A new report from N.C. State University researchers shows that North Carolina’s Opportunity Scholarship voucher program for low-income students has a “positive, large, and statistically significant” impact. Terry Stoops, John Locke Foundation vice president for research and director of education studies, assesses the study’s impact for the voucher program’s future. A fatal attempted prison break at Pasquotank Correctional Center in 2017 has prompted state legislators to focus attention on prison reform. Adrian Moore, vice president of policy for the Reason Foundation, has spent years research the topic across the country. Moore offers ideas N.C. lawmakers might want to consider as they beef up security and make other necessary changes throughout the state’s prison system. State lawmakers recently addressed recommendations for increasing efficiency within the N.C. Department of Administration. They heard a warning that some efficiency measures could be complicated by poor data collection. You’ll hear legislative reaction to the efficiency report. Water infrastructure across North Carolina is aging and, in some cases, crumbling. But local regulations can lead to less choice and higher costs as pipes are upgraded. That’s a concern shared by Michael Power, senior director of state government affairs, Southern region, for the American Chemistry Council. Power explains why his group is seeking state legislation that would block local governments from adopting overly stringent restrictions on the types of materials used in new water pipes. The U.S. Supreme Court recently ruled, 7-2, that the state of Colorado could not force a professional cake baker to design a cake for a same-sex wedding. But the ruling’s long-term impact is not as clear-cut as the result might imply. Jon Guze, John Locke Foundation director of legal studies, analyzes the Supreme Court’s decision in the Masterpiece Cakeshop case.