Carolina Journal News Reports | 2008 Archive

RALEIGH - A Gaston county couple won a significant legal battle recently in their attempt to recover damages from the county for failing to discover serious defects in a house they had hired a contractor to build.

RALEIGH — Stephen Moses, president of the Center for Long-Term Care Reform, prepared a Policy Report for the John Locke Foundation highlighting the potential budget problems linked to North Carolina’s system of financing long-term care services. Moses discussed the report with Mitch Kokai for Carolina Journal Radio.

RALEIGH - For more than two decades, cross-national assessments of student academic performance against international standards have shown that U.S. students consistently score below the international average in mathematics, science, and reading compared to their counterparts in 30 industrialized nations.

RALEIGH - The freshman reading program on UNC campuses perennially evokes controversy. Freshmen are usually assigned a book to read during the summer before they start school. UNC-Chapel Hill, in particular, has stirred up storms of reaction ever since 2002, when it selected a book giving a rosy view of the Quran, less than a year after Sept. 11. So offended were some students that the program became voluntary.

RALEIGH – North Carolina law places few limits on cities and towns seeking to annex property owners by force. That’s the key message in a new John Locke Foundation Spotlight report that targets 10 annexation myths.

RALEIGH – Final state budget negotiations could produce a document that’s more fiscally responsible than either the House or Senate budget plans, according to a John Locke Foundation budget analyst.

RALEIGH — A Roanoke Rapids businessman filed a lawsuit Thursday against entertainer Randy Parton and his business associates alleging they fraudulently obtained public money to build a theater in the city.

RALEIGH - Transitioning from active duty to the private workforce can be challenging for soldiers and their families. RecruitMilitary, a military-to-civilian recruitment firm entirely operated by veterans, plans to ease the burden for North Carolina military families by bringing free career fairs to Charlotte and Raleigh this summer.

RALEIGH – North Carolina could save millions of dollars, improve student performance, and boost parent satisfaction by adopting new education tax credits for special-needs students. That’s the conclusion of a new John Locke Foundation Spotlight report.

RALEIGH – Local governments can help their communities by keeping a lid on local taxes and fees, avoiding unnecessary regulation, and allowing private property owners to use their property without fear of government meddling. Those are some key ideas offered in the Center for Local Innovation’s new City and County Issue Guide 2008.

RALEIGH – North Carolina can avoid future failures like the Randy Parton Theatre, if legislators reform the rules for so-called tax increment financing, or TIF. That’s according to a new John Locke Foundation Spotlight report that outlines four potential reforms.

RALEIGH — William Niskanen, chairman of the Cato Institute, recently delivered the fourth annual John W. Pope Lecture in Raleigh. He also discussed entitlement reform with Mitch Kokai for Carolina Journal Radio.

RALEIGH – The N.C. House’s proposed $21.2 billion state operations budget spends too much money on unproven ideas, overspends one-time money for long-term expenses, and sets up future legislatures for budgetary problems. That’s the assessment of a John Locke Foundation analyst who’s studied the House plan.

RALEIGH — Lawmakers should not extend the work of their state climate commission, unless that group stops ignoring the will of the legislature and starts doing the job it was assigned to do. A John Locke Foundation analyst offers that recommendation in a new Spotlight report.

RALEIGH – Forcing the Tennessee Valley Authority to reduce emissions from its coal-fired power plants would create far more costs than benefits, according to a new John Locke Foundation Policy Report. That finding directly contradicts “expert” opinions N.C. Attorney General Roy Cooper cited when filing a lawsuit against the TVA in 2006.

RALEIGH — The N.C. Court of Appeals recently overturned a challenge to the residency of a Rocky Mount councilman, finding that the Edgecombe County Board of Elections violated both the official’s right to a fair and impartial hearing and the state’s Open Meetings Law in determining that Knight wasn’t an Edgecombe County resident.

RALEIGH — Fred Barnes, Fox News political analyst and executive editor of The Weekly Standard, recently addressed a John Locke Foundation Headliner luncheon in Raleigh. He also discussed the 2008 presidential campaign with Mitch Kokai for Carolina Journal Radio. (Go to http://www.carolinajournal.com/cjradio/ to find a station near you or to learn about the weekly CJ Radio podcast.)

RALEIGH — Businesses that demand state-financed economic perks to move to North Carolina would have to meet new disclosure requirements under a bill introduced in the General Assembly.

RALEIGH — N.C. policymakers have relied largely on mandatory water-use restrictions and voluntary conservation efforts to battle record-breaking drought. Some water-supply experts, however, say increasing the supply of potable water is a better way to reduce the impact of future dry seasons.

RALEIGH – Legislators should allow North Carolina’s climate commission to disappear, unless the group refocuses its efforts on its original mandated mission. A John Locke Foundation analyst offers that recommendation as a House committee considers reauthorizing the commission for another year.

RALEIGH — When Gov. Mike Easley and the first lady fly in state aircraft, most of their trips include a connection to Brunswick County, where the couple owns two homes. Easley does not reimburse the state for any portion of the coastal trips, although state documents apparently require that he do so.