Cover

• It took a village to stop a gold mine in Stanly County
• Sen. Basnight’s aide gets DOT to take project for company

North Carolina

• ‘Confusion’ led to possible conflict over downtown property – page 2
• Privaris secures grants from NC Tobacco Trust funds – page 4

Education

• Parents get partial restriction on book – page 8
• Legislation introduced to curb rising droputs – page 9
• U.S. history is becoming history – page 9
• High school’s academy helps 9th graders adjust to changes – page 11

Higher Education

• Report questions women’s studies – page 12
• Preferences’ harm blasted by U.S. Civil Rights commissioner – page 13
• George Leef column: ‘Does NC need an optometry school?’ – page 13

Local Government

• Public housing in Greensboro questioned – page 16
• Chad Adams column: ‘Finding pieces to the education puzzle’ – page 17
• 21 localities in NC seek tax increases – page 19

Learning Curve

• ‘Constitutional Chaos’: Laying down the law – page 20
• ‘The Essential Ronald Reagan’: Lean yet true to his simple style – page 21

Opinion

• Paul Chesser column: ‘Pharmacy owners have rights, too’ – page 24
• Editorial: ‘Freedom, at long last’ – page 24
• John Hood column: ‘The predictive power of partisanship’ – page 25

Parting Shot

• Banks go south of border to reach new customers – page 28