Opinion Roundup: A word of caution on tax cuts

A tale of two tax cuts – and one failure (Charlotte Observer) -- Kansas' tax cuts debacle can provide lessons for North Carolina

FERREL GUILLORY: Who will design 21st century schools? (EdNC column) -- Digital tools are already replacing old-fashioned textbooks. A teacher lecturing at a podium may not appeal to young people accustomed to retrieving information in an instant through the internet on a hand-held device. The impending challenge is to develop schooling with educational rigor to appeal to and energize the students of tomorrow and the next decade. Isn’t it time for North Carolina to intensify its quest to design public schools for the 21st century?

W. SCOTT ST. CLAIR: House health care plan would hurt N.C. more than most (Charlotte Observer column) -- The importance of Medicaid for children is too often overlooked in state and national health care debates. Block grants or per capita caps, as recently passed by the U.S. House, would hurt child health in North Carolina. At a recent meeting of primary care physicians, N.C. Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Mandy Cohen said early analysis suggests that North Carolina would be hurt most in the nation by these changes, second only to Alaska.

JEFF HAMPTON: Secret Service agents train on the Outer Banks to rescue U.S. presidents and their families (Norfolk Virginian-Pilot analysis) -- Of the 3,200 Secret Service agents stationed around the globe, 75 serve on the water-rescue detail. It requires one of the most demanding fields of Secret Service training.

RUSTY JACOBS: 'Gunk' From Hog Farms, But Neighbors Left With Little Recourse (WUNC-FM analysis) -- North Carolina's General Assembly passed a law recently – and overrode Governor Roy Cooper's veto – that seriously limits the ability of people who seek legal redress for private nuisances created by forestry and agricultural operations, such as large-scale swine and poultry farms. The law could have serious implications for residents of eastern North Carolina counties like Bladen, Duplin, Pender, and Sampson, mostly rural areas with sizable African-American populations.

BRAD RICH: Runoff Study Aims For Better Water Quality (Coastal Review analysis) -- The UNC-Institute of Marine Sciences and the town of Beaufort are collaborating on a three-year study that should shine light on how to best manage stormwater to protect the quality of coastal waters, particularly coastal estuarine reserves.