In addition to his discussion of education issues, Mitch Kokai joined Tara Servatius on WBT Radio this week to discuss a new Beacon Hill Institute report for the John Locke Foundation that spells out probable economic damage from North Carolina’s renewable energy mandates. N.C. Senate Republicans also highlighted a Carolina Journal exclusive on the same topic from contributor Colleen Calvani. In other energy-related news, JLF Legal and Regulatory Policy Analyst Daren Bakst submitted official comments (pdf link here) about offshore drilling to the federal Minerals Management Service. Bakst also helped secure letters for submission to the N.C. Rules Review Commission. The letters challenge a proposed rule from the Division of Waste Management. “The rule would have ignored the EPA’s new definition of ‘solid waste’ that would have given more flexibility for businesses — the state decided to go with its old restrictive definition that will be costlier to businesses,” Bakst explains. Meanwhile, Policy Analyst and Research Editor Jon Sanders traveled to Chocowinity Thursday to address the Down East Republican Club on the American Clean Energy and Security Act of 2009, a presentation previewed in the Greenville Daily Reflector. (The Tryon Daily Bulletin also published Sanders’ recent Carolina Beat column urging politicians to exercise more humility.)