JOE NGAN

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Legislators slow down cold medicine proposal

By JOE NGAN | April 26

The move to restrict sales of some cold medicines used to make methamphetamine, a highly addictive illegal drug, hit a speed bump Thursday when some legislators voiced opposition to the inconvenience the act would cause. The Meth Lab Prevention Act, discussed in a Senate judiciary committee Thursday, would move cold and sinus medicine containing pseudoephedrine behind the pharmacy counter. Pseudoephedrine, a decongestant, is the critical ingredient in meth manufacturing.

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Senior slacking in high school faces scrutiny

By JOE NGAN | April 22

Taking it easy in one’s senior year of high school might provide a nice break, but governors from at least nine states say it’s also a waste of students’ time and taxpayers’ money. Those leaders are pushing broad-based initiatives to overhaul students’ final high school years in order to cure the problem of senioritis. Some, like Texas, are making curricula more stringent. Others propose financial incentives for early graduation.

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Bill lobbies for disadvantaged school districts

By JOE NGAN | April 18

A bill introduced Thursday in the N.C. House marks the largest response yet to the state’s decade-long battle over funding for low-wealth school districts. A total of $200 million would be given during the 2005-06 and 2006-07 fiscal years to the Department of Public Instruction for the Disadvantaged Student Supplemental Funding program, which supports educational initiatives recommended by school systems and approved by the N.C. State Board of Education.

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Math, science majors favored

By JOE NGAN | April 15

Citing a shortage of science workers in the United States, members of Congress introduced a bill Tuesday to create incentives for college graduates to fill science and engineering positions. “America’s dominance in science and innovation is slipping,” said Rep. Frank Wolf, R-Va., the primary sponsor of the Math and Science Incentive Act, in a Tuesday statement.

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Va. autonomy to be tempered

By JOE NGAN | April 11

Public colleges and universities in Virginia now have higher financial and administrative autonomy, but a move by the state’s legislature will make schools more accountable to leaders in Richmond. On Wednesday, the Va. General Assembly passed amendments to the Higher Education Restructuring Bill, which in its original state would have given the state’s largest schools a high degree of autonomy.

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Education funding in flux

By JOE NGAN | March 28

Contrasting versions of bills that would fund student scholarships and other university programs now lie before the two houses of Congress, and discussions to resolve the differences are expected to be intense. An amendment to the Senate’s budget proposal proposed by Sen. Edward Kennedy and passed March 17 would raise the maximum Pell Grant award by $450 to $4,500 and restore funding for the Perkins Loan Program, under which schools can lend students money at low interest rates.

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Web site looks at marijuana use by students

By JOE NGAN | February 22

Researchers at San Diego State University have created a Web site allowing students to perform a confidential self-assessment of their marijuana use. The researchers created e-TOKE — the electronic THC Online Knowledge Experience — in response to research from the Harvard School of Public Health showing that the percentage of college students using marijuana is increasing. “The latest research from Harvard shows the use of marijuana is significantly influencing campuses,” said Douglas Van Sickle, dean of students at San Diego State University.