Cardinal & Pine

Mar 28, 2025 | cardinalpine.com | Jessica Simmons

Senate Bill 227 is NC Republican’s latest attack on the state’s public education. Sarah Hill remembers the moment vividly. At Banks Road Elementary in Wake County, it was late November, and one of her first-grade students had shared with the class that his family celebrated Diwali, the Hindu festival of lights. Instead of moving on, Hill saw a moment to add to her lesson plan. “We study culture as part of our first-grade standards,” she said.

Mar 21, 2025 | cardinalpine.com | Jessica Simmons

Proposed cuts to federal education funding could undo critical support for the state’s 1.5 million public school students. On Thursday, President Donald Trump signed an executive order directing the closure of the US Department of Education, a move that could have far-reaching consequences for students, teachers, and schools across North Carolina.

Mar 19, 2025 | cardinalpine.com | Jessica Simmons

(Image credit: SynthEx/Shutterstock) Giving birth is just the beginning—and in North Carolina, many mothers have nowhere to turn after leaving the hospital. “Postpartum just isn’t valued enough here,” said North Carolina resident Selena Williams. “We have so much support when we’re pregnant, or in the hospital.

Mar 11, 2025 | cardinalpine.com | Jessica Simmons

(Photo credit: Centre for Ageing Better/Pexels) Without affordable screenings, prostate cancer often goes undetected in men until it’s too late. A proposed law could provide a solution. Victor Taylor, a New Bern native, never expected to hear the words “You have cancer.”  In 2006, he had joined a group of men riding together to a free prostate cancer screening in Craven County.

Mar 3, 2025 | cardinalpine.com | Jessica Simmons

'Disenfranchised Disco' participates pose for group photo Friday night. (Photo credit: Jessica F. Simmons) Because of Republican Jefferson Griffin’s controversial challenge of 65,000 voters, North Carolina has the last uncertified race in America.