Manning orders July 21 hearing on Leandro (EdNC) -- Superior Court Judge Howard Manning issued a notice of hearing and order in the Leandro case. A hearing will be held from Tuesday, July 21 at 10am through Thursday, July 23 in Courtroom 10-A of the Wake County Courthouse. “The purpose of this hearing is for the Court to review a definite plan of action from the State of North Carolina as to how the State of North Carolina intends to correct the educational deficiencies in the student population,” Manning said in his order. The State Board of Education has been directed to develop a plan by June 30.
https://www.ednc.org/2015/04/25/judge-manning-issues-notice-of-hearing-and-order-in-leandro/

Commercial Exposing Animal Cruelty at NC Farms Deemed "Too Graphic" (Public News Service) -- The Humane Society of the United States recently submitted a commercial to select TV stations across the state, highlighting why it opposes so-called ag-gag legislation (SB 433/HB 405) to punish whistleblowers on factory farms. "Animal cruelty at Butterball and Pilgrim factory farms in North Carolina, exposed by these undercover, whistle-blower videos,” the commercial reads. “Animals buried alive, kicked and beaten." At least two Charlotte TV stations rejected the ad, which includes images of poultry treatment on North Carolina farms. The stations called the ad too graphic.

http://www.publicnewsservice.org/2015-04-23/animal-welfare/commercial-exposing-animal-cruelty-at-nc-...

A Pulitzer for Secret Service reporting (Washington Post) -- For Washington Post reporter Carol Leonnig, (who once was covered N.C. government and politics for the Charlotte Observer) patience, timing and some extraordinary effort paid handsome returns. Leonnig spent months gaining the trust of normally reticent Secret Service agents to produce a series of bombshell stories last year about lapses in presidential security. In the wake of her reporting, which shook the faith in what was commonly viewed as an elite and selfless agency, President Obama replaced more than half of the service’s senior leadership, including its director. On Monday, Leonnig, 49, was awarded journalism’s highest honor, the Pulitzer Prize, for her revelations about the Secret Service.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/style/washington-posts-carol-leonnig-wins-pulitzerprize-for-...

GOP hikes for insurance taxes, other fees may pave NC highways (WRAL-TV) -- Saying North Carolina's tax on gasoline is an unreliable source of revenue for the state's highway construction and maintenance program, Republican lawmakers on Thursday rolled out a plan to increase vehicle fees and a tax on automobile insurance coverage to augment gas tax funds.
http://www.wral.com/insurance-tax-higher-fees-may-pave-nc-highways/14589310/

McCrory gets defensive after Obama’s comments about N.C. public schools (WFAE-FM) – Democratic President Barack Obama’s lament about the declining state of education in North Carolina drew a defensive reaction from Republican Gov. Pat McCrory. "This used to be the state in which the promise of education was understood at the state government level and the reason North Carolina did better economically than many in of the other Mid-Atlantic and Southern states was because of the Research Triangle and the emphasis on education." Obama said. That comment drew the ire of McCrory, who’d spent the day in Washington asking members of Congress to allow oil and gas drilling closer to the state’s seashore and beaches. "I was disappointed to learn that the President used a portion of his quick visit today to unfairly and incorrectly malign our education system," McCrory said in a press release, citing last year’s teacher pay increase – that, in fact, hiked pay for starting teachers but left most teachers with little or no pay increase.
http://wfae.org/post/potus-pitches-mommy-bloggers