In addition to his commentary on health care and Robert Novak, John Hood offered his thoughts this week on some of the top issues making headlines in North Carolina. The News & Observer and Charlotte Observer published the same article quoting Hood’s reaction to the news that N.C. State University had scaled back the pay package approved for outgoing Chancellor James Oblinger. The Asheville Citizen-Times also interviewed Hood about some of the most controversial issues North Carolina legislators tackled before they left town this summer. Twice this week, N.C. Senate Republicans highlighted Hood’s Daily Journal columns in blast e-mails. The first discussed the impact of tax hikes on big business, while the second targeted the state’s attempted monopoly on gambling through the lottery. (Senate Republicans also highlighted a Carolina Journal exclusive from contributor Colleen Calvani that focused on the impact of North Carolina’s charter school cap on the state’s ability to secure federal stimulus money.)