* The Greensboro News-Record's Mark Binker cautions casual political fans not to expect too much too soon from the legislature.

* The House selects new Democratic whips: Reps. Larry Bell, Larry Hall, Jean Farmer-Butterfield, Deborah Ross and Bruce Goforth.

* More cutbacks in the field of journalism: UNC-TV will no longer pay political analysts who appear on its "Legislative Week in Review" show.

* Liberal blogger Andrea Verykoukis says the state's anti-sodomy law "has been used to persecute ... certain parties with certain proclivities" for centuries.