Cover

• Paying with plastic: N.C. lawmakers approve $875 million in debt unapproved by voters
• Environmental agenda gives dark green hue to K-12 instruction

North Carolina

•NCSU provost says he acted alone in hiring of Mary Easely, page 4
• Drought regulations trouble property-rights advocates, page 5
•Lawmakers dilute new ‘devastating’ stormwater rules, page 6

Education

• Teachers rack up extra personal day plus raise, page 9
• Terry Stoops commentary: A cacophony of coaches, page 9
• Program excludes nonpublic students, page 10
• Definitions stall school bullying bill in General Assembly, page 11

Higher Education

• Panel’s focus: Lack of black males on campus, page 12
• Pope Center proposes move to transparency, page 13
• Jay Schalin commentary: Brady won’t rock UNC-G ideological boat, page 13
• Jon Sanders commentary: First ladies cost what first ladies cost, page 14
• Lawmakers lavish money on state’s universities, page 14
• Issues in Higher Education: Wake Forest’s decision on SATs presages class warfare, page 15

Local Government

• Slope ordinances used to curb development, page 16
• Fuel-price woes have put regional jets in jeopardy, page 17
• Chad Adams commentary: Include full spectrum of economic interests, page 17
• Local Innovation Bulletin Board, page 18
• From Cherokee to Currituck, page 18
• Greensboro City Council approves $200M bond vote, page 19

Learning Curve

• Book Review: Bruce Chadwick’s 1858, page 20
• Troy Kickler commentary: Returning students have great resource in N.C. History site, page 21
• Short Takes on Culture, page 22
• Movie Review: “WALL-e”, page 22
• Book Review: Tony Horwitz’s A Voyage Long and Strange, page 23

Opinion

• Letter to the editor, page 24
• Editorial: Sometimes it’s better to be sick than dead, page 24
• Editorial: An ill-used tax, page 25
• Editorial: Medicaid in Florida, page 25
• John Hood commentary: Legislation seeks to bully employees, page 25
• Mike Walden commentary: If it can be done, should it? page 26
• Becki Gray commentary: State budget gets nearly everything wrong, page 27
• Marc Rotterman commentary: Sen. Jesse Helms — An American hero, page 27

Parting Shot

• All aboard! More N.C. State contracts released (a CJ parody), page 28