Advocates for Senior Citizens
Last week I met with advocates for our senior citizens from all across Western North Carolina. Dorothy Crawford, in the picture below, will turn 101 on April 20th! Ms. Dorothy worked for my Grandmother Queen when she was the head of Haywood County Social Services in the 1940's. I am humbled and impressed that she made the trek to Raleigh with this group of fine people.
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I enjoyed meeting with Charlotte Cowan, Dorothy Crawford, and Kate Welch here in Raleigh!
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Workforce Development
I had a productive meeting with leaders from many of our community colleges in Western North Carolina early last week. The North Carolina Community College System is one of the best in the country, and they provide incredibly valuable workforce training for the jobs of the future. I am working hard to get them the resources they need to ensure that their students succeed!
Governor Cooper's budget prioritizes workforce development in our community college system. Along with recruiting good teachers and providing them with the resources they deserve, the budget will create the
NC GROW (Getting Ready for Opportunities in the Workforce)
program to provide college tuition to students in high-demand fields of study. The budget also expands
Finish Line Grants
, which provides students in need with up to $1,000 to meet their personal expenses to help them finish their degrees.
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From left to right, Blue Ridge Community College President Laura Leatherwood, AB Tech President Dennis King, Isothermal Community College President Walter Dalton, Southwestern Community College President Don Thompson, Haywood Community College President Barbara Parker, and Cleveland Community College President Jason Hurst
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The Status of Women
I attended an informative briefing on the status of women's employment in North Carolina. Equal pay for equal work is important, and there is a lot of work left to do. Women still earn on average
$8,600 less
than their male counterparts every year. If all working women in North Carolina received equal pay for equal work, they would receive an additional
$15.6 billion
collectively, equal to 3 percent of the state's 2016 GDP.
This matters. When women thrive, whole communities thrive. If you want to help a child, help their mother.
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This particular graph from the briefing made it clear.
At every level, women make less than men.
I recently endorsed the Equal Rights Amendment, which would ensure that all people get equal pay for equal work. It is high time we take this step in North Carolina.
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I appreciated the opportunity to learn the latest information about women's employment and earnings from experts here in North Carolina.
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Family Coding Night
I joined my fellow Western North Carolina Representative Ray Russell at Family Coding Night here in Raleigh. This is a wonderful initiative from our Governor to teach our state's youth the basics of computer coding.
Family Coding Night is coming to WNC. You can find the closest location here:
https://www.ncnights.org/.
Join in, you and your kids will have a great time.
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I met some bright young kids at Family Coding Night, and they were treated to a surprise video appearance from Governor Roy Cooper!
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A Boost for Broadband Expansion
On Thursday Governor Roy Cooper issued
Executive Order No. 91
to increase broadband connectivity across North Carolina. The order directs the government to identify and remove barriers to affordable, high-speed internet, eliminate the homework gap, and facilitate private-sector deployment of last-mile infrastructure.
"In today's schools and workplaces, high-speed internet is not optional" said Governor Cooper.
"Too many North Carolinians lack the internet access
they need
to apply for jobs, do homework, or run a small business. We must address this digital divide to give every community in North Carolina an equal opportunity to thrive using today's technology."
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Broadband Work Group
On Wednesday Edward Hinson, Executive Director for Competitive Operations at SkyLine Membership Corp., spoke to our broadband work group. SkyLine has led one of the most successful rural broadband expansion efforts in North Carolina, and Mr. Hinson offered great perspective on the barriers we face and the avenues we can take to successfully expand broadband infrastructure.
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The Future of Our State
On Friday students across the nation walked out to encourage their leaders to work for
a healthy, clean environment.
In North Carolina, students took action from the mountains to the sea. Here in Raleigh I met with young leaders and hear their concerns about climate change and the need for alternative energy development as part of North Carolina's energy future.
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I had an encouraging meeting with Becca Lewis, a senior in high school, Lindsay Morgenstein, a freshman at Duke University, and Jack Morgenstein, a sophomore in high school. I am glad to see our state's youth getting involved at such a young age to advocate for what they believe!
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We had a wonderful discussion about the steps we should be taking as a state to ensure that the next generation can enjoy a healthy environment. I shared my smart energy plan and the
Governor's Climate Change Executive Order
with these smart young students.
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Please share this with your friends!
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P.S. check out our new legislative web page at
www.joesamqueennc.com
. You can find all of my previous newsletters and more!
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