Some N.C. Senate leaders have shied away from addressing annexation reform this year, but Daren Bakst, John Locke Foundation Director of Legal and Regulatory Studies, suggests that senators could endorse a couple of small changes that would have positive impacts. The Beaufort Observer and Lincoln Tribune published Bakst’s work. Speaking of Bakst, the Heritage Foundation’s Insider Online promoted his recent research about a state regulation that would limit pets’ access to North Carolina restaurants. In other news, the News & Observer cited Joseph Coletti today in an article discussing the gimmicks legislators have pursued in the name of job creation. A recent Asheville Citizen-Times column highlighted work from Terry Stoops, Director of Education Studies, that focuses on the “parent-friendliness” of North Carolina’s public school systems. Speaking of Stoops, he discussed the state education budget during a presentation this week to the Lee County Republican Party. Stoops also granted a television interview on the racial achievement gap. That interview is slated for UNC Public Television’s “Black Issues Forum” program. Meanwhile, Roy Cordato spoke with the High Point Enterprise about the future of video poker in North Carolina.