Without immediate action from the General Assembly, Pandemic-era federal grants to child care providers will run out on July 1 — plunging the state into a child care crisis that will hamper economic and workforce development, make child care more difficult to find and further burden North Carolina’s working parents already feeling the pinch from unaffordable housing and the relentless corporate greed that’s driving inflation. 

On average, it costs parents $9,480 a year for infant childcare in North Carolina, which is $2,126 more than they’ll pay for in-state tuition to a four-year N.C. university. 

It’s the kind of street – lined with modest, well-kept houses flying U.S. flags – where neighborhood children haphazardly cast their bicycles in piles on a playmate’s lawn to tear off and play in the woods or on a backyard Slip ‘N Slide.

It’s late morning and situated behind his desk in the back office of the Haywood Arts Regional Theatre in Waynesville is Steven Lloyd. Leaning back in his chair, Lloyd sighed at the question posed to him: what’s the current status of HART? 

For most, childhood is a time of growth, learning and stability nurtured by fertile environmental and economic conditions that ultimately prepare young people to become the leaders of tomorrow. 

In much of North Carolina, the future’s not nearly that bright. 

The Macon County commissioners have some challenges in balancing the proposed 2017-18 budget, but County Manager Derek Roland said those challenges are the same ones every local government is facing right now.

If Waynesville has a dirty little secret, it’s this: a cash cow runs through its power lines.

Of course, it’s not dirty and not a secret — not really. Town leaders don’t hide the fact they have a lucrative electric system. It reaps over $1 million in profits annually for the town.

By Doug Wingeier • Columnist

Debate is picking up these days on help for the unemployed and low-wage workers. Congress is balking on extending unemployment compensation. The media and public are going back and forth on raising the minimum wage. The Coalition of Immokalee Workers in Florida are demanding (and often getting) a penny more per pound for the tomatoes they pick. And fast food and big box employees are taking matters into their own hands by going out on strike to demand better wages and working conditions.

 The emergency unemployment insurance program for the long-term unemployed expired on Dec. 28, leaving 1.5 million unfortunate folk in the lurch. Since it was implemented in 2008, more than 24 million Americans have received these benefits, which have helped them to pay rent, feed their children, and keep the lights on. In addition to the 1.3 million who stopped receiving benefits last month, if the program isn’t extended, an additional 3.6 million will lose access to this vital lifeline by the end of 2014. This program doesn’t just help the long-term unemployed. Failing to extend it would also be a huge drain on the economy, eliminating an estimated additional 240,000 jobs.