Sen. Tony Rand says state government needs to become more efficient.

At a budget discussion at Fayetteville Technical Community College Monday, the Senate majority leader said that state leaders will need to be more prudent given the current financial crisis, according to the Fayetteville Observer.

"We've thrown money away in the past," he said. "Now, we’re going to make sure we can justify every penny we spend."

State Republican leaders are sending a link to the story to reporters, pointing out Rand's comment. 

With typical Randian flair, he also compared trimming the state budget to "pruning orchards" in order to increase the yield.

Jeanette Council has endorsed Barack Obama.

The Cumberland County commissioner, who is a Democratic Party superdelegate, told the Fayetteville Observer that she was backing Obama.

"I would have no problem voting for either of the two," she said. "But of the two, I think Barack Obama is the better candidate."

Earlier, she told the newspaper that she was not sure if she would make a decision before Election Day

The announcement brings Obama's North Carolina superdelegate count to seven. Rival Hillary Clinton has two. 

Previously: Council spotted at Obama event in Fayetteville. 

Under the Dome is disappointed we weren't spun.

An e-mail from House Speaker Joe Hackney's office obtained by Americans for Prosperity reveals some of the speaker's staff's plans for spinning the press on the Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. incentives.

Hackney spokesman Bill Holmes writes about efforts to get favorable coverage from the Fayetteville Observer, WTVD, WRAL, The Charlotte Observer and Freedom Newspapers of Eastern North Carolina.

He also notes that Rep. Rick Glazier, sponsor of the incentives bill, talked to an N&O reporter.

But Jonathan Cox, the ink-stained wretch in question, said that was simply a phone call the day of Gov. Mike Easley's veto that came too late to add any detail to his story.

Glazier, he said, was returning a call from two days earlier. So much for the spin machine.

The full text of the e-mail after the jump.

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The Fayetteville Observer's editorial board has called for Rep. Thomas Wright to resign.

In an unsigned editorial today, the newspaper said the campaign finance irregularities are not about the Wilmington Democrat's guilt or innocence, but the legislature's "battered reputation."

That's why Wright should step down until the charges are resolved. If he's cleared, he can run again. Until then, the institution is more important than the man.

As usual, a full list is below the jump.

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