New Hanover County victim advocates hold their breath as federal funds for crime victims await Senate approval
Funding may be drying up for victims of crime, needs Senate approval By Kendall McGee | April 21, 2021 at 6:30 PM EDT - Updated April 21 at 7:28 PM
WILMINGTON, N.C. (WECT) - A bill to save a federal fund that helps victims of crime is in the hands of the US Senate after already passing in the House.
Families, children and justice organizations alike have relied on funding from the Victim of Crime Act (VOCA) for decades now, but the fund is beginning to run dry.
That spiderweb is quintessentially Austin: irreverent, endlessly entertaining, and weird as hell. And among longtime veterans in the city’s rap community and upstarts alike, there’s a growing belief that the latest generation of local rap acts, led primarily by artists including Mama Duke, J Soulja, Mike Melinoe, Riders Against the Storm, Vintage Jay, Magna Carda, Abhi the Nomad, Deezie Brown, The Teeta, Chucky Blk, among others, combined with a push to create infrastructure that can support creativity, might finally elevate the Austin rap scene beyond its city’s limits even during a pandemic.
Abhi the Nomad performing at SXSW Dive Bar Sessions on March 15, 2019.Rick Kern/Getty