DENVER - State House Speaker Joe Hackney is catching the red-eye flight back to Raleigh after midnight tonight in time for Wednesday's special session of the legislature.

But Hackney, an Orange County Democrat, said he plans to return Wednesday night so he can catch Barack Obama's acceptance speech on Thursday, reports Rob Christensen.

Other Democratic lawmakers, such as Rep. Bill Faison of Orange County, were planning to return to Raleigh for the special session, which has been called to consider whether to override Gov. Mike Easley's veto of a bill relaxing the size of boats that can transported on state roads.

Meanwhile, Gerry Cohen, a top legislative staffer, made other accomodations. Cohen sat at a table at the North Carolina delegation breakfast Tuesday morning with his computer composing the legislature's adjournment resolution.

About two dozen Democrats gathered in the law offices of Kirby & Holt at noon today to listen to a one-hour talk by David Plouffe, the campaign manager for Barack Obama.

Several participants said there was no explicit pitch for the backers of former Sen. John Edwards. In fact, Plouffe went out of his way to say he understood that some Edwards backers may not be ready to make another choice yet, Rob Christensen reports.

But there were a number of major Edwards backers attending including Chapel Hill businessman Michael Cucchiara, who gave $2 million for the poverty center that Edwards started at UNC-Chapel Hill.

Asked if he was ready to back Obama, Cucchiara said: "No comment."

But Chapel Hill Mayor Kevin Foy, another Edwards supporter, said he was enthusiastically backing Obama.

Foy said the mesage from the meeting was that Obama would be a strong candidate in the May 6 Democratic primary, and would also compete here in November if he was the nominee. Plouffe said Obama could attract enough independents and young voters that he would help all the North Carolina Democrats on the ticket, Foy said.

Others attending the meeting included former House Democratic leader Phil Baddour of Goldsboro, state Rep. Bill Faison of Orange County, Raleigh businessman John Crumpler, former Chapel Hill Mayor Rosemary Waldorf, former state Democratic executive director Scott Falmlen, Democratic consultant Morgan Jackson, and state Senate candidate Josh Stein, who managed Edwards' 1998 Senate campaign.

The event was held in Edwards' former law offices. But Kirby, Edwards' former law partner and longtime friend, was not present. His office said he was trying a case in court.

Rep. Bill Faison recently told his constituents in his weekly e-mail newsletter "Bill's Seat," that he and his colleagues did not raise taxes in the state budget this session.

"The budget spends more than $20.66 million without raising taxes," the Orange County Democrat wrote.

Are you sure? Dome asked him.

Faison responded by saying that the quarter-penny sales tax increase that the budget makes permanent — one that was originally part of a temporary half-cent increase first adopted in 2001 and three times extended — did not count because it is not a "new" tax, Dan Kane reports.

But what about the increase in the tobacco tax on all products save cigarettes?

This time no reply from Faison. But in his next newsletter, this is what he reported:

This Budget does not raise your income taxes. It does make a slight increase in taxes on tobacco products other than cigarettes to fund cancer research.

Faison, by the way, has railed against tobacco tax increases in the past. In 2005, he led an unsuccessful effort to cut a 25-cent increase on a pack of cigarettes out of the state budget.

How much can you give a candidate before it becomes a public record?

In July, the legislature voted to lower the threshold for candidates to report the name, occupation and address of a donor from $100 to $50.

A House bill would now push the threshold back to $100.

It's a debatable change, but the first half of the bill's title does seem a tad, well, defensive:

An act to restore the law on disclosing the identity of political contributors...

The bill is co-sponsored by Reps. Paul Luebke and Bill Faison, both Durham Democrats, and Rep. Edgar Starnes, a Hickory Republican.

State legislators will square off Tuesday at a Nascar rally.

Teams of senators and representatives will fight to see which would make the best pit crew.

The two teams will change the tires, refill the gas and do other pit stop maintenance on a Nextel Cup challenge car.

Led by captain "Ricky Bobby" Nesbitt, the Senate team hopes to recapture the glory of last year's win with Sens. Stan Bingham, Andrew Brock, Malcolm Graham, Kay Hagan and Eddie Goodall.

On the House side, "Tammy Jo" Earle will lead Reps. Bill Daughtridge, David Lewis, Thom Tillis, Jim Harrell, Bill Faison and Arthur Williams.

For everyone's safety, Gov. Mike Easley will not be driving.

A black robe, a gavel ... and a holster?

Trial court judges would be allowed to carry concealed handguns into courtrooms, under a House bill that was approved overwhelmingly on its second read yesterday.

Representatives had a vigorous debate. Some argued that armed judges would prevent courthouse shootings, while others warned of the risk to innocent bystanders.

And one lawmaker said it would just legalize a common practice:

"In my experience in the courtroom there’s a lot of judges who are already bringing a concealed weapon to court," said Rep. Tim Spear, a Washington County Democrat and retired state Superior Court clerk. "I fully support that." (N&O)

The House could take a final vote as early as today. The bill would then go to the Senate, which approved a similar bill in 2005. (AP)

Wake Reps. Dan Blue and Linda Coleman and Orange Rep. Bill Faison are co-sponsors.