WSJ| Gas search along coast is pushed

I was wondering what would restart this blog after my two week layoff. I guess this is the story. The Winston-Salem Journal reports that 4 NC Republican members of the House of Representatives have co-sponsored a bill that would, on passage, open all the waters over 20 miles off the coast of the state to drilling for natural gas. The premise is that drilling for natural gas would reduce energy prices. Further the bill would only allow drilling for gas, not oil. As the article points out the process is the same for both and there is no guarantee what you will find when you drill. In fact the two are often found together.
Anyway it's just another attempt by gas companies to get around the state's strong opposition to off shore drilling.
To his credit Rep. Walter Jones Jr. (R NC 3rd) has opposed the bill

He said that any legislation that would allow for offshore exploration has to give states the right of first refusal to opt out of such a program, which the Peterson bill does not.
"I am not going to support any proposal ... unless the governor (and the legislature) make the final decision," he said.
Jones said he has not talked to his colleagues about the bill because he does not expect it to advance this year. If that changes, he will lobby them against it, he said.

I am not used to giving Rep. Jones many brownie points but he gets them here.
Its interesting that none of the 4 sponsors: Virginia Foxx, R-5th; Patrick McHenry, R-10th; Sue Myrick, R-9th; and Charles Taylor, R-11th are from districts anywhere near the coast. Taylor, Foxx and McHenry are from the mountains, Myrick from Charlotte. All 4 are arch conservatives and Taylor is is in a tough primary fight preparatory to a tough election battle with Heath Schuler, former Redskins quarterback.
The article highlights all the fallacies that underly the bill so I won't do so here.

N&O Deadline is today to register to vote in May 2 primary

Deadline is today to register to vote in May 2 primary I know that anyone who reads the blog is politically attuned enough to be registered to vote. However you may know someone who just move here or someone who has been putting it off so tell the to register.
Perhaps more important, today is the last day to change your party affiliation so you can vote in a particular party primary. In Dare County both parties allow unaffiliated (independent) voters to decide at the polls to participate in their primary.

NC Policy Watch : » Taking a toll on public institutions

Instresting post in the Fitzsimmons File at NC Policy Watch on the policy implications of toll roads in NC. With the ever increasing hunt for government revenue and the drive to cut taxes user fees make a lot of sense. But there is down side.

"But there’s a bigger issue at play in the toll roads debate that has received little attention, one that may affect public universities, museums, and other functions of state government in a fundamental way, pushing the state further toward employing user fees to pay for services."

I think the argument that tolls to build bridges and roads will lead direnctly to the loss of public institutions is a bit of a push, but I also think Fitzsimmons is right that as a community we need to work together to fund the elements that make our community great, not just the few public services we all share.
A good example is beach access. Every year someone asks about funding beach access parking by setting up meters or charging for a parking pass. I believe this is wrong. The beach belongs to the public and they/we have a right to access. It should be the communities role to provide that access whether an individual tax payer ever goes to the beach or not.
Another example is NC State Parks. There is not an admission fee at any state park. This is great. It insures that everyone can use the resource and not be turned away. Our community, our state is richer for preserving areas like Jockeys Ridge or Run Hill and even better off when they are used by the public. We can afford them. We must afford them.