Parents like me are in an impossible situation. Now’s not the time to slash benefits.

COVID relief bill

I am a parent who was laid off due to COVID-related budget cuts. The weekly $600 CARES Act unemployment supplement has been helping keep our family afloat.

Now, my children’s school is going to virtual-only learning in the fall. This makes it incredibly difficult to find a new job since I’ll be home with them overseeing their schooling.

The U.S. Senate’s coronavirus relief plan slashes the unemployment supplement to $200 a week through September, then down to 70% of previous wages. This will be a real hardship on our family.

Thankfully I am not a single parent, but many laid off parents are. Imagine what an impossible situation they face.

This pandemic is in full swing; it is not the time to slash the social safety net and leave laid-off parents without the means to provide for their kids.

Bonner Odell, Beaufort

Disheartened in NC

Since March, I’ve witnessed the murder of George Floyd, watched protests light up cities, pushed for justice for Breonna Taylor and mourned the loss of Ahmaud Arbery, all while dealing with the new reality of COVID-19.

The inaction from the government has left me and other millennials frustrated and hopeless.

Like many Americans, I have not worked since March, surviving on unemployment. Calling the N.C. unemployment office is a nightmare colored by frighteningly long wait times and people who pass the buck.

Most disheartening is that the pandemic pay ran out this week while so many are still out of work.

Imagine dealing with the trauma of watching people who look like you killed by police while the government decides if it’s worth extending pandemic pay to you. Imagine having to explain to your landlord that you can’t pay rent this month because no one at the unemployment office will take your call.

Quianna Lewis, Greensboro

Betsy DeVos

Regarding “Pence visits NC private school,” (July 30):

Education Secretary Betsy DeVos came along on Vice President Mike Pence’s visit to a private school in Apex. DeVos has never attended a public school, taught in a public school, or sent her children to a public school. She could have learned a lot if she had visited a N.C. public school. She traveled to North Carolina using public money.

Caroline Pritchett, Durham

Obama’s eulogy

While I did not watch the service for John Lewis, since I did not always agree with his ideas, I found it absolutely despicable that former President Obama used this as an opportunity for a political rally. This was a eulogy, not a political rally. This is why Obama’s legacy will be the worst in presidential history.

Robert Holeman, Wake Forest

Poll workers

Regarding “NC needs workers to staff voting locations in November,” (July 31):

Why don’t we use the National Guard to staff the polls? They have the numbers and can enforce use of the PPE. They’re nonpartisan, under the governor’s command, and they can be available virtually everywhere. What’s the downside? The stakes have never been higher.

Steve Charloff, Holly Springs

A safe election

The path to voting in the 2020 election will almost certainly be filled with landmines. Election boards everywhere should immediately begin recruiting Americans who have recovered from COVID-19 and are neither at risk of reinfection nor of spreading the disease.

What a great opportunity for patriotic citizens to serve their country and defend our democracy. With millions of cases having come and gone, there is no shortage of those who would qualify.

Combine that with social distancing, strict mask requirements, and the availability of hand sanitizer and masks for those without them, and you have a recipe for a safe and more normal election.

Jeffrey Zalles, Southport

Police officers

I was at my favorite sub shop recently and three county officers came in behind me. They were very respectful and I have no problem with them. My issue is how they were dressed. All had bullet-proof vests, armed to the hilt, and wore menacing totally black attire. How can we get people to respect the ideal of “protect and serve” when our officers are clearly prepared for war?

David Stinson, Hillsborough

Take-out boxes

COVID-19 turned life upside down and the food and restaurant industry were hit especially hard.

With restaurants forced to limit dine-in services and people ordering takeout, the use of polystyrene (Styrofoam) has boomed in our state and across the country.

Take-out containers, cups and utensils largely contribute to the single-use plastic waste flooding our landfills and oceans. Polystyrene doesn’t fully break down and is toxic to humans and animals.

As food lovers and supporters of local restaurants, we must unite and pressure our governor to ban polystyrene containers now.

Dani Bahena Bustos, Raleigh