
*SUSTAINABILITY: The United States Will Rejoin Paris Climate Accord
By Theresa Machemer in Smithsonian Magazine
The move is one of several climate-related actions taken by President Joe Biden on his first day in office
On his first day in office, President Joseph R. Biden Jr. signed 17 executive orders, including one stating the administration’s focus on addressing climate change and rejoining the Paris Climate Accord. The international accord goes into effect for the U.S. in 30 days, on February 19.

*WOMEN & MONEY: Yes, we really have to keep talking about this
5 Ways to Be a Financial Feminist in 2021
BY THE ELLEVEST TEAM
The pandemic and “she-cession” of 2020 brought a lot of things to light … and not all of them were great, to be totally honest. With 865,000 women leaving the workforce in just one month in 2020, it became very clear that, as sociologist Jessica Calarco says: Instead of a social safety net, the US has women. That the gender pay gap will likely widen because of the women who needed to leave the workforce. That so many of us were hit hard, especially BIPOC women and trans people.

VANCE ELEMENTARY RENAMING TASK FORCE MAKES FINAL RECOMMENDATION TO BOARD OF EDUCATION
ASHEVILLE CITY SCHOOLS ANNOUNCEMENT
December 7, 2020
The Vance Elementary School Renaming Task Force presented its final name recommendation to the Asheville City Board of Education during their December 7th meeting.
After conducting their own research, meeting with local historians and hearing the thoughts and feelings of our students, staff, families and greater school community, they suggested Vance Elementary School be renamed Lucy S. Herring Elementary School.

OUR LOCAL INDEPENDENT BOOKSELLERS Great Gift Ideas Year ‘Round
Why Read? Advice From Harold Bloom
The most healing of pleasures
“Reading well is one of the great pleasures that solitude can afford you, because it is, at least in my experience, the most healing of pleasures. It returns you to otherness, whether in yourself or in friends, or in those who may become friends. Imaginative literature is otherness, and as such alleviates loneliness. We read not only because we cannot know enough people, but because friendship is so vulnerable, so likely to diminish or disappear, overcome by space, time, imperfect sympathies, and all the sorrows of familial and passional life.”

DAWN STARKS and THE SIMPLE MONEY CLUB, a monthly membership to encourage people to increase their financial literacy
The SimpleMoney Club, will help and encourage you to increase your financial literacy.
Are You. . .
. . . intimidated by money? (You’re not alone, most of my clients were.) . . . someone who wants to simplify your financial life? (Don’t we all??) . . . someone who likes to DIY with your money, but wants a professional to point you in the right direction? (I see this more and more.) . . . pretty savvy with your money, but want to reach your full potential? (There is always room for improvement!)

ONTRACK FINANCIAL EDUCATION CALENDAR & Women’s Financial Education Center Monthly Classes
Click here to see our current education schedule on these topics:
Housing Classes Money Management and Credit Classes
Upcoming Women’s Financial Empowerment Center Classes

How Will the Travel Industry Reinvent Itself Post-Coronavirus?
By Alexandra Marvar in HERE Online
As the coronavirus pandemic brought travel to a screeching halt, an industry that had been growing rapidly thanks to budget airlines, the sharing economy, and Instagram culture (to name a few reasons) suddenly had to reckon with a future that looked permanently altered. But with this pause comes the opportunity to reroute—to address the social, environmental, and economic issues that arise from tourism, for better and certainly for worse.

ADVICE FOR THIS STRESSFUL TIME from Dawn Starks in Simple Money
No debate, these are stressful times. While this pandemic continues to unfold, here are some suggestions I compiled for the clients of my planning firm for how to cope with the stress that all of us are feeling.
I have divided it into three sections: advice for all, advice for those already retired or close to retirement, and those still in their working years.

How Do Credit Cards Work? What Should I Be Doing With My Money? FREE WEBINAR
BY ELLEVEST TEAM
If you’ve never had a credit card before, trying to learn more about them can be … a lot. There are so many options to choose from, and the world of credit cards has some hefty vocab that doesn’t always get defined.

BUNCOMBE COUNTY, NORTH CAROLINA COVID-19 Coronavirus Information and Preparedness – updated daily
Buncombe County has been monitoring Coronavirus/COVID-19 since it was first announced as a potential threat. The health and safety of our community is our highest priority. As such, our Public Health department is partnering with the NC Department of Health and Human Services, health care providers, and first responders to watch and respond to this evolving situation.
For people who have questions about COVID-19 in Buncombe County, please call (828) 419-0095.

*ASHEVILLE NEWS from Our City – Arts, Energy, Racial Equity excetera
Look ahead: City of Asheville projects and initiatives for the new year, 2021
Asheville residents can look upon the new year with optimism. Together, we’ve weathered a pandemic and a vaccine will be available this year. Even so, the City of Asheville’s response to COVID-19 will continue in the new year, in coordination with the state of North Carolina and Buncombe County.
Residents can look forward to advances in social change in 2021 as well, as City staff incorporate Advancing Racial Equity in Asheville into the budget, reimagining public safety and all the other work that will go into serving this community in the coming year. CLICK FOR MORE

*CHECKING IN: about Perception, Perspective, and Patience
THE TRANSFORMATIONAL POWER OF SMALL WINS
By The Ellevest Team 31, 2020
At Ellevest, we love to celebrate our community’s wins, big and small. We’re definitely here for the big milestones — if you just paid off all your debt, bought a house, started that business, got the promotion, we’re going to be right there celebrating with you, because that’s amazing.

ASHEVILLE GROWN BUSINESS ALLIANCE – Local Business and Workers Update
Did you know that locally owned businesses circulate 3 times more money back into the local economy than chain stores?
Supporting local businesses and workers is one thing each of us can do right now. We’ve set up this page with resources, key information, creative initiatives and contacts. WHY LOCAL MATTERS

SIMPLIFY YOUR FINANCIAL LIFE by Dawn Starks @ Starks Financial
104 Easy Tips for Creating the Abundant Future You Desire
Dawn Starks’s mission throughout her career has been to demystify money matters for people who want to have control over their financial lives. In her new book, Simplify Your Financial Life, she provides 104 easy-to-understand practices that will remove the financial clutter in your life and give you confidence with your money management. Freeing up that cluttered space in your life allows you to live more fully, intentionally, and without hindrances.

OnTrack Financial’s Resource Digest September 10, 2020
Information is changing rapidly as programs develop. For the most up-to-date information on a topic discussed in a Resource Digest, please visit this page where we will list any updates to information we have previously shared.

How to get promoted as a woman
By Jan Hills in Psyche
Own your ambitions, know your potential, seek mentors, and other advice for navigating around glass ceilings and cliffs.

REPRISE: A PREDATORY MODEL that can’t be fixed – Why banks should be kept from reentering the payday loan business
By the Progressive Blog Policy Watch
[Editor’s note: In the new Washington, D.C. of Donald Trump, many once-settled policies in the realm of consumer protection are now “back on the table” as predatory businesses push to take advantage of the president’s pro-corporate/anti-regulatory stances. A new report from the Center for Responsible Lending (“Been there; done that: Banks should stay out of payday lending”) explains why one of the most troubling of these efforts – a proposal to allow banks to re-enter the inherently destructive business of making high-interest “payday” loans should be fought and rejected at all costs.]

PISGAH LEGAL SERVICES Resources for Our Community
Pisgah Legal is creating timely, reliable and up-to-date information to help people navigate through various systems. Please check them out and share widely.
For Renters: On May 30, Governor Cooper extended a moratorium on evictions until June 20, 2020. Check out this updated information with common questions and answers for renters.

SOFTWARE WAS WOMEN’S WORK in 1940’s – History of Women in Tech, & Coding Blonde News
Did you know that women used to work as human computers and that tech was a mainstream career choice for women? Even Cosmopolitan published an article about it in the 1960’s – talking about many great career opportunities women can have in the industry!

Welcome to Supermajority! Join Us
On behalf of the whole team, I’m delighted to welcome you as a founding member of this community.
I’ve been an organizer all my life. After graduating college, I moved to New Orleans to organize with hotel workers who were fighting for safer working conditions and a living wage. More recently, I had the honor of leading Planned Parenthood and advocating for reproductive justice. In more than 30 years of organizing, the world has changed a lot. But one thing has held true — women are always on the front lines of fighting for what’s right.