Cover

• Tax preparer exposes rampant refund fraud
• Spirit’s job numbers far below expectations

North Carolina

• McCrory budget boosts pay, resets gas tax, Page 2
• Senate plan would cut corporate taxes and cap tax incentives, Page 3
• Measure to curb bureaucracy feared causing more, Page 4
• State Briefs, Page 4
• JLF only state-based think tank targeted in Senate climate probe, Page 5
• New House rule could minimize last-minute surprises, Page 6
• Effort to kill Map Act passes first legislative hurdle, Page 6

Education

• State board wants to close charter school for disabled, Page 8
• Kristen Blair commentary: Paying lip service to career readiness, Page 8
• New student data mining system raises privacy concerns, Page 9

Higher Education

• Governor’s UNC budget proposal seeking efficiencies on campuses, Page 17
• George Leef commentary: Jobs data can’t prove benefits of college degree, Page 17
• UNC’s Ross laments focus on work force training, Page 18
• Campus Briefs, Page 18
• Issues in Higher Education: Universities struggle with handling incivility in the Digital Age, Page 19

Local Government

• Several bills would alter local governing boards, Page 10
• Town and County, Page 10
• Durham promises more public input in cell tower location, Page 11
• Jon Guze commentary: Beginning of the end for the Map Act?, Page 11
• Alamance school records case heads to Appeals Court, Page 12
• Supreme Court ruling on pot highlights partisan divide, Page 13

Learning Curve

• Book review: Ginsberg considers war from both sides of the ledger, Page 20
• From the Liberty Library, Page 20
• Troy Kickler commentary: Plank roads were an economic engine before the Civil War, Page 21
• Book review: Axelrod’s Believer easily could be titled The Audacity of Hype, Page 22
• Book review: Buckley offers remedies for unconstitutional spending gimmicks, Page 23

Opinion

• Editorial: Election laws have consequences, Page 24
• Terry Stoops commentary: Super perks, salaries, and turnover, Page 24
• Editorial: Sizzling job growth, Page 25
• Editorial: A federal case, Page 25
• John Hood commentary: Political operatives recycle Hagan claim, Page 25
• Media Mangle: Telling both sides of the story, Page 26
• Michael Walden commentary: Differing views of the economy, Page 26
• Andy Taylor commentary: Poverty Center’s demise is UNC’s gain, Page 27
• Becki Gray commentary: Why energy costs matter, Page 27

Parting Shot

• New GOP incentive plan to feature Welfare Wednesdays (a CJ parody), Page 28