The John Locke Foundation earned national attention from the Washington Post this week, thanks to comments from Terry Stoops, Director of Education Studies, in an article about changes in the Wake County public school student assignment policy. The Huffington Post, the American Prospect‘s “Tapped” blog, and the News & Observer‘s “WakeEd” blog all highlighted that article. Within North Carolina, the Triad’s Yes!Weekly cited Stoops in an article about a planned Civitas Institute budget seminar for the Winston-Salem/Forsyth school system. A recent report from the Institute for Truth in Accounting pegs North Carolina government’s unfunded obligations at $43.4 billion, or more than $16,300 for every taxpayer in the state. Comments on that report from Joseph Coletti, JLF Director of Health and Fiscal Policy Studies, led to radio interviews with Tara Servatius on WBT and Chad Adams on WLTT. The News & Observer also interviewed Coletti for an article about a new collaboration between UNC Health Care and Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina. The Charlotte Observer published today an op-ed from Daren Bakst, Director of Legal and Regulatory Studies, explaining why the John Locke Foundation is standing up to state government efforts to enable federal regulation of greenhouse gases. The Observer also wrote an editorial on the topic. The Lincoln Tribune and Patriot Action Network both promoted this week Bakst’s recent column criticizing outdoor smoking bans. The Jefferson Post published a recent column from Roy Cordato, Vice President for Research and Resident Scholar, urging Republican legislators to leap off the “environmentalist bandwagon.”