehend rules in the workplace, demonstrate soft skill competency, and handle work force demands, are all impacted by the rules of smart technology and…

What we know about poverty in America is that northeastern North Carolina is not alone. There are more than 46 million persons living in poverty in America making less than $23,000 a year to meet the needs of a family of four. When it comes to our kids, over 21% of them live in poverty…

The state of the country has been rising in its popularity over the last few weeks. The stock market has shown signs of unexpected improvement and so has the unemployment rate with the third week of claims dropping. However, there are regions across the nation with predictions that are on course. They have shown little…

Yesterday I wrote an article entitled Groundswell of Concern Emerging : Back to Back Legislation Bad for Poor and People of Color (see below). It expressed a number of concerns about the Voter ID that is worth reading. Today I had the opportunity to appear before the Republican House leadership in opposition to the proposed…