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Gov. Mike Easley has a presser to talk about home foreclosures today, backing a bill that will help people in trouble with sub-prime mortgages stay in their homes. (You can click here to read that press release.)

More fun was the off-topic Q & A portion which covered two topics: his wife's travel habits and the budget.

He got a little testy with reporters asking about the travel expenses, saying that the trips have value and help recruit foreign travelers and investment to North Carolina. Click here to listen to some of that. (The audio is audible although not the best because my recorder wasn't mic'd up properly.)

On the budget, Easley said he didn't want to get into what would or would not prompt a veto. But then he said, "Certainly, very troublesome to me are the tax cuts for the wealthy." Easley's was referring there, I believe, to a proposed elimination of the gift tax. Click here to listen to two questions in that arena.

House Speaker Joe Hackney and Senate Pro Tempore Marc Basnight spent a couple hours with each other and budget staff this evening. I was told going in that they were going to work on the education and capital sections of the budget, which is where House and Senate negotiators have their biggest differences. (For those coming late to this party, the House and Senate and Governor's office are in the last stages of negotiating an update to the state's $21.4 billion budget.)

Hackney emerged from that meeting at 7 p.m. and I asked if there was anything new with the budget.

"No, not really. We're just tossing around some scenarios," he said. I asked if there was going to be a deal worked out, even in principle, tonight.

"No."

Basnight was a little more effusive on his way down to the legislative building's garage.

"We have to reduce the budget by $45 million in recurring and $70 million one time," he said. "So you can see, we're given a very enormous task."

The state budget is funded by two pots of money: recurring revenue such as tax collections that come in every year and one-time money that is essentially windfalls from under-spending or legal settlements. Recurring money is more valuable in legislative land because it can be used for things like salaries, but reductions in either.

Of interest here: the governor has been asking the legislature to revise down the revenue estimates in just this way. Legislators had been resisting that because less money to spend makes a deal all that much harder to reach.

But as Easley said earlier today, the numbers are what the numbers are.

"My biggest concern here is revenues ... the budget has to be balanced. I can't sign an unbalanced budget, I want to make that clear to everybody."

Basnight said that the professional staff had been instructed to work on some compromises tonight and that he and the Speaker would meet again in the morning.

It sounds like they're going to look for ways to save money that don't throw the meat of the agreement out of whack. Easley would like them to not do about $50 million in tax cuts the two chambers have agreeed to, but I'm pretty sure some members would scream about whacking what few tax cuts can be offered up this election year.

At any rate, there's no agreement tonight. Maybe tomorrow.

Planning-wise, Rep. Hugh Holliman told me earlier that if the budget is read-in (legislative talk for formally introduced) Wednesday evening that we may see it debated and voted on Thursday and then again 12:01 a.m. Friday morning, at least on the House side.

For those following the video poker issue here's where things stand as of Tuesday evening:

It has passed the House Judiciary I Committee on a unanimous vote. House leaders have decided it must go through the Finance Committee. My guess is they are thinking the bill is going to be a bit controversial and want to make sure it has a fiscal note. (Bills that spend or potentially spend money need to have cost estimates attached to them, or certain members of the House and Senate can kill them by fiat by pointing out that said cost estimate has not been done. Running a bill through Finance can sometimes assuage the worries of money-minded folks and seems to get a fiscal note done as a byproduct.)

I have heard from members that there is more than one lobbyist looking at this bill and I'm told by Rep. Hugh Holliman that some with an interest in the video slot devices complained they didn't have a chance to get heard on the bill. Apparently these folks will get a chance in Finance.

I don't know when that Finance hearing will be. From what I can gather, this isn't in the top tier of bills that the House Democrats will push to get done, but it's considered fairly important and they'll make a go at getting it over the Senate before the end of the legislative session.

A couple folks have called frustrated they can't find the video slot language online. That's because the House gutted a senate bill and substituted what was there. Take a look at the latest edition of S 180 now and you should be able to see what we're talking about.

The bill creates two new offenses: one for possessing video slot machines and another for promoting and selling the service. (Basically, it's aimed at getting you whether you're in retail or wholesale.) It does not criminalize the act of playing one of these machines. And it goes into effect on Dec. 1, so presumably people would have time to cash out and get rid of them.

From what I've been able to discern, House leaders aren't interested in having anything that resembles video poker hanging about the state. Part of this, I'm sure, has to do with hangover from the Jim Black era, when video poker was involved in one of many scandals culminated in the former House Speaker go to jail.

Some quotes from today's Judiciary I hearing:

"I would characterize this as whack-a-mole," said Rep. Ray Rapp, a Madison County Democrat. "Just when we think we've gotten it taken care of in terms of video poker and gaming, it pops up again."

.....

"When I met them a couple months ago, I'll be honest with you, I first thought these people are video poker reincarnated. And they're not, they just got unlucky," said Theresa Kostrzewa, a lobbyist for Hest Technology, who asked the committee to delay making a decision on the bill. Video poker was part of a string of scandals that plagued former House Speaker Jim Black, who was later convicted on corruption charges.

"I told them, you're going to be guilty by association, but I know you're no breaking the video poker law," Kostrzewa said. "They're playing a legal sweepstakes game."

Sunday night: Rep. Hugh Holliman, majority leader and one of the House budget negotiators says that enrolment growth in the UNC system is a major difference between the House and Senate.

Monday night: Rep. Mickey Michaux, the senior budget chair in the House, says that enrolment growth in the UNC system is a major difference between the House and Senate.

Wednesday, about 45 minutes ago: House Speaker Joe Hackney says, "The enrolment hasn't been an issue for at least a week."

I'm so confused.

For those following the video slot discussion: The bill has been put off until Monday's floor calendar.

Last night, Rep. Hugh Holliman and others I spoke with were saying the bill needed to go to Finance. At some point since then, a decision was made that the thing could hit the floor as is. Then someone realized that they didn't have an incarceration note, something that accounts for the cost of jailing folks who are prosecuted under the new crimes the law would create. To allow time for that report to be generated, it is put off until next week.

Confused? Good. So were lots of other people following the bill today.

It was gently suggested to me today that this could have been a lottery-initiated action. The state-sanctioned gambling enterprise, the logic goes, would want to eliminate any potential competition.

"We were not involved in the bill. We didn't even know about it," said Alice Garland, a lobbyist for the lottery.

Garland said that the lottery has not studied if or how much money they might lose to video slots and pointed out that sales of lottery tickets jumped last year to $1.087 billion.

"We're aware of these games but we just haven't gotten involved at all," she continued. "Our focus is on increasing our own sales."

Speaker Joe Hackney spoke a few minutes ago to the full House, which is holding session this afternoon.

"With respect to the budget ... we have reached agreement with the Senate on almost everything. There are a few items remaining. It is hoped that will be concluded by the end of the day."

Click here for more from the AP.

If all that holds, look for a budget vote next week. After that, the race to adjournment will begin.

Click here to listen to Sen. Phil Berger, Republican of Rockingham, reflect on the Senate floor today about the meaning of the nation's birthday. He concludes:

"From then until today, we have struggled to live up to those principles. And in many ways we have fallen short. In many ways, we disagree on details. But as we go forward to picnics, parades, time with our families, and as we celebrate, we can all agree that we should continue to strive to fulfill the promise of that summer day in 1776."

Members have been signing off on the conference report for the budget this afternoon. Although I'm told there are still a few remaining straggling items, the compromise is largely brokered.

Rep. Paul Luebke, a chairman of the House Finance Committee, told reporters about the finance package. The state will eliminate the gift tax and raise the Earned Income Tax Credit to 5 percent starting in the 2010 tax year. Essentially, those two items were originally due to go into affect for the 2009 tax year, but the two sides put them off in order to ensure the budget doesn't go into deficit. Delaying the two tax cuts a year will create $30 million in budget availability.

Speaker Joe Hackney and Senate Leader Marc Basnight are due to brief reporters at 4:15 p.m.

House Speaker Joe Hackney and Senate leader Marc Basnight briefed reporters on the budget deal the two chambers brokered earlier today. Here is video of their opening remarks.

Basnight talked about the $90 million set aside for teacher bonuses - causing Hackney to chuckle - and Hackney discussed funds for the mental health system:

Gov. Mike Easley had asked for $45 million in recurring cuts to the budget, trimming from spending targets that had been in place a month ago. The legislature came up with $30 million by delaying two tax cuts - one the elimination of the gift tax and the other an expansion of the EITC.

Hackney and Basnight said that the $45 million in cuts were unnecessary but that they were trying to make Easley happy. Except they came $15 million short of what Easley wanted. Here's the discussion on that piece:

Teachers got a 3 percent average raise in the budget. Teachers at the lowest three rungs of the salary scale will get a $1,100 bump in salary. Teacher salaries have been been a major emphasis for Easley and the legislature didn't give him exactly what he asked for. Also, fuel costs have been a concern. More on that:

The budget will authorize about $850 million in borrowing over the next four years and spend another $109 million in cash to build buildings around the state. Much of that will go toward the university system. If you're into public financing discussion, this is the video for you:

Two terms you may or may not know from that discussion:

COPS: Certificates of Participation. Government borrowing that does not require voter approval.

2/3 Bonds: When a government in North Carolina pays back a bond, it can (within two years) go out and borrow again 2/3 (two-thirds) of the amount it has repaid.

Word comes from Gerry Cohen that the budget bill is now online. (Very large PDF.) The money report (the other half that has a lot of the information in terms of spending increases and cuts) should be online sometime today, he says.

Also: Here's my early budget story from today's paper.

Happy 4th of July.

I can add very little to what is being written and said about Jesse Helms, the former U.S. Senator from North Carolina who died today. I met him exactly once when I was at the very beginning of my career in Washington and the interaction lasted no longer than the subway ride from one of the Senate office buildings to the Capitol. I can say that growing up in Maryland, Jesse Helms is about all I knew of North Carolina politics. By the time I moved to North Carolina, Helms was serving the last year of his last term as Senator.

My boss has this remembrance:

Sometimes things in the state budget just catch my attention. They don't have to be earth shattering or all that expensive, just odd bits included in the major statement of fiscal policy statement for the year. To wit:

• * For those who remember Gov. Mike Easley's proposal to have a sales tax holiday for Energy Star rated appliances, it's in the final budget. It will be in effect from "12:01 A.M. on the first Friday of November and 11:59 P.M. the following Sunday." Qualified items include Clothes washers, Freezers and refrigerators, Central air conditioners and room air conditioners, Air-source heat pumps and geothermal heat pumps, Ceiling fans, Dehumidifiers and Programmable thermostats. The exemption doesn't apply to products purchased by a business or rentals.

• * The Lorax got his: There is a $1 million per year earmark over the next five years in the DOT budget for planting seedlings along the roads. "The Department shall consult with and use the expertise of the United States Forest Service and the Division of Forest Resources of the North Carolina Department of Environment and Natural Resources in the development and implementation of the plan. The plan shall include the planting of trees, shrubs, and other vegetation that (i) are native to the various regions and areas of the State in which they are being planted, (ii) will provide clean air and otherwise benefit the State's environment, (iii) are appropriately placed for the safety of those traveling on the roads and highways, and (iv) reduce the costs of mowing and maintaining the rights-of-way along the State's roads and highways."

• * The problems associated with illegal immigration have been at the center of several political races this year, including the U.S. Senate race between Republican Elizabeth Dole and Democrat Kay Hagan. And there is, in the budget, at least two mentions of immigration.

  One is in the section expanding Health Choice/Kids Care, the state/federal health insurance program for children. One of the enrolment requirements is that a child must "Be a resident of this State, meet applicable federal citizenship and immigration requirements, and be eligible under federal law."
  
  The second immigration mention is in a section that concerns money the state is spending to help sheriffs participating in the 287(g) program, the federal partnership that allows local law enforcement to identify and help deport illegal immigrants. The honorables have ordered a report on how those funds are used "Recommendations on ways that federal, State, and local resources can be used to further improve the effectiveness of the Illegal Immigration Project and other immigration enforcement initiatives."

• * Back when the Senate wrote its budget, Pro Tempore Marc Basnight inserted a section that would require the state to use biodegradable water bottles. That appears to have been toned down to a study that requires "The University of North Carolina, in collaboration with the Division of Waste Management of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources shall study the current state, usage, and recycling of plastics (including, but not limited to, beverage bottles and plastic bags) in North Carolina." Note that plastic bags were a concern for Rep. Pricey Harrison.

My colleague Taft Wireback has been writing about the tires again:

An effort to reform North Carolina's method of buying retreaded tires is moving haltingly through the General Assembly amid disagreement over techniques used by the current contract holder.

A bill introduced by state Rep. Nelson Cole of Rockingham County would block the state from paying White's Tire Service of Wilson for controversial "spot repairs" to about $3.4 million a year in recycled tires.

Cole's bill also bans removing the original manufacturer's trademark and other identification from retreaded tires. It's a step White calls critical to its process, but critics say it is unnecessary and voids important warranties.

"Being unable to readily identify tires that might be involved in a recall just doesn’t make sense," said Cole, a retired auto dealer and vice chairman of the House Transportation Committee. "Granted, their tire looks better, but I don't know what that has to do with safety or saving money."

Forgive the cliché, but this issue has been going around and around the General Assembly all session long. It's unclear whether it will be resolved before the honorables make tracks out of town.

Cross-posted from Decision 2008.

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I wrote back in February is the about a Bob Crumley commercial that seemed as if it might have some campaign implications.

Crumley is a Republican Greensboro-area lawyer running for Attorney General against Roy Cooper, the Democratic incumbent.

I noticed this weekend that Crumley is running a new ad. The tag line refers people to his law firm's web page. But you tell me: does the ad seem more like a commercial one might use in a campaign?

Any state budget can be read on a couple of levels. One, of course, involves the statewide spending priorities and policies it sets. Another way, of course, is to see what's in it for your parochial interests.

Because funds were limited this year, the number of "special projects," money for nonprofits and projects local to one community or another, was limited. Still, you don't have to look all that hard to find funding of particular interest to certain communities.

Looking for things of interest to Greensboro and the Triad, here's my running list (after the jump):

From a story in Sunday's paper:

A measure aimed at preventing shootings like the one that claimed more than 30 lives at Virginia Tech in 2007 has sat in a legislative committee but will move forward before the end of the year, its sponsor said.

“If your mental condition has deteriorated to the point where you have to be ordered into treatment, society has a right to protect itself,” said Sen. Tony Rand, a Fayetteville Democrat and majority leader in the Senate.

The bill, which is backed by Attorney General Roy Cooper, has cleared a Judiciary Committee but has sat in Senate Appropriations since June 12.

Rand said that senators have been distracted trying to compile the state’s $21.3 billion budget but that he would work to get it passed before the General Assembly adjourns, likely later this month.

Under the bill, if a court orders someone into mental treatment, that person will be entered into a nationwide database used for criminal records checks. That person would be unable to buy a gun legally in North Carolina.

Click here for the whole story.

The bill, (S2081) is opposed by Grass Roots North Carolina, a gun owner's rights group. My suspicion is you will almost certainly see it move out of the Senate in the next week, but I don't have a good read on what its prospects may be in the House.

From Gov. Mike Easley's office:

RALEIGH -- Gov. Mike Easley today ordered all North Carolina state flags to be flown at half-staff in honor of former U.S. Sen. Jesse Helms who passed away on July 4. Flags will be flown at half-staff from Monday July 7 until sunset on Tuesday July 8.

In addition, a condolence book will be available for North Carolinians to sign in memory of Helms, who represented North Carolina in the Senate from 1973 to 2003. Citizens can sign the book from Monday morning through the close of business on Tuesday. The condolence book
will be sent to the Jesse Helms Center at Wingate University.

I've asked where the condolence book will be, but don't know the answer yet.

Update: AP says the book will be available in the state Capitol.

The U.S. Senate race here in North Carolina officially has the third with the addition of Libertarian Chris Cole.

Cross-posted from Decision 2008.

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Update: From a story in today's paper:

"If I had never done advertising before and all of a sudden came up with television ads, you might have an argument there," Crumley said. "But I'm not doing anything that I didn't do before."

[snip]

"You can't watch that thing without thinking it's an ad for someone running for office," said Bob Phillips, who heads the North Carolina branch of Common Cause, a public-interest advocacy group that has lobbied for more stringent campaign finance rules.

Click here for the whole thing.

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Related to Bob Crumley's image ad, the state Democratic Party has filed a complaint against Crumley. The complaint, filed with the SBOE and signed by the party's executive director, reads in part:

Without disclosure of who is paying for the advertisements and how much is being spent, voters will have no information regarding the sponsorship of this apparent effort to influence the 2008 election.

Clearly, the sponsoring entity is violating the law, and I ask that the Board investigate these advertisements and any other communications for which disclosure is required.

Click here for the full letter.

More in tomorrow's paper.

For those who haven't seen it, here's the ad:

The $21.3 billion state budget passed both the House and Senate Monday night. They'll both give it a final vote Tuesday before sending it on to the governor.

Local votes in the House include:

For: Democrats Alma Adams, Pricey Harrison, Maggie Jeffus and Earl Jones of Greensboro, Nelson Cole of Rockingham County, Hugh Holliman of Davidson County. Republicans Harold Brubaker and Pat Hurley of Randolph, Laura Wiley of High Point.

Against: Republicans John Blust of Greensboro, Bryan Holloway of Randolph and Stokes.

Total vote: 97-21 with one excused vote (Paul "Skip" Stam of Wake County) and one member not voting (Speaker Joe Hackney).

Local votes in the Senate include:

For: Democrats Katie Dorsett and Kay Hagan of Greensboro, Republican Stan Bingham of Davidson County,

Against: Republicans Jerry Tillman of Randolph and Phil Berger of Rockingham.

Total vote: 34-16.

From today's paper:

RALEIGH - The House and Senate gave tentative approval to a $21.3 billion state budget Monday night despite objections that it borrows too much without voter approval and may overestimate how much money the state will take in next year.

Both chambers are due to vote a second and final time today. The bill will then go to Gov. Mike Easley for his review.

If Easley signs the budget into law, North Carolina will spend 3.5 percent more than in the previous year. Opponents, mainly Republicans, say there's increasing evidence that the slowing economy will mean less revenue to spend than budget writers expect.

"What we're doing is setting ourselves up, or rather we're setting up next year's legislature for a serious problem," said Phil Berger, a Rockingham County Republican and the Senate minority leader. He likened the pending budget to one passed in 2000 that plunged the state into deficit just as Easley took office.

"Those memories are still pretty vivid to me," Berger said.

Click here for the whole thing.

Also: Local votes.
Local items.
Other bits.
Earlier.

Update: After the jump, the AP's long list of items in the state budget:

For those following the video slot issue, the House voted 115-2 to ban those sweepstakes-based machines.

One of the two votes against: Greensboro's own Rep. Earl Jones. He even objected to third reading, forcing the House to vote again Wednesday.

Update: Whoever had initially sided with Jones jumped ship. The final vote was 116-1. Jones stood alone.

More on this in the paper tomorrow.

For those following the bill to restrict gun sales to those involuntarily committed, the measure is scheduled to heard in the Senate Appropriations Committee on Wednesday morning. That's 8:30 a.m. in 643 LOB. It looks like Rand means what he says about moving the thing by the end of the session.

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Update: The AP reports the bill has cleared Appropriations and is headed to the Senate floor.

Update: Click here for the story from today's paper.

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So Rep. Earl Jones was the "1" in a 116-1 vote in the House today. The bill in question would ban a video slot system that is becoming more prevalent in the state that some folks liken to video poker.

(You can click here to listen to Reps. Melanie Goodwin and Ray Rapp give the rationale for outlawing the machines.)

Jones has cut against the grain at the General Assembly since getting elected up here.

Of banning video poker, he said in 2006:

"Just to ban it straight out when we just passed the lottery is kind of hypocritical."

and

"I don't see any difference between video poker and the lottery," said Rep. Earl Jones , a Greensboro Democrat.

Of payday lending, another industry the state has outlawed, he said in 2005:

State Rep. Earl Jones , D-Guilford, said that payday lending fills a financial services gap not covered by banks.

"If they're shut down, there will be no mechanism that will develop to meet that need," Jones said.

And remember, Jones is the guy who filed the medical marijuana and the stem cell bill, which both provoked some controversy.

So when Jones was on the short end of a 116-1 vote over video slot machines, I can't say I was shocked.

"I think people really just want to be left alone," Jones said. "If a person wants to play cards or play the lottery or participate in this activity...it just seems to be overreaching relative to government telling people what to do."

While he said there's probably no way he'll make up the vote difference Wednesday, Jones objected to third reading so the House has to vote again before sending the bill to the Senate. Jones said he wasn't sure what he would say Wednesday. But, he added this:

"I guarantee you, a year from now, two years from now, I'm going to end up being right,'' Jones said, "and the General Assembly's actions are going to end up being wrong because I think there's a fundamental issue of businesses being treated fairly."

You can click here to listen to part of my conversation with Jones, where we discuss some of those points and argue over a few facts. (More audio from that conversation.)

Of course, I will be taking a gander at Jones' campaign finance report for this quarter when he files it, just to see if anything interesting might be there.

Every year, the Department of Agriculture comes down to the legislature and holds what they bill as a "milk chugging contest." But the contestants used straws to slurp their milk, making the show more soda shop social than frat house showdown.

At any rate, the Senate team - Sens. Ed Jone, Don East and Andrew Brock - triumphed over their counterparts in the House, lead by Rep. Dewey Hill. Hill seemed to lose track of his place in the sipping order and had a delay in picking up his second container of milk, which cost his team valuable seconds.

Yes, there's actual legislating going on today, I think, maybe. But here are some pictures:

Brock anchored the Senate team.


Don East: man of determination.

Ed Jones gets off to a fast start.

Dewey Hill drinks in the scene.

Not only did Brock chug his two containers, he snagged a left-over carton that the House team didn't finish for his victory toast.

I wrote last weekend about S2081, a bill that would ban those who are ordered by a court into psychiatric treatment from purchasing guns.

That debate hit the Senate floor today, after a big lobbying push by Grass Roots North Carolina, which opposes the bill. The bill didn't die, but it got a bit weaker today in the mind of its sponsors.

First, if you need background on the bill, click here to listen to its sponsor, Sen. Tony Rand, explain the thing.

Here's the run down on what happened next: the bill got three amendments. Two were fairly technical and there was pretty much no disagreement.

But Amendment #1 by Sen. Phil Berger of Rockingham changed the measure substantially. If you're a gun rights activist, you'd say it stopped an over-reach. Rand said it left a big loophole.

The debate centers on this: people in North Carolina can be ordered by a court into outpatient treatment. Gun rights folks, including Berger, said that if someone isn't committed to a hospital they're not dangerous to themselves or others.

Rand argued that court-ordered mental treatment is a pretty good indication that something is wrong enough with someone they shouldn't be buying a weapon.

Click here for Berger's opening salvo on the amendment.

And click here for Rand's answer.

There was more debate, but things eventually rolled back around to Berger, who answered back to Rand.

"I think throwing around the concept mentally ill in an effort to try to create an emotional fear with reference to what's going on here is a very easy thing to do. But mental illness can be a very broad term, and it doesn't necessarily deal with things that result in people acting in a dangerous manner. It doesn't," Berger said. Click here for more.

Of course, Rand had an answer, including: "I quite smoking. I probably had a nicotine disorder. The only thing I was dangerous too was a cigarette or a cigar ... Or I might be dangerous to a Twinkie, but not to any of you. But this is a deadly serious matter as we talk about someone who has a mental illness, they have to be found to have a mental illness and it has to rise to a point where action is taken by others to make sure they get treated."

Then things got wonky.

Sen. Doug Berger, no relation to Phil, one of the Senate's more liberal members, made a libertarian argument for adopting the amendment - saying that the state shouldn't infringe on a constitutional right. Click here to listen to the other Berger.

It went on like that for quite a while. Click here for the end of the amendment on the debate, which features Doug Berger and Tony Rand going at it pretty good.

The Senate voted to adopt the amendment 30-19.

Notable yes votes (local and otherwise): Stan Bingham of Davidson, U.S. Senate candidate Kay Hagan of Greensboro, Dan Clodfelter of Charlotte, David Hoyle of Gaston, and R.C. Soles of Tabor City.

Notable no votes: President Pro Tempore Marc Basnight, Katie Dorsett of Greensboro, and Treasurer candidate Janet Cowell and Lt. Gov. candidate Walter Dalton.

Click here for the full vote on the amendment.

The bill itself passed unanimously and it has crossed over to the House.

Reps. Pricey Harrison and Rick Glaizer are handling the bill on the House side. Harrison told me that she thought the House might make an effort to change the bill back. Look for action on that next week.

Update: Click here for a release AG Roy Cooper sent out on the day's action.

After the jump, AP's take on things.

For those following the video slot issue, it has been put on the Senate calendar for Monday night.

From today's paper:

• * The latest installment of as the state tire contract turns.

• * Talking with the animals, or at least their keeps, at the zoo.

• * We've got some crazy weed(s), dude.