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November 20, 2008
Future N.C. Workforce Demands Better Career, Technical Education
By CJ Staff
RALEIGH — Improved Career and Technical Education programs could help lower North Carolina’s public school dropout rate while helping more students prepare for the workforce. Those are key findings in a new John Locke Foundation Spotlight report.
11.20.08 - Panel suggests higher taxes, fees for roads
RALEIGH — Higher taxes or fees for drivers and vehicle owners could be on the horizon if the Legislature agrees with recommendations tentatively approved Wednesday by a state transportation panel. The 21st Century Transportation Committee asked the General Assembly to consider raising the automobile sales tax and vehicle registration fees or even charging motorists for how many miles they drive in their cars in the state.
Related Transportation Articles:
Outerbelt delayed past Thanksgiving
N.C. taxman might watch odometers
State road upkeep shelved, for now
Drivers could face new state tax
Fare hike doesn’t sway Lynx riders
JLF: A preliminary assessment of Charlotte’s LYNX line
11.20.08 - DHHS to update on mental hospitals
RALEIGH — Officials with the Department of Health and Human Services will provide an update to lawmakers Thursday on the status of the state’s mental health hospitals. The four facilities have come under scrutiny in the past two years for a variety of issues related to patient care and safety.
Related Social Services Articles:
Taxpayers spent $14,000 for Hawaii trip
Three fired in death of patient
JLF: How mental health reform went wrong
Patient appears neglected in hours before his death
Tape shows progress of a death
State laptop thefts leave data exposed
11.20.08 - Drilling’s fit with coast at issue
MOREHEAD CITY — When considering offshore oil exploration, North Carolina leaders should analyze the future appearance of the coastline if the industry strikes oil and locates here, and they should evaluate whether the state would get any money, said a lawyer involved in past negotiations with oil companies.
Related Energy Articles:
Environmentalists try to stop coal plant
JLF: A wind power primer
Progress allowed to raise rates 10.2%
Feds move on Virginia oil drilling
Judge dismisses Cliffside challenge
Drivers getting more relief at the pump
11.20.08 - Prosecutors, SEC probe Wachovia on loans
SAN FRANCISCO — U.S. prosecutors and the Securities and Exchange Commission have opened an investigation into whether Wachovia Corp. misled borrowers and investors. Prosecutors are examining whether Golden West Financial, acquired by Wachovia in 2006, fraudulently lured borrowers into mortgages, such as by switching them into more expensive loans or falsifying financial information so they could qualify.
Related NC Economy Articles:
Developers alter grand plans
Job prospects weaken in WNC
Mountain businesses feel pinch
Belts tighten for NASCAR
Temporary jobs scarce for holidays
New law aims to keep foreclosures down
11.20.08 - Health-benefit survey sees changes ahead
WINSTON-SALEM — North Carolina employers expect the increase for employee health insurance in 2009 to be lower than last year’s, according to a study by Mercer Human Resource Consulting released yesterday. They plan to meet the goal of a 4.9 percent increase — compared with a 6.6 percent increase in 2007 — by passing more costs on to their workers or by changing plans.
Related Health Care Policy Articles:
Guilford clinic’s opening date is now summer
Salisbury VA shift under fire
Get whooping cough shots, state says after Chatham hit
Yoga gains respect among doctors
Heart-failure patients can exercise
Pharmacists remain in short supply
Counties Burdened by Medicaid
11.20.08 - Asheville faces $6.4M deficit
ASHEVILLE — Residents will likely see shrinking city services, including cuts to subsidies for moderately-priced housing, as Asheville struggles with an anticipated $6.4 million two-year deficit. The news comes two days after the state informed local school districts they would lose millions in state education funding. The slowing economy is the culprit behind plunges in two main sources of city revenue, property and sales taxes.
Related Local Government Articles:
JLF: What government costs cities and counties
Greensboro settles lawsuit with contractors for $570K
Expecting shortfall, city to cut spending
Cut spending, residents tell city at forum
Greensboro buying motel, plant
Financial upheaval may stall projects
No. 935: Bureaucrats’ Survival Tips
11.20.08 - Deputies disciplined after tasing pallbearer
WILMINGTON — Five members of the New Hanover County Sheriff’s Office will be disciplined after undercover deputies zapped a pallbearer with a Taser at his father’s funeral, Sheriff Sid Causey said Wednesday. One of the five facing disciplinary action is Chief Deputy Ed McMahon, who was in charge of arresting Gladwyn Taft Russ III when the 42-year-old man attended his father’s funeral on Saturday.
Related Police/Public Safety Articles:
Mill fire inquiry points to radios
Former Brunswick sheriff starts prison sentence
Idea of ‘crime czar’ is meeting resistance
Images may hold answer to 67-year-old mystery
Council orders ex-detective to testify
High Point council puts sex offender ban on hold
11.20.08 - High Point OKs ban on forceful solicitation
HIGH POINT — You can ask for spare change, but you can’t demand it. That’s the difference between panhandling and harassment, said supporters of High Point's new ban on aggressive solicitation. The City Council approved the new ordinance Tuesday. “It’s not aimed at homeless people who are asking for help,” said City Councilman Mike Pugh, who proposed the ordinance.
Related Regulation Articles:
Proposal would require tree upkeep
City to take a closer look at crane safety
Child labor crackdown promised
Specter of gun regulation prompts sales
Local phone rates rise
Berry wins, prepares for safety challenges
11.20.08 - Lexington defends its plans for annexation
LEXINGTON — The city of Lexington is denying the allegations made in a lawsuit filed in September over its plans to annex land affecting nearly 2,000 people. The Lexington City Council voted unanimously July 21 to annex four areas along Biesecker Road, East Center Street, Old Salisbury Road and Winston Road. The areas cover 2.35 square miles and have 1,953 residents.
Related Property Rights Articles:
JLF: Annexation good for city leaders, bad for the public
Judge rejects Pinewild lawsuit
Judge tells Carolina Trace board to give up records
Gates Four annexation debate goes on
Veteran’s land decimated for road
Residents defend deed restrictions
11.20.08 - Questions arise about delay of stadium
WINSTON-SALEM — Winston-Salem’s $22.6 million downtown baseball stadium is expected to be finished by opening day in April, but the team has considered contingency plans in case construction is not done. A spokesman for the Winston-Salem Warthogs — the team is changing names but has not yet announced its new nickname — declined to say what those contingency plans might be.
Related Economic Development Articles:
Consensus builds on museum location
Old Salem to close its museum for kids
Park site for museum gets support
Developer proposes Fayetteville makeover
UNCSA film dean: Let’s attract films
Coliseum to review designs for auditorium
State Government
State government coverage includes CJ exclusives and other stories about the North Carolina General Assembly, state departments and agencies, statewide political trends and institutions, and key policy
issues such as health care, regulation, and the environment.
Education
Education coverage includes CJ exclusives and other stories about public education, charter schools, private and home schools, testing and accountability, standards and curriculum, parental choice, and
the best practices of successful North Carolina educators.
Higher Education
Higher education coverage includes CJ exclusives and other stories about North Carolina’s public and private colleges and universities, with a focus on such issues as academic integrity, taxpayer
funding, free speech, political bias, and affirmative action.
Local Government
Local government coverage includes CJ exclusives and other stories about the challenges facing cities and counties in North Carolina, with an emphasis on issues such as tax and budget policy, privatization,
Smart Growth, transportation, and management.
Opinion
Opinion coverage includes columns by CJ staff and a diverse and timely collection of the best editorials and op-eds published by other North Carolina and national media on issues of great importance to
state residents.
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 11.20.08
Some Prep Work On College Funding
When you take grant and tax benefits into consideration, the average tuition to attend a state community college is about $100.
11.20.08
Don’t increase taxes
The Kinston Free Press says state government should balance its budget by making budget cuts, not by putting more taxes on North Carolina residents.
11.20.08
Double the pain
When property values decline owners are left with pain in several ways explains Tom Campbell.
11.20.08
The people’s business
The Fayetteville Observer says that some Fayetteveille City Council members may have forget that government belongs to the people, not officials obsessed with secrecy.
11.19.08
Laptop lapse
The Raleigh News & Observer says that a major state agency and its employees haven’t safeguarded citizens’ personal information from identity theft.
11.19.08
Cutting credits
The Charlotte Observer writes that reducing the number of credits required for graduation is no magic-bullet solution to the dropout problem.
11.13.08
Focus on Main Street, Not Jones Street
State lawmakers continually take steps that show their interest in preserving and building power, not meeting their constituents' needs.
10.03.08
MSM reacts to the VP debate
How did the mainstream media see the Palin-Biden debate? Let's see.
9.12.08
A new kind of reporting
If mainstream media reporters don't hear what they want to hear, sometimes they just make it up.
9.04.08
Reporters’ fuzzy math
Math-challenged reporters don't know how to read a budget.
Monday, November 24, 2008 at 12:00 noon
A meeting of the Shaftesbury Society
with our special guest Professor John Staddon
Smoking: A Private Health Problem
Monday, December 01, 2008 at 7:00 p.m.
A Little Night Music
with our special guests George Merritt and Yolanda Rabun
JLF's Annual Holiday Event
Heavy Hors D'Oeuvres Served
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11.19.08
Free Market Art Program to Expand in N.C.
11.18.08
Indictments Spark Reform in Winston-Salem Housing Group
11.17.08
Few Would Benefit from Chatham Corridor Proposal
11.14.08
Friday Interview: Excise Taxes Explored
A meeting of the Shaftesbury Society with our special guest Professor John Staddon
A Little Night Music with our special guests George Merritt and Yolanda Rabun
2007 Legislature
Air Quality in NC
Amendment One
America's Founding Principles
Campbell family
Center for Climate Strategies
Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools
Climate Change
Covering the 2004 Elections
Covering the 2006 Elections
Covering the 2008 Elections
Covering the State Courts
DFI/Ethanol Affair
Early Childhood Programs
Economic Incentives
Frank Ballance's Foundation
Friday Interviews
Golden LEAF
Gov. Easley / Marina / Cannonsgate
Governor's School of NC
Legislative Slush Funds
Mass Transit
NASCAR
Natural Gas in Northeast NC
Northeast Partnership
Privaris Incentives
Randy Parton Theatre
Redistricting
Six Simple Tools
Spotlight on Speaker Black
The Currituck Ferry
The Global TransPark
Who's Who at the Board of Elections Hearings
Thursday
Wednesday
Tuesday
Monday
Friday
2.02.05
No. 163: Cracking the Code: Hoping for a Libertarian Outcome on Income Tax
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