The John Locke Foundation’s “Right Angles” blog attracted some national attention this week, when USA Today‘s online edition picked up a post from Vice President for Communications Jon Ham. The blog entry highlighted a secretive meeting involving U.S. Rep. Brad Miller. In other news, Freedom Newspapers interviewed John Hood for an article about proposals to overhaul North Carolina’s tax system. (John Hood, president of the conservative John Locke Foundation, questions what is meant by revenue-neutral and whether such efforts at restructuring the tax code will be tainted by the actions of the General Assembly earlier this summer to increase taxes by about $1 billion for the current fiscal year and $1.3 billion next year. “They’ve spoiled the stew with a billion-dollar tax increase,” Hood said. “I don’t think you can add a few spices to it and make it taste good.”) The Tideland News recently reprinted Carolina Journal Associate Editor Michael Lowrey‘s Carolina Beat column about the problems associated with publicly funded sports venues, while the Wilmington Star-News printed an op-ed from Eli Lehrer about the latest developments associated with North Carolina’s Beach Plan coastal property insurance program. (Lehrer, a Competitive Enterprise Institute scholar, wrote a JLF report about the Beach Plan last December.) Meanwhile the Tryon Daily Bulletin recently featured two articles with Locke Foundation ties. First, the newspaper reprinted a Carolina Journal exclusive from Colleen Calvani about the prospects for high-speed rail in North Carolina. The Tryon paper also ran a feature about Columbus’ efforts to win a higher grade from the JLF transparency Web site, NCTransparency.com. (The Town of Columbus has recently launched a Transparency Initiative, in an effort to make information about town government more readily available to its residents. The John Locke Foundation, a Raleigh think tank and government watchdog, has awarded a “Grade A” to Columbus for its transparency efforts. “We are pleased that the Locke Foundation has responded to our efforts to increase transparency in town government by awarding us the highest grade possible,” town manager Tim Holloman announced.)