The N.C. Institute for Constitutional Law is challenging the Goodyear incentives.

The Raleigh-based legal group filed a lawsuit Thursday challenging the $60 million given to Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. in Fayetteville and Bridgestone Firestone in Wilson.

"The state constitution requires that any expenditure of state funds be for a public purpose. In the past, government and big corporations have said that massive corporate welfare was necessary to create jobs and they claimed that was a public purpose," said Jeanette Doran, senior staff attorney with the law group. "Now, North Carolina is just giving away $60 million and not requiring a single new job. There is no public purpose in that."

Earlier, the group lost a challenge to incentives for Dell. (N&O)

Bob Orr says he does not oppose all incentives.

In e-mail to Dome, the Republican gubernatorial candidate says that his rival, Bill Graham, misunderstands his position on attracting business to North Carolina.

Orr writes that he does not oppose all incentives, just those targeted at a specific company, such as Google, Dell, Goodyear or Lowe's Motor Speedway.

"However, an incentive policy that benefits a broad range of businesses or preferably all businesses is potentially acceptable," he writes.

He also argues that there is "general acknowledgement" that targeted incentives are bad public policy.

"I would encourage Bill to oppose this system which has exploited our state and local communities rather than fall into the trap of saying that some are OK," he writes. 

Bob Orr is opposed to new incentives for Goodyear and Lowe's Motor Speedway.

The former Supreme Court justice and Republican gubernatorial candidate said in a statement today that the state should not reimburse Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. supplier PACC Lines for up to 30 percent of its shipping charges, as proposed.

"We simply cannot continue providing these kinds of deals to major corporate entities every time the state is threatened," he said in a statement.

He also said that the state, Cabarrus County and Concord should not spend $75 million to keep the Lowe's racetrack from moving. Part of the money would pay to widen U.S. 29 to six lanes.

"It is impossible to justify such an exorbitant expenditure," he said.

* Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co., having snagged $40 million to stay in North Carolina, is seeking another concession worth $3.1 million a year. (N&O)

* State Employees Association of N.C. makes second records request of Treasurer Richard Moore for information on state retirement fund. (WRAL)

* N.C. Association of Educators endorses former North Carolina senator John Edwards, the third time it has backed one of his federal campaigns. (AP)

* Attention conspiracy theorists: Gov. Mike Easley, first lady belong to the Brotherhood of the Knights of the Vine, a fraternal organization for, um, wine drinkers. (AC-T)

The audience was not supposed to clap at the Republican gubernatorial debate today, but there's no rule against laughing.

The first came for Salisbury attorney Bill Graham, who noted that a friend in Louisiana had recently asked him why there was so much political corruption in North Carolina.

"When folks in Louisiana start calling in, you're in a bad way," he said.

The next came when moderator John Hood asked which bills the candidates would have vetoed from this past year. Former Supreme Court Justice Bob Orr answered first.

"Where do we start?" he asked, getting a laugh.

He got another laugh when he explained that the Goodyear incentives compromise bill added money for Firestone Bridgestone and $10 million for an as-yet unnamed company.

"Then they added another ten, just in case somebody else wanted some," he said.

The final laugh came for state Sen. Fred Smith, who also spoke out against the Goodyear incentives.

"Even liberal Jennifer Weiss from Wake County said if we don't get out of here, they're going to add another $20 million," he said.

Richard Moore supports the Goodyear compromise bill.

In response to a question from Dome, the state treasurer and Democratic gubernatorial candidate said the second bill was better than the original incentives vetoed by Gov. Mike Easley.

He said it had better protection of jobs, health insurance benefits and wages, but he still had concerns about incentives in general.

"I am concerned that incentive packages often depend upon the political influence of a single company or legislative delegation and benefit large out-of-state companies over local businesses," he said.

He called on Congress to take steps to limit or end incentives competition between states.

Previously: Republican candidates Bill Graham, Fred Smith and Bob Orr opposed the alternative bill. Democratic candidate Beverly Perdue says the state needs to clarify its policy.

Bill Graham says the Goodyear compromise was worse than the original bill.

In response to a question from Dome, the Republican gubernatorial candidate's campaign said he opposed the new incentives as well as the first proposal.

"We believe that the best incentive for businesses to move to and stay in North Carolina is to cut our corporate taxes and remove the bureaucratic hurdles that increase the cost of doing business in our state," a campaign spokesman wrote Dome in an e-mail.

He also said the state should provide better schools and roads to attract business.

Previously: Republican gubernatorial candidates Fred Smith and Bob Orr opposed the alternative bill. Democratic candidate Beverly Perdue says the state needs to clarify its policy.

Beverly Perdue says the state needs to "clearly figure out" what to do about corporate incentives.

In response to a question from Dome, the lieutenant governor said in a statement that it was important for Gov. Mike Easley and the legislature to work out a compromise on the Goodyear incentives.

But she said the state needs a long-term strategy for helping small businesses.

"As North Carolina's next governor, I also plan to lead a discussion with other governors about interstate cooperation on controlling the use of financial incentives," she said.

She also said the best incentives will always be "a highly educated and skilled workforce, lower health care costs, and a solid infrastructure."

Perdue is running for the Democratic nomination for governor.

Previously: Republican gubernatorial candidates Fred Smith and Bob Orr opposed the alternative bill.

There is no Republican party line on corporate incentives.

That's the argument from Paul O'Connor in the Winston-Salem Journal. The political columnist writes that there was no hard line because "Republicans, like Democrats, felt both ways."

There was probably just enough Republican support to override the veto had that issue come to a vote. But it didn't come to a vote.

All three GOP gubernatorial candidates came out against the Goodyear package, with former Supreme Court Justice Bob Orr leading the way.

O'Connor says incentives will likely be "a significant issue" in the governor's race.

Jim Hunt worried the Goodyear incentives would annoy Bridgestone.

The former governor told Gov. Mike Easley that he was concerned that the original bill would hurt the state's relationship with competitor Bridgestone Firestone, a Japanese company, according to Jack Betts' Sunday column in the Charlotte Observer.

Hunt worried that a bill favoring competitor Goodyear and snubbing Bridgestone Firestone would poison the state's relationship with Japanese economic interests. He made his views known to the governor.

As governor, Hunt pushed the state to recruit Japanese firms to North Carolina. He still lives in Wilson County, home of the Bridgestone plant.

Easley has often joked about how many times Hunt has called him, but it's usually on education or economic issues, not incentives, Betts writes.

Previously: Hunt's changes to governor's office led to showdown.

Update: A Hunt spokesman confirmed the former governor phoned Easley, but said he does not know the timing of the call.