A recent Carolina Journal story about a Hoke County pre-schooler has captured the attention of the entire country. Carolina Journal Managing Editor Rick Henderson lays out the massive government tentacles that are reaching into child nutrition, which have been showcased in the story of Hoke County Schools throwing out a child’s homemade turkey sandwich and banana lunch and replacing it with government approved chicken nuggets. Henderson also details the CJ investigation to find out which government official or agency was calling the shots in the story that has made national news. Then we turn to revelations about how one state agency acted to deflect budget cuts. State lawmakers ordered a $5 million cut this year in funding for nonprofit groups tied to the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services. At a recent legislative meeting, they learned that state bureaucrats had shifted money around to delay the cut for at least a year. You’ll hear highlights from disgruntled lawmakers’ comments about the news. Next is a look at budget cuts in higher education. The University of North Carolina system reported about 2,450 job cuts linked to the latest state budget, but only about 500 of those jobs were filled. Top UNC budget officer Charles Perusse spelled out the details during a recent presentation for state lawmakers. That’s followed by a look at history. More than 50 years have passed since Francis Gary Powers captivated the world’s attention when Soviets shot his U2 spy plane down at the height of the Cold War. Today Francis Gary Powers Jr. spends much of his time lecturing around the globe about his father’s role in history. He recently shared details with a North Carolina audience. And finally, several North Carolina cities have built and now maintain publicly subsidized convention center. JLF Director of Local Government Studies Michael Sanera discusses the results of a report about the Raleigh Convention Center that shows the RCC gave a large number of special deals in order to obtain convention business. Sanera then offers recommendations for other cities thinking of getting into the convention center business.