I recently added a new table to the WCLN studios. Nothing fancy. It was crafted from rough and flawed pieces of walnut boards I picked up somewhere. I decided to leave many flaws untouched and even finish it with raw steel hairpin legs as a nod to my oldest son — an artist whose chosen media was metal, before passing not long ago. Seeing the table each day has caused to me think about what craftsmanship means to me in the first place.

Like many people I know, my life is busy. My calendar would be full of gatherings of all shape and form if I dared to keep one. In fact, not acting surprised when I'm reminded of a birthday, anniversary, dance recital or social gathering I should have remembered is something I've developed into almost an art form. And as much as my wife and I are able to participate, we do. But I love to retreat, too.

More often than not, a retreat for me doesn't mean a getaway to the beach or the beautiful North Carolina mountains. Instead, it's more likely to involve an invitation for the family dog to join me on the short walk to the workshop behind our house.

In that calm respite from the busyness of daily life, I create things. Sometimes I work in the quiet with just my thoughts, and other times, I'll turn the music up to drown them out. I work with a number of materials, but wood is easily my favorite medium. The wood in my shop is comprised largely of castoffs. From exotic hardwoods to common lumber, I gather small or otherwise insignificant pieces from industries that see no need for them. To others they are scraps — one step away from firewood — but to me, each piece is a treasure.

More than a hobby, woodworking has become a reflection of the life I've been given to live. Occasionally, I'll make something on commission, but I rarely sell what I create. The whole idea changes the game. Woodworking is about seeing the individual beauty and usefulness of each piece of wood — large or small — and starting a process of preserving, preparing and giving that piece a new purpose. In short, it's about redemption.

Without the grace and redemption I found in Jesus Christ, my life would be nothing. I was probably considered a castoff by many when Jesus found me, but he saw something useful and has been preparing and preserving me since 1981, and even in the times when I feel I have nothing to offer, He assures me there is a greater purpose for my life. For every life.

Diabetic state employees soon won’t have to swallow the rising cost of insulin.

State Treasurer Dale Folwell waived co-pays on insulin prescriptions for members of the State Health Plan, starting Jan. 1, 2021. Folwell hopes to save members $5 million.

Insulin has become a flashpoint in the debate over drug pricing.

The cost of the drug has nearly tripled since 2002, forcing patients to start rationing their insulin. Some have died. Others have gone blind.

More than a million North Carolinians suffer from diabetes. Some 12,000 state employees use insulin, and they’re paying an average $467 out of pocket each year for brand insulin. But that price tag can rise as high as $1,000.

The State Health Plan Board of Trustees voted to nix insulin cost sharing earlier this year.

It hopes to prevent patients from rationing insulin and putting themselves at risk for expensive and potentially life-threatening complications.

“This is a good investment by the State Health Plan,” Folwell told Carolina Journal. “Insulin adherence saves lives and saves money. We all don’t want the cost of insulin to be a barrier.”

Insulin was prohibitively expensive for some families, says Ardis Watkins, executive director of the State Employees Association of N.C. She has talked to patients who rationed their insulin, saying that their diabetes hurt family finances.

“It’s a huge deal, what just happened,” Watkins told CJ. “Insulin can mean life or death. It’s immoral for those medications to make the difference of the family’s budget every month.”

Folwell has long railed against the rising cost of health care. The Republican treasurer forged an unlikely alliance with SEANC after he started a war with hospitals over medical billing transparency.

The State Health Plan risks going broke within four years. It faces some $35 billion in unfunded liabilities.

Folwell wants to save the plan by linking prices to Medicare payments. The plan now faces a significant risk of overpaying or wasting tens of millions of dollars, based on a report by the state auditor. Folwell has described the current system as a blank check.

Folwell hoped to usher providers into the Clear Pricing Project — his plan to drive down costs with billing transparency. But the plan sparked a feud with local hospital systems, who refused reforms.

But enrollment has reopened for providers. Folwell seems to be focusing on recruiting independent providers to join the plan. They can’t charge patients as many fees as hospitals do.

“We’re having fantastic negotiations, especially with independent providers of health care that are excited for the first time that someone recognizes that they exist,” Folwell said.
“We want independent, profitable, accessible, high-quality health care providers.”

During its regular board meeting on Sept. 21, the Cumberland County Board of Commissioners amended an economic development incentives agreement with Campbell Soup Supply Company and approved contracts for Workforce Development Services and Sheriff’s Office uniforms.

Commissioners approved extending the deadline by one year to Dec. 31, 2020, for the company to add at least 100 new employees. The company requested the extension because construction on its new distribution facility in the Cedar Creek Business Center was significantly delayed by hurricanes. The company projects it will have hired 112 employees by the deadline. The board also approved an associated budget amendment for $248,000 for the economic incentive payment due in March 2021 based on the contract terms of reimbursing the company 75% of the county tax.

The board also approved contracts for workforce development services for fiscal year 2021. Two Hawk Workforce Services, LLC, a North Carolina limited liability company headquartered in Lumberton, was selected by the Workforce Development Board to be the provider of both program delivery and one stop operator services. Each of these contracts commences October 1, 2020, for a term ending June 30, 2021, with an option for two one-year extensions.

The N.C. Department of Transportation is seeking public feedback on plans to widen a 9-mile section of Interstate 95 in Robeson County. DOT proposes to increase the number of travel lanes to four in each direction from Exit 13 to just south of Exit 22 in Lumberton. Three interchanges (Exits 17, 19 and 20) will be significantly upgraded, and bridges that cross the Lumber River and CSX rail line will be replaced. A presentation of what the improvements should look like was given during a recent virtual meeting. People will find videos and other project information on DOT’s project webpage.

Questions or comments on the project may be submitted by Oct. 15. The project has an estimated $418 million construction cost, and the department is scheduled to award a design-build contract next summer.

School districts can allow elementary grade students to return to the classroom next month, Gov. Roy Cooper announced during a Sept. 17 news conference, but middle and high school students won’t have the same opportunity.

The announcement — allowing local school districts to provide in-person instruction full-time to younger students — comes a day after Republican leaders urged the governor to offer that option at all levels statewide and let parents decide.

The move is a step in the right direction, Senate Leader Phil Berger, R-Rockingham, said in a Thursday news release, but the governor should have gone further with his decision.

“His new plan ignores the needs of low-income and exceptional students in middle and high schools for in-person instruction,” Berger said.

On Sept. 16, Berger, along with Lt. Gov. Dan Forest and Catherine Truitt, the Republican candidate for state superintendent, called for schools to fully reopen. A handful of parents took part in the news conference to share their desperation with the remote instruction plans.

Cooper said the move wasn’t connected to Wednesday’s news conference at the General Assembly.

Over the summer, the state told school districts to create three reopening plans, from most to least restrictive. Plan A had the fewest restrictions, allowing in-person instruction with minimal social distancing of students and staff. Plan B required more stringent social distancing and fewer people in the school building. Under Plan C, schools could use only remote learning.

On July 14, Cooper announced school districts could either use Plan B or Plan C. No school district was allowed to offer Plan A, regardless of the COVID-19 metrics in the area.

But now, starting on Oct. 5, school districts can switch to plan A for kindergarten through fifth grade, but older grade levels must stay on either plan B or C.

“We are able to open this option because most North Carolinians have doubled down on our safety and prevention measures and stabilized our numbers,” Cooper said.

Face masks and social distancing are still required under Plan A, but unlike Plan B, schools won’t have to reduce the number of students allowed in the building at the same time.

Neither Cooper, nor Mandy Cohen, the secretary of the state Department of Health and Human Services, gave a timeline for when middle and high schools grades can return to classrooms full-time.

Local actors are returning to the stage to deliver the fun and creative performances we’ve been missing since the pandemic closed curtains and theater doors in March.

This month, the Gilbert Theater brings “Barefoot in the Park” to stage Oct. 2-18 with limited seating and social distancing in effect. There will only be 25 seats sold per performance, in order to adhere to COVID-19 guidelines for public gatherings.

“‘Barefoot in the Park’ is a classic Neil Simon comedy,” said Larry Carlisle, the show’s director and the Artistic Director for the Gilbert. “It’s about two newlyweds who move into a tiny apartment in New York City and deal with being newlyweds, weird neighbors and mothers.”

Simon, who died in 2018, was a playwright, screenwriter and author. In his lifetime, he received more combined Oscar and Tony award nominations than any other writer. Widely considered to be a Broadway icon, Simon wrote more than 30 plays, including “Brighton Beach Memoirs,” “Biloxi Blues” and “The Odd Couple.” Simon won the Pulitzer Prize for “Lost in Yonkers.”

The “Barefoot in the Park” cast includes Tanisha Johnson and Gage Long as newlyweds Corie and Paul; Deannah Robinson as Corie’s mother; Gabe Terry as neighbor Mr. Velasco; and James Merkle as the telephone repairman. Carlisle will also have a small role as a deliveryman.

Despite performing to a quarter of the theater’s capacity, Carlisle and the cast agree that producing the show is worth the effort.

“Everyone’s gotten stir crazy,” Terry said about closures due to the pandemic. “The show’s a lot of fun to do.”

Providing live entertainment is something the performers enjoy, no matter the crowd size, Carlisle said. With COVID-19 restrictions, the cast and crew have been able to explore some interesting ways to adapt their performances.

“I’m just excited to get back to stage,” Robinson said. “Granted, it will be limited capacity.”

Safety precautions in place will include masks for theater attendants, hand sanitizer stations, no-contact concessions, temperature checks upon entry and cleaning between performances.

“For all the performances we’re asking all patrons to wear a mask and practice social distancing,” Carlisle said.

Preparing for the masked performances has been a fun challenge for the cast.

“It is interesting because there’s so much (in the story) that involves intimacy,” Terry said.

Robinson added, “We’re working around it, having fun with it, even with the mask.”

The team at the Gilbert is optimistic that the audience will attend and enjoy the show, if only for a short respite from the daily headlines.

“It’s two hours to take your mind off your trouble, don’t worry about everything going on outside,” Carlisle said. “It’s a light breezy sitcom-esque
comedy.”

Johnson added, “Come out and laugh, have a good time.”

Recognizing that some patrons might not be comfortable even with all those precautions, Carlisle said there will be two performances where the actors will also wear masks. Those shows are scheduled for Saturday, Oct. 10, at 2 p.m. and 8 p.m.

The Gilbert Theater is located at 116 Green St. in downtown Fayetteville. There are several discounts available including student, military and first responder. Contact the box office for more info on the show or to purchase tickets at boxoffice@gilberttheater.com.

An internationally celebrated exhibit of 25, 6-foot tall, pivoting prisms will be staged in some outdoor areas of downtown Fayetteville as a part of an effort to draw visitors downtown to play, shop and dine. The unusual displays will be posted during October. The Cool Spring Downtown District is partnering with Fayetteville’s Public Works Commission to present "Prismatica."

The Toronto-based, architectural firm RAW Design is responsible for the conception and execution of this art project, in collaboration with ATOMIC3. Prismatica made its debut in 2014 at the Place des Festivals in Montreal, where 50 pivoting prisms transformed the outdoor space into a giant kaleidoscope. Since then, "Prismatica" has been on a world tour, lighting up 26 cities in five countries, to include Fayetteville, Houston, Jerusalem, Israel, London, Lugano and New York City.

His Outreach Worldwide Ministry will host a BBQ Fundraiser Saturday, Oct. 3, to support the construction of a school building in Tamu, Myanmar. The barbecue will be held at the ministry's "log cabin," located at 2770 Breezewood Ave., from 1-5 p.m., for takeout or a picnic on the grounds. The food will be priced at $10 per plate.

“We are praying we will have a huge turn out, we need at least $5,000 for the school, and it has to be finished by January,” said Lynne O’Quinn, president of H.O.W. “We are really needing this funding now and needing it quickly.”

The barbecue will benefit over 100 children in the Tamu area attending His Outreach Worldwide School, the only government-licensed English-teaching school in the area.

The event will offer great food by Hopkins Barbeque and great music on the patio by Currie Wayne Clayton Jr., O’Quinn said.

The ministry is excited to have the accomplished musician Currie Wayne, who has played with the rock band Molly Hatchet in the past and has won many musical championships.

O’Quinn said she believes the fundraiser will be a great event that will be outdoors, and a lot of people are looking forward to it, especially since the pandemic.

“We'd love for people to come that day, purchase tickets, enjoy the entertainment and just have a great day,” she said.

H.O.W., a Christian ministry, was founded in 2008 in Fayetteville by O’Quinn and supports several activities around the world, including providing funds, food, clothes and more. The faith-based organization is founded on prayer and God’s word.

“In a nutshell, God woke me up one morning and wrote a book through me sharing Jesus to children around the world,” O’Quinn said. “That one little book is what founded this worldwide
ministry.”

The barbecue is one of its many fundraising events, including an annual 5K, which was cancelled this year due to COVID-19 restrictions.

"We are praying for a great sunny, fall day and attendees are encouraged to bring their own chairs to comply with social distancing and have a picnic on the grounds," O'Quinn said.

“Bring your own chair, grab a plate of barbecue, sit here and have great entertainment and fellowship,” she added.

For more information about H.O.W. or the BBQ, visit http://hisoutreachworldwide.org/

Pictured: His Outreach Worldwide Ministry President Lynne O'Quinn entertains children at a H.O.W. project at a day camp in Brno, Czech Republic.

Sustainable Sandhills will host its second annual "Drive Electric" event Oct. 3 from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Fayetteville Area Transportation and Local History Museum.

The event, which is a part of the National Drive Electric Week, will feature various opportunities for drivers to learn about electric vehicle options in the region.

“The goal is to provide awareness to the community about electric vehicles and the benefits they have — like improving air quality, reducing our dependence on foreign petroleum, and just showing people that ‘EV’ can be very fun to drive,” said Joenelle Kimbrough, executive director of Sustainable Sandhills.

There will be multiple Teslas available at the event for the public to test-drive. Visitors can sign up online for 15 minute test-drive slots and register at https://sustainablesandhills.org/driveelectric2020/.

If anyone owns an electric vehicle, they are welcome to bring it to the car show and talk to people about the experience of driving an electric vehicle and the value of its ownership, Kimbrough said.

The family-friendly event will see food trucks and activities for children like a "build your own car" craft and a book signing by local children’s book author Alison Paul Klakowicz, author of "Mommy’s Big Red Monster Truck."

The "Drive Electric" show will comply with COVID-19 health precautions. The cars will be wiped and sanitized between each user, there will be mostly touch-free activities and children will each get their own set of crayons.

“We would love to have you come out and learn about electric vehicles and benefits they offer our community — see how fun they are to drive,” Kimbrough said.

The event will host community partners involved with "EV" infrastructure, incluuding the Fayetteville Public Works Commission, The Fayetteville Area Metropolitan Planning Organization, and Central Electric Membership Corporation, which will inform the attendees on where to find chargers for their electric cars, and of new technologies regarding "EV" that are out on the horizon, she said.

All of these organizations have charging stations throughout the area or they have electric vehicles in their fleets.

Kimbrough said the two-fold motivation behind the event was that Sustainable Sandhills is the “air quality program manager” for the region and the second being the national drive electric week.

“Electric vehicles are important to air quality because they don't use gasoline; they help cut out on emissions which can help improve the area's air quality,” she said.

Based in Fayetteville, Sustainable Sandhills started about 15 years ago with the mission of creating resilient environmental, economic and social resources. The organization has a nine-county reach, serving about 1 million people.

“Our goal is to connect with people and help them understand how natural resources affect their lives and vice versa,” Kimbrough said. “We just want people to understand that we need to be responsible with our resource use now in order to have what we need for the future generations.”

The Fayetteville Area Transportation and Local History Museum is located at 325 Franklin St. in downtown Fayetteville. For more information about Sustainable Sandhills and the event, visit https://sustainablesandhills.org

You’re probably aware this is an election year. During the next several weeks, the candidates will discuss issues that should greatly interest you as a citizen. But as an investor, how concerned should you be with the results of the presidential and congressional elections?

Maybe not as much as you might think. At different times, the financial markets have performed well and poorly under different administrations and when different parties have controlled Congress. And after all the votes are counted, outcomes in the investment markets can be unpredictable.

Consequently, you’ll be helping yourself greatly by not making big moves in your portfolio in anticipation of new legislation or political moves down the line.

Of course, that’s not to say that nothing emerging from Washington could ever have an impact on your investment decisions.

For example, if a future president and Congress decide to change the capital gains tax rate, it could affect some of your choices, such as which stocks and stock-based mutual funds you should buy, and how long you should hold them.

Overall, though, your investment results will ultimately depend on actions you can take, including these:

• Making changes for the right reasons — While the results of an election may not be a good reason to make changes in your investment portfolio, other factors can certainly lead you to take steps in this direction. For one thing, as you get closer to retirement, you may want to shift some — though certainly not all — of your investment dollars from more growth-oriented vehicles to more conservative ones.
Conversely, if you decide, well in advance, that you might want to retire earlier than you originally thought, you may need to invest more aggressively, being aware of the increased risk involved.

• Following a long-term strategy — In pretty much all walks of life, there are no shortcuts to success — and the same is true with investing. You need to follow a long-term strategy based on your goals, risk tolerance and time horizon, and you need the patience and perseverance to keep investing in all markets — up, down and sideways.

• Avoiding mistakes — Many people think of an investment mistake as failing to “get in on the ground floor” of some company that ultimately grew to huge proportions. But it’s pretty hard to become an early investor in companies like these, many of which start out as privately held businesses without any stockholders.

Furthermore, companies with shorter track records can be much more unpredictable investments. However, you do want to avoid some real mistakes, such as chasing “hot” stocks. By the time you hear about them, they may already be cooling off, and they might not even be appropriate for your needs. Another mistake: failing to diversify your portfolio. If you only own one type of asset, such as growth stocks, you could take a big hit during a market downturn. Spreading your dollars over a wide range of investments can help lower your risk exposure. However, diversification by itself can’t guarantee a profit or protect against all losses.

After Election Day, regardless of the outcome, you can help keep your portfolio on track by not playing politics with it.

What is more interesting than the debates between candidates for major political offices?

Of course, it is the debate about the debates.

Some friends, well-informed and experienced in political activities, say the importance of such debates is vastly overrated. For instance, one said the recent first debate between North Carolina U.S. Senate candidates Republican Thom Tillis and Democrat Cal Cunningham was meaningless because nobody was watching.

They reminded me about the 1992 U.S. Senate televised debate between Terry Sanford and Lauch Faircloth. Most viewers agreed that Sanford won the debate with sharp authoritative responses to questions while Faircloth fumbled. But Faircloth came out on top when it counted.

Republican campaign consultant Carter Wrenn strongly disagrees. He thinks debates are critically important. Undecided voters are the key to winning elections.

To win their votes, they have to see a difference between the candidates on an issue that is important to them or on a difference in the way they handle themselves under pressure.

Wrenn is a legendary expert on developing hard-hitting campaign materials such as the ones Jesse Helms used to defeat Jim Hunt in the 1984 U.S. Senate race.

In a recent radio interview with Wrenn, I agreed with him about the importance of televised debates. Citing the 1960 presidential debates between John Kennedy and Richard Nixon, I argued that demeanor of the candidates is a key factor.

Kennedy looked calm, cool, and collected, while Nixon was nervous, sweating, and fidgety.

A candidate who appears authoritative, courteous and nice has the edge, I said.

But Wrenn does not go along with my reasoning.

He says a debate is the place to take advantage of your opponent, to show the differences on matters important to potential supporters, to set traps and jump on the opponent who falls into one.

It is a battle, not a beauty contest, he said.

In their first debate, Tillis turned the tables on Cunningham and tried to trap him for saying that he would be hesitant taking a coronavirus vaccine if one were available by the end of the year.

Tillis called that irresponsible.

“We just heard a candidate for the U.S. Senate look into the camera and tell 10 million North Carolinians he would be hesitant to take a vaccine. I think that that’s irresponsible.”

In the next two debates Cunningham will have the opportunity to push back on the issue of irresponsibility of the Republican president’s campaign organizing coronavirus-spreading rallies in North Carolina.

These Cunningham-Tillis events are a warm-up for the presidential debates, beginning Tuesday, Sep. 29.

Wrenn took me back to his work in the Hunt-Helms race in which Helms overcame a 25% early lead by the popular Hunt. Wrenn remembers discovering inconsistencies in Hunt’s views on controversial issues. Then the campaign developed ads and debate themes in which Helms set out his positions on the then-current issues such as the Martin Luther King holiday, busing, school prayer and the Panama Canal "give away." Then Helms would ask, “Where do you stand, Jim?”

Wrenn said again that debates give candidates the opportunity to tell voters where they differ from their opponents.

Carter Wrenn and I do not agree on lots of things, but I think he wins the debate with my friends who say candidate debates do not matter.
Debates are gold mines and minefields for candidates and important for voters searching for candidates whose views and character are worthy of their support.

“I don’t consider myself to be a Black leader. I consider myself to be a leader in N.C. who just happens to be black.”

That’s how Republican candidate for lieutenant governor Mark Robinson introduced himself at a debate hosted by the N.C. Institute of Political Leadership and Spectrum News.

The two candidates running to become North Carolina’s first African-American lieutenant governor have dramatically different views on race, law enforcement, education, economic policy and the role of government.

The election pits Rep. Yvonne Lewis Holley, D-Wake, a liberal, against conservative gun-rights activist Robinson. Both stand to make history. Both are unapologetic about their views. Both highlight contrasting visions of race in America and what it means to be an American.

If Robinson wins in November, he will become the first Black Republican elected to any major statewide office since the 1800s. He describes himself as a successful businessman who grew up as the ninth of 10 children in a poor family.

Robinson says he doesn’t believe in systemic racism. For him, many problems afflicting Black communities result from lawlessness, and police are part of the solution. Defunding the police, he said, is “a ridiculous idea.”

“Systemic racism is not the problem,” Robinson said. “We have far too many communities that are ruled by lawlessness. We need to take a good long look at that, stop putting the police under the microscope, and start putting the criminals under the microscope.”

Holley disagreed.

“We need to start protecting people, as opposed to policing them,” Holley said. “We have other ways we can do things that are less restrictive and less bullying than going in all the time with a gun and the only resource is to arrest and physically restrain and harm people.”

But the two clashed at a more fundamental level. Holley sees a world riddled with “rampant” systemic racism. Robinson doesn’t. He eschews “so-called race relations.” Where Holley decries differences, he promotes similarities.

“Every day, someone reminds me that I’m Black,” Holley said. “We’ve come a long way. But what is happening now is systemic racism that has kept us from economic development, kept Black and brown people from safety on the streets. We’re in fear of our lives from just getting a traffic stop.”

But Robinson harks back to the idea of America as a melting pot — ditching the more modern metaphor of the American salad bowl, where distinct cultural and racial identities co-exist. When identified as a Black leader, he bristled.

“The best thing we can do for racial relations in this nation is stop calling ourselves by different races,” Robinson said. “We’re all one race, the human race, and one nation, America. We start calling ourselves human, American, and I think we’ll see a lot of those issues go away.”

Robinson flipped the normal dynamic of these debates.

While conservatives often find themselves defending the past, Robinson stood for the future. He aggressively reframed questions into optimistic quips. Fear became courage, the minimum wage became “maximum talent” — always with a heavy emphasis on progress.

“North Carolinians aren’t afraid. They’re courageous, and they’re ready to move on in this state under some real progress,” Robinson said. “They’re ready to get past these issues, ready to work through this [corona]virus, and ready to see violence in the street ended.”

Holley found herself holding up the burden of history. She was a child of the civil rights era, one of the first African-American students to desegregate Raleigh’s Enloe High School. She argues that she has the experience of the past and the will to create a better future.

That vision of a better future differs dramatically from Robinson’s.

Holley supports stricter gun-control laws, including red-flag laws tagging people thought to be possible threats, higher taxes on corporations, more taxpayer subsidies to the poor, and Medicaid expansion. She opposes the Opportunity Scholarship Program, though she praised charter schools as an alternative for parents. And she rejects any voter ID requirements.

The Holley-Robinson debate was the first of this election’s IOPL Hometown Debate Series. It took place Sept. 20 at the Charlotte Motor Speedway. The series continues Oct. 4 with a labor commissioner debate featuring Democrat Jessica

Holmes and Republican state Rep. Josh Dobson. The final debate is scheduled for Oct. 11, with incumbent State Treasurer Dale Folwell, a Republican, facing his Democratic opponent Ronnie Chatterji.

None will have studio audiences, because of COVID-19 restrictions.

Publisher Bill Bowman yields his space this week to former Up & Coming Weekly contributor Karl Merritt. This article first appeared at www.karlmerrit.com.

I am watching with sadness, but with a higher level of hope, as the wheels of government churn to fill the Supreme Court vacancy created by the death of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. My sadness regarding the general state of our country is not new, but this higher level of hope for America is a rare experience for me in the context of the past few years.

I suppose my hope comes from the fact that Republicans in the Senate have apparently awakened to the truth of something former President Obama said to a group of them years ago.

In a meeting with Republican Congressional leaders during 2009, then President Barack Obama said to them, “Elections have consequences and at the end of the day, I won.”

This was a time when Democrats had a majority in the House and Senate.

Then came 2016 and a Supreme Court vacancy during the last year of Obama’s second and final term. Republicans held the majority in the Senate. President Obama nominated Merrick Garland. Mitch McConnell, Senate Majority Leader (Rep), said there would not be a vote on a nominee until the next president was in office. Democrats were outraged. Trump won the 2016 presidential election, nominated Neil Gorsuch, and he was confirmed by the Senate that still had a Republican majority.

Now comes the current vacancy and McConnell says when President Trump submits a nominee, there will be a vote prior to the 2021 inauguration. Democrats are outraged again because they say this is hypocrisy on the part of Republicans.

As of 25 September, it appears Republicans have the votes to confirm a person nominated by Trump.

Democrats are making all kinds of threats as to what they will do if this nomination goes forward. These threats are being made even though Trump has a constitutional right and responsibility to put forth a nominee. One threat is to impeach Trump again and, by so doing, slow the confirmation of a justice. Beyond that, they are threatening to, if they win the presidency, House and Senate, add seats to the Supreme Court (making it more political); ending the filibuster (requires 60 votes to stop debate on some issues) in the Senate; making the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico states because they are very heavily Democratic areas.

As I finish this post, several Democrats are backing away from some items in this threat package and moving to talking about how health care and some other issues, by Democratic priorities, would be adversely impacted by a Trump nominated justice.

In the face of these threats, I would expect Republicans to “roll-over” and do as the Democrats say.

Apparently, enough Senate Republicans recognize that elections have consequences and they won. Beyond that, they understand that if Trump loses and Biden gets to nominate the Ginsburg replacement, it will be a liberal who believes he or she gets to make laws according to their views rather than simply interpreting the Constitution and laws legitimately passed by legislative bodies.

Forthrightly examining the facts and adjusting course is not hypocrisy. In this case, that means looking at the destruction brought on America by liberal justices making laws instead of interpreting laws that have been, by proper procedure, put in place.

Be advised, there are at least two Republican senators who apparently do not understand this argument that says there are times when one must stand up and do what is right for the country. They are Republican Senators Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Susan Collins of Maine. These two senators hold that the next president should make the nomination. Under pressure from Democrats, I expected this kind of response from more Republican Senators. So far, surprise-surprise.

Here is a closing question: Who out there believes that if Democrats were faced with the opportunity to appoint a Supreme Court justice under the conditions now faced by Republicans, that Democrats would leave the selection to the next president?

Fayetteville Technical Community College has been chosen for a project aimed at better preparing early childhood education teachers to meet the needs of children in their communities.

The project focuses on helping instructors with associate degrees to be better prepared to assist young children, including those with diverse cultures, languages and abilities, and their families. It’s guided by the Frank Porter Graham Child Development Institute at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and supported by a $750,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Education.

Beginning next spring a team from FTCC will work with the FPG Child Development Institute to enhance the department’s courses to ensure they provide practical experiences, diversity and inclusion for all students. Instructor Karly Walker will lead FTCC’s team.

“We are overjoyed in being selected to participate,” said Dr. Rondell Bennett, chair of the Early Childhood Education Department at Fayetteville Tech. “This opportunity will further enhance what we are already doing.” FTCC is one of three North Carolina community colleges selected for participation in the employee development plan.

Is it safe to donate blood right now? Marcus Plescia, MD, MPH, chief medical officer of the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials, said not only is donating blood safe, it’s essential. “People are scared to go to the doctor’s office right now and I really think that’s an unfounded fear.” At most doctor’s offices, you sit out in your car until you’re texted and told you can come in, so nobody’s in the waiting room. “I would think that blood donation sites are in a position where they can adopt those exact same kinds of measures,” he added.

The Cape Fear Valley Blood Donor Center, in cooperation with Up & Coming Weekly and Carolina Specialties International, is conducting a mobile blood drive Sept. 30 from 11 a.m.-2 p.m. in Up & Coming Weekly’s rear parking lot at 208 Rowan Street. Donors will receive free COVID-19 antibody tests and gift bags. Residents who pre-register will be eligible to win a door prize.

The Cape Fear Valley Blood Donor Center is a community program that serves patients in Cumberland, Hoke, Harnett and Bladen Counties through donations made by individual donors, community organizations and businesses. Dianne Carter, Cape Fear Valley’s Mobile Recruitment Coordinator, said our area is critically low in blood supplies and has been for several months. Donations from local high school students stopped abruptly in March as the result of the coronavirus pandemic. Students have historically provided 40% of the blood donated in our area, Carter said.

To qualify as blood donors, individuals must be at least 16 years old with signed parental consent. Teens 17 years of age do not need that consent. Prospective donors must weigh at least 110 pounds and be in good health. Positive proof of identification is required. Be sure to eat a nutritious breakfast or lunch. Donors should be well hydrated in the days before and after a donation. Avoid caffeine. Wear comfortable clothing with sleeves that can be easily rolled up above the elbow.

According to the American Red Cross, every two seconds, someone in the U.S. needs blood. It is essential for surgeries, cancer treatments, chronic illnesses, and traumatic injuries. Whether a patient receives whole blood, red cells, platelets or plasma, this lifesaving care begins with one person making one donation. In our community the Cape Fear Valley Blood Donor Center receive and distributes blood units, not the Red Cross. All donations made here stay here. “It is very important for the people in our community to donate to maintain a safe, sufficient supply of blood to save lives locally,” Carter said. “It can literally mean life or death.”

The American Cancer Society says more than 1.8 million people nationwide are expected to have been diagnosed with cancer this year. Many of them require blood, sometimes daily, during chemotherapy treatment. “Roughly 38% of Americans are healthy enough to donate and the national average shows only 10% of them are donating,” Carter added. “In our community, only 2%... are donating at least once a year. We need the other 98% of the community to step up.”
Officials say this area requires 1,200 units of blood per month to meet the needs of Cape Fear Valley Health System patients. The blood type most often requested is type O. Under normal circumstances, “We struggle to collect 900 units of blood a month,” Carter said. But currently only 300-400 units are contributed on average. Carter told Up & Coming Weekly the health system purchases the rest of the blood from other blood banks, but donor centers across the nation are experiencing shortages.

On the day of donation, individuals will complete a brief health questionnaire. Some donor contributions may be temporarily delayed. Tattoos and body piercings received from licensed North Carolina parlors are acceptable, if the tattoos have healed. Tattoos and piercings received outside our state will result in a 12-month deferral. Having a cold or flu or recent surgery or being under a physician’s care will result in delay. Recent or current diagnosis of cancer could result in a delay. Pregnant women have to wait six weeks after delivery to donate.

Some people are permanently rejected: Anyone who has lived in Europe between 1980 and 1996 for periods totaling five years or more or specifically traveled to or lived in the United Kingdom for more than three months between 1980 and 1996 is ineligible. Members of the U.S. military or their dependents stationed six months or more between 1980 and 1990 in Belgium, Netherlands or Germany or six months or more between 1980 and 1996 in Spain, Italy, Portugal, Greece or Turkey will be denied.

Anyone with questions about eligibility, can call the Cape Fear Valley Blood Donor Center at 910-615-LIFE or visit www.savingliveslocally.org.

We are now on the threshold of another Civil War; one misfire, one wrong word, or a suspicious look can ignite a conflict. This is not the world I want my children or children's children to inherit. We have turned our backs on our integrity and humanity. Our Declaration of Independance recognized that the Creator gave us our liberty, but we have legislated it to the point that many want the document burned.

The Creator gave our Founding Fathers the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution to be this land's law. A few have used these documents to remove the Creator from our vocabulary. Removing the Creator from the foundation that America is built upon is now making her collapse. Today, we find our country divided like a torn-up photograph.

Our country is not moving towards a perfect union but destroying justice and hijacking domestic tranquility. Our justice system, which is supposed to be blind, is now making judgments based on the color of our skin and blurred by the colors of blue and red.

Our country is not providing a common defence, nor promoting the general welfare of the people. There is no safety or defence when thugs are allowed to kill, destroy and burn the blessings of liberty and the posterity that our brave military and people have fought for over the centuries.

Many leaders no longer lead by democracy but rule by the hegemony pack because they believe their ways are the best. All of this, while other Americans are quietly arming themselves, biting their tongues and clenching their fists readying for if the government cannot or will not govern.

Broken families, population issues, poor decisions, economic hardships, addictions and misguided road maps to success have confused our abilities to seek what is righteous and sound. We have let our feelings and emotions run our lives, and we mistake the feelings of happiness with satisfaction that joy brings.

Once the "right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances," is no longer "peaceful," or done by "petition," it violates the law, and we are wrong for allowing and condoning it, no matter the issue.

Mayors and governors have handcuffed law enforcement officers who have sworn to protect us and sworn to enforce the rule of law. Many leaders have ordered their police to step away and watch while criminals assault, kill, rob, destroy property, and loot businesses. Worse, our police officers, politicians and citizens have been beat, spit on, sued, cancelled and killed by mob rule.

When those in power and who serve in high places view the world by race, ethnicity or political affiliation, they no longer serve "We the People" because their actions show us that they are the racist, the prejudice and the partisan political puppets. These actions manifest themselves by evil hearts and self-serving people who are destroying our way of life.

We need strong leaders. We need heroes … not cowards. We need more of Sherriff Buford Pusser and less Officer Derek Chauvin.

America has not hit perfection. We continue to struggle with that part of the Declaration of Independence that states that "All men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator." Yes, America does get sideways at times, but our system lets us try to correct wrongs.

Our Constitution gave us the greatest gift of all humanity. The ability to use our minds. The mind provides us with the wisdom to provide for our physiological needs — safety, belonging, self-esteem and the ability to achieve self-actualization and to improve our lives according to our abilities.

Unlike wars of the past, there will be no uniforms because there is no one side, no leaders, no geographical boundary because there is no end goal. We are faced with those who believe that education is more important than an honest day's work. Those who think that they deserve something that they have not worked for. There are those who think that invisible cash is better than real money. Some believe that a counter-revolution demanding a free ride is nobler than buying goods and services at the counter of a store.

For this, we compromise our self-accomplishments, our abilities for what is right, fruitful and honorable. We compromise our prosperity for those not willing to earn theirs. Politicians deceive us by making us believe that a strong government is better than a strong person.

We allow our pop-culture media to tell us what we should think instead of thinking for ourselves. We compromise not for man's good but to destroy our self-worth as we blindfold our own eyes and handcuff our own mind.

I ask you what is the price of war? Violence, destruction, starvation and disease? The first Civil War took one million people.

World War I was ignited over the assassination of one man. Nine million combatants and 13 million civilians died.

Furthermore, World War I brought an additional 500 million people who died from the 1918 influenza pandemic. Worldwide, this was about one-third of the world's population.
World War II had approximately 85 million fatalities. Tens of millions of people died during the conflict due to genocides — including the Holocaust, starvation, massacres and disease.

In 1994, the president of Rwanda was assassinated, and unrest occurred. The United Nations pulled its peacekeepers out (the same as un-funding the police), and genocide followed, killing about 850,000 souls.

History has shown us that once the law is gone, the justice system fails, the economy collapses and the food supply chain is broken, war, both urban and countryside, will follow.

I do not want another war, another wasteland, another lost generation in my lifetime. I do not want us to repeat the horrors of our past. For those that do want war, who are you willing to sacrifice, bury and starve for these things?

I believe restoring order in our land is our fastest way to peace. The government at all levels must restore law and order because they are the only ones with the capacity and means to do so. Yes, people are wrongfully killed every day, and those who commit a criminal act should be brought to justice.

But we also have many more good people, good citizens, who are willing to help those less fortunate. But they do so because they want to help, not by force or wealth redistribution but because they find joy in doing so.

We must ensure that everyone has the right to "Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness." We must be reminded that happiness is a pursuit and not a right in itself. We should remember to respect one another as ourselves for harmony and peace of the land. It would be good for us to remember to practice mercy, forgiveness and love, which are the virtues we desperately need. However, we must remind ourselves that for those who cannot abide by the rules of the land, that justice must be served.

I pray that my children and my children's children never see a war on our homeland. I pray for a country abundant with beauty, opportunity and peace, for this is their inheritance.

With the national election only a few weeks away, many Americans feel antsy about the possible outcomes. Many of the people I have talked with represent a cross-section of Democrats, Republicans, Libertarians and Independents from all backgrounds, religions and ethnicities. They have one thing in common: they want a civilized and peaceful outcome that will provide the leadership that moves our nation forward.

Yes, there are significant issues under consideration with this election. The economy and the coronavirus pandemic being the two biggest concerns. Now, with the passing of the highly respected liberal Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, the results of this election will have an even more significant impact on America.

With this being the case, I feel compelled to share a few thoughts with you about the hostile dialogue, riots and devastating destruction in over a dozen major cities. I believe that we need to be more sensitive to the needs and concerns of our minority populations. I also think we have a few bad cops and perhaps some questionable restraining and apprehension tactics that need to be reviewed and corrected. However, do I think we need to disband the police force and eliminate law and order? No. Should criminals go free without bail, a hearing, a fine or punishment? Of course not! Just the thought is nonsensical. What is the logic and where are the demands coming from? These are questions I can answer and debate with anyone.

I believe that the unrest and destruction plaguing America today have little to do with race, social injustice or debate about what lives matter the most. I believe demonstrators marching peacefully in the streets are exercising their Constitutional rights. However, peaceful protests are now being hijacked and infiltrated by paid hoodlums and mobsters whose only objectives are to disrupt, loot and destroy property and our American way of life. Antifa and Black Lives Matter are not about justice. They are political organizations that are all about disrupting our government, our American way of life, and turning our country into a Socialist, Marxist and Communist nation.

Socialism and the Communist Party have been active in the United States since the 1930s. We published the entire Communist Manifesto in the July 22 issue of Up & Coming Weekly and outlined in red their successful accomplishments to date. It is scary and should concern all freedom-loving Americans. This document was copied directly out of the U.S. Congressional Record. Need more proof that Marxist and Communist influences are in play? Read on.

Few people have heard of Manning Johnson (1908 – 1959). He was a unique, intelligent and influential Black man from New York who was successfully recruited by the American Communist Party at a very young age. His job as a communist community organizer was to convince Black Americans that white America would continue to suppress them and that their lives would be so much better under a Socialist/Marxist/Communist government. He was very good at his job, and rose fast through the ranks of the Communist Party until he held one of the highest positions on their National Committee. There he was trained to disrupt cities and towns, organize mobs, incite riots, attack police to include how to strategically and tactfully “throw a brick and hide.” Does all this sound familiar? It should.

Miraculously and mostly because of his Christian upbringing, Johnson had a revelation and realized the communist strategies, tactics and lies were not at all beneficial to Black Americans and only causing more hardship and suppression. He saw the deception and how the rejection of traditional American values and contempt of Christianity lowered the value of humanity and quality of life. This is when he turned government witness opposing Socialism and Communism.

Many people are not familiar with this American patriot who preceded Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Johnson loved America and loved his people and, like Dr. King, ultimately gave his life spreading the word, educating and warning Black Americans of the cruelty and diabolical strategies used by the angry liberal left in their attempt to hand over the U.S. to the Socialist and Communist Party. This was Johnson's mission and passion until his untimely death in 1959.

Johnson testified before Congress several times about the Communist plot to take over America. His testimony is a matter of record. His testimony and the threats to our democracy are as relevant today as they were then. After he left the Communist Party in 1940, he authored an amazing book titled “Color, Communism and Common Sense.” This book could have been written yesterday. He details his experiences with communist leaders and the liberal left conspiracy and the sordid tactics they use. Ending democracy and capitalism will never bring us peace and prosperity. No one can name even one country where socialism has been successful. Manning Johnson's 1953 government testimony is available:

https://unconstrainedanalytics.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/Manning-Johnson-1953-HUAC-Testimony.pdf

I encourage everyone to read Manning Johnson’s book and listen to his Farewell Speech online. Remarkable! He was a great, great man. This book is extremely relevant and could have been written yesterday. Nothing happening in America today is new. Socialism and Communism are NOT a good thing for America, and in the end, the Constitution of the United States will endure. Americans will unite together regardless of religion, race, color or political affiliation. Together we will reject these un-American attempts to disrupt and dismantle our country. Thank you for reading Up & Coming Weekly.

North Carolina is a great state, and I enjoy working for the residents of Cumberland County as their District 45 representative.

We have much to be thankful for. Just this month we remembered and honored the brave citizens and first responders that lost their lives on September 11th. Let us never forget the everyday sacrifices made by our military men and women, local firefighters, EMS and law enforcement officers who dedicate themselves to protecting our lives and our freedoms so Americans we never have to live in fear, and forever continue the tradition of life, liberty and the pursuit of
happiness.

To secure our freedoms, we must exercise our right to vote. There is still time for citizens to register and a number of ways to cast their ballot.

There are less than 30 days until one stop early voting begins. Early voting is available from Oct. 15-31. To find your nearest early voting site visit https://vt.ncsbe.gov/ossite/.

Many people choose early voting to avoid crowds, pick their polling location, or enjoy the convenience of registering and voting all at one stop.

Commonly known as “early voting,” one-stop absentee voting allows voters to register and then immediately vote, unlike on Election Day when voters must have already completed registration.

On Election Day registered voters can only vote at their specific precinct, but one-stop voting allows registered voters to vote at any one-stop absentee voting site in the county.

Voter resources including information on voting in the 2020 General Election can be found at https://www.ncsbe.gov/voting.

Other important dates to remember:
Voter registrations ends Oct. 9
The deadline for absentee ballots is Oct. 27
The General Election is Tuesday, Nov. 3.
I'll see you at the polls!

Representative John Szoka serves North Carolina House District 45 which encompasses Fort Bragg and much of southern Cumberland County including the Town of Hope Mills, parts of the City of Fayetteville and the Gray's Creek area. He is a retired U.S. Army Lt. Col. And has owned and several successful small businesses in Fayetteville. For more information about Rep. Szoka visit https://szokafornchouse.com/.

Pictured: Rep. John Szoka engaging a constituent.

Nicole Rivers, an English teacher at Gray's Creek High School, is Cumberland County Schools’ 2021 Teacher of the Year. From creative assignments to starting a poetry club, Rivers goes above and beyond to form authentic connections with her students.
“My job as an educator is not to just get what I deem as valuable information into the minds of my students,” Rivers wrote in her nomination portfolio, “but how to effectively and responsibly use their words to change the world around them.”

A 15-year veteran educator, Rivers graduated from Fayetteville State University. As the 2021 Teacher of the Year, she received a trophy and flowers from Cumberland County Schools, $300 from the Cumberland County Board of Education, $500 from Olde Fayetteville Insurance and Financial Services, $3,000 from Lafayette Ford-Lincoln — $2,000 for use at her school and $1,000 for her personal use — a commemorative custom Teacher of the Year ring from Jostens, an engraved desk clock from Herff Jones and a gift basket of edibles from Zazzy Treats.

Pictured: Nicole Rivers

They did.

The COVID-19 pandemic continues to affect every aspect of our daily lives—who we see, where we go, what we do or do not wear, what activities feel safe to undertake.

For North Carolina families with school-age children, the upheaval and uncertainly is magnified many times over by concerns over education.

Initial virtual education efforts were well-intended but largely a mess, because schools were unprepared for the sudden shift.

Educators and families have mixed feelings about the current virtual and occasional on-site learning efforts as COVID continues, but the consensus appears to be that the fall is more organized and will be more effective than the spring.

Truth be told, though, our schools were in trouble long before COVID struck.

Education Week, a news and analysis organization covering K-12 education in the United States earlier this month ranked North Carolina 33rd out of 50 states, with a solid “C” for the quality of our educational efforts. This is despite the fact that our state Constitution guarantees that every child have access to a “quality” education.

What is more, Ed Week ranks North Carolina 44 of the 50 states in school funding, which translates into an embarrassing “F” for our funding efforts.

It has not always been this way, and it does not have to be now. North Carolina has traditionally been considered a leader in public education, particularly in the South, but over the last decade, we have squandered that reputation.

Since 2011, the General Assembly has systematically cut public education funding, shifted public education dollars to private schools, including private religious ones, and put a greater funding burden on counties. This shift has resulted in inequitable schools, with high-wealth counties like Wake and Mecklenburg spending far more per pupil, and low-wealth counties like Cumberland and most rural counties spending far less.

This funding inequity was the basis of the long-running Leandro lawsuit which went on for the better part of three decades and in which Cumberland County was a plaintiff. Courts finally ruled that, yes, school funding in North Carolina is unfair, but remedies remain elusive.

Layer COVID and virtual school on top of an already problematic public education system, and we have what one of my former neighbors, an educator herself, would call a “pluperfect mess.”

Even if you do not have school-age children, you likely know that schools are woefully short of nurses, counselors and other support personnel, that “frills” like art, music, and physical education are long gone from many schools. You have likely heard that we now expect our teachers to buy their own classroom supplies. The General Assembly actually considered a $500 stipend for this purpose.

The decline of public education over the last decade, crowned by the plague that is COVID, is an exacting lesson in “elections have consequences.” Our General Assembly has betrayed the people of North Carolina with its mean-spirited and stingy approach to education. Its short-sighted and tight-fisted decisions are hurting our state’s more than 1.5-million public school students and damaging our state’s economic potential well into the future.

As you ponder your votes for members of the North Carolina General Assembly this fall, look carefully at who and which political party moved us down to C, D, and F territory in public education and who and which party wants to lift us back up.

Vote accordingly.

Fayetteville’s largest health and wellness center is up and running again. New, temporary hours and safety precautions are in place at Cape Fear Valley’s HealthPlex off Skibo Road because of COVID-19. Hours of operation are 5 a.m.–8 p.m., Monday – Friday.

The pool closes at 7:30 p.m. Saturday hours are 7 a.m.–5 p.m. Sunday hours are 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Temperature checks are performed at the main entrance as members check-in. The rear entrance is closed. Members are required to wear face masks when not exercising, and physical social distancing is requested. Modified group fitness classes have resumed with limited capacity. Massage services have been suspended. Pool lanes provide for one swimmer at a time for a maximum of 45 minutes. Whirlpools and steam rooms are off-limits.

Learn more about new safety precautions at www.capefearvalley.com/healthplex/index.html.

Gunfire ripped through the air and explosions rattled the ground as then-U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class Thomas Patrick Payne peered into a burning building where dozens of ISIS hostages were locked in cells in the northern Iraqi city of Hawija. He knew he had to act or the hostages would die. Payne entered the building, exposing himself to machine gun fire. He used bolt cutters to free the prisoners. For his actions in the Oct. 22, 2015, raid, which ended with the first American service member killed by ISIS since the U.S. return to Iraq in late 2014, now-Sgt. Major Payne, 36, was presented the Medal of Honor by President Trump. The award is an upgrade of the Distinguished Service Cross that Payne initially received in 2017.

He is “one of the bravest men anywhere in the world,” Trump told an audience in the East Room of the White House, which was filled with senior Pentagon officials and Payne’s family.

Master Sgt. Joshua Wheeler, who was killed by enemy fire during the raid, posthumously received the Silver Star for his actions that day. Payne received the Medal of Honor on the 19th anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks, the primary event that convinced him to join the military, as thousands of other Americans did.

In 2007, Sgt. Major Payne joined the Army’s most elite unit in Special Operations at Fort Bragg. He has since served several deployments to Afghanistan and Iraq and in support of counterterrorism operations in Africa. Payne is now an instructor at Fort Bragg, having earned numerous valor awards for battlefield heroics. He is also a Purple Heart recipient.

“I still want to serve to this day,” Payne said. “We're still a nation at war, and I still want to serve my country.”

Pictured: President Donald Trump presents the Medal of Honor to Sgt. Maj.Thomas Payne.

The financial crisis of little more than a decade ago masked a technological revolution, and everyone shelled out small fortunes for smartphones. The scientific fantasy embodied in "Star Trek’s" tricorder had become everyday overnight.

Today, the revolution has been digital rather than technological. This time, the revolution is coming for your job and staging its coup in your home. And it’s happening faster than we originally predicted. Only a decade ago, we were still struggling with what to call the phenomenon of working while not being at work. Telecommuting? Teleworking? E-work? Flex work? Virtual work?

Eventually, what the job market collectively settled on calling “remote work” was something that 44% of global companies didn’t allow as recently as 2018. Contemporary predictions estimated that by 2020, around 50% of the United States workforce would clock their hours from home. An UpWork study from 2017 postulated that more people will work remotely than not by 2027.

Little did they then know that their predictions would be realized before the end of 2020’s Q1. According to a Gallup study, by midMarch, 49% of workers in the U.S. reported having worked from home in the past seven days. Mere weeks later in April, that statistic leapt to 63% — even while some states announced plans to reopen.

Shortly thereafter, several companies announced that they would be shifting most if not all of their workforces to remote or in-office/remote hybrid arrangements.

This means that if your role is a good candidate for remote and flexibly-scheduled work, then you’re potentially competing against 7.8 billion other people for the job. Potential employers will be sizing you up online well in advance of ever offering an interview. Here are three skills to become a digital-based, remote working master and maintain an attractive digital portrait:

Mastering Communication Channels
If nothing else, the sudden shift to remote work has illuminated how time-intensive, in-person meetings could be replaced by a well-written email. There are now means far beyond email for keeping up (Slack, Zoom, Google Meetings, Jira, even video games like Red Dead Redemption), not to mention calendar, content and project management platforms.

Knowing When to Switch Platforms
When it comes to the platforms, apps or software you use to do your work, one size rarely fits all. This became clear to me when my students and I had to make the shift from face-to-face classes to “online-only.” Blackboard served us very well for some remote-based learning but not for everything or everyone. In the end, we added several other digital platforms as satellite learning channels to Blackboard. We shifted to an environment where coursework could be completed as long as you had an internet connection. Our virtual classroom worked because we took stock of what needed to be learned and achieved and then asked what tools work best for achieving those goals.

Designing Your Digital Self to become Discoverable
Search engines favor accounts which publish frequently and regularly. Engagement via likes, shares and external links is also important. To appear in the first page of a search engine’s results involves an amalgam of algorithms, web crawlers, cross-linking, keywords and content.

Maintain your dominance by picking a topical lane (or two) and staying in it. Be consistent, use the same photo for each online account, find a reference guide for what types of content perform best, and make meaningful connections with others online.

Speaker of the House Tim Moore, R-Cleveland, says nearly 50 N.C. Democratic House lawmakers and candidates have backed a dangerous pledge to defund the police, but House Minority Leader Darren Jackson, D-Wake, says that’s a lie.

During a Monday, Sept. 14, news conference, Moore attacked Democrats for signing a pledge to accomplish a list of policy goals by 2030 as outlined by the left-leaning advocacy group Future Now. Joining Moore’s news conference were Rep. Carson Smith, R-Pender; Rep. John Faircloth, R-Guilford; and a handful of county sheriffs who shared Moore’s concerns for what they considered a radical agenda.

Future Now’s Pledge to Achieve America’s Goals includes promises to provide affordable health care, boost education spending and ensure equal opportunities for all. Dozens of N.C. House Democrats and Democratic candidates have signed the pledge since 2018.

While the pledge doesn’t explicitly call for defunding the police, such a proposal can be found under the subsection for “Equal Opportunities For All” on the America’s Goals website. Included is model legislation to create a commission to study taking money from police departments and giving them to other community programs like youth shelters.

“Right now, law enforcement officers across our nation are being targeted and attacked,” Moore said. “I consider signing this pledge a direct attack on North Carolina law enforcement too.”

Rep. Marcia Morey, D-Durham, told Carolina Journal that when she signed the Future Now pledge in 2018, defunding the police was not part of the stated goals. She told CJ the police proposals must have been added this year and she doesn’t support defunding law enforcement.

Carolina Journal sent an email to Jackson asking him if he would pledge his support today now that a proposal to defund the police is listed on the America’s Goals website. Jackson didn’t respond.

Instead, Jackson sent out a news release challenging Moore’s statements.

“Speaker Moore has given us another set of blatant lies. No, we didn’t pledge to defund the police but we did pledge to invest in quality Health Care and Education for all North Carolinians,” Jackson said.

If House Democrats don’t agree with the proposal to defund the police then they should come out and disavow Future Now, Moore said. They can also give back the money that Future Now gave them.

Future Now has given thousands to Democratic candidates in 2020, including incumbent Reps. Christy Clark, D-Mecklenburg; Sydney Batch, D-Wake; Joe Sam Queen, D-Haywood; and Ray Russell, D-Ashe.

While some House Democrats may have signed the pledge in 2018, Democratic candidates running in 2020 likely signed this year. Future Now has given money to challengers, too: House Democratic candidates Nicole Quick, Kimberly Hardy, Brian Farkas, Aimy Steele, Dan Besse, Frances Vinell Jackson, and Ricky Hurtado have received campaign donations from Future Now.

The America’s Goals pledge is not an endorsement of any specific bill, Future Now Executive Director Daniel Squadron said in a news release following Moore’s news conference.

Future Now funds America’s Goals, which on its website says it is a policy library with model legislation, 50 state report cards, and everything needed to turn a bill into a law.