Opinion Roundup: Schools, tariffs, jobs

Wednesday, Jan. 24, 2018 -- A roundup of opinion, commentary and analysis: Making N.C. schools better, Trump's tariffs may hurt N.C. solar jobs and making the state attractive for job growth.

LAURA LESLIE: Study ranks NC public schools 40th in nation, citing insufficient funding (WRAL-TV analysis) -- A new study has ranked North Carolina's public schools 40th in the nation on a national report card, citing insufficient funding as one of the reasons.

ALEX GRANADOS: Public School Forum president previews Eggs & Issues (EdNC analysis) -- Keith Poston, president and executive director of the Public School Forum of North Carolina talks about the fourth annual Eggs & Issues event featuring release its top 10 education issues of 2018 and host a panel discussion about education in North Carolina.

LIZ SCHLEMMER: Thousands More NC Teachers Get Bonuses, Others Say They’ve Been Left Out (WUNC-FM analysis) -- Thousands of teachers across the state are receiving bonuses this January as a reward for helping improve their students’ test scores. That includes pre-existing bonuses for some specialized high school teachers* and third grade reading teachers, as well as brand new bonuses in certain core subjects in elementary and middle school.

LIZ BELL: NC advocates, educators hold rally for National School Choice Week (EdNC analysis) -- Around 200 students, advocates, and educators filled an auditorium inside the North Carolina State Museum of History to witness student performances, wave signs, and hear speeches from school choice supporters including Superintendent of Public Instruction Mark Johnson. The event was part of National School Choice Week, during which tens of thousands of similar events are being held throughout the country.

Education’s newest ‘innovation’ in poor schools is just moving chairs on the Titanic (Charlotte Observer column) -- Achievement school district concept bound to fail in North Carolina if it doesn’t address poverty.

ANA SWANSON & BRAD PLUMER: Trump’s Solar Tariffs Are Clouding the Industry’s Future (New York Times analysis) -- Across North Carolina, textile factories and tobacco farms have disappeared, giving way to fields of solar panels. But for those venturing into solar farming like Mr. Vinson, the future of this vibrant industry is now cloudy. On Monday, the Trump administration announced that it would impose steep tariffs on imported solar panels, which could raise the cost of solar power in the years ahead, slowing adoption of the technology and costing jobs.

Trump slaps tariffs solar panels imports; move could hurt NC clean energy industry (WRAL-TV/TechWire analysis) -- President Donald Trump slapped steep tariffs on imports of washing machines and solar energy cells and panels Monday, the first major step by the administration to erect the kind of trade barriers Trump has frequently said are necessary to protect manufacturers in the United States. The tariffs could be bad news for North Carolina and its clean energy industry.

JOSEPH BEBON: Duke Proposes $62M Solar Rebate Program In N.C. (Solar Industry Magazine analysis) -- Duke Energy has proposed a $62 million solar rebate program designed to help its North Carolina customers with the upfront cost of installing solar panels on their property.

VALERIE BAUERLEIN: S.C., Home to New Samsung Factory, Is Disappointed by New Tariffs (Wall Street Journal analysis) -- South Carolina, a state that strongly backed President Donald Trump, isn’t happy about his move to impose hefty tariffs on imported washing machines.

BRAD RICH: Our Coasts People; Steve Murphey (Coastal Review column) -- Steve Murphey, new director of the state Division of Marine Fisheries, has devoted decades to fisheries biology work and hopes to help better educate the public on the division’s efforts in his new role.

RICK SMITH: Raleigh ties Pittsburgh for best quality of life choice as Amazon HQ2 choice (WRAL-TV/TechWire analysis) -- A new study from financial news website MagnifyMoney rates Raleigh and Pittsburgh as the best choices for Amazon HQ2 based on financial and quality of life issues.

North Carolina in recruiting game, at last (Rocky Mount Telegram) -- For years, North Carolina could do little more than watch from the sidelines when the courtship of giant automakers and other manufacturers grew intense. We were stymied by a lack of readily available incentive money, or a clumsy legislature too slow to compete, or both.

RICK SMITH: 17,371 tech job openings in NC + Who is hiring, types of openings, skills most needed (WRAL-TV/TechWire analysis) -- A new report from the North Carolina Technology Association (NCTA) reports that information technology job openings across the state grew 3.4 percent year-over-year in December to 17,371.

NC unemployment rate rose in December to worst in 7 months (AP news analysis) -- North Carolina's unemployment rate rose to 4.5 percent in December, its highest level in seven months and well above the national average of 4.1 percent. Data released by the state Commerce Department show North Carolina's jobless rate was last this high in May and had fallen to 4.1 percent in October to match the national level.

TRAVIS FAIN: NC prisons un-ban book on race, mass incarceration after ACLU request (WRAL-TV analysis) -- The state prison system will drop a book on racism and mass incarceration from its list of banned books, following a request from the ACLU's North Carolina chapter.

DOUG CLARK: Could N.C. GOP’s failed court-packing scheme return? (Greensboro News & Record column) -- As Republicans across the country celebrated Donald Trump’s improbable victory in the 2016 presidential election, their North Carolina counterparts were plotting a response to a pair of stunning defeats.

Who’s helping the rest of us? (Fayetteville Observer) -- This looks like one of the worst kinds of legislative give-and-take: Give state funding to a family business of a former state legislator who’s a titan of the hog-farming industry and a generous political donor, but then take it from state agencies that, among other things, are supposed to be watchdogs who regulate factory farming, and especially the wastes generated by those agricultural operations.

TAYLOR KNOPF: Lawmakers Head Back to School (N.C. Health News analysis) -- The Legislative Health Policy Policy Program seeks to provide insight and information on a complicated area of policy-making.

Another three weeks (Greensboro News & Record) -- The government shutdown ended as it started — with political blathering.

AMANDA DOLASINSKI: At Fort Bragg, six women become first in Army to earn Expert Infantryman Badge (Fayetteville Observer analysis) -- Women quietly broke through barriers last fall when they became the first in the Army to earn the prestigious Expert Infantryman Badge at Fort Bragg.