Gov. Beverly Perdue's new communications and policy adviser says he wanted to come home.

Greensboro native and Appalachian State grad Pearse Edwards said he has enjoyed working for Washington Gov. Christine Gregoire -- both governors are Democrats -- but he wanted to move back to North Carolina.

“I'm not a big fan of winters in the northwest,” Edwards said Thursday.

He expects to play a role similar to what he has done for Gregoire, helping integrate the communications, policy and government relations functions of the governor's office.

“Policy is complex,” he said. “There’s a real need for the people to get a better understanding of what government is doing.”

Perdue already has a communications director, David Kochman; a senior adviser for government relations, Andy Willis, and a policy director, Al Delia. Their salaries are $115,200, $153,000 and $160,000 respectively.

Edwards, who will be paid $136,000, will not supervise those staffers. They will still report to Chief of Staff Zach Ambrose.

More after the jump.

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* Gov. Beverly Perdue bets Washington Gov. Christine Gregoire over the Sweet Sixteen game between Carolina and Gonzaga tonight.

* Perdue will speak at the N.C. Chamber's annual meeting on Tuesday, just after former Gov. Mike Easley receives an award from the group.

* CNN anchor Anderson Cooper will give an afternoon lecture on the campus of Elon University on Tuesday, April 7.

* Former Solicitor General Walter Dellinger remembers his friend, historian John Hope Franklin, in the pages of the Washington Post.

Gov. Beverly Perdue does not plan to attend the inauguration.

Perdue will be in Washington, D.C., on Sunday for an EMILY's List luncheon, but she does not currently plan to stick around for Tuesday's swearing-in ceremony for President-elect Barack Obama.

Spokesman Tim Crowley said he did not know what Perdue would do instead that day.

"I haven't seen the calendar," he said.

The National Governors Association invited its members to attend the inauguration.

Some are; some are not. Republican Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger of California and Democratic Gov. Christine Gregoire of Washington will attend, while embattled Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich is not.

Could Ty Harrell represent us in the Great White North?

A Canadian magazine thinks so.

In its Dec. 17 issue, Embassy magazine included state Rep. Ty Harrell on a list of possible ambassadors to Canada, once "one of the most sought-after positions in American foreign service" but now maybe not-so-much.

"There is nobody clamouring for the job, and that silence is incredibly interesting," Canada expert Christopher Sands told the magazine.

Here's what it had to say about Harrell, a Raleigh Democrat:

Democratic state representative from the important swing state of North Carolina. This rising star endorsed Mr. Obama while John Edwards was still in the primaries. Wife is Canadian.

The magazine also included Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm, former Rep. David Bonior, outgoing Democratic Party chairman Howard Dean and Washington Gov. Christine Gregoire, among others.