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Democrats in Robeson and Hoke counties selected businessman Michael Walters to replace David Weinstein in the state Senate.

Weinstein resigned his seat to become director of the Governor's Highway Safety Program.

Walters, 53, is president of Claybourn Walters Logging Company in Fairmont.

A lifelong resident of Robeson County, Walters said today that he wants to give back to the community.

A committee representing Democrats in the Hoke and Robeson district selected Walters last week. Walters said he plans to run to keep the seat next year.

State Sen. David Weinstein wanted a job running the state liquor warehouse. Instead he'll be the front man for the Booze It & Lose It campaign.

Weinstein, a Lumberton Democrat in his seventh term, will become director of the Governor's Highway Safety Program on Oct. 5, Lynn Bonner reports Highway safety promotes rhyming twin campaigns that discourage drunken driving and encourage seat belt use — "Booze It & Lose It" and "Click It or Ticket."

Weinstein wanted to be chairman of the Alcohol Beverage Control Commission. The commission runs the warehouse from which all stores buy their liquor, gives final approval for opening a store and hears cases of ABC law violations.

Gov. Beverly Perdue appointed Jonathan Williams of Raleigh to ABC chairman last week.

Darrell Jernigan, who had run Highway Safety for six years will move to another job with the office, according to the agency.

Weinstein had not resigned from the Senate by mid-afternoon Wednesday. The agency said Weinstein will resign from the Senate, effective Oct. 1.

His salary has not yet been determined.

Update: Senate leader Marc Basnight released a statement about Weinstein's imminent departure from the legislature.

"David Weinstein has been a valued leader in the Senate and a wonderful friend. A finer person can’t be found. Just as he was, and will continue to be, dedicated to the interests of his home community, he will be dedicated to the interests of all North Carolina’s communities. He’s a very special person and although we will miss him in the Senate, we wish him the very best in this new role of public service."

Former ABC Commissioner Mike Joyner has emerged as a contender for chairman of the state Alcoholic Beverage Control Commission.

Joyner, a commercial real estate developer in Charlotte, served on the commission from 2001 to 2008, and word on the street is that his name is among those being considered. Joyner declined to comment.

Sen. David Weinstein, a Democrat from Lumberton, has made clear he would like the job. Wilmington lawyer Doug Fox resigned as chairman in May over a racist email he forwarded to a liquor industry lobbyist.

The three member commission is down to one, since Joyner had not been replaced when Fox resigned. Commission staff can still hold hearings on violation cases, but decisions can't be finalized until there is a second commissioner. The May 28 commissioners meeting was cancelled, and the next scheduled meeting is June 23.

Sen. David Weinstein, a Lumberton Democrat, has been appointed to the Legislative Ethics Committee.

The committee consists of six Republicans and six Democrats who set ethical guidelines for legislators and offer guidance on potential conflicts of interests. The group has drawn more attention in recent years with the enactment of new ethics laws and several high profile ethics cases.

"Now, more than ever, it is necessary for a bipartisan effort to self-police," Weinstein said in a statement.

Weinstein, 72, is a retired merchant serving his seventh term. He was appointed to the committee by Senate President Pro Tem Marc Basnight, a Democrat from Manteo.

Weinstein replaces Sen. Steve Goss, a Democrat from Boone, who moved up to co-chairman of the committee after the death of Sen. Vernon Malone, a Raleigh Democrat.

UPDATE: An astute Dome reader points out a certain disconnect between Weinstein's appointment to the committee that polices the legislature's ethics and his recent comment to the Fayetteville Observer. Weinstein, explaining that it is unlikely he will run for re-election, added: "It's not as fun as it used to be, all that -- the ethics, and the people report anything you do. They always report the bad things, not the good things, and we do a lot of good things."

FWD: FOX OUT: Doug Fox may want to go back to a typewriter. The chairman of the state Alcoholic Beverage Commission resigned after a reporter with The Charlotte Observer and The News & Observer showed Gov. Beverly Perdue a racist e-mail Fox sent about President Barack Obama. The e-mail contained an altered picture depicting the White House lawn as a watermelon patch, with the phrase “There goes the neighborhood…" State Sen. David Weinstein has already said he wouldn't mind taking Fox's former job.

KIND OF BLUE: State Rep. Dan Blue will soon be state Sen. Blue. After winning a behind-the-scenes two-week campaign to get appointed to the seat of former Sen. Vernon Malone, the former House speaker said he wants to finish a few things up before moving to the other chamber. Presumably that means passing bills before next week's crossover that he can then vote on as a senator.

ORDER OF THE LONG LIST: Former Gov. Mike Easley found a lot of worthy North Carolinians. During two terms in office, the Southport Democrat named more than 4,000 people to the Order of the Long Leaf Pine, the state's highest award. That's a rate of more than one a day. Recipients included his wife's parents, members of his Cabinet, the Blue Angels and actor Danny Glover, who is not a Tar Heel.

IN OTHER NEWS: Durham attorney Kenneth Lewis is the first Democrat to say he'd like to run against U.S. Sen. Richard Burr in 2010. Attorney General Roy Cooper is widely expected to run as well. ... U.S. Sen. Kay Hagan would prefer that President Obama name a woman to the U.S. Supreme Court, while Burr is looking for a "non-activist" judge. ... Under pressure by Governor Perdue and Chief Justice Sarah Parker, statewide elected officials and elected judges have all volunteered to take a half a percent pay cut in line with one faced by state workers.

Sen. David Weinstein, a Lumberton Democrat, may not have boosted the chances today that the state's first female governor will appoint him as the next chairman of the state Alcoholic Beverage Commission.

Weinstein, who has said he would like Gov. Beverly Perdue to name him as the next ABC chairman, was criticizing a smoking ban bill that ultimately passed the Senate when he, presumably lightheartedly, asked another senator a question.

"Is it true," Weinstein asked, invoking Rudyard Kipling, "That a woman is only a woman, but a good cigar is a smoke?"

State Sen. David Weinstein wants to run the alcohol commission.

The Lumberton Democrat, now in his seventh term, told the Fayetteville Observer he plans to retire from the legislature at the end of the year.

"It's not as fun as it used to be, all that — the ethics, and the people report anything you do," he said. "They always report the bad things, not the good things, and we do a lot of good things." 

He would like to be the next chairman of the state Alcoholic Beverage Control Commission.

Former chairman Doug Fox resigned this week after a Dome contributor showed Gov. Beverly Perdue a racist e-mail he sent from his work account.

Weinstein campaigned for Perdue in 2008.  

A bill would make sure that you're really seeing the Drifters.

Sen. David Weinstein said he filed the Truth in Music Advertising Act after he was contacted by a former member of Sha Na Na.

Jon "Bowzer" Bauman is leading a national crusade to prevent concert promoters from advertising a performance by a classic band that does not have any of the remaining original members. They could still perform, but only as a "tribute" band.

In recent years, bands have performed as the Drifters, the Coasters and the Supremes.

Weinstein, 72, who grew up listening to beach music, said that thinks North Carolina should join the 20 other states that have passed similar legislation, though the problem doesn't affect him much personally.

"At my age, most of the people I listened to are dead," he said.

Several legislators have signed onto parts of Gov. Beverly Perdue's budget.

Three bills filed today at the legislature echo provisions of the $21 billion proposed budget unveiled by Perdue this morning:

H.B. 619: Earmarks $5 million for N.C. Green Business Fund, Reps. Pricey Harrison, Angela Bryant, Paul Luebke and Joe Tolson

H.B. 640: Increases per-cigarette tax rate to 5.5 cents, directs some revenue to mental health, Reps. Jennifer Weiss, Rick Glazier, Luebke and William Wainwright

S.B. 608: Directs $5 million for the One North Carolina small business fund, Sen. David Weinstein

Naturally, the sponsors hope to tap into momentum created by the governor's proposals, but given the amount of time it takes to write a bill, these weren't simply filed as a "me-too" effort.

The cigarette tax proposal also differs from Perdue's, which simply covers the general fund revenue shortfall.