Senate budget, Common Core, renewable energy, and more from JLF researchers

As the N.C. Senate unveiled, debated, and approved its $21.6 billion budget this week, WTVD Television sought expert analysis on the spending plan’s education measures from John Locke Foundation Director of Research and Education Studies Terry Stoops. The Raleigh News and Observer and WUNC Public Radio reported on Stoops’ testimony before the commission studying the future of Common Core public school standards in North Carolina.

The EducationNC.org website picked up Stoops’ column on the fifth anniversary of North Carolina’s approval of Common Core. The Asheville Citizen-Times interviewed Stoops about the impact of a recent state court ruling on teacher tenure. NCPoliticalNews.com promoted Stoops’ analysis of the Senate education budget and his observations on the push for globalization in public schools. N.C. Senate Republicans also cited Stoops’ education budget column.

The News and Observer published Director of Regulatory Studies Jon Sanders‘ column on the costs associated with North Carolina’s renewable energy mandate. The Wake Forest Weekly published Health and Human Services Policy Analyst Katherine Restrepo‘s column on Obamacare-related health insurance premium increases in North Carolina. A Charlotte Observer article on the pending U.S. Supreme Court ruling on Obamacare subsidies quoted Restrepo. (“If people lose subsidies, it doesn’t necessarily mean they’re going to lose their actual health insurance.”)

The Heartland Institute quoted Restrepo in an article about South Carolina’s vote to end its certificate-of-need law. NCPoliticalNews.com promoted Restrepo’s columns on the impact of an upcoming Obamacare court ruling in North Carolina and the N.C. House’s Medicaid reform plan.

Vice President for Research and Resident Scholar Roy Cordato critiqued targeted government tax incentive programs during an appearance on the Freedom Action Network’s “What Matters with Chad Adams” radio program. The N.C. Spin website and N.C. Senate Republicans’ daily press email cited Director of Fiscal Policy Studies Sarah Curry‘s “Locker Room” blog entry on Senate plans to extend the state sales tax to more services. A Durham Herald-Sun article noted Curry’s recommendation that more students head to community colleges for basic higher education courses. NCPoliticalNews.com promoted Curry’s research newsletter on the Senate budget.