John Hood’s
Daily Journal

3.11.10
North Carolina’s Jobs Tax

CJ Ticker

• N.C. unemployment reaches 11.1 percent in January, a new high based on revised data.
• Former JLF anniversary speaker Winston S. Churchill has died at age 69.
• National head of the NAACP calls on Wake School Board Chairman Ron Margiotta to resign.
• WRAL-TV: Ex-Randy Parton theater continues to be a drag for Roanoke Rapids.
• NYT: National Enquirer earns some respect for John Edwards coverage.
• Charlotte-based developer tied to Easley owes $700,000 in back taxes.
• Sales tax increases pass in Hertford and Randolph counties.
• Burr, Foxx, and McHenry named 2009 taxpayers' friends by the National Taxpayers Union.

Other Opinions

3.11.10
State crime lab

The Asheville Citizen- Times says that a review of operations at the state’s crime lab has to set things right, or there could be many more Greg Taylors in our future.

3.11.10
Law firm work

Scott Mooneyham writes that some North Carolina law firms ared hoping the state buys services from them in upcoming securities fraud litigation despite an obvious lack of expertise.

3.11.10
Liquor sales

The Winston-Salem Journal says that North Carolinians should keep an open mind on the subject of ABC system privatization until all of the reports are submitted.

3.10.10
Running risk

The Raleigh News & Observer writes that all over the country, the multibillion-dollar pension funds that so many state government retirees rely on to keep their checks coming are in trouble.

3.10.10
Bus crash

Tara Servatius says that the state’ schools have a long way to go to achieve equality of outcome. But to paint our schools as having regressed to segregation era status is a stretch.

Media Mangle

2.06.10
MSM: Fetal homicide and abortion aren‘t the same thing

The juxtaposition of stories on abortion and fetal homicide show the mainstream media doesn't see a connection.

2.06.10
The mainstream media and the Tea Party Movement

There's only one reason the media is suddenly interested in the Tea Party movement, and it's not because it's newsworthy.

1.19.10
MSM giving good imitation of Inspector Clouseau

Mainstream media never seems to notice outrageous comments and hate speech coming from the left.

Carolina Beat

3.04.10
Police Stories Are Rarely A Favorite in City Halls

Lead Story

Pension Advisory Committee Features Academics, Business Leaders

March 11, 2010, By Sarah Okeson

Headlines

3.11.10 - N.C. jobless rate 11.1%

WINSTON-SALEM — North Carolina received another stinging one-two punch to its economy during January. The jobless rate climbed to 11.1 percent — the highest monthly rate in at least 34 years — the N.C. Employment Security Commission reported yesterday. The rate was 10.9 percent in December, a number revised by the commission. It has been above 10 percent for 11 consecutive months.

3.11.10 - Fewer ABC boards proposed

RALEIGH — The state’s top liquor regulator on Wednesday proposed shrinking the number of local ABC boards in the state through mergers and putting them under the thumb of county governments. Local elected officials would have to answer for how well their liquor stores operate. Jon Williams, chairman of the state ABC Commission, also recommended allowing private retailers to sell liquor in areas where there is not enough business to support a profitable ABC store.

3.11.10 - Wilmington-area probation officers stretched to the limit

WILMINGTON — Since Christy VanSlyke started at the Wilmington office of the N.C. Division of Community Corrections a little over a year ago, covering cases for probation officers who left has always been part of the job. But in recent months, as a dozen probation officer positions have opened up for various of reasons, the situation has gotten worse. VanSlyke and other probation officers now manage about 90 cases each, according to a February memo citing “critical needs” at the office.

3.11.10 - Groups aim again to reduce spanking in NC schools

RALEIGH — Children’s advocates in North Carolina are this year seeking a spanking ban on students with disabilities after losing political tussles over corporal punishment in public schools the past few years. Equipped with a report showing corporal punishment was used more than 1,400 times in 26 school districts last school year, speakers at a General Assembly education committee asked lawmakers Wednesday to consider a paddling ban for children with physical, mental or learning challenges.

3.11.10 - Educators aim to lobby

WINSTON-SALEM — Teacher Nancy Wonsavage thinks it’s time to lobby the General Assembly to restore some of the state budget cuts to local school systems. “We can’t afford to have our children lose out on their education,” said Wonsavage, who teaches environmental science at Mount Tabor High School. Wonsavage was among 225 teachers, teacher assistants, bus drivers, cafeteria workers and maintenance workers who met in the auditorium at Parkland High School last night to gear up for the task of persuading legislators to give more money to local school systems.

3.11.10 - Legality of closed vote in question

RALEIGH — Wake County school board members ignored open-meeting requirements in state law when they voted behind closed doors to place Superintendent Del Burns on administrative leave, a First Amendment expert said Wednesday. Raleigh attorney Hugh Stevens, who has represented The News & Observer and many other media outlets in open-meetings cases, said the vote Tuesday should have taken place in public after members discussed Burns’ job status in closed session.

3.11.10 - Woodson eager to invigorate NCSU

RALEIGH — After heavy budget cuts from the state and an unprecedented leadership crisis last year, N.C. State University has become “risk averse,” said incoming NCSU Chancellor Randy Woodson, vowing to jolt the university out of that defensive posture. Speaking to a group of News & Observer editors and writers Wednesday, Woodson said he’ll lead a campuswide discussionover the next year about what directions the university should take, with an emphasis on lifting its national and international reputation.

3.11.10 - Siemens plans big Charlotte expansion

CHARLOTTE — Siemens Energy will expand its Charlotte manufacturing plant for turbines and generators and move part of its Canadian operations to the Queen City, an investment that will bring as many as 650 jobs to the region, according to three sources familiar with the negotiations. The $130 million Siemens expansion bolsters Charlotte's quest to become an “energy hub” by bringing various manufacturers and engineering divisions to complement the Duke Energy headquarters.

3.11.10 - Act covers Dell workers

WINSTON-SALEM — Dell Inc. employees affected by the pending closing of the local plant have been approved for federal Trade Adjustment Assistance Act benefits, the U.S. Labor Department said yesterday. The act provides extended unemployment, health-insurance and training benefits to employees whose jobs were eliminated related to foreign competition or the shift in production/supply of services to other countries.

3.11.10 - Durham looks to delay $8.3M rise in debt service tab

DURHAM — City budgeteers are looking at whether they can somehow delay the onset of some $8.3 million in annual debt service costs as a counter to pressure for an increase in property taxes in the fiscal 2010-11 budget. The potential rise in debt payments — tied to a combined $130 million in bond issues city voters approved in 2005 and 2007 — is by far the largest single factor in the gap between predicted revenues and expenses for the upcoming budget.

3.11.10 - Private sector ‘backup’ DATA plan

DURHAM — Seeking what the city manager terms “a backup plan” in case negotiations with Triangle Transit fall through, officials have asked private-sector companies to put in offers to operate the Durham Area Transit Authority. The request for proposals went out last week and directs interested companies to answer by March 31. A parallel document covers Durham Access, the van service the city offers to the disabled.

3.11.10 - Most Asheville council members against water rate increase

ASHEVILLE — A water rate increase that would be the biggest in a decade may be scaled back following criticism of the proposal by some City Council members Tuesday. The water system is anticipating a $3.2 million hole in its budget and city water staff suggests a 9 percent rate increase. That would amount to a moderate $23.32 annual increase for the average household, from $259.08 to $282.40. But it could add tens of thousands of dollars to the bills of bigger customers.