The University of North Carolina Board of Governors’ closed-door vote to award pay raises for UNC chancellors generated media attention this week. John Locke Foundation Vice President for Outreach Becki Gray addressed the topic during her latest appearance on Time Warner Cable News’ statewide “Capital Tonight” program. Gray continues twice-weekly politics and public policy updates for WTSB Radio listeners.
The Raleigh News and Observer quoted Director of Research and Education Studies Terry Stoops in an article about the impact of Wake County public school bus drivers calling in sick one day to protest a pay dispute. A News and Observer report on the head of the N.C. Department of Environmental Quality referenced JLF. The Charlotte Observer promoted JLF Chairman John Hood‘s appearance this week in the Queen City alongside former N.C. Gov. Jim Martin to promote Catalyst, Hood’s new biography of Martin. The Levine Museum of the New South, host of the Charlotte event, also interviewed Hood for its website. Martin discusses the book this weekend during an appearance on the syndicated N.C. Spin television program.
Director of Regulatory Studies Jon Sanders released a new report recommending that North Carolina adopt a Regulations from the Executive in Need of Scrutiny, or REINS, Act to address annual state regulatory costs that already exceed $3 billion and might reach as high as $25 billion. The N.C. History Project sponsored a “living history” event at the historic Cumberland County courthouse featuring actors’ portrayals of former presidents John Adams and Thomas Jefferson.
Vice President for Marketing and Communications Donna Martinez and Carolina Journal Rick Henderson dissect the week’s top political developments for Curtis Media Group’s “People In Politics” radio program. JLF Senior Political Analyst Mitch Kokai worked as guest host for three days for WPTF Radio’s “Bill LuMaye Show.” The Winston-Salem Journal interviewed Kokai for an article about growth in the number of temporary workers. A New Bern Sun Journal letter writer cited data from the John Locke Foundation’s By The Numbers report on local government tax-and-fee burdens.
The National Legal and Policy Center took note of CJ Executive Editor Don Carrington‘s article on dubious energy claims linked to a new Amazon Wind Farm project in eastern North Carolina. The Heartland Institute quoted JLF Economics and Regulatory Policy Analyst Michael Lowrey in an article about Asheville’s efforts to regulate the Airbnb room-rental service. NCPoliticalNews.com promoted Lowrey’s column on Charlotte “hipsters” and Health and Human Services Policy Analyst Katherine Restrepo‘s research newsletter on the latest enrollment numbers tied to the Affordable Care Act.
The N.C. Spin website promoted CJ contributor Andy Taylor‘s column on presidential candidates taking note of problems associated with rising college costs. A Christian Action League article on state legislative retirements cited JLF Director of Fiscal Policy Studies Sarah Curry‘s “Locker Room” blog entry about lawmakers’ pay.
N.C. Senate Republicans’ daily press email promoted Hood’s columns this week on the importance of policies that recognize self-interest and the implications of North Carolina’s latest public school standardized test scores. GOP senators also highlighted Sanders’ column on renewable energy stakeholders, Gray’s column on ending state renewable energy subsidies, Stoops’ column on school test scores and Common Core standards, and the transcript of a Carolina Journal Radio interview about partisan attacks on North Carolina’s new election laws.
