Election officials from more than 85 counties have sent a letter to legislative leaders urging them to release $4 million designated for improving the administration of the 2012 elections.

The funds come from the Help America Vote Act (HAVA) of 2002 and are already in a NC bank account. But as the folks at Democracy North Carolina have pointed out, the General Assembly must appropriate an additional $660,000 to the State Board of Election to meet certain federal guidelines before the final $4 million can be spent.

The bipartisan group of election officials note in their letter that given the large voter turnout this fall, the new district lines, and split precincts, the federal HAVA funds are needed for poll worker training, the testing of voting equipment, and other technical support needs.

You can read the full letter to Speaker Thom Tillis and Senate President Pro Tem Phil Berger here.

If the funds are not appropriated, State Board of Elections executive director Gary Bartlett has said counties would likely be forced to operate 100 fewer early voting sites than were available in 2008.

Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus, REI CEO Sally Jewell and Fast Company’s Robert Safian are just a few of the  high-profile speakers in Raleigh today and Tuesday for the 27th annual Emerging Issues Forum. This year’s theme: “Investing in Generation Z.”

Anita Brown-Graham, the director of the Institute for Emerging Issues, says while they may be named for the last letter of the alphabet, Generation Z is the most highly connected and digitally savvy group in our history.  By 2020, Gen Z will be the 18-30 year olds comprising the emerging core of North Carolina’s workforce.

She notes another unique aspect of this generation is that research shows that 54 percent of those aged 18-34 want to start their own business rather than work for someone else. An even higher percentage of young people of color – 64 percent of Latinos and 63 percent of African-Americans – expressed a desire to start their own companies.

Click below to hear a portion of Anita Brown-Graham’s recent radio interview with Chris Fitzsimon.  You can also watch livestreaming of the forum today and on Tuesday here.

UPDATE: The Susan G. Komen for the Cure foundation has announced plans to restore funding to Planned Parenthood. The move follows intense public criticism for the foundation’s decision earlier this week to no longer provide Planned Parenthood with grants to cover the cost of  breast cancer exams.

U.S. Senator Kay Hagan is joining the growing outcry over Susan G. Komen for the Cure’s decision to end its grants to Planned Parenthood to fund breast exams.

Hagan issued the following statement Friday morning:

“I am deeply disappointed that Susan G. Komen for the Cure has pulled grant funding for preventive care, screenings, mammograms and education at Planned Parenthood clinics around the country.

More than 25,000 North Carolinians depend on Planned Parenthood for health and education services including breast health care that saves lives and saves families.

The women who depend on this care don’t deserve to be caught in the crossfire of politically motivated attacks. Unfortunately, most of us know at least one person whose life has been affected by breast cancer. We need to use every tool in the toolbox to fight this terrible disease.

I urge Susan G. Komen for the Cure to reconsider this decision for the sake of women’s health in North Carolina and around the country.”

Hagan along with more than two dozen U.S. Senators have urged the Komen charity to put women’s health before partisan politics.

Komen founder Nancy Brinker has insisted that the organization’s decision had nothing to do with abortion or politics.

The “I am a Tarheel Worker” campaign has released a new infographic that puts Unemployment Insurance (UI) benefits into perspective. The average weekly UI benefit is $290. This might seem like a substantial amount, but stacking the costs of the most basic needs like housing, food, health care and transportation next to $290, leaves families trying to meet their basic costs short by almost $600 per week (it takes $874 per week for family of three in North Carolina to afford the actual costs of basic needs). UI benefits are crucial to help families avoid financial disaster, but benefit levels remain too low to keep families from having to make difficult trade-offs when a job is lost. And when that happens, working families and the North Carolina economy struggle.