skip to main content
skip to newscasts

Saturday, April 20, 2024

Public News Service Logo
facebook instagram linkedin reddit youtube twitter
view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Tribal advocates keep up legal pressure for fair political maps; 12-member jury sworn in for Trump's historic criminal trial; the importance of healthcare decision planning; and a debt dilemma: poll shows how many people wrestle with college costs.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Civil rights activists say a court ruling could end the right to protest in three southern states, a federal judge lets January 6th lawsuits proceed against former President Trump, and police arrest dozens at a Columbia University Gaza protest.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Rural Wyoming needs more vocational teachers to sustain its workforce pipeline, Ohio environmental advocates fear harm from a proposal to open 40-thousand forest acres to fracking and rural communities build bike trail systems to promote nature, boost the economy.

Groups Picket NC Budget Director's Stores

play audio
Play

Wednesday, December 18, 2013   

HENDERSON, N.C. - Hundreds of North Carolinians are participating in a statewide "picket campaign" this month at a chain of discount retail stores owned by State Budget Director Art Pope. The protesters believe Pope has had a significant role in creating policies in North Carolina that unfairly target the poor and African-American communities.

Now that Pope holds a state-appointed office, said William Barber, president of the North Carolina NAACP, it's time for citizens to speak up.

"He has moved from just being a businessman and a political kingmaker to now being in one of the most powerful positions in the government - in our name, Barber said. "He's the budget director, appointed by the governor."

Pickets are planned at stores, including Rose's and Maxway, for Thursday in Henderson, where Pope's company is headquartered. Pope did not return calls requesting comment for this story, but his website identifies him as a public servant and philanthropist whose businesses employ 7,000 people in 15 states.

According to the Institute for Southern Studies, of all the spending by independent groups in the 2010 state legislative races, 75 percent came from accounts linked to multimillionaire Pope.

Barber explained why the NAACP and other groups, including Democracy NC, believe Pope is trying to advance his own business interests.

"He's had stores where people are making poverty wages, and yet he's working on policies that only induce poverty," Barber said, "and he's using the money extracted from these communities to work against them in public policies."

In addition to being part of the protest against Pope, Barber and the NAACP are continuing their efforts known as "Moral Mondays." They will hold a briefing from 6 to 7:30 p.m. at Covenant Presbyterian Church, 2620 E. Weaver St. in Durham, to discuss the state's decision to turn down federal money to expand Medicaid.

Reporting for this story by North Carolina News Connection in association with Media in the Public Interest. Media in the Public Interest is funded in part by Z. Smith Reynolds Foundation.


get more stories like this via email

more stories
The Bureau of Land Management's newly issued Public Lands Rule is designed to safeguard cultural resources such as New Mexico's Chaco Culture National Park. (Photo courtesy SallyPaez)

Environment

play sound

Balancing the needs of the many with those who have traditionally reaped benefits from public lands is behind a new rule issued Thursday by the Bureau…


Health and Wellness

play sound

Alzheimer's disease is the eighth-leading cause of death in Pennsylvania. A documentary on the topic debuts Saturday in Pittsburgh. "Remember Me: …

Social Issues

play sound

April is Financial Literacy Month, when the focus is on learning smart money habits but also how to protect yourself from fraud. One problem on the …


Outdoor recreation added $11.7 million to the Arizona economy in 2022, according to the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis. (Adobe Stock)

Environment

play sound

Arizona conservation groups and sportsmen alike say they're pleased the Bureau of Land Management will now recognize conservation as an integral part …

play sound

Across the U.S., most political boundaries tied to the 2020 Census have been in place for a while, but a national project on map fairness for …

The 2023 Annie E. Casey Foundation Data Book ranked Arkansas 37th in the nation for education, and said 56% of young children were not in preschool programs to help get them ready for school. (Adobe Stock)

Social Issues

play sound

The need for child care and early learning is critical, especially in rural Arkansas. One nonprofit is working to fill those gaps by giving providers …

Environment

play sound

An annual march for farmworkers' rights is being held Sunday in northwest Washington. This year, marchers are focusing on the conditions for local …

Social Issues

play sound

A new Gallup and Lumina Foundation poll unveils a concerning reality: Hoosiers may lack clarity about the true cost of higher education. The survey …

 

Phone: 303.448.9105 Toll Free: 888.891.9416 Fax: 208.247.1830 Your trusted member- and audience-supported news source since 1996 Copyright © 2021