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Keith Warner has been named chief information officer of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources, handling the IT for the 4,000 employees and their customers.

Warner has been deputy director for the department's Information Technology Services since last year. Before that he worked for Gartner and for CIBER.

"Keith represents the changing role of future CIOs," said Chris Estes, the state's chief information officer. "Keith brings us a services experience that aligns to how the technology industry is evolving with more software facilitating services arrangements.''

DENR Secretary John Skvarla has turned to a veteran state government employee to be his human resources director.

He has names Anne G. Lasley to head the division of human resources division at the Department of Environment and Natural Resources.

Lasley has worked for state government for 24 years, directing human resources programs for the Division of Services for the Deaf and the Employment Security Commission. She served as a member of Gov. Pat McCrory's Human Resources transition team.

Mitch Gillespie, a longtime Republican member of the House, has resigned effective Sunday. He's headed to the state Department of Environment and Natural Resources to become an assistant secretary under the new boss there, John Skvarla of Pinehurst.

Gillespie, who lives in Marion, took the lead on what is termed regulatory reform last session, with a special emphasis on environmental regulations that restrict development. He's been a developer and surveyor, and has received substantial campaign contributions from development and energy interests.

The Asheville Citizen-Times reported Gillespie submitted his letter of resignation on Friday. The General Assembly's website confirms the resignation.

Republican leaders in District 85 will select a replacement, which the new governor will sign off on as a formality.

The man Gov.-elect Pat McCrory appointed to run the state's environmental agency isn't convinced about global warming. And he’s anxious to move the needle back from what he sees as over-regulation toward what he promises will be a middle ground that protects the environment without hindering economic growth. Meet John Skvarla here.

More political news:

--President Obama cuts short his vacation with automatic budget cuts looming.

--More than 300 shipyard workers in North Carolina could stop loading and unloading cargo ships as of midnight Saturday, the result of stalled contract talks that threaten to idle more than 14,500 dockworkers at 15 of the nation’s major shipping ports.

Perdue finds $1 million to plug hole in group home problem, for now.

Auditor finds state fisheries employee OK'd contracts with his family.

The data used by the N.C. Department of Environment and Natural Resources to process permits is incomplete and inaccurate and the timeframe to issue permits is skewed, according to a new state audit.

The extensive report issued Tuesday also finds fault with the express permitting system, suggesting it delays standard permits, costs more than it derives in fees and gets inordinate attention from experienced staffers. It also questioned whether the agency met its performance standards, though couldn't make sweeping conclusions on this point because of incomplete data.

DENR, however, rejected the audit's findings. In a blunt, three-page letter Secretary Dee Freeman, said he "regrets the countless hours of limited DENR staff resources ... to provide information for this report did not lead to well-grounded conclusions."

It prompted State Auditor Beth Wood's office to issue a point-by-point response suggesting DENR misinterpreted its findings. "We understand reviews ... often generate a lot of emotions, we want to make sure the reader stays focused on the issues," it stated.

Charles “Chuck” Wakild has been named director of the N.C. Division of Water Quality beginning in January.

Wakild, currently the deputy director, will replace Coleen H. Sullins, who will retire at the end of the year.

Wakild worked for the Department of Environment and Natural Resources, for 21 years. He worked for DENR from 1971 until 1990 in a number of leadership positions before leaving to work at Federal Paperboard Co. and Progress Energy. He returned to DENR in 2006 serving first as the Division of Water Quality Supervisor in the Raleigh regional office and since 2007 as the division's deputy director.

A native of Michigan, Wakild has an MBA from the University of North Carolina at Wilmington; a master's degree in environmental engineering from UNC-Chapel Hill and a bachelor's degree from Michigan State University.

State health plan director retiring: Jack Walker, who took over the N.C. State Health Plan in 2008 after legislative leaders fired his predecessor, plans to retire Feb. 4. Walker is completing his second stint as executive administrator of a health plan that covers 665,000 state employees, teachers, retirees and their dependents.
His departure comes at a time when state employees, and their health plan, face the prospect of severe budget cuts as legislators seek to plug a projected $3.7 billion budget shortfall. (N&O)

Criminal justice reforms: The Council of State Governments is almost ready to roll out a robust legislative package aimed at reforming the state's criminal justice system, according to officials. Robert Coombs, a senior policy analyst with the nonprofit group, which has collaborated with senior state officials and elected leaders to strengthen the criminal sentencing system and rein in corrections spending, said lawmakers could have the package of new policy options in hand by late January. (AP)

Report backs up SBI ballistics: An outside expert has backed the ballistics analysis of two bullet fragments by a State Bureau of Investigation lab technician in a hotly contested Pitt County shooting, according to a report released Thursday.
But SBI ballistics analyst Beth Desmond went beyond the finding of her lab report when she testified under oath that she was certain the bullets were fired from the same make of gun. The report's findings undermined the certainty of her testimony.
The new report, released Thursday but dated Dec. 8, came from a case highlighted in August by The News & Observer, which ran a photograph of the two bullet fragments prominently on the front page. (N&O)

SBI backlog: The Durham Police Department plans to build its own firearm ballistics lab to analyze that evidence because of a backlog at the State Bureau of Investigation. (N&O)

Water proposals upset cities: Cities are fighting proposed state water standards that they say would show no benefits while costing up to $6 billion to meet.
State regulators must review water-quality rules every three years to ensure that they provide as much protection as national standards. The state Department of Environment and Natural Resources has recommended lower levels of heavy metals such as zinc, copper and chromium in treated sewage to help protect shellfish and other aquatic life. (N&O)

Counting calories when eating out: Chain restaurants and vending machines nationwide will need to begin posting calorie information, a requirement included in the federal health insurance law passed this year. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is scheduled to release proposed menu labeling rules by March, with implementation sometime after that. Some local chains are already posting the information, anticipating the new rules. (N&O)