Raleigh NC – Bills to change public school rules

School suspension notice requirements will be standardized, and the mandatory high school graduation project won’t be required once two bills championed by N.C. Rep. Angela Bryant become laws. (Rocky Mount Telegram)

Raleigh NC – Bill to pause grad projects gains ground

A bill being pushed by N.C. Rep. Angela Bryant to stop a statewide high school graduation project while it is studied moved to the N.C. Senate after passing almost unanimously in the N.C. House.

The bill to remove the N.C. Graduation Project as a requirement for earning a high school diploma prior to July 1, 2011, also directs . . . (Rocky Mount Telegram)

Raleigh NC – State Senate takes up death penalty

So Sen. Swindell I do not think you should limit yourself to just your county since your vote will reflect what happens in other counties. You ought to be concerned about what is going on in all counties especially when you are aware of what has happened in the other counties. So Swindell what part of the following do you not understand? “The defendant could show racial disparities in that particular county, in that particular judicial district or in the state as a whole.”

I totally agree with Rep. Bryant that those who want to restart executions ought to sponsor their own bill and to do their own homework.

I understand Sen. Ed Jones Halifax County had voted in favor of this bill however he changed his vote. I also understand that Sen. Don Davis voted along with Swindell in favor of the bill. What a damn shame because obviously he is trying to play it safe. However I hope I will hear from him after he reads this because I will be forwarding this to him. C. Dancy II – DCN Publisher

A bill initially intended to protect racial minorities from discriminatory sentencing in capital cases also — to the disappointment of its original sponsors — might reactivate the death penalty in North Carolina.

In a major twist last week, the bill known as the Racial Justice Act was approved by the N.C. Senate, but not before Republican leaders added an amendment removing obstacles to carrying out executions. Because of pending litigation in the N.C. Supreme Court, a death-row prisoner hasn’t been executed in North Carolina since August 2006. (Rocky Mount Telegram)

Rocky Mount NC – Community Forum on Children’s Special Needs

Community Forum on Children’s Special Needs

Sponsored by The Beacon Center Community Collaborative

Where: NC Wesleyan College: Dunn Center in the Carlton

Boardroom

Date & Time:  Thursday, March 26th @ 6pm

Do you have questions about the services available to children and their families in Nash and Edgecombe Counties?

Do you wonder where to get help and who to call? When to call? Or When to be worried about a child’s difficulties?

Come and get responses to your questions from the professionals most likely to have the answers.

NC Representative Angela Bryant will moderate a panel discussion with Gladys Branch of Nash/Rocky Mount Schools, Karen Salacki of The Beacon Center, Lewis Pitts of NC Legal Aid, Pat Adams of the Children’s Development Services Agency, and Cornelia Singletary of the Down East Partnership for Children among others.