Students and administrators might as well be living on different planets when it comes to school bullying.

Students say it is common for bullies to taunt and hit them or their classmates, and for teachers to do little to stop it. Superintendents and principals say that bullying is a small problem and that policies to discourage it work well.

Into the divide comes a bill that awaits Gov. Beverly Perdue’s signature to make it law. The bill is meant to protect students who are harassed for reasons such as race, religion or disabilities. It also would protect students from being tormented because of their real or perceived sexual orientation.
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Charlotte’s United Way this morning approved a recession-damaged spending plan that cuts grants to local charities by more than a third, slicing away millions of much-needed budget dollars even as community needs skyrocket.

United Way officials, who had $7.5 million fewer dollars to give to their 90-plus agencies this year, say the economy left them little choice but to chop grants by 35 percent overall. With collections plummeting compared to the previous year, even emergency programs battling the recession’s fallout took budget cuts of 20 percent.
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As a mother of four, Julia Wooten knows what it takes to keep up with children.

But considering that three of hers are autistic, the situation has its own set of challenges.

It’s her third child, 10-year-old Yamar, who really keeps her on her toes.
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RALEIGH — Every committee meeting and every document related to the state government’s budget this year should start with the words “DON’T PANIC.”

This is for two equally compelling reasons.

First, the state budget is an insanely complicated set of numbers tied to an equally complicated set of activities. These activities exist mostly because they also existed the previous year.
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Kenneth and Stacy Dowdy can’t afford a place to live in Charlotte. Neither can Charles DuPree. But if you passed them on the street, you might not recognize them for what they are: Homeless.

They are among a growing number of newly homeless who don’t fit old stereotypes. Many of them work regular jobs, or did until recently, nursing the sick, caring for other people’s children, vacuuming offices, driving cabs.
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Video Report here.

WAKE FOREST, N.C. — North Carolina’s schools could soon be required to adopt polices that discourage bullying behavior.

The state House approved Monday evening the School Violence Prevention Act that requires school districts to approve anti-bullying rules by the end of the year.
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Video report here.

RALEIGH, N.C. — Thousands of North Carolina teachers and teaching assistants would lose their jobs in the next two years under a budget compromise discussed Monday by state lawmakers.

Budget negotiators from the House and Senate have been working for the past week on a two-year spending plan that erases a projected $4.6 billion deficit. Lawmakers are trying to approve a budget before the new fiscal year starts July 1.

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RALEIGH, N.C. — North Carolina recalled a regrettable side of its history on Monday by unveiling a roadside marker remembering poor people, mental patients and prisoners who were sterilized against their will by state officials.

The cast aluminum sign in downtown Raleigh provides a permanent remembrance of the program intended to keep thousands of people considered mentally disabled or otherwise genetically inferior from having children.

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During a training session Monday, a group of law enforcement officers was asked how much time they typically spend sitting in the emergency room with someone who is mentally ill.

The question brought a few groans and varied responses.

“Ten hours,” said one officer.

“Three days,” said another.

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North Carolina lawmakers are considering taxing a broad variety of everyday services. You could pay more for a haircut, a pedicure, a clutch replacement or getting your yard mowed. But the services of accountants, lawyers and other white-collar workers would be exempt.

To help patch the $4.7 billion hole in the budget, the legislature has proposed expanding the sales tax to cover things such as repairs at Al’s Garage in Chapel Hill. That doesn’t please Al Townsend, the owner.

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