Media outlets across the state continue to rely on Carolina Journal‘s news coverage. This week, the Lincoln Tribune republished Associate Editor Sara Burrowsexclusive on third parties’ struggles to get ballot access in North Carolina (also highlighted at Topix.com), along with two reports from Associate Editor David Bass. One dealt with concerns about possible “mystery meat” the U.S. Department of Agriculture provides to North Carolina school cafeterias. The second dealt with local governments’ debates about permitting government employees to use taxpayer-funded health insurance to cover elective abortions. Lucianne.com also picked up the abortion-related story. Both Bass and Burrows contributed articles to The Heartland Institute’s latest Budget & Tax News. Bass’ piece focused on the large bill associated with sending American politicians to the recent Copenhagen climate summit. Burrows’ article focused on the possibility of new taxes on online travel companies. Heartland’s Finance, Insurance, & Real Estate News also published the online travel taxation piece. In other news, a Sanford Herald letter writer cited CJ in discussing taxpayer spending on congressional offices. (In reading an article in the Carolina Journal (Jan. 10 edition), I noted that our congressman is rated third in total dollars spent in the third quarter of 2009 for congressional office costs.) A letter writer in the Hickory Daily Record noted another CJ story focusing on the N.C. congressional delegation’s response to legislation that would block congressional pay raises. N.C. Senate Republicans highlighted this week in their daily e-mails an exclusive from contributor Sarah Okeson on a new audit of the State Treasurer’s reports about state investments, along with CJ Managing Editor Rick Henderson‘s recent column on the perils of ethics reform.