BLUE CROSS, GREENBACKS: Costs may go up for state workers and retirees on the State Health Plan because of poor fiscal management. But critics howled this week after a News & Observer investigation revealed that Blue Cross Blue Shield is paid more than $10 per claim, or 18 times the 57 cents the state spends to process Medicaid claims. Some are calling for an audit.

SLEEPY TIME: How's this for a wake-up call? "You're fired." A state worker who fell asleep on the job five times is fighting to get her job back, arguing it was due to sleep apnea, a medical condition that kept her awake at nights. Could she get any help from the State Employees Association of North Carolina? Dream on, it said.

I DO? NO YOU DON'T: More than 1,000 people attended a rally against gay marriage outside the legislative building in Raleigh. Sponsored by a Christian group from Winston-Salem, the rally was aimed to persuade lawmakers to put a constitutional amendment banning gay marriage on the ballot. Democratic leaders have already buried the bill, however.

IN OTHER NEWS: Talk-show host Jimmy Fallon sang about U.S. Rep. Virginia Foxx, but his lyrics could use a fact-check. ... Labor Commissioner Cherie Berry thinks the state should pull back on routine spending for state parks during the recession. ... Gov. Beverly Perdue is readying her first "State of the State" speech for next Monday. Hint: It's about state spending.