Archive for July 14, 2010

Brooke Barnett, an associate professor in the School of Communications, and Hannah Williams '10, a journalism and professional writing major and Lumen Scholar, had a column published in the July 11 Greensboro News and Record.

After seven years of working to insure that those who fight the lack of access to records and win can recover attorneys' fees, the provision was passed by both the House and Senate early Saturday morning and awaits the governor's signature. The new law also includes mediation provisions and better access to employee records.

From the Wilkes Journal-Patriot (7/12/10): The Wilkes Journal-Patriot, through its attorney, has formally protested a vote taken by the North Wilkesboro Housing Authority Board of Directors in closed session.

From Carolina Journal Online (7/8/10): The North Carolina House and Senate have each passed ethics legislation in the waning days of the 2010 legislative session. There remain some significant differences between the two bills, leaving some political observers to wonder if lawmakers can strike a deal before going home to campaign.

From the Greensboro News and Record (7/6/10): The N.C. Supreme Court forcefully backed the state's Public Records Act in an important case in June.

From the Asheville Citizen-Times (7/6/10): The North Carolina House and Senate approved different versions of ethics, campaign finance and government reform bills by wide margins Tuesday, creating competing measures they'll use as negotiating tools for a compromise before final adjournment by the end of the week.

From the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press (7/1/10): A North Carolina judge has ordered an online-news editor to produce the names of six anonymous posters who allegedly posted defamatory comments on his website, although one of them identified himself this morning on a local AM radio station.

Occasionally, an important science topic attracts so much attention and controversy from the public that regular folks have difficulty sorting out real vs. junk science.