Tip: Clicking on tags in this page allows you to drill further with combined tag search. For example, if you are currently viewing the tag search result page for "health care", clicking on "Kay Hagan" will bring you to a list of contents that are tagged with both "health care" and "Kay Hagan."
A House panel decided against closing any state parks or historical sites, reinforcing a recommendation from a subcommittee not to pursue a plan to cut $2 million from state attractions.
The subcommittee decided to conduct further studies about ways to save money by combining management and reducing hours at state historical sites and parks, rejecting an legislative oversight report that found cost savings.
Libba Evans, who was on an extended leave for months as former Gov. Mike Easley's cultural resources secretary, has returned to the public eye.
Evans took at least six months off last year to tend to personal issues while her deputy ran the department. The Winston Salem Journal reports that Evans has been promoting her new company, which produces interactive versions of children's stories for Apple's iPhone and iPod Touch.
When she was away from work, Evans did not respond to repeated requests for an interview from The News & Observer. She told the Journal that she had to tend to personal matters.
Evans said that she took the leave of absence to focus on her business and family in Winston-Salem.
"I needed to come home and make sure everything was OK," Evans said.
Evans began her leave in May 2008, the same month she accompanied former first lady Mary Easley on an expensive junket to Russia and Estonia.
Evans told the Journal that she has not been subpoenaed in connection with the federal investigation into Easley.
Evans said she wanted to leave her time in Raleigh in the past.
"As far as I'm concerned, it's over," she said.
The state has published a new book on the 1898 Wilmington race riot. It is called, not surprisingly, "A Day of Blood: The 1898 Wilmington Race Riot."
The book, by LeRae Umfleet, is being published by the Historical Publications Section of the N.C. Office of Archives and History and the African American Heritage Commission. Umfleet is chief of collections management for the state Department of Cultural Resources.
Umfleet is scheduled to talk about the book at 7:30 p.m. on Wed., Nov. 18, at Quail Ridge Books in Raleigh.
Correction: Earlier post had incorrect date for reading at Quail Ridge Books.
The 18th century watering hole partly responsible for Raleigh's selection as state capital may return to life, at least in name.
The New Raleigh web site reports that what used to be the Fayetteville Street Tavern, just south of the capitol, is being renovated with plans to reopen as Isaac Hunter's Oak City Tavern. The pub already has a web site.
In 1787, state leaders partial to the tavern's refreshments decided that the capital had to be established within a ten mile radius. Opposition prevented any action being taken until 1792, when a commission was named to pick the exact site for the new statehouse within the land around the tavern, according to the N.C. Department of Cultural Resources.
The name has been resuscitated over the years, including at a Cameron Village restaurant that opened in 1998 and currently one of the foremost political blogs in the state, run by WUNC radio's Laura Leslie.
Three employees at the Department of Cultural Resources got notices Friday that coming budget cuts have put their jobs in jeopardy.
Cultural Resources Secretary Linda A. Carlisle would not identify the positions that were on the cut list, but said it was "highly likely, but not absolute" that those people would lose their jobs.
The budget is not final. Proposals approved by the Senate and House would cut more than 17 jobs from the department, most of them vacant.
Employees be notified of a possible lay off at least 30 days in advance, Carlisle said.
"Obviously," she said, "this was not done capriciously."
Two history programs aimed at kids could be cut.
In recent years, the N.C. Department of Cultural Resources has run an annual "History Bowl" tournament for fourth- and eighth-graders.
Starting with local competitions, the teams of students answer questions on North Carolina history, such as how many state-supported Indian tribes there are or who Isaac Hunter was.
The number of students has dropped from 230 in 2003 to 189 in 2008, said spokesman Joe Newberry. By comparison, the Tar Heel Junior Historians, a scholastic competition, and the national History Day celebration were drawing more interest.
The annual competition cost $17,194.
In addition, the department has had a full-time staffer developing N.C. ECHO, a Web site that features links to state historical collections of interest to K-12 students and curious Web surfers. That position paid $67,232.
Gov. Beverly Perdue has proposed ending state support for the History Bowl and eliminating the Web developer, though the site would remain online.
State agencies are cutting back in small ways too.
As noted previously, Gov. Beverly Perdue asked Cabinet-level agencies to trim their spending. A list of the cuts includes some interesting items:
* The Department of Administration has stopped printing most publications.
* The Department of Cultural Resources is training employees online and turning off computers at night.
* The Department of Revenue is encouraging carpooling.
Some of these cutbacks actually have positive benefits. For example, environmentalists might support putting more state publications online rather than printing them, while carpooling and turning off computers saves gas and electricity.
Fiscal conservatives, meantime, support reduced spending on travel and other items.
Gov. Beverly Perdue promised to focus on the arts.
In a page on her campaign Web site, Perdue gave a few general goals and made a few specific promises:
* Promote collaboration between the N.C. departments of Commerce, Environment and Natural Resources and Cultural Resources on the arts.
* Expand the Main Street program to help towns involve creative businesess and nonprofits in downtown redevelopment.
* Support a "smart, fair system" to help local arts groups recapitalize hundreds of community facilities across the state.
She also said she would protect and develop cultural heritage sites, support and expand arts education and "hear the voice of the arts community."
On his last day at work, Gov. Mike Easley gave the acting head of the Department of Cultural Resources a new job.
Easley appointed Staci Meyer to the N.C. Industrial Commission. Meyer was the chief deputy and general counsel to the department who ran things when Secretary Libba Evans went on extended, unpaid leave.
Meyer spoke for the department in defense of two departmental trips to Europe that included first lady Mary Easley.
Meyer told her staff of her appointment Monday. The commission oversees workers' compensation.
"I will strive to provide meaningful and effective service to the State through this appointment," Meyer wrote.
Gov. Mike Easley's former sister in law is getting a pay raise and more job security.
Judy Easley, who was married to the governor's brother, went to work for the state Department of Cultural Resources a month after Easley was sworn in for his first term.
She worked as a top assistant to the head of the agency, keeping tabs on about 100 boards and commissions with a particular emphasis on working with the governor's office.
In March, her job classification was changed, making it more difficult to fire her. The change came with new duties and a 10 percent raise. She now makes $70,500.
The change was made without Governor Easley's knowledge, said Staci Meyer, acting secretary of the cultural resources department.
"I made a business decision," Meyer said in an interview. "She is such a valuable piece of what we do. Don't hold it against her because her name is 'Easley.' "
Judy Easley declined to comment. The governor questioned why the changes would produce criticism. (N&O)
