Franklin Freeman thinks two things led to the increase in the Order of the Long Leaf Pine.

The longtime adviser to former Gov. Mike Easley said that they put an application for the award on their Web site and publicized that it was open to retiring state and local government workers.

Between January of 2001 and December of 2008, 26,000 state workers and 6,000 city and county employees retired, according to figures from the state retirement system. Many were nominated by their bosses for the order over the Internet.

"When we put the application form on the Web, it made it much more accessible," Freeman said.

Easley gave out 4,034 awards during his two terms in office, about one and a half times as many as his predecessor. Former Gov. Jim Hunt had given roughly 2,730 in his most recent two terms. 

Freeman, who gave out the award a number of times on Easley's behalf and received it himself, said it comes with a certificate and the right to give the state toast.

"Other than that, it's just the honor associated with the award, and that to some degree perhaps is in the eye of the beholder," he said. 

* McGuireWoods makes it official: Former Gov. Mike Easley and two former aides, Franklin Freeman and Ruffin Poole, have joined the firm.

* Former Govs. Jim Hunt and Jim Martin, meantime, have been named to the state advisory board of the N.C. Heroes Fund, which supports veterans.

* Attorney General Roy Cooper, Lt. Gov. Walter Dalton and other dignitaries to speak at opening of new domestic violence center in Raleigh Friday.

* Another national liberal blogger speculates on the deeper meaning of Sen. Richard Burr's 2010 re-election campaign.

Former Gov. Mike Easley is joining the Raleigh offices of McGuire Woods, a prominent Richmond-based law firm.

Two of Easley's former aides, Franklin Freeman and Ruffin Poole, also appear to be joining the firm. Voicemail and staff at the firm's offices took messages for all three today.

"We're in final discussions with Gov. Easley and a couple of his key aides, and we're very hopeful that we'll have something more to say early next week," said Richard Cullen, McGuire Woods' chairman, who served as Virginia attorney general during part of Easley's tenure as N.C. attorney general in the '90s. 

McGuire Woods operates a rapidly growing lobbying operation in North Carolina. Former Gov. Jim Martin, a Republican, joined as a senior adviser last summer. Another former top Easley aide, John Merritt, serves as a senior vice president. Veteran lobbyists Johnny Tillett, Harry Kaplan and Gardner Payne also hold vice president titles.

In February Easley announced he would play a part time role for the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation promoting early college programs, such as the Learn and Earn initiative he started in North Carolina. Easley has been in the news more recently over his relationship with NASCAR and car dealership owner Rick Hendrick. Easley accepted free travel from Hendrick while in office and Easley's wife has been driving a car owned by one of Hendrick's dealerships. The owner of an unrelated dealership, which provided a car to Easley's son, has been questioned by federal authorities.

Franklin Freeman, legislative liaison for Gov. Mike Easley, plans to retire next month, ending a 38-year career in state government ranging from local prosecutor to a seat on the state Supreme Court.

Freeman's career actually spans 45 years if you count his time as a page and member of the sergeant-at-arms staff at the legislature in the mid-60s.

His courtly baritone and seersucker suits are familiar sights and sounds in the legislative hallways.

After graduating from law school in 1970, Freeman worked as a clerk to then-Supreme Court Justice Dan Moore, a former governor. Freeman went on to posts as an assistant district attorney and district attorney in his home turf of Surry, Stokes, Rockingham and Caswell counties.

He also headed the administrative office of the courts, served as secretary of corrections and was then-Gov. Jim Hunt's chief of staff. Hunt appointed him to the state Supreme Court in 1999.

Freeman lost his bid to retain that seat in the 2000 election and signed on as Easley's ambassador to the legislature.

"I've had very few dull days," Freeman said.

A new ranking says Raleigh has a new top lobbyist. It also says that some lobbyists' influence has been shaped by ethics investigations and a fight over a real estate transfer tax.

The N.C. Center for Public Policy Research released its biannual ranking Thursday of the most influential lobbyists in the state capital. The ranking is based on a survey of legislators, lobbyists and capital journalists following the 2007 long session of the General Assembly.

Roger Bone ranked No. 1, after seven previous surveys had ranked him No. 2 or 3. His wide variety of clients includes Lorillard Tobacco Co., the N.C. Association of Long Term Care Facilities and the Save our Summers group.

Rounding out the top five: John McMillan, John Bode, Franklin Freeman and Zeb Alley.

Previous No. 1 Don Beason fell to No. 35, following revelations about a series of $500,000 transactions between him and former House Speaker Jim Black. Beason later resigned his clients. Black, a Democrat, is in prison on unrelated corruption convictions.

Bob Hall, who filed the original complaint against Black with the State Board of Elections, saw his ranking jump from 49th to 19th for his work with Democracy North Carolina.

Also seeing their rankings rise: Tim Kent (11th), Rick Zechini (12th), Paul Meyer (25th) and Jim Blackburn (31st). All were involved in the fight over a tax on real estate transfers.

Six inches is a start, but Gov. Mike Easley wants another foot.

A veto threat prompted the Senate Tuesday to change a House bill that would let fishermen and other recreational boaters haul 10-foot-wide boats and trailers down narrow state roads at night, Bruce Siceloff reports.

The amended version, scheduled for a final Senate vote today, would trim the maximum width to 9 1/2 feet at night and 10 feet during the day.

Franklin Freeman, a top Easley adviser, warned last week that allowing wider boats at night would cause more crashes and deaths. He said Tuesday that the governor still wants legislators to keep the nighttime limit at its current mark, 8 1/2 feet.

"I think the governor hoped he could get out of this session without having to veto anything," Freeman said. "It would be a shame to put him in that position ... We've gone from 18 inches to 12 inches, but there’s still a foot missing."

Gov. Mike Easley will likely veto a bill to relax road safety rules.

Several bills in the House and Senate would let recreational boaters haul wider boat trailers on state roads, but Easley wants them to include a ban on towing at night.

"The governor believes strongly that these wide boats at night are a safety hazard, that there would be additional deaths on the highway," said Easley adviser Franklin Freeman.

The Senate bill would permit trailers as wide as 10 feet on state roads, day and night, without permits. It would also open more than 20,000 miles of state roads to 53-foot semi-trailers, replacing a 48-foot limit.

Easley has also pushed for the blood alcohol content of people hauling the boats to be 0.04 percent instead of the 0.08 percent standard for other drivers. (N&O)

Gov. Mike Easley probably will veto legislation that would let fishermen and other recreational boaters haul wider boats on state roads — unless the bill is changed to ban towing at night, an aide told legislators today.

“The governor believes strongly that these wide boats at night are a safety hazard, that there would be additional deaths on the highway,” Franklin Freeman, a top advisor to Easley, told members of the House Finance Committee, reports Bruce Siceloff.

The legislature is considering several bills to relax limits on hauling wide boat trailers. The proposals would allow boaters to pull trailers up to 10 feet wide, day or night, without a permit.

Current law requires permits for boat trailers more than 8.5 feet wide and outlaws towing on Sundays, nights and holidays.

“Should it pass and get to the governor, the likelihood of his signing it is not good, given what he has indicated to me,” Freeman said.

More after the jump.

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Gov. Mike Easley's budget director, David McCoy, is a step closer to becoming state controller after the Senate Commerce committee endorsed his nomination this morning.

The full Senate and House must confirm the appointment, reports Lynn Bonner.

In his long government career, McCoy has held posts as varied as state transportation secretary and deputy secretary in the Department of Administration.

Franklin Freeman, a top advisor to Easley, credited McCoy for his accomplishments as head of the state budget office.

Freeman said McCoy "helped guide this state through the worst fiscal crisis since the Depression."

A top aide to Gov. Mike Easley recently claimed he never uses e-mail.

So Dome was doubly surprised when we checked our personal account the other night to see a message from "Franklin Freeman" in our inbox.

It seemed especially urgent, from the subject line, so we clicked on it, only to see this:

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The e-mail also noted that Dome's "woman" is waiting for us to "satify her."