Barack Obama's Greensboro rally won't start until around noon.
But already hundreds of people are lined up along several blocks downtown. Members of the media and VIPs have begun gathering in front of the historic J. Douglas Galyon Depot.
Spotted at the event: State Rep. Alma Adams, a Greensboro Democrat.
The N.C. A&T marching band is providing a pretty rousing musical soundtrack to the event.
Barack Obama earned the endorsement of 29 state legislators today.
Led by Senate Majority Leader Tony Rand and former Speaker of the House Dan Blue, the lawmakers repeated the same lines as endorsers who have backed Obama before — that the Illinois senator can bring people together and ignite change across the country.
Blue also challenged the Clinton campaign to keep it positive in North Carolina, saying he had seen nothing but negativity so far in Pennsylvania.
"I hope this is not what we can should expect to come to North Carolina in the next two weeks," Blue said. "Tired old political tactics aren’t going to bring about the kind of change we need."
Blue and Rand said their support comes in part because Obama will help Democrats down the ticket, and because he has committed to win in North Carolina in November’s general election.
Rand said the group will raise money and stump for Obama if members are asked.
Rand also praised Obama’s ability to raise millions of dollars in part on the strength of $100 donations.
"We're prepared to do whatever. I mean, I'll give him a hundred," Rand said.
After the jump, the list of endorsements.
Thomas Wright had an evocative answer on censure today.
Rep. Alma Adams, a Greensboro Democrat, asked the Wilmington Democrat if he would support an amendment to censure him instead of expelling him.
"It's like asking a child to go out and get a switch off a tree," he replied. "You want a beating? You're going to get one anyway."
Adams later voted to censure Wright.
When that amendment failed, she voted to expel him.
Hat Tip: Laura Leslie
The N.C. Legislative Black Caucus will meet next week.
State Rep. Ty Harrell, a Raleigh Democrat in his first term, told Dome that he was contacted by caucus chairwoman Rep. Alma Adams this week about setting up a meeting before the special session.
On Thursday, the legislature will meet to discuss whether to expel Rep. Thomas Wright, a member of the caucus, for several ethics violations.
Harrell said he does not know what is on the agenda for the caucus meeting, and he did not want to respond to a recent statement from his Republican opponent, Bryan Gossage, that he should call for Wright to resign.
"There's going to be a lot of things said by my opponent and others on this issue," he said. "I'm a big believer in due process, regardless of how I'm leaning on this issue."
He would not say whether he favors expelling Wright, but he did say that he is frustrated that the legislature is being distracted by the issue.
"I'm not happy that Representative Wright has forced us to make this decision for him," he said.
Rep. Alma Adams says she's done reviewing the books.
The Greensboro Democrat spent most of the last year reviewing the books for the N.C. Legislative Black Caucus Foundation.
In an interview with the News & Record this weekend, she:
* Announced the board would expand from 21 members, including 13 non-legislators.
* Said she would release a list of board members as soon as possible.
* Declined to release an opinion from the N.C. State Ethics Commission.
* Declined to release audits from 2005 and 2006.
On the other hand, she said that the audit and the opinion have "cleared up" most of the questions raised about the group's activities this year.
Previous coverage of the foundation can be found here.
* Greg Dority will officiallly kick off his campaign for the GOP nomination for lieutenant governor on Thursday in Beaufort County. (Beaufort Observer)
* U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Dole recognized for work encouraging air bags and seat belt laws while U.S. Secretary of Transportation in the 1980s. (Char-O)
* State's $78 billion pension system lost $306 million from June through September in part because of subprime mortgage meltdown. (Triangle Business Journal)
* Rep. Alma Adams says private auditor has been slow, expects full report on N.C. Legislative Black Caucus Foundation "by the end of the year." (GN-R)
The N.C. Legislative Black Caucus Foundation has still not released an audit.
An article in the Greensboro News-Record today notes that state Rep. Alma Adams, who heads the foundation, had previously said she would release the results of an audit in October.
The foundation, which is tied closely to the N.C. Legislative Black Caucus, was criticized for its handling of donations to Hurricane Katrina victims and giving college scholarships to relatives of caucus members.
Now that October's over, the paper called for an update:
"They got a little bit behind on our audit so I don't have all the information I want yet," Adams said. The "they" in this case is a private auditing firm hired by the caucus. "My expectation is I'll have something to say before the month is out."
* Mark Harkins, former chief of staff to U.S. Rep. Brad Miller, has joined Womble Carlyle Sandridge & Rice as a senior government relations adviser. (Roll Call)
* State Rep. Alma Adams says she'll answer some lingering questions about the N.C. Legislative Black Caucus Foundation's books "sometime in October." (Capital Beat)
* U.S. Rep. Heath Shuler wants to keep the friendly skies PG-13 with a bill that would prevent showing violent movies like "The Last King of Scotland" in certain parts of the plane. (AC-T)
* Indiana Sen. Evan Bayh, John Edwards' one-time senatorial jogging partner, has endorsed Sen. Hillary Clinton's presidential bid. (Indianapolis Star)
A group of Charlotte leaders raised nearly $55,000 in 2005 for Hurricane Katrina victims, and then turned to the N.C. Legislative Black Caucus Foundation to distribute the money to those in need.
But the foundation didn't give most of the funds away until this year.
In its 2005 tax forms, the foundation stated that it gave all of the money away that year:
Provided relief for Hurricane Katrina victims in New Orleans. Raised over $50,000 funds and distributed all funds for programs offering relief to victims of this devastating disaster.
Although the foundation gave about $12,000 to a Charlotte charity in 2005, it didn't give the rest of the money away until April of 2007. That's the same month that new chairwoman Rep. Alma Adams announced an audit of its books.
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