Tag search result

I admired Roy Parker Jr. so much I almost moved to Fayetteville," writes veteran Democratic consultant Gary Pearce in his blog Talking About Politics.

"Roy, who died this week, was one of North Carolina’s great reporters and editors. He was founding editor of the Fayetteville Times. Back in the 1960s, he was a political reporter at The News & Observer – and a classic newsroom character.

Terse and sardonic, Roy would stalk in late in the day and go into a manic two-fingered typing trance, turning out page after page of copy. He had more sources and more scoops than any reporter in Raleigh.

In those days, Under the Dome ran on page one every day. It was a place for rumors, trial balloons and gossip that would never get in the paper today. Legend had it that Roy made up some of the items but, to give them credibility, would walk over to Capitol Square, mutter to himself: “I heard such-and-such today,” then go to the newsroom and write, “It was heard on Capitol Square today that ….”

"Under the Dome" is going prime time. But alas, not this Dome. A 13-episode TV series based on Stephen King's novel of the same title will debut in June on CBS, according to reports.

The science fiction work doesn't focus on state politics but it involves a band of citizens trying to stop local politician willing to kill to get his way in a small town trapped in an invisible bubble.

In other words, enough material to surely find some parallel to the N.C. political arena.

U.S. Senator Richard Burr, R-N.C., said he's encouraged by progress being made in Afghanistan following a four-day trip to the Middle East. As members of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, Burr and Sen. Saxby Chambliss, R-Ga, returned this morning from Afghanistan where they met with senior U.S. and Afghan officials to review security measures.

“I continue to be optimistic about the progress made by American forces in Afghanistan, and am glad to see Afghans taking more control of their own security,” Burr said.

Congresswoman Renee Ellmers, R-N.C., is the latest to blame President Obama for the failure of a congressional bipartisan “supercommittee” to cut $1.2 trillion from federal deficits. The lack of an agreement generated a new groundswell of bickering this week as members of Congress blamed the opposition's party for failing to come to terms on taxes, spending and Social Security.

“President Obama and his party in Congress are acting like spoiled children,” she said in a statement. “They take what they want and have a meltdown in the candy aisle when a responsible parent tells them 'no!'

North Carolina breweries located in cities or counties with restrictions on the sale of alcohol will soon be able to sell their drinks on site.

Some cities and counties restrict on-premise sale of alcohol to hotels, motels or restaurants, under what is called a "modified plan," but on Tuesday, the House voted in favor of a bill that would allow breweries in these areas to sell the malt beverages they produce to employees and guests.

The bill is restricted to areas where some alcoholic beverage sales are already permitted and not in completely "dry counties," like Graham. Six cities or towns--Morganton, Spruce Pine, Sylva, Bryson City, Sapphire and Hendersonville--currently forbid on-premise sales.

An overhaul of the state's workers' compensation benefits moved one step closer to becoming law on Tuesday, May 31 when the House voted with 102 in favor and 12 opposed after its second reading. A final vote is expected for later in the week.

The bill would cap disability benefits for most North Carolina workers injured on the job at just over 9-1/2 years instead of the “lifetime” benefits currently available.

In an earlier version of the bill, workers with specific severe injuries such as the loss of both hands, both eyes or paralysis were eligible for an exception to the cap. The version the House voted on today includes a provision for “extended compensation” to expand the exception of the benefit cap to workers who can prove that they have lost their wage earning capacity.

Charlotte’s bid to host the Democratic National Convention has gotten a “no” vote from the union that represents hotel workers, according to a report in Politico.com.

“Among the DNC's four finalist cities, only St. Louis and Minneapolis” have the capacity to “house a large portion of the delegates and other guests ... in unionized hotels,” John Wilhelm, president of the international UNITE HERE union of hotel and textile workers, wrote in a letter to Democratic National Committee Chairman Tim Kaine.

The letter, dated Oct. 6, wasn't publicized until last week, when the union's Minneapolis local, issued a press release on the subject.

Politico cites Democratic sources saying that Charlotte and St. Louis are now considered front-runners but that Charlotte had a slight disadvantage cause it didn’t have as many hotel rooms, period. But politics – including the mid-term election results – will play a role in the decision which is expected later this year or early in 2011.

Unless you're a political junkie, you probably were relieved when Nov. 3 arrived and the flurry of candidates' TV ads stopped.

Here's a small bit of solace: It could have been a whole lot worse. And a word of warning: It will be in 2012.

The Raleigh-Durham market's political ad saturation in October was 5.85 percent, Nielsen reports. That's well below top markets based on the percentage of political ads, including Cleveland at 23.44 percent, Portland, Ore., at 21.78 percent and Sacramento, Calif., at 21.18 percent.

This market didn't have a major competitive race, since U.S. Sen. Richard Burr stayed ahead in most polls, local TV executives say. That will change in 2012, with races for president and governor.

Nationally, ad spending was expected to reach $4 billion for this season. Politicians spent money on print, radio, online and other ads, but TV still receives the lion's share.

Federal campaigns' next reports on ad spending, which will cover the bulk of the election season, are scheduled to be filed in early December.

This area's broadcasters got a healthy boost, which came as the slow economic recovery has revived demand from car dealers and other traditional TV advertisers.

Time Warner Cable Media Sales, which sells ads for News 14 and 40 other cable channels, saw revenue rise 50 percent in October compared with a year earlier, said spokesman Keith Poston. He declined to provide specifics.

"Most of that was political advertising," he said. "We did pick up a lot of candidates, and not just on the news channel. We also saw candidates looking to hit younger audiences, like on MTV."

WTVD, ABC 11, also is having a stronger year, said General Manager John Idler, who added that "the political advertising is just one of the contributing factors."

WRAL, the local CBS affiliate with the region's top-rated newscasts, also had a strong October, said General Manager Steven Hammel, who declined to provide specific numbers.

That said, the recent election season wasn't as good as 2008, "when you had all the various political stars in alignment," including the tight presidential race, he added. But this year did bring more ads for various local races, including candidates for judge seats, and the General Assembly.

Local viewers weren't the only ones happy to see the ad blitz end.

There are a finite number of TV spots, and "there are some local advertisers who don't appreciate getting displaced" by politicians, Hammel said. "The good news is that Nov. 3 comes and goes. Now we're able to air ads from loyal advertisers again."

Facebook friends: The state gets a Facebook data center and Lt. Gov. Walter Dalton can't hide his excitement. (N&O)

Repeal sought: Activists descended Thursday on U.S. Sen. Kay Hagan's Raleigh office. (N&O)

Gay marriage ban: Leaders among North Carolina's social conservatives believe the Republican sweep at the legislature should finally permit a vote on a state constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage. (AP)

More VA homes: Gov. Bev Perdue says she's pushing for VA homes to be built in Black Mountain and Kinston at Veteran's Day event. (Fayetteville)

Another political outfit has deemed Republican Renee Ellmers not “ready for primetime.”

Hotline On Call, the National Journal website that tracks all things political in Washington, listed Ellmers this week among the top five Republican freshmen likely to do or say something in their first term that will hurt their re-election chances. Here’s what Hotline had to say:
 
“Until the closing days of the campaign, Ellmers was considered a longshot to unseat Rep. Bob Etheridge (D). That's probably why no one paid attention to her outlandish TV ad that claimed that the proposed Ground Zero mosque in New York City was a "victory mosque" for Muslims. Ellmers also didn't make any friends at the National Republican Congressional Committee when she lashed out at them on her website earlier this week for not helping to pay for her recount fees. “

Hotline’s point echoes that of an NRCC spokesman this summer, who said the Ellmers campaign wasn’t yet ready for primetime. The group declined to add her to its “Young Guns” list of GOP contenders.

The NRCC now is backing Ellmers. The organization actually has chipped in $10,000 total: $5,000 for the recount and another $5,000 for her general campaign. And it pledged last week to help with staff time and expertise as well. The NRCC now lists her on its recount website, with a link to her website.

Ellmers remains about 1,500 votes ahead in her challenge to incumbent Democratic U.S. Rep. Bob Etheridge. If she remains within one percent by the final election canvass on Friday, he is likely to ask for a recount.