GOING CHILLY: Former Vice Presidential candidate Sarah Palin didn't appreciate having to share a campaign bus with U.S. Sen. Richard Burr when she was stumping the state. Palin is scheduled to appear at Ft. Bragg next week to promote her book, which could make for an awkward moment if Burr shows to get a book signed.

POLITICAL PRENUP: Presidential candidate John Edwards offered to quit his campaign and endorse President Barack Obama in exchange for a guaranteed spot on the ticket. Hillary Clinton got the same offer. This reminds us of a time when Edwards' political value meant more than a cheap joke, such as this one.

LIGHTWEIGHT GOVERNOR: At a women's health conference, Gov. Bev Perdue shared stories about her days as a lawmaker when she would scarf a whole bag of Doritos. On a stage in front of a crowd, Perdue challenged her transportation secretary, Gene Conti, to slim down. Woe to any Perdue cabinet members who still smoke.

IN OTHER NEWS: Former Gov. Mike Easley's campaign manager appeared before a federal grand jury this week. Members of the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission are heavy political contributors. An African American artist unveiled a portrait of U.S. Sen. Jesse Helms.

Gov. Bev Perdue was in Charlotte this afternoon to announce a state partnership with Microsoft to offer free technology training.

The governor appeared on the campus of Central Piedmont Community College to announce that North Carolina will receive 10,500 vouchers for Microsoft Windows and Office online training, 10,500 vouchers for Microsoft Business Certification Exams and 2,700 vouchers for advanced technical professional-level online training, Rob Christensen reports.

Each voucher is redeemable for free online training in Microsoft Windows or one of the programs in the Microsoft Suite.

The vouchers will be distributed through the state community college system, the Division of Workforce Development in the N.C. Department of Commerce, and the N.C. Employment Security Commission.

The partnership is called "Microsoft Elevate America."

Gov. Bev Perdue said Thursday that a group of violent offenders who are serving life sentences from the 1970s won't be released from prison until at least 2054.

Perdue said the N.C. Department of Correction will not award time off for good behavior, which was a key point in a court's determination that a Fayetteville inmate who was serving a life sentence for a double homicide is due for release.

Perdue's new math will surely lead to a lawsuit from the inmates since she had previously announced that her administration was required to release them.

The inmates were due for release for two reasons. For a five year period in the 1970s, state law defined a "life sentence" as 80 years. And the Department of Correction was applying a calculation of time off for good behavior that essentially cut those sentences in half. The department's action strips the good behavior credit from those inmates.

Her vows to block the release of inmates who were convicted of murder, rape or other serious violent crimes has been a popular issue for Perdue.

"I will continue to pursue all legal means of preventing the release of these inmates without any review by the parole board or any post-release supervision," Perdue said in a news release.

Update: Staples Hughes, the state's Appellate Defender, called Perdue's announcement a political ploy.

"We believe that it is simply an extension of the state's political efforts to buttress the governor's sagging poll ratings by defying the rule of law. We don't believe they will be able to substantiate their opinion in a court of law before impartial judges."

Update: Post now accurately reflects that Perdue did not issue an order about the change. 

Gov. Bev Perdue told the first meeting of the Energy Policy Council on Wednesday that she wanted her advisors to come up with a plan make the state more energy efficient and environmentally friendly by April in time for the short session of the legislature.

The governor said she wanted the council to look at what taxes should be changed, whether utility regulations should be altered and whether the work force is being properly trained for new green jobs, Rob Christensen reports.

"I am urging you all to make some decisions very quickly on how we can push North Carolina into a national leadership position in green around the green economy," Perdue told a meeting held on the Centennial Campus at N.C. State University.

The council is headed by Tim Toben of Chapel Hill, developer of Greenbridge Development and includes executives from Duke Energy, Piedmont Natural Gas, the Environmental Defense Fund, a biofuels company, a solar fuels company, legislators and others.

Gov. Bev Perdue is not the woman she used to be — and she's proud of it.

The governor got personal Wednesday morning when she gave a pep talk at the opening ceremony of the State Employees Wellness Fair at the State Fairgrounds, Rob Christensen reports.

"I've always thought there is nothing better than an old-fashioned revival, where you get up and tell it all," Perdue said.

"I want you to know that in 1992 I was twice the size I am today," Perdue said. "I believe if I had the nerve to weigh [myself] I might have tipped the scales at right near 180 to 190 pounds. I'm 5'3 and a half."

"I felt crummy," she said. "But I could do something about it."

She decided to improve her health because of her two sons who depended on her as a single mother. So rather than having a bag of Doritos when she got back to New Bern after a week of serving in the legislature, she might have a half a bag. She said it was a very gradual thing.

She also stopped smoking cigarettes in 2003 after she was afraid she was experiencing a stroke. She said she wanted to be around for her boys.

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Gov. Bev Perdue appointed two new district court judges Tuesday.

Perdue appointed Raleigh attorney Margaret Eagles to the bench for the 10th Judicial District for Wake County.

A graduate of Wake Forest University and the Campbell University school of law, Eagles is a former clerk to N.C. Supreme Court Justice George L. Wainwright and worked as an assistant attorney general until 2004, when she entered private practice.

Robert P. Trivette got Perdue's nod to the bench in the First Judicial District, which covers Camden, Chowan, Currituck, Dare, Gates, Pasquotank and Perquimans counties.  Trivette is a former prosecutor in the area now in private practice. He is a graduate of  Virginia Intermont College and UNC Law.

CHARGE IT: Former state Rep. Thomas Wright's 2008 obstruction of justice conviction came on a made-up charge, his lawyer argued before an N.C. Court of Appeals panel Monday. An attorney for the state told the judges that the charge fit well with Wright's actions. (N&O)

HIRING THAWED: Public universities continued to hire faculty members this year even as cuts to swelling administrative ranks put many employees out of work. The faculty hiring is the result of a strategic move by UNC system leaders to shave costs almost exclusively from the administrative side of the ledger and protect academics. (N&O)

The creative and instinctive nature of innovation will now be channeled through, yes, a government agency.

Gov. Bev Perdue, by executive order, established the state's first Innovation Council on Monday. The group's mission is to: coordinate public and private investment to promote innovation, help move ideas faster from the lab to the marketplace and improve the collaboration between business, academia and government.

Perdue announced the creation of the council during a visit to the Wake Forest Institute for Regenerative Medicine in Winston-Salem.

The council will be chaired by Al Delia, senior adviser to Perdue, and Steve Nelson, managing partner of the Wakefield Group.

(Dome wanted to provide a link to the Wakefield Group's Web site but found the site was down and has been for months. Nelson said the firm was receiving too many unsolicited business offers over the Internet and doesn't need to market itself on the web.)

UPDATE: Click the attachment to see the council's members.

Gov. Bev Perdue appointed five men to the N.C. Board of Transportation on Monday. Four have ties to the real estate and development industry.

The new appointees are Sam Halsey, David Burns, Gary Ciccone and Ronnie Wall, Current board member Stan White was reappointed. The DOT board consists of 19 members, each serving a four-year term.

Halsey, who lives in Jefferson, is a realtor and former chairman of the Allegheny County School Board, according to a media release from Perdue's office.

Burns, of Laurinburg, is chief executive officer at Z.V. Pate, Inc. and president at Burns Farms, Inc.

Ciccone, of Fayetteville, is a develoiper and partner in a commercial real estate brokerage firm.

Wall is the mayor of Burlington and an assistant superintendent for the Alamance-Burlington School System.

White, of Nags Head, is the owner of a construction and realty firm and the past chairman of the Dare County Board of Commissioners.