Gov. Pat McCrory is proposing 5 percent average pay raises for N.C. public school teachers, along with bonuses that would average 3.5 percent. Terry Stoops, the John Locke Foundation’s director of research and education studies, analyzes McCrory’s plan. Spending money to help low-income people deal with the N.C. court system often has been considered a priority of the political left. But Thomas Maher, executive director of the N.C. Office of Indigent Defense Services, says the argument for his agency’s work ought to be supported across the ideological spectrum. Maher explains he and his colleagues work to support Americans’ Sixth Amendment rights. In recent years, the General Assembly set up an independent review board to review appeals of unemployment claims. A report has raised some red flags about the way that board is able to conduct its reviews. You’ll hear highlights from a legislative review of that report. North Carolina has become one of the top states for the solar industry, but a top environmental regulator warns that little has been done to prepare North Carolina for the eventual disposal of used solar panels. You’ll hear concerns from Tom Reeder, assistant secretary of the N.C. Department of Environmental Quality, along with reaction from skeptical state lawmakers. Some legislators want to take a closer look at North Carolina’s occupational licensing rules. Sen. Andy Wells, R-Catawba, discusses his work to identify problems in the current licensing structure and to come up with solutions.
Governor seeks teacher pay raises, bonuses in latest budget plan
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Jon Hardister to resign effective April 8
Rep. Jon Hardister, R-Guilford, announced Thursday that he will resign his position in the North Carolina House, telling Carolina Journal that he would not rule out a return to public service at some point in the future, but for now he will be working in the private sector.
EDUCATE Act would end race-based mandates in medical schools
Rep. Greg Murphy, R-NC, a physician, has introduced a bill in Congress that would ban -race-based mandates in medical schools.
Nearly $200 million wagered in NC’s first week of sports betting
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Another JDIG grant bites the dust as Durham company pulls out of agreement
The North Carolina Department of Commerce’s Economic Investment Committee (NCEIC) ended yet another Job Development Investment Grant (JDIG) on Tuesday after a Durham firm said it couldn’t create the 878 jobs promised under the agreement.