Gov. Beverly Perdue leaves Thursday for nearly two weeks in Japan and China in hopes of, among other goals, luring more businesses to set up shop in North Carolina.

The trip won't be all bowing and business cards, though. Perdue plans to visit a couple schools.

"We’re competing on a global basis now," said Perdue spokesman David Kochman. "So it’ll be interesting to see firsthand how some of the schools in Asia operate."

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Gov.-elect Beverly Perdue has stressed she will break from Gov. Mike Easley.

Still, the newly elected Democrat hasn't entirely escaped the shadow of her two-term predecessor. Several of her appointees so far have ties to Easley.

In order of most closely tied to least:

Britt Cobb: Perdue's secretary of Administration held the same job under Easley, who also appointed him commissioner of agriculture. 

Linda Wheeler Hayes: Perdue's secretary of Juvenile Justice chaired the Governor's Crime Commission for Easley and was one of his fundraisers in 2000.

Eddie Speas: Perdue's general counsel worked for Easley during the eight years he was attorney general. Easley later appointed him lottery commissioner.

Reuben Young: Perdue's secretary of Crime Control served as deputy legal counsel and chief legal counsel for Easley's two terms as governor.

Lanier Cansler: Perdue's secretary of Health and Human Services served as deputy secretary under Easley, although he was directly hired by Secretary Carmen Hooker Odom.

Gene Conti: Perdue's secretary of Transportation served as chief deputy secretary under Easley, who asked him to leave because of a conflict of interest.

In addition, Perdue transition team had ties to Easley: Don Hobart worked as legal counsel to Easley when he was attorney general, Norris Tolson was Easley's Revenue secretary, Hilda Pinnix-Ragland was appointed to the state community college board by Easley, and Howard Lee served as Easley's budget and education adviser and was appointed to two boards by Easley.

Still, many of Perdue's key appointees have no ties to Easley, including at least half her Cabinet.

Gov.-elect Beverly Perdue named a group of women and African-Americans to her transition leadership after being stung by criticism that her first appointments lacked diversity.

She added:

Howard Lee, chair of the state school board and former senator

Valeria Lee, vice chair of the Rural Economic Development Center and past president of the Golden Leaf Foundation

Linda Carlisle, retired founding president of Copier Consultants and former Bank of America vice president

Hilda Pinnix-Ragland, chair of the State Board of Community Colleges and a vice president at Progress Energy

Howard Lee, Valeria Lee (who is not related) and Pinnix-Ragland are black.

The new appointments followed criticism last week from Rev. William Barber, president of the state NAACP, that Perdue's first three appointments were of politically-connected white men. She initially named three transition leaders: Zach Ambrose, Perdue's campaign manager and former chief of staff in the lieutenant governor's office; Don Hobart, her current chief of staff, and Norris Tolson, former secretary of revenue and former secretary of transportation.

Gov.-elect Beverly Perdue named her transition leaders Monday.

Her inauguration has been set for Saturday, Jan. 10, 2009.

Zach Ambrose, her campaign manager and former chief of staff; Don Hobart, her current chief of staff, and former N.C. Secretary of Revenue Norris Tolson will hold equal rank in the transition.

Ambrose is a veteran political operator, MIT grad and Navy veteran who is an odds on favorite to serve as chief of staff in the new administration. He ran the lieutenant governor's office from 2005 to 2007 and previously ran the state Democratic Party's campaign operations to support state senators.

Hobart succeeded Ambrose as chief of staff in the lieutenant governor's office. He has served as the top lobbyist and lawyer for the Department of Commerce and as legal counsel to then-Attorney General Mike Easley. He's a likely contender to serve as Perdue's deputy chief of staff or legal counsel.

Tolson now heads the N.C. Biotechnology Center but previously served, at different times, as secretary of Commerce, Transportation and, most recently, Revenue. He may want to complete the set and add another cabinet secretary's job to his resume.

UPDATE: Tolson said he is helping with the transition but has no interest in serving in the new administration, according to Perdue spokesman David Kochman.

Lt. Gov. Beverly Perdue's office released a statement on the auditor's report:

"This office has endeavored to maintain an appropriate division between state-related business and campaign activity. We appreciate the recommendations and insights of the Auditor's office. We have taken action to respond to the concerns that were raised and will continue to do our best to maintain an appropriate division of activity."

The statement came from Perdue's chief of staff, Don Hobart.

The Eight Ball picks up two points, and a contender moves into the running.

Earlier this afternoon, the magic toy from Target correctly agreed with The Raleigh Soup that Lt. Gov. Beverly Perdue's chief of staff, Zach Ambrose, would become her campaign manager, and that N.C. Department of Commerce official Don Hobart would replace Ambrose.

In a release sent not long afterward, Perdue's office confirmed both.

Ambrose has already stepped down from his position as chief of staff, which paid $110,970 a year.

Hobart, a native of Johnson County, has worked for then Attorney General Mike Easley, U.S. Rep. David Price and former Gov. Jim Hunt. He'll start Sept. 24.

The current standings: Eight Ball 7-for-9; Raleigh Soup 2-for-2; N.C. Spin 1-for-3; TechJournal South, N.C. Policy Watch, Speaker Joe Hackney and the Whiteville News Reporter 1-for-1.

Today, the Magic Eight Ball takes on a new contender.

The Raleigh Soup, a snarky stew of gossip and scuttlebutt, claims that "rumor in the City of Oaks" is that Don Hobart, director of governmental and legal affairs for the N.C. Department of Commerce, will soon take a new job as chief of staff for Lt. Gov. Beverly Perdue.

The reason? To allow current chief of staff Zach Ambrose to become Perdue's campaign manager. (Previously: Perdue is one of three campaigns without a manager.)

We've divided this into two parts. 1. Will Don Hobart become chief of staff for Perdue? The Eight Ball: Yes, definitely. 2. Will Zach Ambrose become her campaign manager? Yes.

We'll check back when someone from Perdue's office returns our calls.