Vicki Smith, executive director of a patient rights group, is worried that the new Cherry Hospital code of conduct that tells workers not to say bad things about their workplace might have a "chilling effect" on people who want to report problems.

Hospital workers can call Disability Rights North Carolina, a federally-funded advocacy group, about problems they see at the workplace. Disability Rights keeps callers' names confidential, Smith said, and state and federal laws protect whistleblowers, Lynn Bonner reports.

But Smith worries that workers reading Cherry's policy may be discouraged from saying anything.

"This in no way should restrict people from stepping up and reporting abuse and neglect to hospital officials, or protection and advocacy systems, or other other officials with investigative authority," she said.

Cherry has already started rewriting the policy to make it clear that it is meant to discourage disruptive behavior.

Police separated two groups organizing outside of U.S. Sen. Kay Hagan's office in Raleigh today while they were protesting health care reform.

The protest originally was organized by the national liberal advocacy group MoveOn.org, which held protests at senators' offices across the country today. The protest of about 20 people was pushing for a public option in health care reform. The national group has been watching Hagan specifically.

Another group organized by NC Freedom, a conservative group, showed up to protest against MoveOn and the public option for health care.

The group's plan, according to its Web site, was to block out the health care protest. "We need to have number sufficient to encircle their entire group," the Web site says. After protesting at different ends of the sidewalk, the conservative group, which was larger and had more signs, surrounded the group from MoveOn.

Police said the two groups were blocking the courthouse's door, and moved them to different parts of the sidewalk outside of the courthouse. Officers said it was a judgment call to separate the two groups.

Correction: An earlier version of the post incorrectly said Hagan had not decided whether to support a public option. Hagan supports the public option proposed last week by the Senate health committee. That plan is known as the Community Health Insurance option.

More after the jump

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The bill creates a new division of the Attorney General's office that would advise some 1,500 governmental units on public records issues. The unit could also mediate disputes before they end up in court.

The bill also states that if a governmental agency, city, town, county, school system or other public entity loses a lawsuit over public records, a judge must require the agency to pay the plaintiff's attorney fees.

State law already allows judges to impose fees, but it is rarely used in public records cases.

"The public records are the people's records," said Rep. Deborah Ross, a Raleigh Democrat and co-sponsor of the bill. "They're not our records. They're not the politicians' records."

The bill was unlike nearly ever other contentious bill that has been discussed on the House floor this year in that the usual partisan lines were gone. On Thursday, what determined whether a House member was in favor or against the bill seemed to be whether he or she was once a locally-elected official.

Rep. Lucy Allen, a Louisburg Democrat and former mayor of that city, offered an amendment that would allow a government or agency to avoid paying legal fees if it relied on a written opinion from its staff or contract attorneys to deny releasing the records.

More after the jump.

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U.S. Rep. Bob Etheridge, a Lillington Democrat, wants to help 46 poultry farmers in his district who have lost their contracts with a major chicken processing company.

When Pilgrim’s Pride Corporation filed for bankruptcy last year, its growing contracts with farmers were terminated. Etheridge today introduced legislation that gives temporary financial help to poultry farmers who lose contracts through no fault of their own, reports Barb Barrett.

He estimates the bill would help nearly four dozen poultry farmers in Chatham, Lee, Cumberland and Harnett counties. Etheridge said many are in danger of losing their farms.

"I introduced this legislation because these farmers should immediately be eligible for disaster assistance from the U.S. Department of Agriculture,” Etheridge said in a statement.

“I will not stand by as rural America’s poultry producers are left abandoned by this economic downturn. We have a tool to help them and this legislation would give them a strong chance to get back on their feet.”

President Barack Obama presented Italian President Giorgio Napolitano this morning with a gift from North Carolina.

Obama, meeting with Napolitano prior to the G-8 Summit, presented the Italian president with a variety of American wines. Included in the package was a 2008 Raffaldini Vineyards Vermentino.

Raffaldini Vineyards is in Ronda, between Winston-Salem and Wilkesboro, and the vinyard's owners were thrilled to have their wine included in the gift.

“Raffaldini Vineyards is honored to have been selected to represent the U.S. and is proud that our preservation and promotion of our Italian heritage and culture have been recognized,” co-owner Barbara Raffaldini said in a release.

A release from the vineyard notes that the Vermentino grape is "most famously cultivated in Sardinia," and that Raffaldini Vineyards was among the first to plant the grape in the U.S.

The vineyard says the 2008 vintage "is characterized by its lively green apple and lime flavors and refreshing acidity."

Both Democratic and Republican senators shed tears and shared memories Thursday of Sen. Vernon Malone, a Raleigh Democrat who died April 18.

They described a man who endured segregation in his youth and, as an adult, led the unification of the Raleigh and Wake County school systems, which helped build the system's consistently strong reputation and fuel the county's rapid growth.

"Vernon had a vision and the courage to implement that vision," said Sen. Dan Blue, the Raleigh Democrat who took Malone's seat.

They remembered his attractive handwriting on the notes he passed, the holiday party held by Malone and his late wife, Susan, his sage advice, his soft voice and his warmth.

"A steely gentleman," said Sen. Josh Stein, a Raleigh Democrat.

The normally boisterous Sen. Tony Rand, a Fayetteville Democrat and one of the legislature's most influential figures, broke down in the midst of his remarks.

Sen. Tom Apodaca, a Hendersonville Republican, said he spent part of the morning on his porch contemplating what to say: "All I could hear was Vernon saying, 'Please don't say much. Get on with the business of the state.'"

Gov. Beverly Perdue has picked six new members for the state Board of Transportation. All but one of them, Durham lawyer Chuck Watts, gave money to Perdue's campaign last year.

The legislature’s Joint Transportation Oversight Committee received the names earlier this month, and the new members are expected to take their seats at the Aug. 6 meeting, reports Bruce Siceloff.

The new members, after the jump.

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State Republican Party chairman Tom Fetzer said there's no such thing as a temporary tax increase in North Carolina.

Fetzer called reporters to a Thursday morning news conference to say that tax increases have a way of living on past their sunsets. He said Gov. Beverly Perdue's promise that she won't let her proposed 1-cent sales tax increase live past its expiration day is an empty one.

In 2001, the legislature enacted a 1/2 cent sales tax increase that was set to expire in two years. A quarter cent of that increase became permanent.

Perdue was lieutenant governor when those decisions were made.

"This governor has no credibility on the issue of a sales tax increase," Fetzer said.

The lieutenant governor's position has little power. The office-holder presides over the Senate, but can only vote in the case of a tie.

Fetzer said she could have steered debate. Fetzer, like Republicans in the legislature, are calling for deeper budget cuts.

"We can't raise taxes on the people of North Carolina right now," Fetzer said. "Any time you raise taxes, you get bad consequences."

Democrats have said tax increases are the only way to spare vital programs and services from devastating and irreparable cuts.

A new subpoena issued to N.C. State University seeks more documents about Mary Easley's jobs at N.C. State and shows that investigators wants to know more about deleted e-mail messages from former Chancellor James Oblinger's high priority account.

The subpoena was received this week, according to N.C. State Chancellor James Woodward.

They show that investigators want to know how the former first lady was using her time, reports Andy Curliss. The request demands "all documents relating to vacation days accrued by Mary P. Easley in connection with her employment ... including, without limitation, documents reflecting the days on which she used a vacation day and any compensation she received in lieu of using her accrued vacation days."

The new subpoena also requests all documents relating to the decision in 2008 to offer Mary Easley a new position with a higher salary.

Easley worked at N.C. State fulltime since 2005, first leading a speakers series, and then in an expanded role since 2008 that paid her $170,000 per year. She was fired amid controversy last month.

Read more after the jump.

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State Highway Patrol Commander Walter J. Wilson Jr. has cancelled his retirement dinner.

Wilson sent a brief e-mail to Sgt. Clarence Stephens on Tuesday that offered little explanation for the cancellation. Stephens had sent notice to invitees the previous Friday.

"After further consideration, I have decided to cancel the retirement dinner on 24 July," Wilson wrote.

The dinner was supposed to have been held at the downtown Raleigh Sheraton at a cost of $28 per person.

Wilson announced last month that he was retiring to spend more time with his family after a year leading the 1,800 member patrol. Within days, Gov. Beverly Perdue appointed Lt. Col. Randy Glover as Wilson's successor. Glover takes over Aug. 1.

Last week, Wilson's brother-in-law, Michael Madras of Raleigh, said the retirement was not planned. He said that Wilson had been forced out so Perdue could replace him with someone she wanted. Perdue, Wilson, Glover and other officials have declined to discuss the change in leadership.

Wilson could not be reached. Patrol spokesman Capt. Everett Clendenin said Wilson will not be in the office much this month. He is using accrued vacation days to finish out his remaining time.

Rep. Ty Harrell and his wife are separating.

On July 2, the Raleigh Democrat's wife sued him, claiming that he had engaged in an extra-marital affair. She is seeking custody of their two children and postseparation support.

The couple married in 1991. Harrell said Wednesday that he has not seen the filing and would not comment on its allegations.

"This is a challenging time in my life," Harrell said. "My main focus is on the continuing well-being of my two sons."

One her first day as governor, Beverly Perdue pledged to increase government transparency.

"Government must be more accountable to the people," Perdue said in her Jan. 10 inaugural address. "The state's business must be conducted in the sunshine, to inspire confidence, not cynicism."

Perdue appears to largely be living up to that promise. She makes her weekly schedule available and frequently takes questions from reporters, and her administration released travel and other records that disclosed former Gov. Mike Easley's use of private planes and other activities.

And Wednesday, Perdue issued executive orders requiring more transparency in government. She is also expected to soon sign a bill that she backed that would force state mental hospitals to release information about those who die in the facility or within two weeks of being discharged.

But Perdue's administration continues to withhold some key records, such as reports on probationers who committed serious crimes and state employees who had sex with inmates.

"Compared to what it was, [Perdue] has been great," said Don Carrington, vice president of the conservative John Locke Foundation, who said the Easley administration routinely rebuffed his calls and requests for documents. "They return calls and acknowledge requests." (N&O)

On the other hand, employees at the state's psychiatric hospital in Goldsboro could face discipline if they say negative things about its staff or operations.

Companies that provide the mental health service called community support were in Raleigh today to ask legislators to spare mental health programs from cuts.

Though the company representatives said they were concerned about mental health spending in general, they talked mostly about the controversial mental health service community support, Lynn Bonner reported.

Legislators are discussing cuts to community support over the next two years as part of a plan to phase-out the service.

A legislative report this week said that the state wasted more than $635 million on the service from April 2006 to February 2009 because it was poorly planned and monitored.

The company representatives said the decision to cut community support is political, and that their clients are being punished for problems caused by others.

Community support works when it's done properly, said Andy Anderson, president of Community Innovations Inc. in Whiteville.

"The simplest way of trying to fix a problem is total elimination," he said. "That's not the way to do it." He equated the decision to phase-out community support because of past abuses with tearing up Interstate 95 because a driver got a speeding ticket.

Read more after the jump.

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Gov. Beverly Perdue today toughened a policy for keeping state government e-mail that was left by former Gov. Mike Easley.

Perdue's order strips away some wiggle room state employees may have had to delete e-mail messages that they determined were not related to public business. Now employees must keep all messages for 24 hours so they can be archived every day. Employees can delete spam messages they receive. Easley's order, which Perdue rescinded, allowed employees to decide which messages were related to public business.

"Only when the doors of government are open wide, and the sun truly shines in, can we be sure that our government by the people is working for the people," Perdue said in a news release.

Perdue's order is similar to an order signed by Easley in the waning days of his administration. Several news organizations, including The News & Observer and The Charlotte Observer had sued Easley over e-mail retention.

Perdue also signed an order requiring the Department of Commerce to report the names of consultants involved in economic development projects that benefit from state incentive programs.

Update: Perdue's e-mail order also creates a searchable backup system, a spokeswoman said. Most messages would be kept for 10 years. 

The atmosphere was more Thunderdome than Under the Dome at the annual House vs. Senate milk-chugging for charity contest Wednesday.

Pages and legislative assistants hollered for their favorite chamber ("Go Senate! Come on House!) and specators jockeyed for a view of six distiguished public officeholders sucking on straws jammed into tiny plastic milk bottles.

Rep. David Lewis, a Dunn Republican, was not above a little pre-chug smack talk.

"This is the sound of your defeat," he said to his Senate opponents as he silently popped off the plastic cap of one of his milk bottles.

The contest was sponsored by the state's dairy industry and the Department of Agriculture.

Reps. Lewis, Arthur Williams (D-Washington) and Roger West (R-Marble) challenged Sens. Joe Sam Queen (D-Waynesville), Bob Atwater (D-Chapel Hill) and Andrew Brock (R-Mocksville).

It appeared to be a fair contest, although there were some rumblings about non-regulation straws and early chugging. The Senate team finished first, earning $200 for their favorite, as yet unnamed, charity. The House team will get $100 for charity.

(News & Observer photo by TAKAAKI IWABU).