Wilmington-area radio listeners learned this week about progressive taxation and real class warfare, thanks to the “chief economist and director of graduate studies at the Institute for Rational Thought.” That’s Roy Cordato, John Locke Foundation Vice President for Research and Resident Scholar, who uses the quoted title when he appears with Chad Adams on the WLTT Radio “Morning Beat.” In other JLF research news, the Burlington Times-News, Havelock News, Jacksonville Daily News, Kinston Free Press, and New Bern Sun Journal all carried a column quoting Daren Bakst, Director of Legal and Regulatory Studies, on the likely impact of a U.S. Supreme Court ruling on North Carolina’s taxpayer-financed election campaign program. The Richmond County Daily Journal published Bakst’s column on the lessons North Carolina should learn from the history of the state’s forced sterilization program. Carolina Public Press and Mountain Xpress highlighted Bakst’s recent report on compensation for forced sterilization victims. The Shelby Star quoted Michael Sanera, Director of Research and Local Government Studies, in an article about local government compensation. Terry Stoops, Director of Education Studies, released a new Spotlight report this week urging North Carolina officials to drop certification requirements for teachers in virtual schools. A Salisbury Post editorial cited information from Stoops on state education spending. Jon Ham designed the online version of the new City and County Issue Guide 2011.