News List

Here's Sunday's COVID-19 update. As we begin a new week, here's a snapshot of the COVID-19 outbreak in the nine full and partial counties that make up the 7th District.  This data is current as of 11 a.m. Sunday morning: New Hanover County: 62 cases, 1 death Brunswick County: 36 cases, 2 deaths Bladen County: 2 cases, 0 deaths … Read more »

Had a little glitch somewhere with the email system yesterday.  Some newsletters did not hit until today — including mine!  Apologies for it being a day late.  Here’s Saturday's COVID-19 update (in case it doesn’t hit until Sunday!): Here are some details about the U.S. Department of Agriculture's announcement yesterday of the Coronavirus Food… Read more »

Here's today's update on the COVID-19 outbreak: More information on the Economic Impact Payments authorized by Congress as part of the CARES Act: As I mentioned earlier in the week, the IRS has launched "Get My Payment", a web app that allows many taxpayers to determine their eligibility for and the status of their stimulus payments. An important note, as we've… Read more »

Here's today's update: Here is some really fascinating new demographic data and another example of how COVID-19 is proving to defy a lot of the initial thinking:  CDC has released demographic characteristics and other data regarding COVID-19 cases in the United States.  Of the 398,852 cases included, 7,001 were in individuals under 18, 145,499 were in individuals… Read more »

Here's today's update: The IRS has officially launched "Get My Payment", a web app which will help taxpayers get their CARES Act stimulus payments as soon as possible.  The app allows you to: Check your payment status. Confirm your payment type: direct deposit or check. Enter your bank account information for direct deposit if the IRS doesn't have your… Read more »

Here's today's update: Some good news: the Treasury Department says approximately 80 million Americans will receive their CARES Act stimulus payments this week.  In fact, today my office heard from a veteran that has already received payment directly to his account.  These payments will help families cover necessary expenses and put more money in consumers' pockets… Read more »

I hope all of you had a happy and safe Easter weekend.  Here's the latest update on the COVID-19 outbreak: New Hanover County announced today that it will extend its Stay at Home Order until April 29 at 5 p.m. with some modifications. Specifically: Public and private marinas and boat ramps can be opened. Public and private tennis and pickleball courts can be opened. … Read more »

This Saturday, I wanted to share some statistics about the status of the federal response to the COVID-19 outbreak, as well as some general information about the status of the virus in general, both in North Carolina and across the country. The Paycheck Protection Program continues to put dollars into the hands of small business owners to help them make payrolls.  As of… Read more »

Here's today's update: Additional information about the Executive Order issued by Governor Cooper yesterday: The order requires essential businesses remaining open to: Set limits of how many people can be in a store at one time, 5 people per 1,000 square feet of retail space or 20% of fire marshal posted occupancy limits. Mark 6 feet of distance for areas where… Read more »

Here's the latest: The Governor signed an Executive Order today which covers three main areas:  The first requires retail stores that are still operating to implement new social distancing policies to make shopping safer for customers and employees. The order will also call for social distance markings and offer additional… Read more »