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North Carolina’s Latino advocates are voicing alarm following the governor’s decision to eliminate the state’s office for Latino affairs. The closing of the Office of Hispanic/Latino affairs was sudden and caught many by surprise. The move appears to have exacerbated the already tense relationship between Republican Gov. Pat McCrory and the Latino community, including criticism over a driver’s license plan for young immigrants.

Advocates says it sends a message that McCrory and Raleigh conservatives are less concerned with the needs of the Latino community. Paradoxically, it comes at a time when issues of deep concerns, like immigration, are at the political forefront and Republicans nationally are trying to appear more welcoming to Latinos.

***Thanks for reading the Good Friday edition of the Dome Morning Memo. Send tips and news to dome@newsobserver.com. More on the Latino office and other big headlines below.***

Pat McCrory's transition costs total less than $200,000 so far, with the bulk covering salaries for his top aides. The figure is detailed in public records obtained by The News & Observer.

The Republican legislature gave him $660,000 for transition costs, double the amount of his Democratic predecessor. McCrory said he would try not to spend it all. Not all costs are accounted for yet, and the total doesn't include any expenses related to the inauguration.

Four key aides made the most money: Thomas Stith, Kelly Nicholson, Charles Duckett and Pattie Fleming, documents show. Stith made $10,894 a month in the transition, a total salary equal to about $131,000 a year. Nicholson took home $13,895 a month, or the equivalent of $166,740 a year. The total projected for transition salaries -- $192,000 --goes through Jan. 18, suggesting the final number may be less because some staffers are moving to state payrolls before then.

SKVARLA FACES NEW QUESTIONS: Secretary John Skvarla's memo to staff at the state Department of Environment and Natural Resources this week is getting a good bit of attention and creating more questions than it answers. As reported here first, the agency's new mission statement includes this line: "environmental science is quite complex, comprised of many components, and most importantly, contains diversity of opinion." The memo also suggests the agency is more service organziation than state regulator. It raises big questions for the McCrory administration: Is climate change a scientific fact? What about sea level rise? And are human's responsible for global warming?

McCRORY DODGES GLOBAL WARMING QUESTION: As the DENR secretary questions the validity of science, the new Republican governor is sidestepping the global warming issue entirely. Pat McCrory told Travis Fain at the News & Record: "John (Skvarla) and I aren’t going to get caught up in the political semantics of either the left or the right on climate change or global warming. We believe in clean air, clean water and clean ground. ... As my father used to say ... we must walk the fine line between continuing our economic prosperity while also protecting the quality of life and the environment which brought may of us here. And that’s the fine line leadership must continue to walk.” Expect this question to re-emerge Wednesday.

Gov.-elect Pat McCrory named three senior members of administration Thursday, including a former U.S. Ambassador to head health and human services and a Raleigh businessman lead the environmental agency.

At a news conference, McCrory announced that Aldona Wos, a Greensboro physician and former U.S. Ambassador to Estonia,would head the Department and Health and Human Services, one of the largest agencies in state government.

Also named was John Skvarla, the CEO of Restoration Systems, a Raleigh-based company, that does environmental mitigation work, to be his new secretary of Environment and Natural Resources.

McCrory also named Thomas Stith, a former Durham City Councilman, who has headed his transition team, to serve as his chief of staff.

Governor-Elect Pat McCrory's transition team includes conservative stalwart and political contributor Art Pope and several others who worked at Pope-funded organizations.

Political operatiave Jack Hawke is a former president of the John W. Pope Civitas Institute. He's part of the transition team leadership.

Transition director Thomas Stith is a former Civitas Institute vice president.

Lindsey Wakely worked at the N.C. Institute for Constitutional Law, and is former legal counsel for Pope's company, Variety Wholesalers. She's the transition lawyer.

Pope is CEO and chairman of Variety Wholesalers and chairman and president of the John William Pope Foundation. He is a co-chairman overseeing transition operations.