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Wake Forest opens defense of its Big Four football championship by hosting Duke today.

The Deacons have won eight straight Big Four matchups and are undefeated in three seasons going back to a loss to North Carolina on Nov. 13, 2004.

The over-inflated ACC has not granted a Carolina-Wake game this season, unless the two meet in the league title game in Tampa. The two look like the Big Four's strongest teams, although Duke is improving.

Today's game provides a big opportunity for the Blue Devils, but Wake obviously has been the Big Four powerhouse for a long time and won't yield easily.

Prediction: Wake 20 (24 if Swank is back), Duke 10.

With yesterday's OT defeat of Duke, Wake Forest only has to beat State to claim a share of its fourth straight Big Four football championship.

The Deacons' 33-30 victory was their ninth straight over Big Four rivals.

State is Wake's only remaining game with a Big Four opponent on this season's schedule. For the second time in four years, the overinflated ACC decided there was no value in a Carolina-Wake game. In 2005, the two tied atop the Big Four standings with 2-0 records. Wake defeated Carolina in 2006 and 2007 to finish at 3-0 both years. Wake's last Big Four loss was inflicted by the Tar Heels in 2004.

Carolina was idle this weekend to remain at 6-2 and holds its ranking as the best college football team in North Carolina. Appalachian State is a strong No. 2 after pounding Wofford. East Carolina's game tonight will figure into next week's rankings.

Tar Heel Top Six

1. Carolina, 6-2 (No. 1 last week)
2. App, 7-2 (2)
3. Wake, 5-3 (3)
4. ECU, 4-3 (4)
5. Duke, 4-4 (5)
6. Elon, 7-2 (6)

Big Four Standings

1. Wake, 1-0
2. Carolina, 0-0
State, 0-0
4. Duke, 0-1

Spending the last couple of days at Topsail Beach reminded us why we enjoyed our vacations there so much.

Our extended family rented a house or a couple of condos for a week at Topsail Beach every summer until 1996 ... when Hurricane Bertha blew in just a couple of days before we were scheduled to arrive. That plan was washed out.

A couple of months later, Hurricane Fran delivered a second and heavier blow to the barrier island. From then on we shifted our vacations to Ocean Isle -- a major reason being that the kids were getting older and were more interested in proximity to Myrtle Beach for evening outings.

Not my thing, or my wife's. As parents of small kids, we liked the low-key family atmosphere of Topsail Beach. Now, as a middle-aged couple with kids grown and gone, we're looking for quiet evenings and peaceful walks on the beach. That's Topsail -- especially this time of year.

We stayed at the Sea Vista Motel -- or Sea Victim, as a dubbed it after the ocean took out the ground floor years ago. Now guests stay on floors 2 and 3 and a high dune has been pushed up to guard against the surf.

The Sea Vista isn't the Ritz, but it's clean, comfortable and right on the beach, near the southern point of the island. What's more: Pets are welcome, for an extra fee.

We'd never take our dog to the beach in the summer, but with cooler weather we figured, why not?

The only problem: Not all breeds are allowed.

Specifically: No Dobermans, Chows, Rotweilers, Pitbulls, Akitas, Boxers, German Shepherds or any mix thereof.

That last part gave us pause. Our dog is or might be a mix of any or all of the above. Who knows? But she doesn't look conclusively like any of them, so we decided to take a chance.

Turns out some rules are made to be broken. Guests in the next room over included a full German shepherd. Also on the premises: a full boxer.

By the way, every boxer I've ever met has been a sweetheart. That breed shouldn't be on anyone's list of dangerous dogs.

The Sea Vista attracts lots of dog people at this time of year. Fine with us. Our dog loved the beach, but not the surf, and there were no dog problems during our stay.

The weather was awesome. Although Wilmington set a record low for the date Friday, at 32, by Saturday afternoon it had topped 70 on the beach -- warm enough for a quick dip in the ocean. Refreshing!

Funny, I never saw anyone else venture in, except for fishermen knee-deep.

The beach drew quite a few fishermen Saturday. With a town permit, they can drive their vehicles on the beach at the island's south end. The beach is incredibly wide down at the point, which remains undeveloped as a bird sanctuary. Birds and fishermen seem to get along fine.

We walked early this morning, beating all but a couple of fishermen to the point. Otherwise, we had probably a half-mile of sand to ourselves -- along the ocean and around on the sound side.

A real highlight Saturday afternoon was watching a school of porpoises playfully swimming along the shoreline, even leaping straight up out of the water several times.

We drove inland to Snead's Ferry Saturday evening, our first visit there. SF is a bit like Calabash -- a few seafood restaurants built up around the docks where the fishing boats come in with their catch. SF is on the New River -- we ate at the aptly named River View restaurant -- across from Camp Lejeune.

Topsail Beach looks pretty good. There are still a few beach homes under construction and plenty for sale. More lots are available. Even if I had the money, I probably wouldn't risk a major investment out there -- there will be more Berthas and Frans -- but it's a great place for a relaxing getaway.

Even on Sunday, the Obama campaign was still trying to hit me up for money ...

"Douglas --

"I'm the Chief Financial Officer for Barack Obama's campaign. I track the donations coming in and the expenses going out.

"I asked for the opportunity to write to you directly so that I could try to explain what's happening right now.

"This weekend the McCain campaign said they would outspend us by $10 million in the final days. This is on top of recent news that, as of October 15th, our opponents had $20 million more in the bank than our campaign and the DNC combined.

"We knew the McCain campaign was saving its resources for a last-minute blitz, and now we know just how much they'll pour into it.

"No matter what, we need to match what our opponents are spending in the final stretch. We can't slow down between now and Election Day.

"If you give today -- any amount -- you could be one of 5 first-time donors who will have a front row seat for the big Election Night event in Chicago with Barack.

"Marianne Markowitz
"Chief Financial Officer
"Obama for America"

Oddly enough, I was reluctant to take Marianne's word for it that the Obama campaign is so in danger of being outspent that it needs whatever small contribution I might be willing to make (absolutely nothing, actually).

So I looked up the latest numbers I could find.

OpenSecrets.org from the Center for Responsive Politics shows quite a different picture. The Obama campaign, at the last reporting period, had raised a staggering $639 million and doubled the McCain campaign's spending. They were worried about being outspent by $10 million over the weekend? If they were outspent for a couple of critical days, after raising $639 million, they sure weren't budgeting very well.

I just hope that was the last pitch for money.

Candidates for office were required to report their third-quarter financials to the State Board of Elections the other day.

You can look up the candidate of your choice here.

Here are the amounts reported through three quarters by candidates for District Court judge in Guilford County:

Sue Burch, $19,925
vs.
Tabatha Holliday, $29,373

Robert Enochs, $40,597
vs.
Angela Foster, $3,890

Avery Crump, $1,557
vs.
Robby Hassell, $27,305

Betty Brown -- no third-quarter report
vs.
Chuck White, $22,612

Polly Sizemore, $16,029
vs.
Barbara Washington -- less than $3,000

Notes:

Washington certified she did not plan to raise or spend more than $3,000 and therefore is not required to file quarterly reports.

Brown's second-quarter filing (which was late) reported she had raised $5,088. I've placed a call to her to ask about her missing third-quarter report.

You can look at each report to see who's giving donations of $100 or more and how the candidates are spending their campaign funds.

Be aware that the candidates could do a large share of their fundraising and spending during October, but those amounts won't be reported until later.

Which cable network is more fair and balanced in its coverage of the presidential campaigns, MCNBC or FOX?

You wouldn't call either one F&B, according to a study by the Pew Research Center's Project for Excellence in Journalism, but MSNBC is really tilted.

Can you guess in whose favor?

A companion study pretty much found a general preference for Obama over McCain in TV news coverage since the conventions.

Maybe conservatives aren't paranoid when they detect media bias.

After this is over, the media will owe themselves and the public some serious self-examination.

High Point City Council should take its time before passing an ordinance covering panhandling and related problems.

I've been approached by panhandlers in High Point more times than I can remember. I'd characterize them as brazen rather than aggressive or threatening.

I'm happy to help someone in trouble if the need is genuine, but these guys often concoct stories that are simply unbelievable. They usually revolve around a need for money to pay for transportation, medicine or baby supplies. One man said he had to get to Winston-Salem for a kidney transplant. Someone else needed baby formula and disposable diapers. I took him to a nearby grocery and purchased the items for him, only later learning they have a good resale value. Another man once asked me to buy him some steaks. I turned him down.

Despite the lies they tell, and the likely bad use they make of whatever money anyone gives them, I don't think panhandling itself ought to be made illegal. Particularly as we head into tough economic times. I guess one of the most famous lines from the Great Depression was, "Hey, buddy, can you spare a dime?" Maybe you just oughtta have a right to ask.

I draw the line at certain behaviors. Obviously, threats and intimidation should be grounds for some kind of charge. Also, panhandling should be off limits in some places.

The other Sunday, a panhandler came inside my church to hit people up for money. Yes, everyone is welcome in church, and I invited this man to worship with us. He wasn't interested in that. The details of his hard-luck story didn't add up, but I ended up giving him a few dollars just to send him on his way.

I definitely draw a line when they knock on your front door at night. That happened to us, with the man presenting a typically suspicious tale about his car being broken down (always some distance away so you can't see for yourself). He got nothing but a warning to get out of my neighborhood. In cases like that, a trespassing law could be applied.

If existing laws are sufficient to deal with problems, they should be applied. If not, the City Council should carefully consider what remedies are needed to deal with the problem, being sure not to make an offender of everyone who might respectfully ask for a little help when he's down and out.

Speaking of bias, or perceptions of it, Elizabeth Dole's spokesman unloads on the North Carolina media in comments to National Journal.

(I couldn't access NJ's story, but Dome reports today.)

"Unfortunately, the media in this state is to the left of Hugo Chavez," he said. "I have worked most states east of the Mississippi and a couple on the other side, and I have never seen anything like this."

McLagan's had a reputation as a tough-talking operative, according to this story from a previous job in Georgia.

He's also worked for John McCain, George W. Bush and Oliver North, among others.

Maybe this has been his first experience in North Carolina. Sorry he's had such a rough time.

Seems to me, though, that's part of the problem -- if this is his first experience in North Carolina.

Why wouldn't a senator from North Carolina employ someone more familiar with North Carolina and North Carolina media as a principal spokesman?

I can't say I've heard Hugo Chavez brought into a discussion of North Carolina politics before. Maybe McLagan knows more about him than about the North Carolina media.

Oh, well. What would they say in Venezuela?

Adios.

How BLUE is Guilford County?

When Browns Summit farmer Steve Troxler, a Republican, loses his home county to a Democratic lawyer from Wake County who's previously been unsuccessful in runs for lieutenant governor, Congress and the state Supreme Court, you know lots of Guilford County voters only look at the party label.

Other North Carolinians might be more thoughtful, because it looks like Troxler was narrowly re-elected as agriculture commissioner.

Eleven of Guilford County's 14 District Court judges will be women after Tuesday's winners are sworn in -- and Joe Turner and Pete Hunter probably ought to be glad no women ran against them. They likely would have lost.

Two of the races were stunners.

Robby Hassell, a veteran judge widely respected in Guilford County's legal circles, was unseated by Avery Michelle Crump, a young assistant DA. Hassell was endorsed by this newspaper and the Simkins PAC, among others. Didn't matter.

Also, Angela Foster defeated Robert Enochs for Linda Falls' seat. As I wrote last month, Foster isn't even allowed to represent indigent clients in criminal cases because she had simply failed to show up for them too many times, the county's indigent defense committee decided. And now she's elected to the bench? Incredible.

Hassell's defeat is a big loss, but I think Crump will do OK.

Foster will need to work on time management to be an effective judge.

Meanwhile, if voters are determined to elect women to the District Court bench in Guilford County, the local bar should make sure that the best women lawyers run.

Barack Obama's victory Tuesday was not only historic, it was big-time decisive. No doubt about it: There is a mandate for change across the country.

Kay Hagan grabbed that mood among North Carolina voters, thoroughly beating Elizabeth Dole.

Bev Perdue was narrowly elected North Carolina's first woman governor -- hardly on a platform of change, but let's give her the benefit of the doubt and hope she'll be as energetic, visible and open as she promised -- which would be a change from Mike Easley.

Congratulations, also, to Greensboro's Bob Edmunds, re-elected to the N.C. Supreme Court. His experience is needed there. Suzanne Reynolds was a worthy candidate but came up a little short.

Who won the most votes in North Carolina? Attorney General Roy Cooper, by a wide margin.

If Democrats want to pick their strongest potential challenger to Republican U.S. Sen. Richard Burr in 2010, Cooper's definitely their man.

The Charlotte Observer adds its own example of why "it's nuts to elect District Court judges in North Carolina":

"In Mecklenburg County, a wealthy man who has never practiced law but who got angry over his divorce – in which a judge awarded his ex-wife a little more than half their joint estate – just got elected to the bench. The man he ousted? The judge in his divorce case."

That's no more nuts than the election in Guilford County of a lawyer whose work as a defense attorney was so lacking that she's no longer allowed to represent indigent clients in criminal cases.

Voters didn't make that magnitude of mistake in statewide judicial races yesterday, but it's probably only a matter of time.

It was a little too close for comfort as it was. Jim Wynn, possibly the best judge on the N.C. Court of Appeals, won with only 54 percent against Greensboro attorney Jewel Farlow, who had virtually no support from the legal community and didn't seem to do any campaigning.

I can only conclude that most people vote randomly in judicial races, but some probably vote on the basis of gender or other irrelevant factors.

The only good news is there's a huge dropoff in voting for judicial races. If people don't have a clue about the candidates, they shouldn't vote in ignorance.

Too many do, anyway. Voting for judges is very precarious. If we can't come up with a better system, we should at least move judicial elections away from presidential years.

Not much.

Total ballots, according to the N.C. State Board of Elections:

4,293,645

Total votes cast for president, including certified write-ins:

4,248,285

Undervote:

45,360, or just under 1.1 percent.

And the New York Times was in such a fret that our answer to the infamous Florida butterfly ballot would heave the whole national election into turmoil. Somehow, most of us did manage to comprehend that a presidential vote had to be cast separate from a straight-party vote.

Considering all the straight-party voting, I'd say a 1.1 percent undervote wasn't so bad. Some of that could have been people writing in Mickey Mouse or other noncertified write-in candidates. Some could have been people who simply didn't want to choose anyone on the ballot. Some could have been mistakes by voters, but on the whole poll workers did a great job making sure everyone understood how to vote properly.

There was more undervoting the further down the ballot you went:

1.9 percent in the U.S. Senate race
6.8 percent in the state auditor's race
28.9 percent in the Supreme Court race
33.8 percent in the Arrowood-Hunter Court of Appeals race.

Even a perfect ballot can't make voters care.

Is there enough evidence yet that there's no longer a need for race-based voting districts in Guilford County?

Barack Obama took 59 percent of the vote here Tuesday.

Sandra Alexander was elected to the at-large seat on the Guilford County Board of Education (beating Michael McKinney, who's also African American; the two led the balloting in the May primary).

Six of the 12 District Court judges elected in countywide voting are African American.

The only two African Americans running for statewide offices, Court of Appeals candidates Jim Wynn and Cheri Beasley, led in Guilford County.

In fact, other than McKinney, only one African American candidate whose name appeared on every Guilford County ballot did not win. That was Barbara Gore Washington, running for a District Court judge seat. And she had once been elected Guilford County's clerk of court, of course in countywide voting.

In High Point, meanwhile, Mary Lou Blakeney was elected to an at-large City Council seat by a wide margin.

African American candidates who entered at-large elections were overwhelmingly successful Tuesday, defying the attitude of those who think they can't win unless they run in districts with "majority minority" populations.

Is it time to change policies to keep up with the changing times?

Working at the High Point Enterprise until 2004, I kept a chart of election returns in that city.

What jumped out was High Point's consistent loyalty to Republican presidential candidates.

Not since Franklin Delano Roosevelt in 1944 had a Democrat carried High Point in presidential voting.

That can't be said anymore. High Point voters, like voters in other North Carolina urban areas, strongly supported Barack Obama.

I didn't count up the columns of numbers on the county's precinct-by-precinct voting chart. I didn't have to. It was clear they favored Obama.

It's difficult, if not impossible, to come up with a precise tally for High Point anyway. Not all High Point voters live in High Point precincts. Some live in county precincts like Friendship 2 and South Deep River. But those are split precincts -- part in the city, part not. I can't tell how many Obama votes in those precincts were cast by High Point residents. Quite a few High Point residents also live and vote in Davidson County.

This ambiguity actually clouds my conclusion about the 2004 election. If you counted only High Point precincts, John Kerry received a handful more votes than did George W. Bush. But I couldn't say Kerry carried High Point because voting in county precincts in which significant numbers of High Point residents vote went heavily for Bush. So I strongly suspected at the time that Kerry did not truly win among all High Point voters.

There's no doubt this time, however. Obama carried High Point. The city is no longer reliably red in presidential elections.

More numbers

Obama won more than 99 percent of the vote in three Greensboro precincts:

1,727 to 14 (McCain) to 2 (Barr) in G68;
1,281 to 10 to 1 in G 73; and
1,767 to 13 to 1 to 1 (write-in) in G 74.

There was no precinct in Guilford County where McCain had anywhere near that level of voter loyalty.

Old favorite Congressman Howard Coble was a bit of a stopper for Republicans. Just glancing at Greensboro and High Point returns, I found 10 precincts where Obama and Kay Hagan won, but so did Coble.

I doubt that means many Democrats were voting for Coble, however. It seems more likely to me that quite a few Republicans were sticking with Coble but crossing over to support Obama and Hagan in those precincts. (Addendum: I have no numbers to back that up and could be wrong. What do you think?)

Endless number crunching can be done with these returns. I wish I had more time.

Displaying the flag upside down to protest the outcome of national elections, if that's indeed what happened here, is just plain unAmerican.

Americans got past the name thing and elected Barack Obama president of the United States.

Now they find out his top aide will be a guy called Rahm Emanuel.

The names and faces of America are changing ...

... like they always have.

The California Supreme Court, in a contentious 4-3 ruling, overturned a ban on same-sex marriage in May.

The state's voters imposed a new ban Tuesday.

Now legal challenges are flying ... and the matter could end up in the U.S. Supreme Court.

One immediate question is the status of an estimated 18,000 same-sex marriages already on the books in California. Are they invalidated or forever?

That issue could go back to the state Supreme Court.

But what about any effort to override Tuesday's referendum on the basis that it's unconstitutional? I don't know how a legally approved state constitutional amendment could be unconstitutional. Maybe the federal courts would have to settle that.

A key figure is California Attorney General Jerry Brown -- yes, the guy once known as Gov. Moonbeam -- who has the obligation to defend the referendum results against legal challenges but also says he'll defend the legality of the same-sex marriages already performed. This may be a tricky balancing act.

Sooner or later, one of these cases -- the supreme courts of Massachusetts and Connecticut, also in 4-3 decisions, have allowed same-sex marriages -- will come before the U.S. Supreme Court. Advocates of same-sex marriage obviously would rather that happen later than sooner, after President Obama can appoint one or preferably two justices. Even then, an outcome favorable to them would be far from certain. And who wants the distraction of this issue going national?

If it does, however, Democrats in Washington should do nothing to try to override the will of the people in individual states on this issue. Marriage ought to be a legislative issue decided state by state.

Interesting side note: A big turnout for Barack Obama might have been fatal for same-sex marriage. Seventy percent of black voters supported the proposition banning same-sex marriage, exit polls said.

A blog post about my recent stay in Greenville, S.C., earned me another trip to the Upstate Utopia ...

... this time with High Pointers developing a core city plan of their own. There's a busload heading out at 7 and returning tonight.

Greenville's downtown is fabulous, and the High Point folks hope to pick up some ideas. They've got tours and meetings planned all day.

Should be fun. I'll report.

Duke drops with a loss to State, putting the Wolfpack into unlikely contention for a Big Four title.

Carolina and Wake take steps that could earn them a December match-up in Tampa. That's how to get around overinflated ACC scheduling that won't let natural rivals play in the regular season.

Tar Heel Top Five

1. UNC, 7-2 (No. 1 last week)
2. App, 8-2 (2)
3. Wake, 6-3 (3)
4. ECU, 6-3 (4)
5. Elon, 8-2 (6)

Big Four standings

1. State, 1-0
Wake, 1-0
3. Carolina, 0-0
4. Duke, 0-2

The age of peace and harmony may be coming to Washington, but some Senate Democrats want to play a little old-fashioned political hardball first.

The partisans want payback against Joe Lieberman, who campaigned for his Republican pal, John McCain.

Lieberman is a Democrat (Al Gore's 2000 running mate, remember) who was rejected in the Connecticut primary two years ago, then ran and won as an independent. He still agreed to caucus with the Democrats, which was fine with them when they needed him to form a 51-seat Senate majority.

They don't need him for that anymore, and some don't want him. Majority leader Harry Reid seems on the brink of shoving Lieberman out of his Homeland Security chairmanship.

It's pure vindictiveness. Lieberman's just the guy who ought to run Homeland Security in the Senate. Sacking him because he wasn't "loyal" to Barack Obama would put politics ahead of country.

Maybe Lieberman's Connecticut colleague recognizes the problem. Chris Dodd told the Hartford Courant that Obama himself might not want this messy fight over Lieberman.

I hope Dodd is right. The Lieberman issue is a distraction from more important business.

More significantly, it contradicts the idea that it's time for all our leaders to work together for the good of the country, no matter what political differences they've had.

If the Senate Dems dump Lieberman, that will say a lot about where they stand.

I just don't get this.

I can't speak to the merits of the abduction charge against gang leader Jorge Cornell and others, but ...

If I had a 15-year-old daughter who was hanging out with gang members, and I couldn't pry her loose any other way, you can be sure I'd go to the police for help.

I'd swear out a warrant for kidnapping or abduction or any other charge I could, and I'd demand that the police act on it.

I'd also expect some support from local ministers, and I'd be furious if they backed up the gang leader instead.

Meanwhile, there was yet another killing involving young men in Greensboro yesterday.

Then today, a storekeeper shot to death.

And some people think "police brutality" is the big problem in Greensboro.

The election has been over for nearly a week and I still haven't heard the last from the Obama campaign.

From today's email:

"The Democratic National Committee poured all of its resources into building our successful 50-state field program. And they played a crucial role in helping Barack win in unlikely states like North Carolina and Indiana. We even picked up an electoral vote in Nebraska.

"The DNC took on considerable debt to make this happen.

"As we start laying the groundwork for real change, we need to help the DNC recover the resources it took to win. Please make a donation today and get your 2008 Victory T-shirt."

You can see the $30 Victory Shirt (and make your donation) here.

I won't be sending any money to the Obama/DNC organization, which might have been the wealthiest political outfit in the history of the world. But it appears they aren't easily discouraged, so I suppose I'll receive continued solicitations all the way through the 2012 election and beyond.

I have to be evenhanded, however. It was brought to my attention the other day that the McCain campaign also sent out regular fundraising emails.

Here's part of a message sent over Sarah Palin's name a week or so before the election:

"We need your support to stop the Obama-Biden Democrats' media buying binge. Your immediate contribution of $25, $50, $100, $250, $500, $1,000 or more will help fund our team's ads in key media markets across the country.

"The current media buying gap is a direct result of Senator Obama's broken pledge to accept public financing. This summer, Senator Obama chose to break his promise to the American people by opting out of the public financing system."

The solicitation confused me because McCain did accept public financing, which I thought barred him from private fundraising.

Here's the explanation at the bottom of the email:

"Because the McCain-Palin Campaign is participating in the presidential public funding system, it may not receive contributions for any candidate's election. However, federal law allows the McCain-Palin Campaign's Compliance Fund to defray legal and accounting compliance costs and preserve the Campaign's public grant for media, mail, phones, and get-out-the-vote programs. Contributions to McCain-Palin Victory 2008 will go to the Compliance Fund, and to participating party committees for Victory 2008 programs."

Now that's what you call a switcheroo: We can't use the money you send us to buy campaign ads, even though Gov. Palin just said your contributions will "help fund our team's ads in key media markets," but we can designate your donation to "legal and accounting" expenses and then divert the money we would have spent on legal and accounting to TV ads. OK?

I didn't have much respect for the presidential public financing system before, but now I have none.

It's the same old story: Money talks in elections, and politicians will get it one way or another.

They sure don't mind begging for it ... endlessly.

It's certainly logical for Jim Hunt's name to come up as a possible education secretary with a Democratic administration taking power in Washington.

Based on nothing but guesswork, however, I don't think the former four-term North Carolina governor will be heading to Washington.

One reason: Hunt has been a mentor to North Carolina Gov.-elect Bev Perdue, and she'll need him in Raleigh a lot more than Barack Obama will need him in Washington.

Perdue proclaimed herself the "new sheriff in town," but she's not new, nor has she established her authority to police the very powerful state legislature. If she hopes to make state government as honest and transparent as she promised during her campaign, she'll need some advice on how to manage the mob on Jones Street. Hunt was pretty good at that.

Obviously Hunt had national ambitions earlier in his career. Jesse Helms dashed them in the bruising 1984 Senate battle. Hunt refocused on state interests and won two more terms as governor. No one will ever match his 16 years in that office.

To many in North Carolina, he's still The Governor. He remains very influential in Raleigh, and the next governor can make good use of his experience. I say he stays.

My column today:

Oops. Did it again. This is my column for tomorrow. You've got a free preview, but please buy the paper anyway.

When it comes to downtown Greenville, S.C., you’ve got to see it to believe it.

To apply Greenville’s success to your downtown, though, you’ve got to believe it first.

I joined a bus load of High Point sightseers who spent last Friday touring downtown Greenville and meeting with government and business leaders. The group, about 30 strong, was on a mission to “figure out the ingredients of what another city has done,” said Tom Terrell, chairman of High Point’s Core City Plan Steering Committee.

Folks from Greensboro and many other places have done the same. Greenville leaders must spend half their time telling their story.

“We’re always happy to show off Greenville,” City Manager James Bourey told us. And share the secrets.

“This is the greatest example you’ll find in the country of a walkable downtown,” said Knox White, a lawyer who’s been mayor since 1995. “The magic we have created here is all about the pedestrian experience.”

Our pedestrian experience took us down Main Street from City Hall to the Reedy River, with its multilevel park that drops in elevation with a plunging waterfall.

Incredibly, the falls were covered by a four-lane bridge for motor vehicles until the city decided to get rid of it.

“Most people who grew up here had never seen that falls until four years ago,” said White, a native.

The plan drew stiff resistance, said Bourey. How would people drive from one part of town to the other?

“Sometimes you have to take a calculated risk,” the manager said.

Now the river is spanned, spectacularly, by a curving 355-foot suspension bridge — for pedestrians, naturally — that’s become one of the city’s top attractions.

“We probably have more people walk that bridge than ever drove over the old one,” City Councilman David Sudduth said.

Recent developments along the river include a hotel, restaurants, art shops and a condo complex where top-floor units go for more than a million dollars.

Still within walking distance to the south is a minor-league baseball park modeled after Boston’s Fenway — although Mayor White said he visited Greensboro’s downtown ballpark for inspiration. To the east, along a winding greenway, is the city’s zoo. Toward the “West End,” further projects are in the works. And seven blocks back uphill to the north is the Hyatt Hotel where the resurgence began almost 30 years ago.

We strolled under canopies of trees in splendid fall colors, past performing arts centers, statues and other public art, fountains, restaurants, bars, shops, office buildings, new and restored hotels. The Hyatt is built around a gigantic interior public space, including a bar and cafes, with offices on one side and the hotel on the other.

That was the new downtown’s first anchor project. Just as important was narrowing Main Street from four lanes of traffic to two, creating wider walking spaces, adding trees and other features. White remembers the opposition to that idea, too.

Skepticism continued, but strong, visionary leaders forged ahead, using tools like tax-increment financing, hotel taxes, food and beverage taxes and, on occasion, eminent domain. The city acquired properties and resold them to developers with stipulations about what projects were allowed. Plans were executed with discipline.

Today, said White, “the doubters are in full retreat.”

It helped, ironically, that South Carolina laws make it very difficult for cities to grow through annexation. That avoided the sprawl that for so many years depleted North Carolina inner cities.

“The only way we could grow was grow from within,” said Nancy Whitworth, Greenville’s economic and community development director. Even now, the city’s official population is a mere 56,000.

But it’s got the pull of a city 10 times that size, thanks to its vibrant downtown. “Unexpectedly, it has become our No. 1 economic development tool for all of Greenville County,” White said.

So, can High Point, a city of 100,000, create some of the magic? That was the question focusing discussions on the ride home Friday night.

The answer: absolutely. High Point’s central business district, dominated by furniture showrooms, poses challenges. But other parts of downtown, such as several blocks of North Main Street from, say, Farriss to Lexington avenues, already have attractive elements in place.

If the city could make it pedestrian-friendly and encourage the right kind of redevelopment where necessary, a good start is possible.

Magic, after all, always begins with believing.

Thanks for reading. Feel free to give me a call at 373-7039, email me at dgclark@news-record.com or post a comment here.

I love being patronized by The New York Times.

Today it's a front-page story about the political shift in the South. It's datelined Vernon, Ala., but includes this little passage about us folks:

"Along the Atlantic Coast, parts of the 'suburban South,' notably Virginia and North Carolina, made history last week in breaking from their Confederate past and supporting Mr. Obama. Those states have experienced an influx of better educated and more prosperous voters in recent years, pointing them in a different political direction than states farther west, like Alabama, Arkansas, Louisiana and Mississippi, and Appalachian sections of Kentucky and Tennessee."

Well, shucks. I'll bet if we 'uns added even more smart folks from better-edgycated states like New York, jes' maybe we could get Miz Hillary to move down here and be our next senator in 2010.

Watchyou think about that, Andy and Opie?

The only way to deal with this is through vigorous prosecution of tough laws.

Here's the appropriate statute for this case:

Felony Serious Injury by Vehicle. – A person commits the offense of felony serious injury by vehicle if:

(3) The commission of the offense in subdivision (2) of this subsection is the proximate cause of the serious injury

Furthermore, the statute provides this charge is aggravated if the person has a previous conviction for impaired driving anytime during the previous seven years.

Felony serious injury by vehicle is a Class F felony.

Aggravated serious injury by vehicle is a Class E felony.

These cases allow easy convictions if it's established that the driver was impaired.

There's no need for deals or plea bargains.

Prosecute, convict and put 'em away for a few years.

Let's just hope this victim recovers fully.

Charlotte-Meck schools take disciplinary action against teachers because of Facebook postings, the Observer reports. Some of the messages were insulting to students, some just in bad taste.

One teacher may be fired.

Infringement on free speech outside the school zone? Maybe.

But I'd expect teachers to be a lot smarter than this.

I hope this is indeed the end.

Today from Obama campaign manager David Plouffe:

"Douglas

"The Democratic National Committee's 50-state field program played a crucial role in this election.

"Barack won in states like North Carolina, Indiana, and Colorado, where Democrats haven't been competitive in a generation. We even won an electoral vote in Nebraska -- a state that has gone Republican in the past 10 elections.

"The DNC went all in for Barack when we needed them -- pouring resources into Chairman Howard Dean's 50-state campaign and taking on considerable debt.

"Before we can do anything else, your donation of $30 is necessary to help pay for this winning strategy. You'll receive a limited edition T-shirt to mark this amazing accomplishment ...

"Thanks for helping to take care of this one last thing before we work together to change the world."

Well, I'm afraid they're going to get $30 less change than they want.

After a $650 million campaign, maybe they won't notice.

The story that Sarah Palin didn't know Africa was a continent never should not have been reported. It was a hoax that exposed major news organizations' readiness to believe the former GOP veep candidate is capable of any stupidity.

On that subject: I suspect this must be a gag, too.

Speaking of bizarre, who thought of a John Edwards-Karl Rove debate?

Neither one has any credibility in my book.

Lucky for Barack Obama that William Ayers kept his mouth shut until after the election.

Not that I go for the "palling around with terrorists" line, but it would have been much harder to dismiss Ayers as some kind of contrived bogeyman if Americans had seen and heard this crackpot before they voted.

His interview with ABC's Good Morning America today was sickening.

This isn't a man who left radical ideology in his youthful past. He defends it to this very day, justifying acts of violent terrorism on the grounds that the U.S. government was doing things he didn't like.

That is exactly the reasoning of the 9/11 terrorists, Timothy McVeigh or any other dangerous lunatic you want to name.

And he's delusional enough to accuse the Republicans of concocting a "dishonest narrative...to demonize me."

He demonizes himself.

But here's what really bothers me.

Despite these disgusting views, this man can be described by ABC as "a distinguished professor of education at the University of Illinois at Chicago." He could serve on prestigious boards with a future president of the United States. He can be not only accepted, but respected in liberal political and social circles in Chicago.

I don't know why anyone would associate with him. While it was a distraction from more important issues for Hillary Clinton, then John McCain and Sarah Palin, to bring up Ayers during the campaign, it served one good purpose: Obama is sure to keep his distance from now on.

Michael Charles Parks, the driver whose van hit and seriously injured a child in the Lindley Park neighborhood Tuesday, should have been jailed for a previous traffic offense, but an order for arrest issued July 23 was never served.

I'm trying to find out why.

Parks, who turned 40 Monday, was convicted of DWI in 2005. Subsequent DWI charges were dismissed in 2007 and in May of this year.

He was charged with a hit-and-run offense in April 2007 and convicted last Nov. 20. He was given a 30-day sentence suspended for 12 months, fined and ordered to perform community service.

Parks failed to complete his community service, prompting a notice to revoke and an order to appear in court July 23. At that point, his 30-day sentence could have been activated.

He didn't show up, and an order for arrest was issued. It should have been served by Greensboro police.

Parks is a dangerous driver. He's charged with DWI and driving while license revoked in this latest incident, and as I wrote earlier a more serious felony charge should be forthcoming.

He should have done his 30 days for a past offense. That's not to say it would have stopped him from driving Tuesday. He could have done his time and been out.

But maybe some time in jail would have shaken him up enough to change his habits.

Sometimes going to jail is just what some people need ... and deserve.

It's a matter of public safety.

I'm heading to Heath Shuler country for the weekend, where the buzz -- OK, maybe murmur -- is that the newly re-elected Democratic congressman says he's thinking about running for the state's second U.S. Senate seat in 2010.

That would be against Republican Sen. Richard Burr.

Shuler is a big star in Western North Carolina, where he was a high school football legend who went on to play quarterback with lots of success at the University of Tennessee and, not so much, for the Washington Redskins.

In his first run for political office, he knocked off longtime-but-not-very-well-liked Republican Congressman Charles Taylor in 2006. He won re-election easily last week.

So, is Shuler the next Kay Hagan for North Carolina Dems?

I don't think so.

First, Richard Burr isn't Elizabeth Dole. He won't be a pushover, mainly because he isn't vulnerable to the same line of attack that Dems used in running eight trillion anti-Dole TV ads.

Second, 2010 won't be 2008 with a huge turnout of fired-up straight-party Democratic voters lining up at the polls yelling Change Change Change!

Third, Shuler is pretty much a conservative, especially on social issues. He might turn off some core Democratic constituencies.

Fourth, if Attorney General Roy Cooper wants to run, he'd start with a big advantage -- having already won three statewide elections. Most recently, he received more votes than anyone else on the ballot.

Fifth, if Shuler gives up his 11th District seat, the Republicans might win it back. Shuler country is not necessarily any other Democrat country.

N.C. State ended Wake Forest's nine-game Big Four winning streak and jumped into a strong position for this year's title with a 21-17 upset in Raleigh.

The Wolfpack looks for a Big Four sweep of its own in Chapel Hill this Saturday.

Wake, three-time defending champion, is done with Big Four play and eliminated from contention.

Easing the sting of football defeats for Carolina, Wake and Duke is the fact that basketball season has started, which promises more success.

Meanwhile, Appalachian State puts down Elon and rises to the top spot in our weekly Tar Heel poll. In fact, with everyone else in last week's poll suffering losses, we'll just stop at No. 1 this week.

Tar Heel State football poll

1. App, 9-2

Big Four standings

1. State, 2-0
2. Wake, 1-1
3. Carolina, 0-0
4. Duke, 0-2

The choice of Hillary Clinton as Barack Obama's secretary of state would be purely political, in my opinion ... a payoff for her support in the general election.

It would have made more sense for Obama to pick Clinton as his running mate and then name Joe Biden as secstate. Biden's the foreign policy guy. Hillary's credentials don't extend much beyond her travels as first lady.

Of course, that points to a potential problem: Bill. What would be his influence in the State Department? And wouldn't he have to give up all his overseas wheeling and dealing? Since leaving office, he's been raking in money probably in dozens of currencies. Plenty of conflicts of interest for the secstate's spouse.

Hillary Clinton certainly is talented and could contribute to an Obama administration. But she needs a job in an area of expertise, and I haven't seen sufficient evidence to believe that's foreign policy.

Maybe Obama promised her this position in exchange for delivering her voters on Election Day, which she did. I can't think of any other reason for giving her the job, and that's not a good reason. If he's really thinking about Hillary, he ought to think harder.

Leonard Pitts is exactly right in his column today about education reform. Desperately needed innovation often meets incredible resistance, usually from teachers unions.

Here, the N.C. Association of Educations isn't really a union -- yet. It may become one if public employees in this state are ever granted collective-bargaining rights, which some politicians support.

It is politically influential. My wife's a member, and she received many mailings from NCAE before the election promoting Bev Perdue for governor and warning against the dangers of electing Pat McCrory. NCAE might have made the difference for Perdue.

But what about school reform? Teachers I know who voted the NCAE line did so because they believe they'll get bigger pay raises with Perdue as governor.

(They may be disappointed. There's not going to be much money available for pay raises next year.)

Look, I'm for paying good teachers more. That's to my benefit. But I'm more concerned about how well children are educated. On that point, I agree wholeheartedly with Pitts: Reward teachers for teaching well. Get rid of those who don't.

The trouble is, these decisions are made by leaders who are beholden to organizations like NCAE, which help elect them.

Let me be clear: NCAE is an excellent advocate for its members. If a teacher is accused of some trumped-up offense, it will stand behind her 100 percent. I'm happy my wife belongs.

But I don't want NCAE dictating educational policies.

Individual teachers should have a say in school-based decisions. They should have flexibility in how they teach. They should be empowered.

Collectively, however, NCAE or unions are about what's best for teachers.

That's not necessarily what's best of education.

More headaches for Democrats in the state legislature:

1. Newly re-elected Democratic state Sen. Julia Boseman from Wilmington "needs to explain why she deserves to keep her seat," says the Wilmington Star-News today.

Yes, the newspaper endorsed her for re-election, despite "her financial troubles and questionable dealings." But new information has come to light:

"A family who thought they were on their way to the American dream may lose both their home and the $35,000 they invested in a thinly documented lease-to-own agreement with Boseman. The arrangement may be legal, as some in the real estate community seem to think it is, but it calls into question her ethics and her judgment."

2. Democrat Nick Mackey was elected to a seat in the N.C. House of Representatives from Charlotte. The Observer summarizes his credentials:

"Mackey resigned from the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department in 2003 while under investigation for falsifying work hours. In 2005, he filed for bankruptcy. Earlier this year, Mackey was convicted of contempt of court. His appeal on that case is pending.

"The controversy over the sheriff's vote first put him in the local spotlight. In 2007, Sheriff Jim Pendergraph, 59, stepped down. Mackey won the intraparty election to replace him, only to have his victory thrown out when officials discovered that precincts had been improperly organized."

These aren't the kind of people likely to deliver good government in Raleigh. I hope Democratic leaders will hold them to high standards of conduct.

As for the other party, Republicans are lucky they don't have former state Sen. Hugh Webster to worry about anymore.

He was an embarrassment as their congressional candidate in the 13th District, and now this.

Call this the confession of a ticket-splitter.

It’s been a couple of weeks since the election, and I’ve got to come clean.

I was one of those annoying voters ahead of you in line who worked my way all the way down the ballot, carefully choosing candidates with absolutely no regard to their party affiliation.

Yes, I took longer — maybe a lot longer — than the average voter to finish my task and make way for the next person in line ... who then cast a straight-party vote and went on his or her way in about 30 seconds.

My column today, more or less:

Long-time Greensboro lawyer Bob Hunter was elected to the N.C. Court of Appeals Nov. 4, just two years after Bob Hunter was elected to the N.C. Court of Appeals.

They're not the same Bob Hunter.

One is Robert C. Hunter, from Marion, who was first elected to the court in 1998 and re-elected in 2006.

The other is Robert N. Hunter, managing partner of Hunter, Higgins, Miles, Elam & Benjamin in Greensboro.

This Bob Hunter defeated Judge John Arrowood for his seat on the Court of Appeals two weeks ago.

There's going to be confusion. In fact, when I called Judge Bob Hunter at the Court of Appeals Monday, his secretary double-checked to make sure I wasn't trying to reach the other Bob Hunter. I assurerd her I was aware the newly elected Bob Hunter had not yet taken his seat on the court.

Actually, there was confusion.

"A lot of people at home and around the state, lawyers, a judge, in Rotary Club with me, people in my church, people that are good friends, who see me a lot, thought it was me running," the Bob Hunter who wasn't running told me.

Did many voters vote for Bob Hunter thinking he was Bob Hunter?

It's possible, because Bob Hunter's election (the recent one) surprised some court watchers. It pushed against a tide. Although judicial races are nonpartisan, Greensboro's Bob Hunter is a Republican. Arrowood is a Democrat. Other Republicans running for the Court of Appeals got swamped, including incumbent Doug McCullough. Yet Hunter won big.

When I spoke with Arrowood last week, he was at a loss to explain. He thought he ran as good a campaign as it's possible to run with the limited resources and attention judicial candidates get. He had plenty of endorsements (including ours, although it was a very close call). He hadn't written any controversial or unpopular opinions that came back to bite him.

He thought Hunter might have been the beneficiary of some other-Bob Hunter voting.

That other Bob Hunter, a Democrat, was very successful in his election just two years ago, winning 99 counties and coming close in the 100th. Some of those voters who supported him then might have recognized his name and marked it again, not realizing the first guy won an eight-year term and won't be up for election again until 2014.

Greensboro's Bob Hunter acknowledges that's one theory explaining his success, complaining (in fun) that the other Bob Hunter "has been running on my name for years, and I'm sick of it."

He added he'd rather believe the voters examined his 35 years of legal experience "and made an intelligent choice."

He also cited the Balls Creek Fish Fry theory, referring to a Republican event in Catawba County. It has a tradition going back to Jim Holshouser in 1972 that Republican candidates who show up win, those who don't lose. Hunter was there, along with Bob Edmunds (Supreme Court), Steve Troxler (agriculture commissioner) and Cherie Berry (labor commissioner) -- all winners. Not there: McCullough, Pat McCrory, Elizabeth Dole (naturally) and all the other Republicans who lost.

More seriously, Hunter said he used his publicly financed judicial campaign dollars to run targeted TV ads heavily in the Triad and Charlotte, with a smattering in Asheville and Morehead City. He thinks that was effective.

Then there was the Simkins PAC endorsement in Greensboro, notable because picking a conservative white Republican doesn't seem to be the norm for the group whose principals include Skip Alston and Earl Jones.

I checked last week with Steve Bowden, the prominent attorney whose name accompanied the Simkins PAC's slate of judicial endorsements. He told me they liked Hunter for his work on political redistricting issues. Hunter, once a member of the State Board of Elections, has worked with Republicans to carve districts favorable to the GOP. At the same time, Bowden said, that process has been advantageous to black voters. You can create safe a Republican district by grouping a lot of black Democratic voters into an adjoining district. Hunter mentioned the same thing about gathering the PAC's support, adding that he has "a record of supporting Voting Rights Act issues."

Yeah, OK.

But I also heard it didn't hurt that Hunter gave Mayor Yvonne Johnson's daughter her first job as a lawyer.

He did hire Lisa Johnson-Tonkins, Hunter told me, adding that she's a "great lawyer." She works for the DA's office now, but he wishes she were still with his firm.

He also supported Yvonne Johnson in her campaign for mayor last year, Hunter said.

I don't know if those facts explain the PAC's endorsement,- but let's just say John Arrowood didn't have those kinds of connections.

Hunter won a big vote in Guilford County.

Bob Hunter will be sworn in as a judge on the N.C. Court of Appeals here in Greensboro on Jan. 6.

If you want to keep track, remember, that's Robert N. Hunter.

When a defendant in a drug case doesn't have physical possession of cocaine, how much evidence is enough to show he has "constructive" possession?

The N.C. Court of Appeals, in a split decision issued yesterday, ruled against Walter Anthony Alston Jr. of Greensboro, who was convicted last year of trafficking in cocaine.

On Feb. 1, 2007, Alston was in a house at 300 Regan Street owned by Jimmy Wayne Knight. Guilford County sheriff's officers, who had been watching the place for more than two months, obtained a search warrant and executed it with a battering ram at the front door. In addition to Alston and Knight, Yvonne Bio, Justin Hughes and Ruth Reyes were in the house.

So was a considerable amount of cocaine, all over the place. Officers found 32.8 grams scattered around the entertainment room, more elsewhere. Prosecutors alleged this belonged to Alston. Because it exceeded 28 grams, they hit him with a trafficking charge.

At trial on Aug. 2, 2007, Alston asked the court to dismiss the charge, contending the state presented insufficient evidence to support the charge under either a constructive possession theory or acting in concert theory. Superior Court Judge Stuart Albright denied the motion, and the jury subsequently returned a guilty verdict.

The Court of Appeals majority opinion, written by Judge Ann Marie Calabria and joined by John Tyson, backed Albright. Judge Rick Elmore, a Greensboro resident, dissented. He thought Albright should have dismissed the trafficking charge.

Because this was a split decision, Alston has an automatic right of appeal to the N.C. Supreme Court.

Calabria wrote it was only necessary to consider the constructive possession theory, which the state focused on during Alston's trial. So the question boiled down to whether there was sufficient evidence to show that, although Alston did not have physical possession of the cocaine at the time of the bust, he nonetheless had "the intent and power to maintain control over the disposition and use of the substance."

Considering the state's evidence, Calabria found there were enough "incriminating circumstances for the jury to infer defendant constructively possessed the cocaine found in the entertainment room. In particular, the State presented evidence tending to show defendant regularly visited and sold drugs from 300 Regan Street, defendant was present in the entertainment room prior to the officers entering the home, defendant sold crack cocaine to Reyes in the entertainment room earlier that evening, Hughes usually did not keep more than one gram of cocaine on his person and kept his cocaine buried in the yard, the defendant was Hughes' drug supplier, and defendant's gun was found in the entertainment room."

Elmore, as I noted, disagreed:

"Simply put, there were too many other people with an interest in the cocaine to properly infer that defendant had constructive possession of the cocaine: There were four people besides defendant in the house at the time of the 'bust.' One of those four people, Hughes, was also a drug dealer. A second person, Knight, received payment in kind from both defendant and Hughes for allowing them to use his house to sell drugs. The other two people, Bio and Reyes, were both drug users who were in the house for the purpose of purchasing and using cocaine. Moreover, Knight's arrangement with defendant suggests that Knight, rather than defendant, was the owner of at least some of the cocaine in the entertainment room. As the owner, Knight, rather than defendant, would have had the intent and power to maintain control over his portion of the cocaine's use and disposition."

Who's right? I can't say. It's clear that someone in that house was trafficking cocaine. Theoretically, I suppose, everyone present could have owned a small enough share of the drugs so that no one would possess enough to maintain a trafficking charge. I hope that's not an easy dodge for drug dealers.

One thing to keep in mind, too: The jury was convinced Alston was guilty of the trafficking charge.

The appeals court doesn't consider that. It's not really concerned with guilt or innocence but with whether trials were conducted free of prejudicial errors. Nevertheless, to this layman it seems that, if Judge Albright had erred by letting the jury decide, the jury didn't correct him by rejecting the evidence.

School board members spent an hour-and-a-half today looking a gift horse in the mouth, then decided to look some more in a couple of weeks.

And, if they accept it, they might want to pay something for it.

The gift horse is an invitation to participate in a study paid for by the U.S. Department of Education and conducted by Mathematica Policy Research and partners, The New Teacher Project and Optimal Solutions Group.

The idea is to identify high-performing teachers according to value-added data and entice them to transfer to low-performing schools with bonuses of $20,000 for two years. Then the researchers evaluate the impact on student achievement.

Sound familiar? It's a lot like the Mission Possible program already in effect. Basically, it would be a way to apply the same concept to a few more classrooms of children.

Superintendent Mo Green and his staff are all for it. They had Mathematica's project director, Steve Glazerman, down from Washington to explain it.

They all might have been flummoxed by the questions and concerns from board members. Why are children being subjected to experiments? What if the program fails? Won't the data be tainted by other programs the schools have to raise student achievement? What if funding's cut off? Can this do more harm than good? How would this be affected by teacher unionization? Does this penalize teachers who don't get the $20,000?

The last question actually sparked some affirmation for the idea of using local funds to supplement the pay of high-quality teachers who wouldn't get to participate in the program.

The price of that gift horse could get pretty high with that approach.

Green, staff members and Glazerman tried to allay concerns. Green called the program one of a number of strategies needed to put more high-quality teachers in low-performing schools.

Maybe he was thinking what I was: Where's the down side? A few teachers, who've demonstrated superior ability by objective measures, get a nice reward if they take on a tougher assignment for a couple of years. The schools already know what will happen: Students will learn more from a great teacher than they will from an average teacher. Those students will benefit! Someone will write a report drawing predictable conclusions. The feds will pay for it all. Let's do it!

Well, let's wait until our next meeting on Dec. 2, board members voted (5-3; Kearns, Belton and Garrett opposed the motion to table).

All right, gift horse. Come back on Dec. 2 and open wide.

President Barack Obama could quickly tilt the Fourth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals from a conservative bent to liberal, writes the Maryland Daily Record, a newspaper that reports on business, law and politics:

"With President-elect Barack Obama poised to take office Jan. 20 — and four vacancies on the 15-member 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals — court watchers say they see the possibility for a seismic shift on the Richmond-based appellate panel. The incoming Democratic chief executive can quickly put a liberal stamp on the conservative court, which hears appeals from Maryland, Virginia, West Virginia and the Carolinas, they add."

Politics have kept North Carolina underrepresented on the federal appeals court for years. Sen. Jesse Helms blocked President Clinton's nominees, then Sen. John Edwards blocked President Bush's nominees except for Allyson K. Duncan, who was confirmed in 2003. The fact that she is African American, although a (moderate) Republican, probably softened the normal Democratic opposition. Since Democrats gained control of the U.S. Senate two years ago, however, Bush hasn't gotten anywhere with any nominees.

Now there's a Democratic president and a Democratic Senate -- which still doesn't guarantee the confirmation of a North Carolina judge. Republican Sen. Richard Burr possibly could put a hold on an Obama nominee from North Carolina, a la Helms or Edwards, should he choose.

Newly elected Democratic Sen. Kay Hagan can play an important role. By custom, she would have input into the president's selection. She ought to confer with Burr before making any recommendation to the White House, however.

There are quite a few well-qualified Democratic judges in North Carolina who are not far-left wingers. Obama should pull from that pool. My choice would be state Court of Appeals Judge Jim Wynn, just re-elected Nov. 4. He was one of the judges nominated by Clinton and blocked by Helms for no good reason. Not only is Wynn an outstanding judge in the North Carolina appellate courts, he's been a high-ranking military judge for many years. I couldn't see Burr raising any objections.

Obama's election entitles him to nominate judges to the federal bench, and we can expect he'll definitely try to cast the courts much further to the left. The Senate will support him, although Republicans are just barely strong enough to filibuster a nominee if they were united against one. I hope they won't go that route or feel the need to.

But North Carolina's best judges don't line up on the far left or far right. Obama, with the advice and consent of Sens. Hagan and Burr, should reach into our broad judicial mainstream when he nominates a North Carolinian for the Fourth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals bench.

Didn't Barack Obama pledge that, when he's president, lobbyists won't have a job in his White House?

What's Tom Daschle been doing since he lost his Senate seat?

Then there's Daschle's wife ...

Well, never mind. Just keep believing in change.

The N.C. School Start Coalition launches a Web site it will use in its defense of the state law that generally prohibits school systems from starting the academic year earlier than Aug. 25.

"Opponents of the current school calendar law are expected to attempt to repeal or drastically weaken it during the upcoming session of the General Assembly," the organization says in a press release today.

It cites a survey showing strong popular support for the current calendar.

I understand the popular sentiment. Starting school earlier and earlier in August seemed absurd ...

.... except for the academic advantages of doing it -- primarily completing a full semester before the Christmas-New Year holidays.

And then there was the issue of the state overriding local school boards' authority.

What we really need is a longer school year to keep pace with the educational demands of a competitive global economy.

Nevertheless, legislators will pay attention to the School Start Coalition and the pressure it can exert.

These folks have been well-schooled in the art of politics.

Forecasters expect a colder, wetter winter in North Carolina.

Apparently starting now.

Which means, if schools start two hours late for every dusting, there won't be much learning before lunch this winter.

I've been surprised by the emotional and angry responses to the Prop 8 vote in California. People act as if they're shocked that a majority of voters there oppose legal recognition for same-sex marriage.

Similiar measures have passed in somewhere around 30 other states, but none of those votes triggered protests across the country. Maybe there was an expectation that, in such a liberal state, voters naturally should support same-sex marriage. More likely, though, critics are confused and outraged by the idea that a "right," as determined by a 4-3 majority of the California Supreme Court, could be overturned by 52 percent of the voters. A couple of our letter writers today express that view.

It shouldn't be confusing at all. The court majority based its discovery of a same-sex marital right ultimately on interpretations of the state constitution. The voters simply amended the constitution to deny such a right.

Now it seems that the same court is going to review Prop 8. I think an action to overturn the measure would improperly usurp powers not afforded to the court, as long as the referendum itself was conducted according to the laws of the state. A state court can't contradict its own constitution.

Federal courts have that power. A state constitution cannot exist in conflict with the U.S. Constitution, the supreme law of the land. So this battle should go next to the federal courts if indeed gay-rights advocates want to test their equal protection arguments there.

One letter writer today, in contending the California vote was improper, asks: "Was there a vote allowing women the right to vote?" Yes, there was: The 19th Amendment. Congress voted to adopt the amendment, which subsequently was ratified by lelgislative votes in the required number of states. It could be repealed by a similar process -- unthinkable, of course, but if it were, I don't think the U.S. Supreme Court could nullify a process that is clearly prescribed by the constitution itself. (Arguably, however, the court could say that changing societal norms could confer voting rights to women under a broader interpretation of the 15th Amendment. Of course, theoretically, that also could be repealed.)

The point is there are provisions that allow the people themselves to decide what rights to grant themselves in their own constitution. So, as much as some people might not like the outcome, there are good reasons to respect the legal authority of the people to change the laws that govern them, either through direct vote or through their elected representatives.

Suffice to say, marital laws do not fall under the umbrella of "inalienable rights," as some people assert. In our country, states set the parameters for state-sanctioned marriage. No one is guaranteed a "right" to marry anyone at all of his or her choosing. There are restrictions based on gender, but also on age, family relationship and number (bigamy and polygamy are prohibited). The recognition of broader rights could remove any or all of those restrictions, and should be considered carefully.

The battle for same-sex marriage rights is being fought on many fronts, including legal and political. The issues are not simple. Judges and elected officials at the state and federal levels face many challenging questions ahead. And the voters must have their say, too.

N.C. Commerce Secretary Jim Fain got a lotta love at yesterday's annual meeting of the High Point Economic Development Corp.
One reason: Fain lived in High Point many years ago when he was a banker in the city, and he's maintained close ties ever since.

Another: He's worked hard, personally, with industry recruiters in High Point (and other cities).

Fain's had to be an especially hardworking commerce secretary because his boss, Gov. Mike Easley, has rarely gotten personally involved.

You heard that complaint from Charlotte Mayor Pat McCrory during this year's gubernatorial campaign. He talked about meeting with CEOs pitching a Charlotte location and often found that competing cities were represented by the governors of their states.

The trouble for McCrory during the campaign was, he wasn't running against Easley. Bev Perdue, whom he was running against, isn't Mike Easley. More on that below.

Easley was mentioned at yesterday's High Point event. Among the folks praising Fain for his service was Don Kirkman, president of the Piedmont Triad Partnership. Noting that governors normally get the publicity for economic development, Kirkman told Fain:

“If Gov. Easley were here today, I think he’d say you’re the guy.”

In a phone conversation yesterday, I asked Dan Lynch, president of the Greensboro Economic Development Alliance, about Easley's role. He spoke very carefully, saying the governor should be the state's lead economic development officer.

The governor's personal involvement can help close big deals.

“Jim Hunt was the best I’ve ever seen, and I hope Bev Perdue follows in his footsteps,” Lynch said. “From what I’ve seen of her, she will ratchet it up several notches.”

That's good news. Bringing more jobs to North Carolina is an important part of what the governor should do.

Easley gets credit for hiring Jim Fain. Perdue needs to make an equally strong choice for her commerce secretary.

But, as governor, she's got to be the leader.

Kay Hagan's first vote in Washington -- not as a senator but as part of the Senate's Democratic caucus -- was a good one.

She voted this week against kicking Joe Lieberman out of his Homeland Security committee chairmanship.

The caucus was secret, but The N&O's Under The Dome got a comment from Hagan yesterday.

Lieberman, elected two years ago as an independent, very visibly supported John McCain's presidential campaign. Some Dems wanted to punish him.

I'm glad most decided against that course, and that Hagan was with them.

Lieberman will continue to line up with Democrats on most issues, but he'll cross them sometimes. The majority party can afford to tolerate independence now and then.

Dem political guru Gary Pearce notes the contrasting currents in Washington and Raleigh.

In Washington: signs of change coming.

In Raleigh: maybe not.

At times like this, I would gladly trade all the worthless stations bundled into my cable package for one ESPNU (U for Unavailable).

The Wolfpack's shocker in Chapel Hill gives State a surprising sweep of Big Four rivals and this season's title. Not only Carolina, but Wake and Duke continue to falter.

Carolina and Duke battle next week to avoid fourth place in the Big Four.

Standings:

1. State, 3-0
2. Wake, 1-1
3. Carolina, 0-1
4. Duke, 0-2

Another tragedy, allegedly involving drunken driving:

http://www.news-record.com/content/2008/11/22/article/1_killed_1_injured_in_dwi_accident

This one looks like it's been handled much better, so far, than was the accident that left young Drew Gardner seriously injured.

Thank goodness he's recovering.

The driver who allegedly struck Drew Nov. 11 was charged with DWI immediately after the incident but wasn't taken into custody -- even though there already was a July 23 order for arrest on him that had never been served. It wasn't until Nov. 14 that the charge of aggravated felony serious injury by vehicle was added -- by which time the suspect was "evading" police.

For the sake of other kids, let's hope he's not doing his evading behind the wheel of another vehicle.

In the latest case, the suspect was charged with the most serious felony charges right off the bat and, as soon as his own injuries were treated, was taken into custody with bond set at $150,000.

Exactly right -- unless bond should have been even higher.

These crimes can't be taken lightly.

When a bunch of kids from Kenya dance and sing "Nina Raha," you can't help but feel the spirit.

The words mean "I have joy" in Swahili. The kids are the Daraja Children's Choir of Africa. They performed at Rich Fork Baptist Church in Thomasville last night.

Well, it was more than a performance. Spawned by the 410 Bridge organization ("daraja" means bridge), the choir is evangelical Christian. The music is Christian-themed, and the kids offer personal testimony.

But there's more going on than that. The objective is to create mission partnerships to help address the seemingly endless physical and educational needs in Kenya. The kids in the choir are bridge-builders. They come into your church to sing, and to tell their stories. Your church is inspired to get involved in mission.

For the kids, many of whom are AIDS orphans, the opportunity to participate might be life-altering. They go to school (not a given for children of middle-school age in Africa), they have a purpose, they travel to America, their world of possibilities expands far beyond anything they otherwise could imagine.

These kids looked bright, happy and healthy. They seem to speak English pretty well. Maybe they're coached in their testimony, but there's no faking their enthusiasm ... and joy.

The number 410, by the way, refers to a lovely New Testament passage, 1 Peter 4:10 --

"Each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others, faithfully administering God's grace in its various forms."

The kids from Kenya are using their gifts. They've crossed the bridge. They're inviting Americans to cross back with gifts of their own if the spirit moves them.

It sounds like a fair exchange.

I'm a little late to this discovery, but maybe there are other Carolina grads also unaware that new UNC-CH Chancellor Holden Thorp is writing a blog ...

... which enables comments. To which he responds!

Thorp seems to be using this forum constructively, sharing his thoughts about serious issues and personal observations, and engaging his constituents and the public in meaningful conversation.

Now that I've finally found Thorp's blog, I'll be a regular reader.

I have my doubts about any proposal Erskine Bowles might come up with for banning "hate speech" on UNC campuses.

First, he'd have to get around those pesky First Amendment questions.

Beyond that are the tricky practical problems:

What constitutes speech that's sufficiently hateful that it should be banned?

How do you make sure you don't use such policies to suppress expression that's simply unpopular or challenging?

What are you teaching students about tolerance for even offensive views?

And, how do you really contain speech anyway?

UNCG is dealing with an issue now that illustrates one of the problems. From a Statement Regarding Anonymous Sites on its Dean of Students Web page:

"Recently, many UNCG community members have expressed outrage to student government leaders and University officials regarding specific internet sites that disregard respect within our community. These sites allow individuals to anonymously post distasteful, damaging and defamatory statements about people by name. These posts can result in severe emotional distress and divisiveness.

"We ask that members of the UNCG community not visit or post on internet sites that allow hateful anonymous posting regarding others. ..."

The reference is to sites like juicycampus.com, which I'd never heard of until today. Indeed, it allows anonymous comments trashing anybody or anything in vile language. Pretty noxious stuff ...

... but beyond the reach of UNCG's Student Code of Conduct, Associate Dean of Students Brett Carter told me.

By the way, I like the part of the code that builds on the UNCG core value of Respect:

"An academic community of integrity recognizes the participatory nature of the learning process and honors and respects a wide range of opinions, ideas, and cultures.

"Violations of Respect may include but are not limited to:

"Threatening or causing physical harm or harassment; hazing; non-consensual sexual acts; conduct which disturbs the peace of the community; trespass on University property or premises; conduct which is disorderly; infringement on the rights or property of members of the University community; failure to comply with directions of University officials; hate crimes, violation of a University No Contact Order; any act or omission that a reasonable, intelligent college student knows, or should know, infringes on the rights or property of members of the University community. Lack of intent or knowledge may be a mitigating factor in determining sanctions but does not excuse harm to person or property."

Notice there's no reference to hate speech. However, hateful speech could lead to disruptions of the "peace of the community." There's room for interpretation there. Someone who instigates a brawl by shouting racist insults probably would be found in violation of the code and dealt with. It just takes prudent consideration of the circumstances to determine the right response.

But instances like that are going to be rare. More common, apparently, is the use of online instruments to disseminate offensive views. No policy that Erskine Bowles can devise will police that sort of thing. So maybe the wiser approach would be to educate students in the responsibility that goes hand in hand with the right of free expression.

No one's going to shut up college students. Getting them to respect, or at least tolerate, each other's point of view is part of what the university's mission ought to be.

Our final poll concludes that Appalachian State is the best college football team in North Carolina for 2008, followed by resurgent N.C. State:

1. App, 11-2
2. State, 6-6
3. ECU, 8-4
4. UNC, 8-4
5. Wake, 7-5
6. Elon, 8-4

Big Four final standings

1. State, 3-0
2. UNC, 1-1
3. Wake, 1-1
4. Duke, 0-3

With more members of the overinflated ACC bowl-eligible than the league has guaranteed meaningless bowl allotments, the solution is obvious: Create a Carolina vs. Wake post-season showdown, a contest denied during the regular season. It would generate more fan interest than any other bowl game the two might land.

Save the "hope and change" for something else. When you're talking about national security, President-elect Obama needs toughness and experience.

The team he'll officially announce Monday morning apparently reflects the realities of a dangerous world.

Last week's nightmare of terrorism in India illustrates the point that endless threats remain.

Keeping Robert Gates as defense secretary signals that Obama is serious about the challenges ahead. During the Democratic primaries, he never would have suggested such a thing. He was all about reversing U.S. military policies. When he launched his campaign two years ago, opposition to the war in Iraq was his top issue. The economic downturn later jumped on the priority list, but successful implementation of new strategies in Iraq also made it less urgent to press for change there. Now it looks like we can achieve worthwhile goals by holding course there for a couple more years.

Of course, Gates isn't linked to Don Rumsfeld and his blunders. He's holding the Pentagon brass accountable for results. Just when he's putting the house in order there would be a lousy time to replace him. Obama is smart to ask him to stay.

I also like retired Marine Gen. James L. Jones as national security adviser.

The headline, though, is Hillary Clinton as SecState. Obama could do better, but she is known and respected overseas. She understands where the threats lie, and she's not a pushover.

I hope the CIA, FBI and other intelligence agencies will also be directed by tough leaders dedicated to the protection of Americans at home and abroad and to the safeguarding of our liberties. The Mumbai horror shows how determined terrorists are and how easy it is for just a few to kill so many. That nothing like this has happened in the U.S. since 9/11 tells me our intelligence and security services have done good work to keep us safe. Continuing on that course is the next president's most important responsibility.