The N.C. General Assembly made an unexpected return to Raleigh this week to address new congressional maps ordered in connection with a federal lawsuit. With electoral redistricting in the daily headlines, WRAL Television interviewed John Locke Foundation Chairman John Hood about the benefits of reforming the redistricting process. Senior Political Analyst Mitch Kokai discussed redistricting developments with Lockwood Phillips on WTKF’s “Viewpoints Radio.” Carolina Journal Managing Editor Rick Henderson discussed the week’s redistricting developments on the WPTF Radio morning program. The N.C. Spin website and state Senate Republicans cited Associate Editor Barry Smith‘s article about the state Supreme Court’s latest redistricting ruling. GOP senators also promoted Associate Editor Dan Way‘s reporting on redistricting.

The Independent Weekly interviewed JLF Director of Regulatory Studies Jon Sanders for a report on a proposed REINS Act to limit the growth of new regulations in North Carolina. The Heritage Foundation’s “Insider Online” and the N.C. Spin website promoted Health and Human Services Policy Analyst Katherine Restrepo‘s new report on direct primary care in North Carolina.

A Wilmington Star-News feature titled “The Buzz” cited Director of Research and Education Studies Terry Stoops‘ recent analysis that North Carolina is gaining more public school teachers each year than it loses to other states. EducationNC.org reported that Stoops has been named to a new Data Action Team for a project called N.C. Pathways to Grade-Level Reading. Director of Legal Studies Jon Guze discussed North Carolina’s Map Act during a presentation at the UNC Law School’s annual Festival of Legal Learning.

The Mount Airy News cited Henderson’s report on a recent victory for private property rights. The Durham Herald-Sun cited CJ Publisher Jon Ham‘s affiliation with the John Locke Foundation in a report on Ham’s daughter, Mary Katharine, and her participation in a recent Republican presidential debate.

North Carolina’s U.S. Senate race and the recent death of U.S. Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia topped the list of issues JLF Vice President for Marketing and Communications Donna Martinez analyzed during her most recent appearance on the WPTF Radio morning program. Martinez and Henderson discuss the week’s top political news for Curtis Media Group’s syndicated “People In Politics” program. JLF Vice President for Outreach Becki Gray continues twice-weekly politics and public policy updates for WTSB Radio.

Americans for Tax Reform President Grover Norquist cited Hood’s JLF research on the benefits of tax reform in a letter aimed at influencing the reform debate in Tennessee. The N.C. Spin website publicized CJ Associate Editor Kari Travis‘s article on Virginia’s debate over its certificate-of-need law.

In addition to stories cited above, the N.C. Senate GOP’s daily press email highlighted Hood’s columns on N.C. public school performance and the state’s “boring” similarity to the nation as a whole, Smith’s article on a state Supreme Court hearing in a lawsuit challenging the Map Act, Way’s article on concierge medicine, Gray’s column on occupational licensing reform, Ham’s column on reporters and their sources, Kokai’s column on misrepresentation of polling data, and a CJ parody tied to the recent controversy over a proposed CSX transportation hub in Johnston County.