News-Record.com

Update: Well, all that whining on my part for nothing. Gov. Easley announced a $300,000 in grants for technology-themed high schools, none of them in Guilford, Rockingham or Randolph.

Click here to read the news release.

Update 2: Click here for more on the award to Alamance-Burlington.

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If reporters have a common gripe about Gov. Mike Easley, it's that the wording in this announcement is all too common:

RALEIGH - Gov. Mike Easley will make an education announcement at 10:15 a.m. WEDNESDAY (May 18) in the Governor's Press Conference Room in the Administration Building (115 W. Jones St.) in Raleigh.

Gov. Mike Easley wants you to know that the state just gave $10.8 million in grants to various parks projects.

According to this list, the closest one to Greensboro is in Asheboro.

Fresh from the governor's office by way of my e-mail box:

RALEIGH - Gov. Mike Easley has reappointed Jesse Meeks of Eden to the N.C. Auctioneers' Commission.

Meeks is the owner of Jesse Meeks Real Estate Auction and Appraisal, LLC. He is a certified real estate broker and appraiser. Meeks is a member of the National Auctioneers' Association and the N.C. Auctioneers' Association Board of Directors. He is a graduate of the Auction Marketing Institute.

The Auctioneers' Commission protects the public from incompetent or unqualified persons engaging in auctioneering activities. There are five members on the board, each serving a three-year term. The governor appoints all members.

The governor's crime commission is passing along money from the U.S. Justice Department to a bunch of state and local agencies.

"This year, the Commission put more money into domestic violence programs than ever before. More than half of the funds will be used for programs to assist victims of domestic violence, sexual assault and child abuse," Gov. Mike Easley is quoted as saying in the news release that came along with the announcement.

More from that release:

This year's federal allocation will be disbursed among more than 300 local and state agencies. More than $5.3 million will go to the state's juvenile justice system. Another $4.3 million will go to drug control programs, and $2.4 million toward law enforcement communications and technology.

Other grants will provide pro bono legal services for domestic violence victims; support to the Statewide Automated Victim Assistance and Notification system, which notifies crime victims of the court or prison status of their offenders; and to the Victim's Compensation Services Division to help victims apply for compensation funds.

The Governor's Crime Commission, a division of the Department of Crime Control and Public Safety, administers the federal grants to provide seed money to establish new programs. Once the new programs are in place, local resources are expected to maintain them.

Congress appropriates funds to the U.S. Department of Justice for distribution to the states in four categories: Drug Control and System Improvement, Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, Victim of Crime Act, and Violence Against Women Act programs.

So what's in it for you? Depends on where you live.

Click here for a PDF file that contains a county-by-county breakdown of the funding.

I'm catching up on my e-mail this afternoon. From the governor's office, here are a few appointments of Triad folks to statewide boards.

Gov. Mike Easley has appointed Dr. Michael Norins of Greensboro to the N.C. Medical Board. According to a news release from the governor's office:

"Norins is a primary care internist for LeBauer HealthCare in Greensboro. He is an adjunct associate professor at the University of North Carolina (UNC) at Chapel Hill School of Medicine and a preceptor in the nurse practioner program at the UNC-Greensboro School of Nursing. Norins is a member of the N.C. Medical Society, Greater Greensboro Society of Medicine and the Health Care Sharing Initiative Board of Directors."

Click here to read the whole release.

I was a little confused by this release from Gov. Mike Easley's office. The lead graph:

Gov. Mike Easley announced today that North Carolina has been named the South's State of the Year by Southern Business & Development magazine. North Carolina and Alabama are ranked in the No. 1 spot for the region's largest business deals in the magazine's 13th annual Top 100 (eds note: bold my own) issue, available on newsstands beginning today.

Um, is my flag missing some stars?

Turns out, this list is from Southern Business and Development magazine's "Top 10s" issue - not the Top 100 issue. (What's a factor of 10 among friends?)

Relieved that the U.S.A. hadn't picked up 50 extra states without sending me so much as a memo, I perused the magazine's online site. Let's just say, these folks make people who are relentlessly upbeat look like slackers. And boy do they like incentives. Here's what they wrote about North Carolina's Dell deal:

In unprecedented fashion, North Carolina won one of the South's most signature deals of 2004, the 1,500-employee Dell project. The recruitment of Dell was unprecedented considering the incentive package the state of North Carolina, Forsyth County and the city of Winston-Salem put together. In total, Dell garnered about $300 million in incentives from the three governments.

Historically, government officials in North Carolina have been the most vocal anti-incentive group of all in the South. Time after time North Carolina would take the "high road" after losing out on another big project, vigorously maintaining that they don't have to "buy" projects in order to compete. Well, with Dell, North Carolina joined other Southern states that have landed huge deals by offering up substantial incentives for a single project. It just goes to show that even the most stubborn of Southern states can realize that if you are going to lure the big buffalo, you're going to have to write a big check. We applaud North Carolina officials for checking their skepticism at the door when it came to landing Dell.

I'm thinking these guys have a point of view. If only I could tell what it was.

Your humble correspondent is in a foul mood this morning afternoon, so you'll forgive me if this post is a bit snippy. Story ideas for the paper have been crashing left and right all week, and today isn't looking up.

To boot, it appears more and more likely the General Assembly is going to miss the June 30 deadline for having a new budget in place. Off the record, folks are pretty definitive that the differences between the House and Senate budget are too numerous to bridge by then. (It's not that I don't love geeking out on the budget, but there are other fun things to write about in state government.)

On the record, the statements are getting pretty vague. Here's what Sen. Linda Garrou had to say on the Senate floor a few minutes ago: "It is my hope that we'll finish the budget sooner rather than later."

And she's one of the ones in charge of the budget process.

Meanwhile, the Senate has begun moving the continuing resolution sent over by the House through it's machinery. As explained by Sen. David Hoyle: "We need to pass a continuing resolution so we can keep the lights running and the prisoners locked up."

The continuing resolution keeps some key taxes in place, allows the state's bills to continue to get paid and gives the General Assembly more time to deliberate. The question now becomes how much more time.

My guess is we'll be sweating with the oldies down at the legislature well into July.

Meanwhile, Gov. Mike Easley called a last minute news conference that, for my readers, wasn't worth the mileage I'm going to have to write up because I went to it. If you're interested in North Carolina school districts (none of them in Guilford, Rockingham, Randolph, Davidson or Alamance) getting funding for life sciences-themed high schools click here for the news release. (If we have any Winston-Salem folks tuning in, this might interest you.)

Gripe, gripe, gripe. I know. I could actually be working for a living. So I'm off for an iced tea and an attitude adjustment. See you back here in a bit.

Gov. Mike Easley has appointed:

Gov. Easley says the state will shell out a $200,000 grant from the One North Carolina Fund to Kayser-Roth to help the Alamance County sock maker expand.

Click here to read the release.

Rep. Earl Jones' bill that requires public bodies to set aside time at least once a month for public comments became law today. The governor allowed it to become law without signing it.

Update: I had e-mailed the governor's office asking why he didn't bother to sign this bill. This is the reply I got from Easley press secretary Sherri Johnson:

"To answer your question about H635, this is more in the nature of a local bill -- and local bills are not ordinarily presented to the Governor to sign."

If you remember from last week, the governor came out of his office for a bill signing ceremony and saw his shadow. According to local superstition up Cap City way, that means at least two more weeks of budget negotiations.

If you're burned out on prognostications from the oracles of Jones Street, here are some stories from this weekend:

Update, from Monday:

Update: This next had been coming Monday, but apparently you get it Tuesday:

Remember all that stuff you learned in civics class about how the legislature appropriates money for certain things and the governor executes that plan?

Forget about it.

Gov. Mike Easley announced this morning that he was getting a $75 million head start on next year's budget. (press release here)

Okay, now for that context stuff:

Schools across the state begin in August and North Carolina is under court order to fix disparities between poor schools and wealthier schools. Meanwhile, as loyal readers know, the General Assembly still hasn't passed a budget for the year. They should have had it done by June 30.

Easley's executive order to spend $75 million extra on certain education programs appears to satisfy much of that court order in advance of an August hearing in the case. And in the context of the over-all budget, $75 million won't break the bank.

And, yeah, sure, this is a pretty good way for Easley to show everyone he's working hard while the folks in the legislative branch are having a hard time getting things done.

Of course, Easley might find himself scrambling if the honorables don't include the $75 million in the final draft of the $17.1 billion budget. And, as I alluded to up above, there might be some folks who take exception to the governor shuffling around money that hasn't been appropriated.

If you don't mind some lower-than-usual quality audio, you can listen to the press conference by clicking here. (It's a 20 minute MP3 file.)

My colleagues in the paper's Rockingham bureau are covering this, but Gov. Easley announced today Alcan Inc. will open a tobacco packaging facility in Reidsville, creating 170 jobs.

Click here for the release.

It's Friday afternoon and the weekly deluge of announcements about who got appointed to what from Gov. Easley's office has begun. Only one Triad name on the list so far, but the day is young:

HB 706 would make it easier for NC school systems to import teachers from others states. Click here for my story from this Sunday.

Among the folks who don't like the bill is Gov. Mike Easley. Because he's made some very unfavorable noises about the bill, folks are a twitter that he may veto the thing. (Come to think of it, a good ol' veto showdown might replace chatter about the lottery.)

The problem for Easley is that there seem to be enough votes in both the House and Senate to over-ride a veto fairly handily. When a NC governor gets a bill, he has three options: sign it, do nothing and wait ten days (in which case it becomes law) or veto it. If he doesn't sign the bill and doesn't want a veto show-down, he could simply ignore the thing and let it become law without his signature.

Stay tuned.

From the governor's office:

Gov. Mike Easley announced today that Canadian-based Imaflex Inc. will open its first U.S. plastics manufacturing facility in Thomasville, investing $10 million in the area and creating 50 new jobs over the next three years. The announcement was made possible in part by a One North Carolina Fund grant of $125,000.

"Imaflex's expansion to North Carolina will enhance our state's already strong international presence in the plastics industry," said Easley. "North Carolina ranks 9th in the U.S. in plastics manufacturing, an industry that provides well-paying, sustainable jobs for our hardworking families."

Imaflex uses an extrusion process to make polyethylene films for packaging materials. The company utilizes computerized work stations and sophisticated, high-tech equipment to produce a top-quality product. The new jobs mostly will be skilled manufacturing positions that will pay an average of $550 to $600 per week plus benefits, which is more than the county’s average wage of $519.

Gov. Mike Easley just delivered this statement urging North Carolinians to conserve gas and detailing steps the government was taking to head off shortages.

I just filed a feed from that news conference. Although it's written in the form of a story, it's more there for the folks doing the heavy lifting on the issue to pull from, pick apart and use as they need:

So I got an e-mail this morning announcing the following:

Gov. Mike Easley will make an economic development announcement at 11:15 a.m. TODAY (Sept. 1) at the General Electric plant (3901 Castle Hayne Road) in Wilmington.

What is unusual is that yesterday I sat in a news conference where Easley told us all to conserve fuel and said that he was banning "non-essential" travel by state employees. Is this sort of travel essential? This is the question I posed to his press office this morning by way of e-mail:

The governor asked us all to conserve fuel yesterday and specifically said he was putting a stop to all "non-essential" government travel. What makes an economic development announcement in Wilmington something that's essential to travel to? Why couldn't he make the announcement from Raleigh? Isn't this kind of a bad example he's setting for the public?

I will admit up-front that this is sort of a smart-aleck question, but I think it's a valid one. If everyone should conserve gas, shouldn't EVERYONE conserve gas? Maybe the announcement is just that important, I don't know.

I'll let you know when I get a response and post it here.

Update1: Well, here's what Easley went down there to announce anyway.

Update2: Here's the answer I got from the governor's press office:

"As a part of this deal, the Governor told GE Nuclear officials he would be there today and 200 people will have jobs paying over $65,000 annually plus benefits because he kept his word."

Call me a skeptic, but I think the GE officials would have settled for the "$300,000 One North Carolina Fund grant and a $3.1 million Job Development Investment Grant." Or is a personal appearance by the governor that big of a deal that they would have pulled up stakes and left town? Feel free to tell me I'm off base via the comment link below.

This notice came from the governor's office today:

Gov. Mike Easley today announced that victims displaced from their Gulf Coast homes by Hurricane Katrina will be provided shelter in North Carolina. Easley made an initial offer to accept 1000 citizens in Charlotte, Raleigh and Greensboro. More refugees may be accepted as the need develops.

Click here to read the whole thing.(It's a Word document.)

From Gov. Mike Easley's office re: Katrina:

North Carolina's K-12 public schools, universities and community colleges have opened their doors to children from Hurricane Katrina-affected areas. The State Board of Education and Department of Public Instruction have advised the state's 115 school systems to register and enroll children in school. Information can be found at www.ncpublicschools.org or by calling 919/807-3300. In addition, Communities in Schools of NC is prepared to work with school systems enrolling students to provide school supplies, mentors and other needs to help students make the transition into schools in North Carolina.

From the governor's office:

RALEIGH – Gov. Mike Easley today declared a state of emergency for North Carolina. The latest hurricane center advisory projects Hurricane Ophelia will make landfall Monday on the N.C. coast. Tropical storm force winds and rain are projected to begin Monday and will increase to hurricane force winds during the day on Monday.

Gov. Mike Easley held a news conference today to let us scrubby press types (and all you folks) know what it is the state is doing to prepare for the arrival of Hurricane Ophelia.

Click here to read the official-looking news release.

Given the problems along the Gulf Coast, it's nearly impossible to view the governor's actions without comparing and contrasting the response in advance of Katrina.

The cynical among us might say that Easley is taking the chance to appear all gubernatorial and in charge now so he can't be accused of not being on the ball later.

And, in fact, as he stood in his news conference room flanked by military, police and other emergency management folks, he was asked whether some of the preparation might be an over-reaction.

"This is the exact same pattern we always follow," Easley said. "This is the way we've always done it."

I'll buy that. But I'll also buy the thinking that says Easley wants to make darn sure everyone knows what the state is doing, even if it is the same old stuff.

At any rate, the governor was asking folks down east who might be in the path of this thing to get out of the way. Given what happened with Katrina, that's probably pretty good advice, whatever the motivation for giving it.

Update: And this tidbit from my notebook shows that even high-ranking government officials have reason to quibble with the weather man: "Ophelia's track has changed . . . on each update I’ve gotten every six hours," Easley said.

By the way, my news reader says Ophelia has been downgraded to a tropical storm.

I've been getting a pretty steady stream of e-mail (okay, it's about one-a-day, but it's a nice break from the spam and people telling me what an ignoramus I am) about House Bill 706, which would allow North Carolina school districts to more easily recruit teachers from other states.

Click here for prior coverage.

As of right now, the most definitive thing I can say is that it's on
the list of bills awaiting action by the governor.

Gov. Mike Easley doesn't like this bill and the local punditry has posited that he will veto this thing. Of course, that's not his only option.

While the General Assembly is in session, the governor has 10 days to decide whether to sign or veto something. If he does nothing during that time, the bill becomes law without his signature.

Nine days had ticked off that clock for HB 706 when the General Assembly adjourned a couple weeks ago until May. That started a new 30-day clock ticking. Similarly, if the governor does nothing during this time period, the bill becomes law without his signature.

The clock expires at midnight on Sunday, Oct. 2.

When folks in Easley's office are asked about this bill, the response has been that Easley is "still reviewing the bill." The rough translation of that phrase is something like: "He may have decided but we're not telling what that decision might be yet." Easley has Ophelia (the hurricane) on the brain this week, so I wouldn't hold my breath to see anything on this soon.

It's a pretty good bet Easley won't sign HB 706 given the amount of venom he's unleashed on it. That would leave two options:

• As discussed above, he could let is pass into law without his signature. That would be a reasonable option, especially given that the bill passed unanimously twice in the House and by a 45-4 vote in the Senate. Those sorts of numbers would handily over-ride a veto any day.

• If he does veto it, the state constitution requires the governor to call the General Assembly back into session to consider an over-ride. It takes a three-fifth vote in both the House and Senate to over-ride a veto. That's a 30 of 50 votes in the Senate and a 72 of 120 votes in the House. (Would-be constitutional scholars can click here for all the nitty gritty.)

So which will happen? I don't know. Which should happen? You can discuss that in the comments section below.

On vacation, thank you very much. Some friends and family spent a few days down at Oak Island, which is a quiet little spot that managed to avoid too much hurricane damage.

Now let's see, what's been going on around these parts?

Gov. Easley has signed a couple bills:

• House Bill 254 lets the state issue about $900 million in grant anticipation bonds. Basically, N.C. doesn't want to wait around for federal grants, so the state will issue bonds, use the proceeds and repay them when Congress finally sends the money along.

• House Bill 750 will allow the state transportation department to change the way it goes about paving unpaved roads. One of the bill's sponsors was Rep. Nelson Cole (D-Rockingham). Basically, it allows a bit of shift toward maintaining small roads that are already paved rather than putting asphalt on in places that don't need it. Fun facts from the news release:

  Secondary roads comprise nearly 64,000 miles of North Carolina’s more than 78,000-mile highway system, and only about 4,400 miles of those roads are unpaved. A recent condition assessment projected a $121 million gap between available funds and secondary road maintenance needs.

Also, there's another bill signing in just about 15 minutes (more on that later) and a big ol' pile of e-mail and snail mail that I'm still sifting through...so more to come.

Gov. Mike Easley held himself a little news conference this morning to sign a bill and take some questions. You can expect a bunch of these between now and Oct. 2. It's an easy way fro the governor to keep himself in front of the cameras and dole out the odd political favor. (It seems that an invite to one of these shindigs is a big deal for legislative types.)

Here's what was covered:

• The topic at hand was Senate Bill 1048, which carries the formal title of "The Identity Theft Protection Act of 2005."

  Basically, the bill is meant to protect consumers from criminals who steal personal information and then take out fraudulent loans and credit cards or even get arrested and give someone else’s name to the police.

  The marquis provision of the bill will allow consumers to freeze their credit reports, making it impossible for someone to take out a loan in their name. That begins Dec. 1.

• Apparently Easley was asked earlier this week when he would announce appointments to the lottery commission, the group that will run the new state numbers game. At the time he said, "early in the week."

  Well, the early week is running out and he was asked about this again today. His response: "It could be announced as early as today."

  Without the commission in place, nothing else lottery-related can happen.

• When asked about the sharp rise and subsequent slow drop in gas prices, Easley said he was considering joining other Democratic governors in calling on the feds to do something. He said that the recent supply interruption (and subsequent price spike) showed that the U.S. needed more refineries and shouldn't just keep all its supply down in one place (the gulf) where a big storm can interrupt the whole deal.

  Attorney General Roy Cooper, who was at the news conference as well, said his office was watching out for price gouging.

  "We have sent out a warning to retailers across the state letting them know that the price gouging law is in effect," Cooper said. He later said, "I think it's important of Congress to look into this issue."

• Easley actually make a couple of spontaneous funnies today. The first came after Cooper pointed out that there was only one glass of water to share for the speakers, much like conditions working in a tobacco field.

  Easley chortled and replied, "I haven't been in a tobacco patch since I got a drivers' license to make it to construction work."

  The last came at the end of the news conference, when reminded that the water providers were watching an emerging drought across the state carefully. There was a big rain storm here in Raleigh late Tuesday night / early Wednesday morning.

  "I was up late making it rain," Easley joked.

I just received an e-mail alerting me to this press release by the National Taxpayer’s Union.

It urges Gov. Mike Easley to temporarily lift the state’s 26.5-cent tax on gasoline. Easley was asked this morning whether he would do such a thing this morning. His one word reply: “no.”

Why pass on the seemingly feel-good power play? Easley may just be looking at the numbers.

Cutting 26.5 cents won't get prices below $2 a gallon at my local station. Meanwhile, cutting the state will cost the state somewhere north of $120 million a month - money that's set aside to help build and repair roads.

So, is getting your petrol bill down to, say $2.35 rather than $2.61, worth putting a host of road projects behind the fiscal eight ball? Discuss in the comments below.

Update: Click here for today's story on this from the dead-tree product.

Gov. Mike Easley has vetoed House Bill 706, which would have made it easier for North Carolina school districts to hire teachers from other states. Click here for prior coverage.

Easley did the veto in public and held a news conference to tell us scrubby press types that he really didn’t like the bill. This is a break from his usual procedure, under which he usually sends vetoes back to the legislature nice and quiet like.

"This bill reduces the North Carolina teaching standards to the lowest in America. It cheats our children out of a quality education and dishonestly classifies unqualified teachers as 'highly qualified,'" Easley wrote in his veto message.

Easley has until Oct. 12 to call the General Assembly back into session to consider whether to over-ride his veto or not.

Legislators and the state board of education have been working on a compromise but those talks fell apart Wednesday night, Easley said.

If nothing changes in the next week or so, expect the honorables to be headed back to town for a day or two.

Here are a couple of updates for you if you missed the weekend papers:

• My colleagues Tina Firesheets and Eric Collins penned this story on Stephen's Law, which closes a loophole in the hit and run statute. The bill was named for a Western Guilford High School graduate. Gov. Mike Easely signed it Sunday.

• Click here for a profile of the lottery commission. Charles Sanders at one time opposed the creation of a state game.

• The governor's press office kept itself busy over the weekend, letting me know that bills were signed. Click here for the release on Stephen's Law and Rachel's Law, which relates to handguns. The governor also signed a bill raising school nutrition standards.

I'm catching up on my e-mail from Friday. Only one appointment of local note from the governor's office:

Gov. Mike Easley has reappointed Barbara S. Moore of Reidsville to the Rockingham Community College Board of Trustees.

Moore is the owner of Town and Country Realty. She is a charter member of the Committee of 100, a member of the Reidsville Wachovia Bank Board of Directors and the Annie Penn Hospital Foundation. Moore is a past recipient of the Business Woman of the Year Award from the Reidsville Chamber of Commerce. She received her bachelor’s degree in primary education from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro.

Click here for the whole release.

It's time for the Friday afternoon appointments from the governor's office. So far, just one today:

• Guilford County Sheriff BJ Barnes has been appointed to the N.C. Emergency Response Commission. Click here for the full release from Easley's office.

Gov. Mike Easley's Friday appointments this week include:

• Gwennella Lamberth Quick of Greensboro to the N.C. Council on Sickle Cell Syndrome. According to the governor's office:

  Quick is a clinical assistant professor at the School of Nursing at NCA&T. She received her bachelor’s degree in nursing from NCA&T and her master’s degree in community health nursing from the Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C.

  Board duties include advising the Department of Health and Human Services and the Commission for Health Services on the needs of persons with sickle cell syndrome and making recommendations to meet these needs. The board has 15 members, each serving three-year terms. The governor appoints all members.

• Shirley T. Frye of Greensboro to the Guilford Technical Community College Board Trustees. According to the governor's office:

  Frye is the former vice president of community relations for WFMY-TV in Greensboro. She is chair of United Way of Greater Greensboro and the Joseph M. Bryan Foundation. Frye received the Athena Award from the Greensboro Chamber of Commerce and the Brotherhood Humanitarian Citation Award from the National Conference for Community and Justice.

Update: Click here for the governor's press release. More to come in tomorrow's paper. For all you teacher's out there, this means more money in November's paycheck.

Click here for the rush story from AP.

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Gov. Easley is scheduled to make an appearance at a Raleigh elementary school this afternoon to announce a plan to raise teacher salaries. Although this has the trappings of a dog and pony show, there actually is going to be some real news out of this one.

Back when the final state budget was negotiated this summer, about $85 million was set aside for to help raise teacher salaries in some way.

Basically, the legislature told Easley to figure out a way to use the money to make North Carolina's teacher salaries more competitive with other states. The string attached to the money was that the legislative leadership had to sign off on it before the governor could use the money.

Well, apparently they've hit on something that Easley, House Speaker Jim Black and Senate leader Marc Basnight can all agree to.

The announcement is schedule for 1 p.m. today. We'll have a story in the Wednesday's paper (you remember, the thing that gets thrown on the doorstep every morning) and we will, no doubt, update online this afternoon.

Some other background on this after the jump:

Click here for the story from the paper on the teacher pay raises.

I'd have more to say, but the lottery commission starts meeting at 8 a.m. and I'm off to that...and my friendly local coffee merchant.

...what would it be? Use the comments link below or e-mail me (mbinker@news-record.com) by 10:30 a.m. Tuesday (11/8).

Gov. Mike Easley is notorious among the capital press corps for what some perceive (I think rightly) as his pretty limited availability to reporters, at least compared to some other governors.

So today's news conference, called mainly in response to all the problems surrounding the lottery, was actually a pretty nice change of pace.

(Update: Click here for the AP's take on Easley's Q+A.)

Click here to listen to the whole thing. This is a file for our broadband friends, since it's an about 11 Meg MP3 file. It lasts 50 minutes. As I said, the focus is mainly lottery, with some bird flue and ethics questions thrown in for good measure.

I've done zero editing, so you get the whole thing. Reporter's questions will sound a little fuzzy at times, but Easley should be nice and audible. You'll also get all his jokes and asides and what not, and the tape starts with him talking about one of his staff member's child's school reports.

For those who don't have the time to listen, I expect to do a summary of some sort for tomorrow's paper.

Yeah, yeah, yeah, I know all you folks out there in the Internets think everyone is a turkey down here in Raleigh.

But Gov. Mike Easley sent out this release to remind folks how not to get sick from the real thing.

And in all seriousness, Clostridium botulinum is not a guest you want at Thanksgiving.

Have a safe and happy Turkey Day. We'll see you back here full time on Monday, Nov. 28, with only one or two updates between now and then - if all stays relatively quiet here in Raleigh anyway.

I haven't had cause to do one of these posts lately, but we'll kick off this Friday Appointments post nice and early.

Gov. Mike Easley has appointed:

• Michelle Gethers-Clark of Greensboro to the N.C. Agricultural and Technical State University Board of Trustees. Gethers-Clark is senior vice president of Card Operations for American Express. She is a member of the International Civil Rights Center and Museum Board of Directors.
• George W. House of Greensboro to the N.C. State Museum of Natural Sciences Advisory Commission. (This is a reappointment) House is a partner with Brooks, Pierce, McLendon, Humphrey and Leonard LLP and is chair of the commission. He is a member of the N.C. Bar Association, Virginia Bar Association and Greensboro Kiwanis Club. House was named Best Environmental Lawyer in North Carolina by Legal Elite Magazine in 2005.
• J. Donald Cline of Greensboro to the N.C. State Museum of Natural Sciences Advisory Commission. Cline is president of Pisgah Astronomical Research Institute. He received his bachelor’s degrees in math and physics from Guilford College.

Gov. Mike Easley is scheduled to meet the press Tuesday morning (10/06) next week. There's no specific topic, as he's basically granting an end-of-year interview request to a bunch of people at once.

So what would you ask him?

Yes, I have some questions of my own. But chances are at least some of you out there have something on your minds that I wouldn't have thought about.

And between the lottery, Dell's arrival, the newly empanelled legislative ethics committee, teacher salaries, teacher qualifications, the state budget, voting machine issues, recent executions and everything else going on related to state government, there's plenty of fertile ground to plow.

Just so you don't get too excited, here are a couple caveats: An individual reporter will be limited by time and the number of others in the room as to how many questions he can get off. Also, questions that are more political needling than actually aimed at eliciting a response aren't going to be much good to me.

Other than that, serve 'em up.

Reply via the comments link below or direct to e-mail at mbinker@news-record.com. If you want to make sure I get your question, send it by 5:30 p.m. on Monday.

My plan is to post audio of the session if I get a clean enough recording. Any of the questions submitted by you folks in the blogsphere that I use will get posted here with their answers Tuesday afternoon.

From the e-mail box:

RALEIGH – Gov. Mike Easley urges North Carolinians to remember our veterans this holiday season, especially residents in N.C. State Veterans Nursing Homes. One way to do this is to send cards, wish-list gifts or monetary donations to benefit residents.

“We must not forget the contributions made by our veterans to protect our country,” Easley said. “Especially at this time of year, we should do all we can to let them know how grateful we are for their dedication and sacrifice.”

Citizens, organizations and businesses can send cards and make holiday donations to provide cheer to residents at the state veterans nursing homes in Fayetteville and Salisbury. A monetary contribution will be used to give a resident a gift personally selected for them by staff. Contributions received through the nonprofit Friends of the N.C. State Veterans Homes are tax deductible.

Contributions can be made to Friends of the N.C. State Veterans Homes and should be addressed to Holiday Cheer, c/o James Woodard, N.C. Division of Veterans Affairs, 1315 Mail Service Center, Raleigh, N.C. 27699-1315. Donations may be accompanied by a signed card or given anonymously.

In addition to cards and monetary contributions, there are other wish-list items for the nursing homes, including new videos, DVDs and games. For details, call Woodard at 919/733-3851 or visit www.doa.state.nc.us/vets/va.htm.

The Division of Veterans Affairs in the N.C. Department of Administration administers the 150-bed Fayetteville facility, which opened its doors in 1999, and the 99-bed Salisbury facility, which admitted its first residents in 2004. Wartime veterans receive priority in admission.

Update: Here's the AP's story on yesterday's chat with Easley.

Earlier this week I had asked for questions that you might want to ask Gov. Mike Easley. While I didn't use any of the questions verbatim, I think we may have gotten at the spirit of a few of them.

So as I sit and ponder what to do with 100 minutes worth of notes and recording from Easley's end-of-year chat with members of the press corps, you can ponder Easley's answers when asked about the Jim Black saga. (If you need background, here. If not:

Click here for a real audio file. It's just shy of six minutes.

The first question you'll hear is whether Easley thinks legislative leaders have too much power. There's a short, somewhat silly interlude after the answer to that question when Easley talks about being the only right-handed male in his family. Then he gets two questions about Speaker Black, including whether he thinks Black should step down.

"At some point ... people are going to want to know what the explanation here, and how did this happen and what are your going to do to fix it," Easley said, but didn't get close to saying that Black should step down.

But you should listen to the whole thing.

Good afternoon. So far today, there’s been only one appointment from the governor with obvious local ties. Easley has appointed:

• Edward W. Kelly III of Greensboro to the N.C. Employment Security Commission.

  Kelly is a retired human resource and safety manager with Dow Corning Corp. He is a member of the Guilford Technical Community College Chemical Advisory Board, the Human Resource Management Association of Greensboro and the Society of Human Resource Management. Kelly received the N.C. Department of Labor’s Apprenticeship Award for Outstanding Service and a Public Service Award from Dow Corning Corp.

  The commission rules on appealed unemployment insurance claims and tax matters serving as the highest administrative voice. The rulings are then appealable to the N.C. Superior Court. The commission has seven members, each serving a four-year term. The governor appoints all members.

Stateline.org recently did a story detailing what the nation's 50 governors say when they send greeting cards this time of year. From the story:

A Stateline.org survey found that 37 of the 50 state leaders – 18 Democrats and 19 Republicans -- are sending wishes for a happy -- nameless -- holiday. Nine governors – two Democrats and seven Republicans -- are explicit in wishing the joy of "Christmas."

It continues:

The distinction between Christmas and holiday cards came to the fore this year when President Bush’s card – featuring a snow-draped White House with no holiday bunting -- was drubbed by conservative activists who claimed the president gave in to political correctness by failing to mention “Christmas.” While the majority of governors’ cards also use all-inclusive holiday language, their messages can’t be categorized as neatly as Santa’s naughty and nice list.

For those of you who are wondering, Gov. Mike Easley's cards read: "At this time of the year, we want to extend our best wishes. May God bless you and your family during this holiday season," according to material that ran with the story giving the text from all the governor's greetings.

Some governors stuck with a simple one line greeting, while others got really wordy. California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee are neck and neck for the verboseness prize.

But it's Gov. Mark Sanford of South Carolina who wins the award for sending a holiday greeting that also serves as an admonition to his fellow pols: "May we all live honorably, walk humbly, and give abundant thanks to the Lord for our many blessings this holiday season," a quote from Micah 6:8.

Gov. Easley has appointed the following local (Guilford County and surrounding area) folks who are landing appoints to various boards and commissions:

• Willie A. Johnson of Greensboro to the N.C. Auctioneers Commission.

  Johnson is an auctioneer and owner of Willie Johnson Auctioneer & Associates and a realtor and owner of Willie Johnson Realty. He is president of the N.C. Auctioneers Association and a member of the National Auctioneers Association, National Realtors Association, N.C. Realtors Association and Greensboro Regional Realtors Association. Johnson served in the U.S. Army and is a Vietnam veteran. He attended Guilford Technical Community College and N.C. A&T State University.

  The commission protects the public from incompetent or unqualified persons engaging in auctioneering activities and preventing deceitful practices, willful misinterpretations or fraudulent and dishonest dealings. The commission has five members, each serving a three-year term.

I've got a great new party game. Tell me who said this Thursday:

“The General Assembly budget process often results in decision being made at the last minute and middle of the night without open debate.”

Now I know you might be thinking John Blust, the Greensboro Republican who has long-railed against the way the General Assembly puts together its budgets.

But think again.

It was Attorney General Roy Cooper, sounding one part like a candidate for governor (hey, the 2008 elections are just around the corner!) and one part like a member of the legislature's minority party (Blust's Republicans).

Cooper was pitching to the General Assembly - by way of a news conference - a series of reforms he said were aimed at "fighting public corruption." Most were typical prosecutor stuff: make it a crime to lie to state investigators, allow state prosecutors to empanel investigative grand juries like their federal counterparts, etc...

Fair enough.

But then he confused his audience - not hard when you’re dealing with us scrubby media types - and said he also proposed AS A CORRUPTION FIGHTING TOOL reforms to the state budget process.

When asked if he was inferring the stat budget process was, well, corrupt, Cooper issued the above quote. And indeed, it sounded a lot like Blust. (It didn't answer the question mind you...)

This is the second time Cooper a potential candidate for governor (correction on 1/28) has seemingly ripped off an idea that a member of the Greensboro delegation has championed.

I'm beginning to think these boys must be sneaking into town for Cheesecake and political advice.

I'll have a story on all this (at least the Cooper sounding like Blust thing) in tomorrow's (Friday's) paper.

My story today dips into the renewed buzz surrounding the supplanting debate over the lottery.

The bullet is this: Easley's folks want to pull some tax money out of a couple education programs and use it elsewhere in next year's education budget. They will replace the money they move out of pre-K and class size reduction efforts with lottery proceeds.

They argue: that as long as the education budget increases over all, the lottery funds are not supplanting.

Supplanting is a term lottery opponents have used to describe what happens when additional money generated by the lottery displaces tax dollars rather than boost spending for education.

Critics argue: that what Easley is doing is the very definition of supplanting.

Some remainders that didn't make the story:

From Paul Luebke, a Durham Democrat and UNCG prof.: Luebke voted against the lottery but is now in the curious position of being a finance chairman in the House where he'll have a say on how the lottery money is processed through the budget.

Luebke takes the strictest possible view on supplanting, saying that lottery dollars should not push tax dollars out of any program they're going to now.

He predicts that more folks in the House might share this view, where the lottery passed by just one vote. The folks in the other chamber, he speculated, might be more flexible.

"My impression is that the Senate is more comfortable with supplanting," Luebke said.

If the House and Senate can't agree on what exactly constitutes supplanting or whether they'll do it or not, it could make for a long short session beginning in May.

Speaking of the Senate...

Sen. Kay Hagan, a Greensboro Democrat, was getting ready to throw a big dinner party when I talked to her yesterday. Her quotes on the topic:

"It is my strong feeling that any lottery money should be new, additional money for education," Hagan said. "I think it needs to be new money, laid out in accordance with the language that's in the lottery bill."

So how does she feel about the supplanting issue? Yeah, I'm not sure either. Looking at my notes, she's left herself a lot of wiggle room.

My sense is she'll make sure the lottery money stays in education but may be more flexible than Luebke.

Fellow Senator Phil Berger...

...expects there to be supplanting. He's a lottery opponent who is a glass-half-empty kind of guy on all things lottery, including how the money will be spent.

"I think this is what folks were saying all along would be the net result," Berger said. "It's just additional money for the government that will free up money that's currently going to education for other things."

Berger points out that the original version of the Senate budget would have used lottery money to replace construction money that already goes to school districts. Currently, part of the money raised by the corporate income tax goes to counties.

The lottery law creates a new program that provides construction aid to counties.

However, Berger believes that what Easley is proposing is only step one down the supplanting path. He expects step two to be a merging of the two school construction programs.

It'll be interesting to see if that plays out. Cutting the corporate income tax has been a big priority for the governor and the Senate, not so much for the House. In fact, the House pretty much nixed a cut to the corporate rate last year because the budget did nothing to reduce the taxes they saw as a priority: sales tax and personal income.

Using lottery dollars to replace -- yes, supplant -- money from that tax would allow budget writers to cut (slightly) the corporate rate without imposing more sales or income taxes or cutting programs.

Berger may just be on to something.

And just to round things out, the full statement Gov. Mike Easley issued yesterday reads:

Education lottery money will supplement, not supplant existing spending for education and I will not recommend nor sign legislation that reduces the state’s spending for education.

Since 2001, when we began pre-k and class size reduction efforts, I have consistently said that once an education lottery was enacted, we would use the proceeds to fund these priorities permanently. The lottery will always be the source of funding for these programs in good and tough economic times. In addition, the education lottery funds college scholarships and school construction as provided by law.

Okay...discuss among yourselves.

Update: News release here. AP story here. Audio below.

Gov. Mike Easley held a news conference today. The main thrust was to announce he had appointed Judge Robert Farmer as head of the state's ethics board. Farmer is currently undertaking a rewrite of the state's lobbying laws.

Easley also said he had asked Farmer to look at all the various ethics and lobbying reform proposals that have come up in the past few months, and try to mesh them into one comprehensive proposal.

You can listen to the pre-scripted announcement by clicking here. This is a link to a real audio file.

Of course, if you want to hear the fun stuff and good quotes, I recommend this link to the second half of the news conference. (Also a real audio file.)