* Gov. Beverly Perdue signed into law a bill that toughens penalties increasing the penalty for those who strike and kill someone when they run through a school bus stop arm. (GN&R)

* Perdue's lukewarm reception on the Greenville stop of her statewide tax tour was repeated in Wilmington. (WS-N)

* While friends lobby for a pardon, imprisoned former N.C. House Speaker Jim Black may hold his own key to early release — by cooperating with prosecutors who put him behind bars. (N&O)

* A historical marker was unveiled on Monday as a lasting monument to the more than 7,600 people sterilized by the state in a misguided 20th-century effort to reduce defects in the gene pool. (N&O)

Judging from emails, phone calls and online comments, a lot of people have opinions about our story today on the effort to reduce Jim Black's prison sentence or move him closer to home, Jim Morrill of The Charlotte Observer reports.

Lawyers for the former N.C. House speaker, who is serving five years for corruption in Lewisburg, Pa., have organized a letter-writing campaign to commute his sentence or at least get him moved back to North Carolina. They cite his ailments as well as his wife's recent diagnosis with ALS, or Lou Gehrig's Disease.

About 150 people have written in support of Black. Not everybody is sympathetic.

"The key piece to remember is that Jim Black had a chance to get a shorter prison sentence," says Bob Hall of Democracy North Carolina, who's research into Black's campaign contributions helped set the stage for his prosecution. "There was a considerable period of time between his conviction and his sentencing when prosecutors sought his cooperation in their investigation of corruption, but he gave them no help....

"So if he wants a reduced prison time now, does that mean he's changed his minds and is ready to tell the truth about the full extent of pay-to-play politics in North Carolina?" 

How do you feel about Black's sentence?

Weigh in with the authorities after the jump.

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Former House Speaker Jim Black is asking President Barack Obama for some help.

WRAL-TV has reported that attorneys for Black, a Mecklenburg County Democrat, has asked Obama to commute his federal prison sentence or let him serve the remainder of his five-year sentence in North Carolina or South Carolina.

Black is in a federal prison in Pennsylvania after being convicted in 2007 on a corruption charge.

The television station quoted Whit Powell, an attorney for Black, saying that the former lawmaker is in poor health and that his wife has Lou Gehrig's disease.

Joe Sinsheimer, the man whose jimblackmustgo Web site helped topple former House Speaker Jim Black, may be having some regrets.

That's what he wrote on Facebook, anyway.

Legislators are considering shaving a few days off the end of the 2009-2010 school year to save money. Rep. Rick Glazier, a Fayetteville Democrat and education budget writer, said those final days are of limited instructional value.

Sinsheimer wrote: "It is really dangerous when someone as well-respected as Rep. Rick Glazier tells us that the last two weeks of school have limited instructional value. Years from now, when the current budget fiasco has passed, these words will be flung into the face of any who lobby for more funds for our schools. Who would have thought that Joe Hackney et al would be leading this. My God, I am starting to miss Jim Black."

Linda Daves is also calling for a special prosecutor.

The head of the N.C. Republican Party echoed calls by Senate Republican Leader Phil Berger for an independent investigator to look into former Gov. Mike Easley's dealings.

"If Roy Cooper cannot complete a more thorough investigation of the matter than can be conducted by an enterprising journalist, then he cannot be trusted with the task of leading this investigation," she said in a statement.

She noted that Cooper spokeswoman Noelle Talley had cited investigations into other top Democrats, such as Jim Black and Meg Scott Phipps.

"The very fact that his spokeswoman can list fellow Democrats that he has investigated only goes to prove that Democrats in state government are a particularly at-risk population for corrupt behaviors," she said.

A spokeswoman is defending Attorney General Roy Cooper.

In an e-mail to Dome, public information officer Noelle Talley said that the attorney general's office won't comment on any current or potential investigation.

Cooper has been criticized by Republicans who think he should be more vocal about recent news reports about former Gov. Mike Easley's potential violations of campaign finance laws.

Talley noted that Cooper has investigated a number of high-profile Democrats.

"During Attorney General Cooper's tenure, his lawyers and SBI agents have investigated more than 500 public corruption cases, including Jim Black, Thomas Wright, Meg Scott Phipps and Frank Ballance," she wrote.

She added that the department has often worked with other prosecutors.

"Although we have no original prosecution authority, our Department frequently works with federal authorities and local district attorneys to bring charges against elected and appointed officials," she wrote. "The Attorney General can serve as a Special Prosecutor when requested by a local district attorney."

Previously: Senate Republican leader calls for special prosecutor.

Chiropractors and physical therapists would get a boost from a bill that cleared a House committee Thursday.

The bill would require health insurance companies covering some 2 million people in the state to offer a lower co-pay for chiropractors and physical and occupational therapists.

The bill, sponsored by Rep. Cullie Tarleton, started out as a do-over for a requirement that patients could see chiropractors and pay the same co-payment they are charged for seeing a family doctor.

That benefit was inserted into the budget by former House Speaker Jim Black four years ago. It helped land him in prison when three chiropractors admitted to giving him cash payments while pushing their legislative agenda. It was later rescinded.

Tarleton said the benefit was rescinded because of the circumstances surrounding it, not because it wasn't good policy.

"This is a really a patient's bill, plain and simple," said Tarleton, a Blowing Rock Democrat.

More after the jump.

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The state House today passed a major fix to the State Health Plan that will cost taxpayers roughly $710 million, reduce benefits for state employees and teachers, and protect North Carolina pharmacists from increased competition in filling prescriptions.

The legislation also benefits North Carolina chiropractors and physical, occupational and speech therapists by keeping co-payments at the same amount for visits to family doctors, Dan Kane reports.

A similar provision inserted into the 2005 state budget by former House Speaker Jim Black helped land him in prison when three chiropractors admitted giving him cash as he helped them with their legislative agenda.

The plan serves 676,000 state workers, teachers and retirees. A combination of rising health care costs and inaccurate financial projections put the plan in danger of running out of money. The legislation would immediately draw $250 million from the state's rainy day fund to keep the plan from becoming insolvent this month.

More after the jump.

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The question North Carolina Democrats whisper in the halls is: when are the Republican U.S. attorneys going to be replaced?

U.S. Sen. Kay Hagan says the answer is pretty soon, Rob Christensen reports.

Hagan, the Democrat freshman, said she hopes to recommend three new U.S. attorneys for North Carolina in the coming months.

"I would like to get some names fairly soon and make some recommendations," Hagan said in an interview. "I would certainly think by spring or early summer we could have nominees. The timing has a lot do with the president."

She has appointed a panel, headed by former N.C. Supreme Court Chief Justice Burley Mitchell to advise her on potential nominees for both federal prosecutors and federal judgeships. Hagan said the group held its first meeting Tuesday.

More after the jump.

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