THE ANTI-CZAR CZAR: Rep. Patrick McHenry helped Republicans rail against President Barack Obama's "czars," which he says are making huge decisions and should be confirmed by the Senate. Democrats were quick to mention that a few years ago, McHenry met with President George W. Bush's drug czar. It may be time to appoint a special czar to sort out this czar mess.

CHEF U: The N.C. Institute for Constitutional Law has sued the state over its support for Johnson & Wales University, a private culinary and hospitality school in Charlotte. The center says the $10 million promised by then-House Speaker Jim Black amounted to little more than a patronage gift from Black, who went onto to federal prison fame. The school will argue that educating students is a public purpose. Dome expects testimony to focus on proper hollandaise preparation techniques. The case is a real potboiler.

BREAKER, BREAKER: A last-minute letter from Gov. Beverly Perdue sure got the attention of the N.C. Building Code Council, which voted to keep a special circuit breaker in the building codes.

IN OTHER NEWS: The real "Norma Rae" has died. Former Treasurer Richard Moore has taken a gig at a San Diego investment firm. An appeals court ruled that former Gov. Mike Easley was wrong to borrow highway money to shore up the state's finances.

* The state's universities and colleges are being hit hard with cases of flu, most likely of the H1N1 variety.

A type of influenza easily passed among young people, H1N1 is circulating so commonly that health officials don't even test for it specifically. They simply say students have "influenza-like illness" and assume the strain is H1N1.

The largest numbers are at UNC-Chapel Hill, which through last week had nearly 700 cases. That's more than twice the 309 cases reported by N.C. State over essentially the same period, and NCSU is a larger institution.

Most other universities report far lower numbers. Wake Forest has seen about 200 cases, and Duke has had about 170. At Peace, the small women's college in Raleigh, Murray is one of 13 students to get it.

The totals are likely higher. These numbers represent only students who seek help from a campus health office. The cases are mild and so far have not led to mass absences.

More hand washing could help slow the virus spread. One professor says students need to hear how unpleasant the illness is to get them to wash up. (N&O)

* A program set up last year to help North Carolina homeowners with subprime loans avoid foreclosure has been expanded to include those with traditional mortgages.

Electronic circuit breakers meant to prevent fires will be required throughout new homes.

The Building Code Council, the state agency which sets minimum building standards, halted Tuesday a proposal to drop the requirement for the devices, known as arc fault circuit interrupters.

The switches sense minor fluctuations in current that could be a symptom of a dangerous and unseen exposed wire. The switches are more expensive than standard circuit breakers and homebuilders have opposed them, saying the added expense isn't worth what they saw as a marginal benefit.

The devices were previously required for bedrooms. They were then required in all living areas and the council was considering a move to roll back that change. On Friday, Gov. Beverly Perdue wrote a letter to the council chairman, expressing her support for the devices.

Perdue appoints all members of the council and her letter may have been the reason the council unanimously voted Tuesday to keep the devices in the code.

"You pick your battles," said Mack Nixon, an Albemarle homebuilder and member of the council who opposes expanded use of the devices.

Kim Reitterer, a Charlotte electrical engineer and council member, said the governor's letter likely reversed the council's intention to roll back use of the breakers.

"I think the governor's letter let people know how important fire safety is to North Carolina citizens," Reitterer said.  

Gov. Mike Easley will remove three public officials over ethics issues.

At a meeting Friday, the state Ethics Commission recommended the removal of the three officials for failure to file a financial disclosure form.

The commission removed two other officials, but it cannot remove appointees of the governor.

In an e-mail message to the N&O, a spokesman for the governor said that he would remove the three.

They are Buren Harrelson of the Mental Health, Developmental Disabilities and Substance Abuse Services Commission; Sadie Stanfield of the Human Relations Commission and Lon M. Culbertson of the Building Code Council.