le, "North Carolina: In Search of Clarity" by Ferrel Guillory, discusses how the problem of rearranging the voting districts in North Carolina were affected by special interests groups. The question at hand was whether or not the state's black population would be better served to have to have as many majority black districts as possible or to have more votes in each district, with no district having a black majority. The 12th voting district, which runs through the middle of the state, was originally set up to be a black majority district. However, after several court rulings the state legislature revised the district twice, cutting it's black population to 37%. As a result of unclear rulings by the Supreme Court on the voting districts in the past, the state is undecided on what it should do. The court is now reviewing the matter for the third time this decade.
             Another article, "Power Politics" by Christopher Swope, discusses the topic of electricity deregulation. This prospect has some local officials worried about competing with private electrical utility companies. The article discusses how local officials in Tallahassee weighed their options, as Florida considered deregulation of its electricity services. Tallahassee would be especially affected because 32% of its budget comes from utility revenues. The question city officials were debating was whether it would be more economical to sell its electrical utility and collect interest on the profit, or to keep the utility and try to compete with private organizations. The city had to act quickly on the matter, because at the end of the month production on a new power plant was to begin. If a sale were to occur, it had to be before any tax-exempt municipal bonds were approved to fund the new plant. The city eventually voted not to sell despite the mayor's belief that selling was the better option. The mayor believed that public interest helped to sway the voting. Tallah...