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W L r #r u/. Photo by Nikki Baldwin
Members oj the Winston-Salem City Council take a break with U.S. Rep. Alma
Adams, who is wearing the hat. Council members are: (L-R) Derwin L.
Montgomery Mayor Allen Joines, Denise "D.D." Adams, Molly Leight, Jeff
Mcintosh and Robert C. Clark
Adams, City Council
talk about initiatives
at special meeting
BY NIKKJ BALDWIN
FOR THE CHRONICLE
On the morning of
Monday, July 20, U.S.
Rep. Alma Adams (D
12th) joined several coun
cil members in a special
City Council meeting in
the Public Works
Conference room in City
Hall.
The meeting started
with the council members
thanking Adams for attend
ing the council meeting.
Then Adams discussed
her serious concern with
the Hunger Initiative.
Adams discussed the
roundtable meeting that
was held at the food bank
in Winston-Salem that
aims to work with children
in poverty. Adams then dis
cussed participating in the
SNAP challenge with her
daughter. She explained
learning about the difficul
ties the people face trying
to live off of SNAP and
expressed her own difficul
ties, because she is diabet
ic.
North Ward Council
Member Denise "D.D"
Adams also expressed her
concern for the Hunger
Initiative, which she said
she is passionate about.
Council members dis
cussed the workshops that
consisted of roundtable
discussions about talks on
feeding people and how to
move forward where
results can be measured
one year from now that the
people can actually see.
Adams said, "living off
of $4 a day is difficult,
especially when you
include the tax when shop
ping, which makes a differ
ence." She explained the
search for organizations to
partner with that will help
with the initiative.
The renovation of
Union Station was then
discussed when Adams
was given an update.
Union Station, which is
still in the design phase,
could later become a long
distance passenger rail,
which can be accomplished
if funding from a certain
grant is received. It will
help develop the station to
its full capacity.
Mayor Allen Joines
discussed the Youth Bill
grant about connecting
with Forsyth Tech and the
different ways to make
training for jobs more rele
vant to today. Council
member Derwin
Montgomery talked about
the bill as well. He
expressed tailoring pro
grams that coincide with
the need of today's local
economy.
Council Member
Robert C. Clark talked
about his own difficulty
with finding employees for
his manufacturing compa
ny, which differs from the
jobs of our fathers, because
of the high volume of com
puter work involved today.
Adams ended the meet
ing discussing the HBCU
(historically black colleges
and universities) caucus,
which consists of 52 mem
bers, and how there is
national dialogue about the
importance of the schools.
Adams then expressed the
need for Pell Grants for
students year round and
talked about working with
members of the White
House with the hope of
more students getting the
opportunity.
The meeting was
attended by: Joines;
Earlene Parmon, director
of outreach for Adams'
office; Clark, West Ward
council member; Jeff
Mcintosh, Northwest Ward
council member; Leslie
Mozingo, Washington lob
bylist; Molly Leight, South
Ward council member; Lee
D. Garity, city manager;
Angela L. Carmon, city
attorney; Denise D.
Adams, North Ward;
Montgomery, East Ward
council member; firefight
ers; and members of the
Police Department.
Trial
from page A1
Americans or Latinos are
not allowed to vote."
The state also argued
that every North Carolinian
had the same opportunity
to adapt to the voting
changes. Lawyers for the
plaintiffs used a series of
witnesses to establish that
socioeconomic disadvan
tages exist for African
Americans. These inequal
ities result in a higher like
lihood of barriers like lack
of education, transporta
tion and Internet access
that make it harder to adapt
to voting restrictions.
"What may appear to
be 'equal' costs imposed by
a restriction on voting
practices are, in fact, more
acute for Black and Latino
voters," testified Barry
Burden, a political science
professor at the University
of Wisconsin-Madison.
"These groups are doubly
burdened because they
have fewer of the resources
needed to overcome those
costs and vote."
When state lawyers
pointed out that black
turnout actually rose in the
2014 election despite the
voting changes. Burden
said there were a couple
reasons for that, which
probably won't happen
again. One was the draw of
the race between then U.S.
Sen. Kay Hagan and Thom
Tillis, which was the most
expensive race in the coun
S, inundating voters with
n-stop advertising.
Another was the massive
efforts to educate and
mobilize voters by the N.C.
NAACP and the
Congressional Black
Caucus.
Several expert witness
es testified that H.B. 589
curtailed voting practices
disproportionally used by
African-Americans like
early voting, pre-registra
tion and same day registra
tion. They also said the law
changed from a 12-page
bill on voter ID to a 40
page bill with sweeping
changes after the U.S.
Supreme " Court struck
down Section 5 of the
Voting Rights Act, which
required states and coun
ties with a history of dis
crimination to get pre
clearance from the U.S.
Justice Department for vot
ing changes.
In regard to the voter
fraud cited by lawmakers
as a reason for House Bill
589, Dr. Morgan Kousser.
a social science professor
at "the California Institute
of Technology, said that
between 2000 and 2013,
there were only two cases
of prosecuted voter fraud
out of 12 million votes in
the state.
"It is unlikely that
proven voter fraud is a
legitimate explanation for
the adoption of the bill," he
said.
When asked by state
attorneys if he could point
out a legislator with dis
criminatory intent, Kousser
said he didn't find any
"smoking guns."
Witnesses testified to
being disenfranchised by
the law. William Kittrell of
Greensboro registered
when he was 18 but had
since moved and wasn't
aware he needed to change
his registration. After wait
ing in line to early vote in
October 2014, he found out
he wasn't in the system.
Before changes in the law,
he would 've been able to
do same day registration
and vote.
"I waited to vote basi
cally all my life," he said.
"I was disappointed and
frustrated because my
mom had always told me
how important it was to
vote."
Witness Terrilin
Cunningham of Concord
testified she has a hectic
life, which involves work
ing three jobs and taking
care of a sick church mem
ber. When she squeezed in
a stop for voting she was
told she was in the wrong
precinct. She tried to cast a
provisional ballet, which
she later found out didn't
count because out of
precinct voting is no longer
allowed.
Nadia Cohen of Cary,
an 18 year-old who will be
attending UNC Chapel Hill
for college, missed the vot
ing registration period for
2014. She said she thought
she could pre-register like
her older brother had done
and was caught unaware of
the change until it was too
late.
According to expert
witness Dr. D. Sunshine
Hillygus, a Duke
University professor, states
with pie-registration have a
13 percent increase in
youth turnout.
The trial continues this
week and is expected to
last several weeks.
Seniors,
I
Pick up your free copy
i available all over town!
' From The CHRONICLE
- Wake Forest*
Baptist Health
Best Health"
In partnership with ?medcost*
August community health
seminars, screenings and events
Visit WakeHealth.edu/BestHeaKh for class descriptions and other events.
Events are FREE of charge and require registration, unless otherwise noted.
WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 5
Advance Directives \ 2 to 4 pm
Wake Forest Baptist Health
Medical Plaza-Country Club, 4610
Country Club Road, Winston-Salem
THURSDAY, AUGUST 6
Yoga for Arthritis \ 4 to 5 pm
Wake Forest Baptist Health
Medical Plaza-Clemmons, 2311
Lewisville-ClemmOns Road,
Clemmons
FRIDAY, AUGUST 7
Cardio Blast \ 3 to 4 pm
Wake Forest Baptist Health
Medical Plaza-Country Club, 4610
Country Club Road, Winston-Salem
THURSDAY, AUGUST 13
Back to School & Your Grocery Cart
Noon to 1 pm
Lowes Foods, 2890 Reynolda Road,
Winston-Salem
FRIDAY, AUGUST 14
Eliminating Diseases: Imaging
Methods \ Noon to 1 pm
Wake Forest Baptist Health
Medical Plaza-Country Club, 4610
Country Club Road, Winston-Salem
Skin Care Essentials \ 5 to 6 pm
Wake Forest Baptist Health
Medical Plaza-Country Club, 4610
Country Club Road, Winston-Salem
Knife Skills:Technique
6 to 7:30 pm
Wake Forest Baptist Health Davie
Medical Center, Plaza 1, 4th floor,
conference rooms 1 and 2, Hwy 801 N,
I-40 (Exit 180), Bermuda Run.
SATURDAY, AUGUST 15
Knife Skills: Technique
Noon to 1:30 pm
Brenner FIT in the William G. White
Jr. Family YMCA, 775 West End Blvd.,
Winston-Salem
MONDAY, AUGUST 17
Back to School & Your Grocery Cart
4 to 5 pm
Lowes Foods, 3372 Robinhood Road,
Winston-Salem
THURSDAY, AUGUST 20
Stay in Circulation - Facts about
Peripheral Arterial Disease (PAD)
4 to 5 pm
Wake Forest Baptist Health Piedmont
Plaza One, Kitty Hawk Room, 1920 W.
First St., Winston-Salem
FRIDAY, AUGUST 21
Lower Back Pain Prevention:
Facts & Myths \ 3 to 4 pm
Wake Forest Baptist Health
Medical Plaza-Country Club, 4610
Country Club Road, Winston-Salem
MONDAY, AUGUST 24
Balance Screening \ 5:30 to 7:30 pnr
Wake Forest Baptist Health Piedmont
Plaza One, Kitty Hawk Room, 1920 W.
First St., Winston-Salem
WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 26
Long-term Care Planning
2 to 3 pm
Wake Forest Baptist Health
Medical Plaza-Country Club, 4610
Country Club Road, Winston-Salem
Breast Health: What Do I Need to
Know? \ 5 to 6 pm
Wake Forest Baptist Health Davie
Medical Center, Plaza 1, 4th floor,
conference rooms 1 and 2, Hwy 801 N
I-40 (Exit 180), Bermuda Run
FRIDAY, AUGUST 28
Protect Yourself from Strain & Pain:
Computer Ergonomics
4 to 5 pm
Wake Forest Baptist Health
Medical Plaza-Country Club, 4610
Country Club Road, Winston-Salem
To register, call or visit:
336-713-BEST (2378) \ WakeHaalth.edu/BastHealth
1 " ^ 1
BLUE
LOTUS
TRADING CO
NEW LOCATION
53 Miller St. Winston-Salem
(Whole Foods Stopping Complex)
336-448-0258
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