MountainTrue Raleigh Report
The MountainTrue Raleigh Report covers environmental politics and policy, with a focus on the issues that affect Western North Carolina. Sign up to get the Raleigh Report delivered to your inbox.
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MountainTrue Raleigh Report – Roy Cooper is Governor
In this installment of MTRaleigh: We have a new Governor — what does that mean for clean air and water in North Carolina? And the General Assembly comes back next week for a quick session on disaster recovery.
The day after The Day
If you are like the rest of us here at MountainTrue, you woke up this morning with serious questions about the future – both in Western North Carolina and across the country and the world.
There’s plenty to be concerned about.
Election Day is November 8; Find Your Polling Place
Election Day is a little more than two weeks away and early voting started on October 20! The presidential race has gotten most of the attention, but North Carolina voters will be faced with a crowded ballot the polls. To help you make heads or tails of who’s running, what they stand for, and where to vote, we’re providing a list of nonpartisan voting resources.
MountainTrue Raleigh Report, Issue 21: Hallelujah, That Session Is Over
In this edition of the MountainTrue Raleigh Report – It’s OVER! On Friday, legislators adjourned the short session sine die and headed back home – just in time for the Fourth of July holiday. Up until the very end of session, there were a number of important bills still up in the air. Some good things happened and some bad things didn’t. Here’s the rundown on the end of session – and our overall take on what The Honorables did and didn’t do this year.
Bad Coal Ash Bill Being Rushed Through Raleigh
On the evening of Tuesday, June 28 the North Carolina Senate rushed through a rewrite to H630, the state’s coal ash cleanup law. This bad coal ash bill is quickly making its way through the legislature and we expect the House to take it up as soon as today. Please call your NC Representative Immediately and ask them to NOT CONCUR with the Senate’s version of House Bill 630.
What The Heck Is Going On In Raleigh Re: Coal Ash? Some Answers
The North Carolina House of Representatives passed SB 71 on Wednesday, May 25 by a vote of 86 to 25 and sent it to the Senate. While this bill contains some good provisions, such as requiring Duke Energy to provide a permanent, clean drinking water supply for some residents living near coal ash pits, overall we believe that risks of SB 71 outweigh its benefits. We are concerned that in the process of revising the state’s coal ash laws, the legislature may provide Duke Energy with an avenue to reclassify many of its coal ash pits and substantially decrease the quality of their clean up, including the number that are required to be excavated rather than simply capped in place. The legislature’s review of SB 71 is ongoing but moving quite quickly. North Carolinians who want to have their voices heard on this important legislation should act now.
MountainTrue Raleigh Report, Issue 20
Legislators returned to Raleigh last week for the “short session.” Aside from dueling protests over HB2, the big news was the release of the Governor’s budget. The $22.8 billion proposal contains pay raises for teachers and represents a 2.8 percent spending increase over last fiscal year.
Striving for a More Diverse, Inclusive Western North Carolina
At MountainTrue we understand that Western North Carolina’s diversity is just as important to our heritage as our mountains. In fact, we recently adopted a set of principles of Equity, Inclusion, and Non-Discrimination that recognizes and honors diversity in our membership, volunteer base, staff and board. These principles establish that we will not discriminate against individuals, communities or organizations based on race, sex, age, religion, ethnicity, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression or physical/mental disability. These principles also commit us to a proactive and strategic approach to equity at an institutional and societal level. We continue our decades-long work to engage diverse voices in decision making at the local and state levels.
MountainTrue Raleigh Report, Issue #19
Welcome back to MountainTrue’s Raleigh Report. We are just one month away from North Carolina’s primary and just about two months away from the state legislature’s 2016 session, so it’s time to get back to it. In this edition, we’ll catch you up on recent happenings in Raleigh, take a look at WNC primary races and look forward to session.
MountainTrue Raleigh Report – February 22, 2016
Welcome back to MountainTrue’s Raleigh Report. We are just one month away from North Carolina’s primary and just about two months away from the state legislature’s 2016 session, so it’s time to get back to it. In this edition, we’ll catch you up on recent happenings in Raleigh, take a look at WNC primary races and look forward to session.
But first-