An article in Monday’s News & Observer gave critics of the new Wake County school board majority a chance to spin a yarn about clandestine efforts to shuffle more students from local public schools into private schools. (A sidebar discussed the work of N.C. Education Alliance Director Lindalyn Kakadelis.) John Hood used one of his Daily Journal columns to poke holes in the conspiracy theory. Hood’s column attracted attention from the N&O‘s WakeEd blog. In other news, Freedom Newspapers, including the New Bern Sun Journal and Shelby Star, quoted Hood in an article about potential state budget cuts. A Richmond County Daily Journal letter writer recently praised Hood. (The opinion columns by John Hood are all very good. He makes a lot of sense in his interesting columns.) The Fayetteville Observer promoted Hood’s upcoming speech to the Cumberland County Republican Executive Committee. The Bluegrass Institute’s blog also cited Hood’s work in identifying the reasons for Democrats’ continuous attacks on insurance companies. N.C. Senate Republicans promoted this week Hood’s column on reform of North Carolina’s public school testing and accountability program. (The same e-mail highlighted Carolina Journal Video News Editor Anthony Greco‘s update on North Carolina’s offshore drilling study.) Meanwhile, Hood’s contributions to National Review Online’s main blog, “The Corner,” attracted attention from Top Conservative Blogs, Liberal Whoppers, Newsodrome, DailyRadar.com’s “Beltway Blips,” and India Times.