CMS Announces Plan To Keep Charlotte Children Fed Learning At Home During Pandemic

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Charlotte Mecklenburg Schools has just announced a new program to keep students fed while learning from home during the pandemic.

The new “CMS Eats” prorgram will feature 40 pick-up sites across our city (click here to view a map of all the sites) as well as deliveries to designated bus stops.

Meals bundles will be free or reduced in price for students who qualify, and $15 for all others.

Meal bundles will include boxes of 5 breakfasts and lunches.

Here is the full menu of what meals will be available:

CMS Eats at Home meal bundles will be available the week of September 1.

Charlotte’s Levine Museum To Host CNN Commentator Bakari for Conversation on Social Justice

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CNN commentator and former South Carolina state representative Bakari Sellers – who became the youngest African American elected official in United States history at age 22 – will join Levine Museum Thursday for a conversation on the region’s history of racial inequity and how to create tangible change.

In a conversation series called “What’s it going to take?” moderated by Urban League of the Central Carolinas President William “Teddy” McDaniel, III, Sellers will discuss the current social justice landscape  and the role elected officials – and those vying for office – can play in furthering racial justice.

Sellers will discuss his personal experiences – and those of his father growing up in the rural southern Black Belt, which Sellers outlines in his memoir My Vanishing Country – to discuss how racial discrimination has shaped the identity of the South.

Bakari Sellers made history in 2006 when, at just 22 years old, he defeated a 26-year incumbent state representative to become the youngest member of the South Carolina state legislature and the youngest African American elected official in the nation. In 2010 he was named to TIME’s “40 Under 40” list and in 2014 and 2015 he was named to The Root’s 100 “Most Influential African Americans” list. Sellers practices law with the Strom Law Firm, LLC in Columbia, South Carolina and is a political commentator at CNN.

Levine Museum will livestream the event on its Facebook page (@levinemuseum), YouTube (Levine Museum of the New South) and website on Thursday, August 13, 2020 at 7 p.m. For more information, please visit www.museumofthenewsouth.org.

North Carolina Is The State with the 3rd Most Coronavirus Restrictions in America

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With many states delaying the later phases of their reopening or even bringing back restrictions they already lifted due to spikes in COVID-19, the personal-finance website WalletHub today released updated rankings for the States with the Fewest Coronavirus Restrictions.

To identify which states have the fewest coronavirus restrictions, the site compared the 50 states and the District of Columbia across 19 key metrics. Our data set ranges from whether the state has any penalties for non-compliance with COVID-19 legislation to whether the state has required face masks in public and health checks at restaurants. Below, you can see highlights from the report, along with a WalletHub Q&A.

Coronavirus Restrictions in North Carolina (1=Fewest, 25=Avg.):

  • 18th – Requirement to Wear a Face Mask in Public
  • 31st – Reopening of Child-Care Programs
  • 15th – Travel Restrictions
  • 43rd – Large Gatherings Restrictions
  • 22nd – Reopening of Non-Essential Businesses
  • 45th – Reopening of Restaurants and Bars
  • 16th – Working from Home Requirements/Recommendations

The only states with stricter restrictions is Pennsalvania and California.

States with the Fewest COVID-19 Restrictions

Overall Rank State Total Score Delta in Overall Rank vs. July 21
1 South Dakota 87.38 0
2 Utah 76.23 2
3 Oklahoma 71.23 0
4 Idaho 67.27 2
4 Wyoming 67.27 2
6 Iowa 66.50 -1
7 Wisconsin 64.59 -5
8 North Dakota 63.74 2
9 Arkansas 63.06 0
10 Georgia 60.98 4
11 Nebraska 59.26 2
12 Missouri 58.69 -1
13 Alabama 56.07 2
14 Nevada 54.81 10
15 South Carolina 54.67 -7
16 Tennessee 53.99 0
17 Alaska 52.02 2
18 Florida 51.15 3
19 Mississippi 50.44 -7
20 Kansas 50.38 -3
21 Indiana 48.25 -3
22 Louisiana 47.27 -2
23 Ohio 47.08 0
24 Montana 46.04 -2
25 Illinois 43.36 2
26 District of Columbia 41.80 3
27 Maine 41.37 5
28 Minnesota 40.71 -2
29 New York 40.33 0
30 Washington 39.86 1
31 West Virginia 39.73 3
32 Maryland 39.56 7
33 New Hampshire 37.49 2
34 New Mexico 37.24 8
35 Michigan 36.31 -7
36 Connecticut 36.28 0
37 Hawaii 35.63 1
38 Kentucky 35.38 -13
39 Delaware 34.59 2
40 Rhode Island 33.83 -3
41 Virginia 33.61 -1
42 Colorado 33.28 5
43 Arizona 32.38 1
44 Vermont 32.08 -1
45 Oregon 31.80 -12
46 Texas 31.56 0
47 New Jersey 30.85 3
48 Massachusetts 30.38 0
49 North Carolina 30.11 -4
50 Pennsylvania 29.89 -1
51 California 21.59 0

 

Note: Rankings are based on data available as of 12:30 p.m. ET on Monday, August 10, 2020.

For the full report, you can visit:
https://wallethub.com/edu/states-coronavirus-restrictions/73818/

Why should you keep the gutter systems clean?

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Everyone wants to relax during weekends! But at times, there are essential household chores that you need to accomplish to keep your home and roof secure. Homeowners don’t have to procrastinate when it comes to cleaning the gutters. There are multiple issues that build-up debris can create. Most homeowners don’t consider cleaning the gutter systems, till such time a significant problem occurs. When there’s a hindrance in water flowing from the house, you can expect damage from the roof to the foundation. Hence, it is necessary to keep the gutters clean.

Professional gutter cleaning services

If you don’t feel confident to clean the gutters yourself, you should get in touch with an expert professional service provider. To know more about this, you can check out charlotte gutter cleaners.

Usually, professional gutter cleaning services c

an help to:

Ensure that when you are speaking with a professional gutter cleaning service provider, these areas are covered.

Reasons to keep gutters clean

Are you in two minds about keeping gutters clean and getting proactive about gutter maintenance? If yes, the pointers below will help you decide better.

  1. Roof damage

When debris and leaves clog the gutter systems resulting in water flooding, you will experience roofing issues. It can make your roof unnecessarily burdensome and can also create an unsafe condition for the family members. It is necessary to keep clean it, especially after a storm or rainfall.

  1. Fascia damage

Fascia is the board that runs behind the gutter. When water overflows, it can ultimately damage this essential element of the gutter system and create further issues.

  1. To keep pests away

When the roof gutters are clogged, it can be a breeding ground for critters and other insects. You will find it to be a nesting site for birds, mosquitoes, and other pests. Hence, it is necessary to get rid of the heap of damp leaves and keep the gutters clean.

  1. Garden beds getting overwatered

At times, the gutter systems become completely clogged that it leads to water spilling on the side and directly to the garden bed. When that happens, the plant’s health is at risk, and it can create other problematic situations. Overwatering can create severe issues as inadequate watering.

  1. Bracket damage

The clogged gutters hold excess weight, which can damage the brackets.

  1. Foundation cracks

At times the water flows and accumulates along the home foundation. It can result in freezing, which in turn can expand and create foundation cracks.

These are some of the problems that no homeowner wants to face. Hence, cleaning the gutter systems is imperative. When you join hands with an expert service provider, the entire process can take about an hour or two, based on the gutter condition and home size. You don’t have to stay present while the cleaning process is on. Before or after the cleaning, you can ask the service providers the necessary questions for gutter system maintenance and upkeep.

 

How and Where to Report Spam Email

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Most Internet users have at least one mailbox, which they use to register on social networks, buy goods, or exchange letters. However, almost every person has been a target for spamming, which is quite annoying and pitiful. Today we will talk about the ways how and where you can report unwanted emails. Let’s start with the first question.

How to Report Spam Legally?

The spam message can be simply deleted. However, when you make an official complaint – you protect yourself and other users from it. To do that, you can use the following options:

1)    Use the Anti-spam Program

Antispam programs work as antiviruses – they additionally filter suspicious messages in your mailbox. It usually reduces the load on corporate mail servers and gives you an opportunity to report spam directly to the software developer, so they could blacklist the sender’s email or IP. For instance, you can report IP address on https://cleantalk.org/blacklists/report-ip for it to be included in the blacklist.

2)    Report to the Mailing Service

Gmail users can report a suspicious or unwanted message using the service menu. There are three ways to respond to unwanted letters:

  • Block user – by this action, you say: “I do not consider the letter to be spam, but I do not want to receive new letters from this user.” This will not affect other users. No sanctions will be applied to the sender.
  • In spam – this option says: “I did not give my consent to the mailing, the sender violates my rights.” If the same complaints come from other users as well, the sender will be added to the blacklist.
  • Report phishing – by selecting this option, you report: “The letter contains suspicious content.” Suspicious content is, for example, a password entry form.

The same actions can be taken by the clients of other mailing services, so it is usually a reliable way to report spam.

Where to Report Spam Officially

There are quite many world associations and coalitions that help fighting spam. CAUCE, Coalition Against Unsolicited Commercial E-Mail, fights unwanted letters in the United States and Canada. You can easily send your complaint to their support service. There is also Federal Trade Commission in the United States, which accepts spam reports by email to spam@uce.gov or via a form on the FTC website.

Unwanted messages in the European Union must be sent to each country’s organization individually:

  • Norway – Police Economic Crime Unit;
  • United Kingdom – Metropolitan Police;
  • Ireland – Ireland’s National Police and Security Service;
  • Belgium – FGov.be.
  • Denmark – ICO – Information Commissioner’s Offices.

We hope this information will help you protect your rights and report email spam. If you suddenly receive intrusive or unsafe emails, you will know where to complain about spam and how to defend your rights. Good luck!

What are the three benefits of professional carpet cleaning services?

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Today, most homeowners want a comfortable and well-decorated home interior. It gives them the reason to come back to their home after a day’s work. Perhaps that is why most homeowners install a carpet in the living room and other rooms. Do you resonate with that? If yes, then it is necessary to ensure that the carpets are well maintained and clean.

You must be doing the regular spot cleaning and vacuuming. That is not sufficient! Your carpet absorbs the invisible dirt from your feet and the ones present in the air particles. Also, your pet might be adding to the carpet dirt and debris as well. Furthermore, the carpet fabric might require careful cleaning, which only a professional service provider can offer. To know more about this, you can check out Fayetteville carpet cleaning.

The benefits of professional carpet cleaning

There are several benefits of professional carpet cleaning services. The three crucial ones are:

  1. Improved health

Usually, carpets are the breeding ground for bacteria, dust particles, and allergens when left unclean for a long time. Do you or anyone in your house suffer from minor or significant breathing issues? Or is your skin sensitive to allergies? If yes, then the contaminants inside the carpets can create a wide range of health issues. The elderly and children are often vulnerable to these health issues.

Vacuuming can’t remove the bacteria, dirt, and dust mites. It cleans the carpet only at a superficial level. And that can increase the chances of various health issues. When you join hands with a professional carpet cleaning service provider in Austin, you can keep your designer carpet clean and ensure there are no health issues because of carpet allergens.

  1. Good airflow

A dirty carpet can affect the home air flow. When the rug gets filled with debris, dirt, and dust, the airflow isn’t fresh, especially along the home walls that need maximum airflow. And this makes the rooms stuffy and unpleasant as well. If you hand over the carpet cleaning job to a generic service provider, they might not do justice to the carpet fabric and use toxic cleaning solutions. On the other hand, a professional carpet cleaning service understands the need of the hour and the carpet fabric requirements. It helps to improve the air quality, airflow, and also maintain the carpet fabric quality.

  1. Enhanced look and feel

Cleaning carpet stains is not an easy task! Opt-in for a professional carpet cleaning service, to enhance the look of the carpet. The dust particles hidden in the fibers can make your carpet look old, dirty, and weathered. It might take away the external shine and smoothness. By joining hands with an expert carpet cleaning service, you can prevent the carpet fabric from becoming rough and torn. It adds more years to the carpet’s life and makes your living room look clean, tidy, and stylish.

You have to invest the right amount with a carpet installation at home. Hence, it’s necessary to secure this investment by implementing correct cleaning services. A professional carpet cleaning service will keep the carpets tidy and ensure your home is hygienic and fresh.

Why is your car key not working correctly?

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People face issues with various lock devices in their homes, office, and vehicles. Did you ever come across problems in unlocking your car door? Did the car key fob not connect automatically? Or was it challenging for you to turn the ignition key? If you have answered yes to one or all the three questions, you must get in touch with an expert locksmith at the earliest for assistance and to resolve the issue.

You might own a keyless or key-in entry car. Many things can lead to a complete lockout of the vehicle.  Most professional locksmith services urge their clients to examine the situation at hand before reaching out to them. To know more about this, you can check out the Wilmington emergency locksmith.

However, in most situations, the car key isn’t working due to the following reasons:

The damaged key and key fob battery problems

Are you unable to find the reason why the vehicle door isn’t opening? It is necessary to check the batteries once. When the car key fob batteries are dying, your vehicle might fail to open remotely. Several car owners don’t check the vehicle key fob batteries before they get in touch with an expert locksmith. At times, when you check it, you can save time.

The other reason for car doors getting locked is that you have damaged keys. Over time, the conventional car keys are bound to wear out and need complete replacement. The traditional car keys get abused, and people usually keep it in a disorderly manner inside their wallet, trouser pockets, and vacant spaces inside the vehicle. Many people drop the keys several times, which can lead to bending, breaking, and chipping. If you need a replacement, only an expert locksmith can help you.

Key fob internal damage and program issues

At times, the key fob or the keyless entry might have internal damages. The key fob has connectors located inside might get damaged, which might stop the vehicles from getting started. It can stop you from getting inside your car. Hence, if it is not programmed correctly, you might not be able to use the vehicle. Like the vehicle key fob internal damages, the car will not unlock when there’s a programming problem, or it needs programming. The expert locksmith services can cut and program the keys, irrespective of the car, and car key model, and brand.

Improper vehicle key replication

Not every locksmith will provide advanced and correct vehicle key duplication. There are times when locksmiths provide bad key duplication, which leads to a waste of time and money. Hence, it is necessary to do your research before joining hands with an expert locksmith service provider.

Today, there are professional locksmith service providers available online. As you browse, you might come across a trusted brand that provides you with affordable and quality solutions that will help you know why your car doors are locked and how to resolve it at the earliest, without causing any further issues. Every car key issue is different! And the locksmiths must manage these issues separately with a holistic approach. If you feel there is an issue with the car lock, contact an expert locksmith before the problem aggravates.

 

 

NC County Bans Protests In Front of Confederate Monument – Federal Judge Steps In

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The First Amendment rights of a number of North Carolinians have recently come into question when Alamance County put a ban on protesting near a public confederate monument.

This past week, a federal judge for the Middle District of North Carolina ruled against the ban and in favor of the protesters.

“We hope that Alamance County and the Sheriff’s Office will heed the court’s warning and immediately end their ban on allowing protest on the courthouse grounds,” said Elizabeth Haddix, managing attorney at the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law. “Since our hearing in court last week, they are prohibiting any access to protestors during business hours during the workweek, and after 8:30 pm, and during ‘daylight hours’ on the weekend. They are permitting limited access to two sides of the sidewalk on the north side of the Courthouse, with no access to the public sidewalk beside the monument ever. That’s not close to good enough in our view.”

On July 25, the Alamance NAACP’s President Barrett Brown and three other peaceful protestors of the confederate monument in Graham were arrested while standing on the sidewalk beside the monument and refusing to leave.

“We are encouraged by the court’s ruling today,” said Tamara Kersey, one of the plaintiffs, which demonstrates that our First Amendment rights should not be suppressed.” Kersey lives in Graham, is an Alamance NAACP member and Pastor of Johnson Chapel AME, Mebane, N.C.

The court’s text order issued today states that “In the absence of immediate implementation of reasonable restrictions or other material change of circumstances, and subject to further briefing, the Court will likely grant the motion for a preliminary injunction, as a long-term prohibition on protests on courthouse grounds traditionally used as a public forum violates the First Amendment.”

What do you think about the situation? 

South Carolina Is 2020’s 2nd Worst State to Have a Baby – NC is 8th Worst

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With the COVID-19 pandemic making birthing more stressful than usual and the average conventional delivery costing over $10,000, the personal-finance website WalletHub today released its report on 2020’s Best & Worst States to Have a Baby.

To determine the most ideal places in the U.S. for parents and their newborns, the site compared the 50 states and the District of Columbia across 32 key measures of cost, health care accessibility and baby-friendliness. The data set ranges from hospital conventional-delivery charges to annual average infant-care costs to pediatricians per capita.

Having a Baby in North Carolina (1=Best; 25=Avg.):

  • 20th – Hospital Cesarean-Delivery Charges
  • 15th – Hospital Conventional-Delivery Charges
  • 15th – Avg. Annual Cost of Early Child Care
  • 38th – Infant Mortality Rate
  • 40th – Rate of Low Birth-Weight
  • 37th – Midwives & OB-GYNs per Capita
  • 46th – Pediatricians & Family Doctors per Capita
  • 15th – Child-Care Centers per Capita
  • 21st – Parental-Leave Policy Score
  • 26th – WalletHub “States with the Best Health Infrastructure for Coronavirus” Score

Here is the full ranking of all states plus DC:

Best States to Have a Baby

Overall Rank
(1 = Best)
State Total Score ‘Cost’ Rank  ‘Health Care’ Rank ‘Baby-Friendliness’ Rank ‘Family-Friendliness’ Rank
1 Massachusetts 68.81 28 2 4 2
2 Minnesota 66.70 21 6 6 1
3 Vermont 64.50 36 1 22 4
4 North Dakota 64.19 1 14 23 3
5 Rhode Island 63.35 29 5 2 14
6 New Hampshire 63.15 4 4 48 5
7 District of Columbia 61.20 14 29 1 N/A
8 Maine 60.15 22 3 14 18
9 Washington 59.46 43 13 3 10
10 Connecticut 59.32 40 7 15 9
11 Oregon 56.11 11 8 7 27
12 New Jersey 55.32 49 32 5 7
13 Hawaii 55.26 23 10 9 23
14 Colorado 54.93 42 11 10 15
15 Iowa 54.88 16 16 31 12
16 New York 54.62 48 15 24 6
17 Utah 52.32 10 36 13 19
18 Nebraska 52.26 26 28 46 8
19 South Dakota 51.69 37 19 37 11
20 Illinois 49.86 33 17 38 16
21 Michigan 49.35 8 18 20 34
22 Montana 49.32 20 23 26 22
23 Wisconsin 49.14 47 30 25 13
24 Wyoming 48.99 50 24 11 21
25 Maryland 48.59 6 26 28 30
26 Pennsylvania 48.37 5 21 47 24
27 Virginia 48.34 30 20 39 20
28 Ohio 48.13 3 27 33 28
29 California 47.66 51 35 8 17
30 Idaho 47.39 13 34 12 29
31 Delaware 46.79 24 9 40 31
32 Kentucky 46.44 9 31 17 36
33 Kansas 45.82 34 25 29 25
34 Alaska 45.60 35 12 19 35
35 Indiana 41.07 18 40 36 32
36 Missouri 40.82 31 38 44 26
37 New Mexico 38.76 15 33 16 50
38 West Virginia 37.77 17 22 49 47
39 Tennessee 37.65 41 37 21 37
40 Arizona 36.88 25 45 18 41
41 Texas 36.51 39 43 34 33
42 Nevada 35.74 32 41 30 40
43 Oklahoma 35.11 19 44 35 44
44 North Carolina 34.31 45 39 43 38
45 Florida 34.09 46 42 32 39
46 Arkansas 33.01 7 51 27 45
47 Georgia 30.17 27 47 42 42
48 Louisiana 29.02 2 50 45 48
49 Mississippi 27.82 12 49 41 49
50 South Carolina 27.21 44 46 50 43
51 Alabama 25.25 38 48 51 46

 

For the full report, you can visit:
https://wallethub.com/edu/best-and-worst-states-to-have-a-baby/6513/

How to Balance Remote and In-Office Management

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As the threat of the pandemic begins to wane, more people are leaving remote work behind and heading back to the office. According to research from CNBC, as many as 50 per cent of major companies are bringing their employees back to the office in September. 

Bringing employees back to the office isn’t straightforward: there are many questions about COVID-19 that we still don’t have answers to. Businesses are doing their best to adhere to current government regulations by enforcing social distancing and offering plenty of hand sanitizer. 

In order to balance the risks of the pandemic with the needs of business, many employers are trialing a hybrid approach: where part of the team works remotely, and the other part works in the office, staggering the days and times in which employees are expected to physically report to work. 

The Hybrid Team: Staggering Days in the Office
Staggering days in the office promotes social distancing, keeps employees safe and productivity high. However, there is no one-size fits all approach to staggering times and days in the office, and it’s important that businesses assess all available options.

All employees could be cycling into the office at different times during the week (one group comes in during the first part of the week, while the other commutes later in the week), businesses could establish a fully-remote workforce and a fully-in-office workforce to accommodate social distancing guidelines, or a mixture of the two. What you choose will depend on many variables, such as:

  • The amount of available office space
  • The cleaning and safety requirements of your state
  • The type of work that needs doing, and the efficacy of some employees in remote roles

Employees’ personal situations should also play a factor in this decision. While some employees have home offices and other convenient setups, other employees have been working on sofas whilst dodging their children for months. Some people may be keener to go back to the office than others, and it’s crucial to bear that in mind when creating your hybrid team. 

Once you’ve established who is doing what and where, it’s time to make sure that everyone in the team feels connected and appreciated. The best ways to do that include: 

 

  • Keep Video On
    Actually seeing another person goes a long way in humanizing the remote work experience. In a recent Forbes article, Arry Yu of the Washington Technology Industry Association discusses the importance of staying connected. Yu says: “Do at least one weekly video call with the team (if not one-on-ones). Have photo sharing days where remote workers post photos of their work area… The objective is to do whatever it takes to keep the remote workers emotionally engaged with the company, the culture, and the mission.”

 

Feeling connected is crucial when it comes to dealing with remote teams, so don’t hesitate to keep the camera on.  

 

  • Hone in on Communication
    When employees are in different places, good communication is essential. What are the best ways to keep your in-house and remote team members engaged and on the same page? The Next Web recently shared an article where experts weighed in with their best remote work communication tips:
  • Pick up the phone. Calling people breaks up the silence, and a lot of the time, it’s faster than an endless stream of emails. 
  • Send regular updates. Let the entire team know what’s been done, what needs to be done, and what you’re working on at least once per week. 
  • Be empathetic. Your team is experiencing work in a different context right now. The best managers will be empathetic to their employees’ needs and situations, and that might mean adjusting a communication style. Double and triple-check the emails you send to your team, and if you’ve got negative feedback, consider picking up the phone instead. When in doubt, simply ask the employee what they prefer. 

 

 

  • Keep Employees a Priority
    The good news? Most employees are feeling like a priority already. Seventy two per cent of employees feel that their employers’ response to the pandemic is ‘exactly as it should be’, and 74 per cent of employees feel that their employers are taking care of employees as best they can according to a recent study from Harvard Business Review.

 

Letting your employees know that they are your number one priority is crucial to balancing a hybrid team. In today’s situation, showing your employees you care is very tangible: limit employee contact (recent research from SERVPRO suggests that up to 92 per cent of businesses are limiting group meetings), continue remote work where possible, and invest in cleaning and disinfecting the workspace (83 per cent of businesses have invested more in deep cleaning according to the same research). 

Talk to your team about why you’ve made certain decisions, and be flexible if anyone has any worries about coming back to work. Meet your employees where they are, and they’ll be more than willing to work with you as they make this transition. 

We’ve entered a new era in the workforce, one that’s full of challenges but full of opportunities. Flexibility is the first step to achieving success.