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Kylie Collins learned she was pregnant with her first child the day North Carolina went into pandemic lockdown. She and her husband got on the waitlist for every child care center within a 40-mile radius of their Brevard home.
While they waited to get in, Collins and her husband set up nanny shares in their home, but it wasn’t a perfect solution. They considered running their own child care center, but they couldn’t make the numbers work. “We were so desperate to have consistent care,” Collins said.
Her desperation is echoed by parents and employers across the state, Lisa Rab reports. More than five families compete for every spot in a licensed child care center, according to the N.C. Early Education Coalition, an advocacy group.
Businesses, nonprofits, and local governments are scrambling to help. They’re trying things such as splitting child care costs between employers and parents, providing land and buildings so daycare centers can save on rent, and giving raises to early childhood educators who pursue professional development. None of it is enough to solve the problem.
Businesses Scramble to Address Child Care Crisis
More than a quarter of North Carolina parents of kids 5 years old and younger say they’ve left the workforce because they can’t find affordable childcare. Without state help, business groups are concerned about “catastrophic impact.”
“We have to implore the state to stop putting Band-aids on this and make it a priority,” said James Milner, president of Appalachian Commercial Real Estate.
Have a news tip for our team? You can reach us at scoops@theassemblync.com.
A $50 Million Question
You’ve probably already heard about the defamation suit Mark Robinson filed this week against CNN and Louis Money, a former video-porn shop employee who was among the sources we cited in a story last month regarding the gubernatorial candidate’s alleged past habits.
Robinson’s lawyers are seeking $50 million in damages, claiming that the claims in the two news stories “inflicted immeasurable harm to his family, his reputation, and his good name.”
Jeffrey Billman unpacks what’s in the suit, and also why legal experts say it might run afoul of state law.
In North Carolina, plaintiffs are forbidden from specifying the amount of damages they’re seeking in their complaint; instead, Rule 8 requires them to say whether or not they want more than $25,000, the threshold for whether the lawsuit goes to district or superior court.
Robinson’s lawyers appear to have violated that rule when they asked for $50 million—an eye-popping amount noted in almost every news article about his lawsuit.
What We’re Reading
Church of Baseball: After Hurricane Milton shredded the Tropicana Field roof, the Tampa Bay Rays are unlikely to open the 2025 season at home. The Tampa Bay Times says alternative options could include Durham or Raleigh.
Tar Heel Born, Bred: Congress has poured billions of dollars into programs to buy out homeowners and relocate them after natural disasters, but they’re unlikely to get many takers in rural North Carolina, per Politico.
Vote Early, Not Often: Voters eager to cast their ballots lined up at some polling places before dawn for Thursday’s start of early voting, WRAL reports.
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