News-Record.com

In a comment on a prior post, alert reader Doug asks why the News & Record hasn't written about the latest Mike Easley flying about on state aircraft story.

There are two ways stories make it into the paper: one, the AP or other wire services we subscribe moves a version we can use - that hasn't happened of a staff member like myself writes it. I've been assigned to other tasks this week (with varying degrees of success) and I'm not sure how this story would rank priority wise at any rate. Here's why:

The latest story in question was this one in Carolina Journal, a publication of the Conservative John Locke Foundation. It reads:

RALEIGH — When Gov. Mike Easley and the first lady fly in state aircraft, most of their trips include a connection to Brunswick County, where the couple owns two homes. Easley does not reimburse the state for any portion of the coastal trips, although state documents apparently require that he do so.

Easley and his wife, Mary, flew on state-owned aircraft 237 days over the past four years, according to records obtained by Carolina Journal from the N.C. Department of Commerce, which is charged with managing the three aircraft available to the governor. The actual period of study was from Jan. 1, 2004 through April 10, 2008.

It's interesting stuff, but one reason the story may not be causing much of a ruckus - I've not seen it in the N+O or Charlotte O or other papers - is that the gist of it is not new. Consider, the News & Observer wrote the following in 2002:

Easley has been flown to or from his home on the Cape Fear River 16 times this year in the state's Sikorsky 76, a seven-passenger helicopter operated by the Department of Commerce.

Easley spokeswoman Cari Boyce said the governor travels to Southport frequently because he lives there. In addition, she said, Easley has a southeastern office in Southport, although she did not elaborate whether it is in his home or somewhere else in Southport. There is no line item for such an office in the budget.

In any event, an analysis of Commerce Department flight logs shows that Easley has traveled by helicopter to Southport for as many as seven weekends this year. He has used the 4-year-old, $6.8 million helicopter to go home more than for anything else.

And he has done so at a cost to the state of roughly $2,050 per flight hour, according to the Department of Commerce. That adds up to more than $30,000 in the first five months of the year. Easley flew far less last year, making just five trips to Southport or Bald Head Island, another coastal resort where the governor owns property.

There is no policy in North Carolina prohibiting the use of state aircraft for personal use -- leaving the choice ultimately up to Easley .

Boyce said the governor's method of travel is purely a matter of security and is determined by Bryan Beatty, secretary of the Department of Crime Control and Public Safety and the man ultimately in charge of protecting the governor.

Beatty said convenience and time management are also factors. Easley is the chief executive of a government that spends $26 billion in federal and state dollars and employs 227,000 people. His schedule is tight. His drop-offs and pick-ups at Southport are usually on the way to or from official state business -- a speech in Charlotte, a school appearance in Goldsboro.

It often makes sense from security and time-management standpoints to travel by air, Beatty said.

Easley, I believe, ended up reimbursing the state for some expenses back then, although seems to have retrenched from that, if I read the CJ piece right. There have been, if memory serves, periodic follow-ups on the governor's flying habits - including whether helicopter use was consistent with calls for fuel conservation in the aftermath of Katrina.

One odd bit from this week's Carolina Journal piece made me scratch my head a bit:

Other frequent flyers on the state aircraft were UNC Chancellor James Moeser, who made 71 trips, and State Treasurer Richard Moore, who made 46 trips. Unlike Easley’s flights, all of Moeser’s and Moore’s trips appear to be solely for public business, where the trip started and ended in Raleigh. Neither was delivered to or picked up at locations not associated with the public business for which the aircraft were requested.

Well, no. Moeser's frequent use of the state aircraft to go schmooze bigwigs at various sporting events actually prompted the legislature to change the state law governing the use of the aircraft. I wrote a story, linked from this blog post, which said:

House budget writers want to make it more expensive for state officials to travel to athletic events on state aircraft, a provision apparently aimed at UNC-Chapel Hill's use of two state airplanes.

The Commerce Department owns two planes based in Raleigh...

[snip]

UNC-CH Chancellor James Moeser and other high-ranking officials also used the plane to travel to sports events 15 times in 2006, records obtained by the legislature's fiscal research division show.

For example, an entry on March 17 reads "Chancellor attending NCAA Basketball Championships."

Use of the state aircraft is "a time-management issue," a university spokesman said.

The Indy here in Raleigh also did a follow up piece. While I don't think any of those flights were illegal, there were plenty of folks questioning whether they were necessary or met the strict definition of "state business."

I've talked to some folks who question why the Dept. of Commerce needs an air fleet at all. After all, North Carolina isn't as big or detached as Alaska and that state's governor scored bit-time popularity points by selling the state jet.