NC families need immediate relief. Use the $2.9 billion in reserve to provide it.

Jobless benefits

Regarding “NC moving to accept new Trump jobless benefits,” (Aug. 13):

What a great idea Gov. Roy Cooper has: Instead of relying on President Trump’s showboat offer of 4 to 5 weeks of unemployment benefits, use the $2.9 billion surplus in the Unemployment Trust Fund to provide relief right now to N.C. families.

It’s only there because In 2013 the Republican-controlled General Assembly reduced benefits to 12 weeks, $350/week maximum, with many workers excluded. That’s among the lowest unemployment benefits in the nation, and means that many unemployed N.C. workers don’t get enough help from the state and some get none at all.

The surplus is there, reserved only for unemployment in a time of need. What better time than in a national disaster for the Republican leadership in the General Assembly to act quickly to restore livable unemployment benefits to get North Carolinians through this hard time.

Sondra Stein, Durham

COVID relief

The Aug. 11 Forum letter “I’m with Trump” expresses a dysfunctional view of federal funding. Apparently, because city governments failed to control one crisis (riots and looting) Congress should not use COVID relief money to “bail them out.“

Red states like West Virginia and Kentucky have done a terrible job managing the opioid crisis, allowing thousands to die. Should those states be left out of the relief bill1?

According to the FBI’s 2018 Uniform Crime report, the red states of Missouri, South Carolina and Alabama have some of the highest rates of violent crime. Their Republican governors and legislatures have plainly failed at public safety. Should Congress defund those states?

Communities don’t have to be perfect to deserve federal support.

Andrew Soboeiro, Raleigh

Voting rights

My reaction to Sonja Nichols Aug. 10 column is: What have the Republicans done to protect voting rights?

As a African-American from Montgomery, Ala. and a graduate of Tuskegee University, I question how an African-American who is a prospective state politician could not address voting rights in 2020. With North Carolina’s history of gerrymandering at the expense of citizens of color, voting rights are as important today as in the 1960s during the late Congressman John Lewis’ time.

I am an African-American Democrat living in Wake County wanting to hear a prospective N.C. senator address voting rights, as well as the other issues Nichols cited.

Edward Henderson Jr., Raleigh

A clean campaign

Regarding “Biden chooses Sen. Harris to be his running mate,” (Aug. 12):

I am hopeful that Joe Biden and Kamala Harris will run a clean, non-negative campaign.

If voters do not realize the problems with President Trump after observing him for 3 1/2 years, then reminding them will not change their vote. Biden and Harris must leave the meanness, exaggerations and lies to the Trump campaign. Stay clean and help America once again become Reagan’s “shining city on a hill.”

Douglas Jurney, Raleigh

COVID spread

Regarding “State sees fewest new COVID-19 cases since early June” (Aug 11):

The virus does not spread by itself. It is spread by people not following the CDC guidelines. These spreaders endanger the rest of us and are responsible for leaving adults and children sick and dying and affecting our economy and school attendance. Until the spreaders stop spreading the virus, it will continue to wreak havoc on our state and country. It is obvious that the spreaders do not have a social conscience and so we must be mandated to engage good sense.

Murray Merner, Raleigh

True public servants

I want to thank the Durham Planning Commission for its dedication and perseverance on Tuesday night. The board’s meeting ran from 5:30 p.m. to 11:55 p.m. with only a 10-minute break. They are true public servants.

On their plate were multiple difficult cases, and board members were truly responsive to citizen comments. They struggled with thorny issues like gentrification impacting historically black neighborhoods, development rules for projects with affordable housing, policy on the maximum number of unrelated persons who can live in one dwelling, developments that will badly impact traffic, and special deals cut with select developers before projects were presented to the public.

Unfortunately, the planning commission is only an “advisory” body. They provide City Council and Board of County Commissioners with expert input. Now we’ll have to see if City Council is ready to hear the people and prioritize citizens over developer profits.

Mimi Kessler, Durham