During this year’s budget debate, officials for the North Carolina Department of Transportation and the governor’s office found themselves answering questions before a state Senate committee over what some said might be a deliberate misrepresentation by the governor’s office about several toll road projects. Rick Henderson, managing editor of Carolina Journal, explains the facts of the controversy that ended in a referral to the state Ethics Commission. Then we turn to transportation issues. North Carolina state government might need to work more closely with the private sector in the future to move forward with improvements to Interstate 77 and other well-traveled public highways. Lawmakers recently debate the merits of public-private transportation projects. You’ll hear highlights from their discussion. Next is the controversy in the legislature over studies and proposed regulation about sea level rise off the North Carolina coast. Before state lawmakers left Raleigh for the year, they finalized a bill blocking regulators from taking any steps to address rising sea levels before 2016. Reps. Pat McElraft, R-Carteret, and Deborah Ross, D-Wake, offered opposing views on the topic. You’ll hear their key arguments. That’s followed by a fascinating look at the benefits of capitalism. Whether you like capitalism or consider it evil, you have to admit that large-scale industrial processes tied to capitalism have made our world dirtier. That’s true unless you have discussed the topic with George Mason University economist Donald Boudreaux, who explains how our world has been “cleaned by capitalism.” And finally, we often hear the claim that giving parents more choice in where the child attends school will hurt the traditional public school system. John Locke Foundation Director of Education Studies Terry Stoops studied that claim based on data about school choice around the world and right here in North Carolina. He details his results about the market share for private, charter, and home schools.