Well-known Charlotte-area columnist and radio personality Tara Servatius joined the Meck Deck blog this week, focusing her first entry on the Charlotte-Mecklenburg public schools’ “oh-so-broke shuffle.” The John Locke Foundation appeared in a report this week from USA Today focusing on former U.S. House speaker and current presidential candidate Newt Gingrich. The article noted that Gingrich had been paid for a 2010 speech to a JLF audience. The Northwest Observer cited JLF in a story about the Summerfield Town Council. (Mark Mortensen said there are two factions: those who want to spend money and those who want to cut spending, and said he is in the latter. He thanked Councilwoman Alicia Flowers for questioning the “gas lottery scratch-off” cards purchased with town revenue. Mortensen said he discussed the matter with the John Locke Foundation, who said the town’s buying “lottery tickets” might not be illegal, but they had never heard of it.) Becki Gray delivered a legislative preview for WTSB Radio listeners earlier this week, and she returns this afternoon to recap the week’s events. Mitch Kokai appeared on WAAV/WFNC Radio this morning to dissect the week’s legislative news. N.C. Senate Republicans’ daily press email cited a Locker Room blog entry from Kokai on the controversy surrounding N.C. House Speaker Thom Tillis’ staff salaries.