Gov. Beverly Perdue went last night to see the former Army barracks in Butner where mentally ill children live and receive treatment.

Her visit came the day after a News & Observer published an article about maintenance and insect problems in the children's quarters at the old John Umstead Hospital, Lynn Bonner reports.

Adults have moved to a new hospital about a mile away, while children are still in the World War II-era buildings. A patient advocacy group wants the kids moved to the new hospital, too.

A short description of Perdue's visit appears on her blog, but she did not say what she thought of the place.

When reporters toured the old Umstead buildings yesterday morning, the units they visited had heat.

Hospital administrators said the buildings in the old hospital the state is refurbishing for the children were good spaces for them.

Sen. Richard Burr is now a blogger.

Burr’s revamped web site includes a blog that, so far, provides his thoughts on the economy, former Sen. Tom Daschle and the swearing-in of new Sen. Kay Hagan, reports Barb Barrett.

In a handful of posts, Burr refers readers to interesting news articles he’s found in the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, even The N&O. Yesterday, he posted a radio interview with a Charlotte station about Barack Obama's transition.

The blog can be found through Burr’s web site.

Pat McCrory said he doesn't read Bob Orr's blog.

The Charlotte mayor said a campaign staffer showed him fellow Republican gubernatorial candidate Orr's blog post questioning McCrory's absence from a N.C. Mental Health Coalition forum Monday.

Orr's post chastised McCrory for missing the forum, declaring that all the other candidates "made the effort" to weigh in on a challenging problem facing the state.

"Frankly, Pat needs to get away from the fluff and one-liners that mark his campaign," Orr writes. "And he needs to show up."

McCrory said he missed the forum to attend a Charlotte City Council meeting.

"I'm disappointed that Mr. Orr resorted to making a negative and quite fluffy one-liner before getting the facts," McCrory said, adding that he has not missed a council meeting since he entered the race for the Republican nomination.

McCrory said he expects the issue of mental health will come up again in future debates.

"If you live in North Carolina and your home isn't under a rock, you know that Dan Besse is a Democratic candidate for Lt. Governor." — BlueNC blogger Betsy Muse in a post yesterday.

Dome believes that rock is known as the sun.