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Jim Black, the former speaker of the N.C. House convicted on federal corruption charges, is now scheduled to get out of prison on March 31, 2011.

That's about 11 months earlier than his release date as scheduled when he was originally sentenced, which was Feb. 24, 2012.

The inmate information posted for Black on the website of the Federal Bureau of Prisons lists the new projected release date, but provides no explanation for the change. However, it is not unusual for federal prisoners to receive credit for good behavior as time served.

Black, 74, pleaded guilty in 2007 to a long list of charges stemming from his accepting illegal payments from campaign contributors, at times handed over in men's bathrooms. Black was convicted of offering a bribe to another lawmaker in exchange for a vote and of obstruction of justice, following a sweeping federal and state investigation into corruption in his office.

Friends of the Matthews Democrat, who served a record-tying eight years as speaker, have lobbied to try to get Black released early on compassionate grounds, citing chronic health problems. He is currently incarcerated at the federal correctional institution in Jesup, Ga., which is located about 65 miles southwest of Savannah.

Former House Speaker Jim Black was not in the courtroom in Raleigh Tuesday, but he was very much part of this morning's arguments over a $10 million state subsidy to Johnson and Wales University, in Charlotte.

Lawyers from the state have asked Wake County Superior Court Judge Michael Morgan to dismiss a lawsuit over the appropriations to the school. Morgan heard arguments for four hours, called a recess and said he'll return at 3:30 p.m. to announce whether the lawsuit should be allowed to proceed.

Lawyers from the N.C. Institute for Constitutional Law are trying to sue the state, claiming that the handout to the culinary school is unconstitutional, nothing more than a political promise made by Black and bankrolled by taxpayers. $6.5 million of the pledged funds have been given since 2003.

Black is in federal prison on corruption charges.

The institute lawyers want the state to force a refund and halt any future payments. Unlike other economic incentives, the Johnson and Wales money was a gift to single organization with no requirements for producing jobs or other measurable gains for the state, said Jeanette Doran, a staff lawyer with the institute.

"Johnson and Wales is required to do nothing," Doran said. "They can spend it however they want."

Lawyers for the state and the school contend that the legislature appropriates money for public purposes and education is a public purpose that, among other benefits, helps North Carolinians get jobs.

"The overall goal is to benefit the public," said Norma Harrell, of the N.C. Attorney General's office.

Voters would rather Republicans run the show at the legislature, according to a poll released this week by the conservative Civitas Institute.

Of those surveyed, 40.7 percent said they would vote for a Republican legislator if the election were held today, compared to 37.8 percent for a Democrat. And 21.5 percent were undecided.

The poll's margin of error is 4 percent.

Civitas said it was only the second time in four-and-a-half years of polling that Republicans received more support in the poll. The previous such result was in March 2006, just after the State Board of Elections finished hearings on then-House Speaker Jim Black's campaign. The more recent poll of 600 likely general election voters was held Oct. 20 and 21, the week before the elections board held hearings on former Gov. Mike Easley's campaign.

There's was a noticeable verbal play at work when State Board of Elections member Bill Peaslee began his questioning of former N.C. Democratic Party Executive Director Scott Falmlen.

Peaslee, at right, is a former high ranking official within the N.C. Republican Party. And Peaslee repeatedly referred to Falmlen's party as the "Democrat Party," as in:

"Did the Democrat Party at any point arrange for travel for Gov. [Mike] Easley?" Peaslee asked.

"Not that I'm aware of. No sir," Falmlen answered.

Dropping the "ic" from "Democrat," of course is often meant as a little tweak. It serves as a reminder that the Board of Elections is a partisan body with three Democrats and two Republicans.

And to be fair, Bob Cordle, a Democrat pictured at right, has earned some attention this week for the tone of his questions. Columnist and Dome's distinguished colleague Rob Christensen noted that Cordle's questions have coddled witnesses all week.

Board Chairman Larry Leake, whom some Republicans had criticized for holding a fundraiser in 2000 for Easley, continued his persistent and professional questioning. The same could not be said for Bob Cordle, whose unfettered flattery of all Democratic witnesses, including Easley, is cringe-inducing.

The State Board of Elections will convene hearings into the campaign finance activities of former Gov. Mike Easley.

The stakes for Easley will be high. Over the last decade, the board has established itself as a first step in corruption investigations. The board's hearings helped lead to the downfall of an Agriculture Commissioner, House member and House Speaker.

1998: Hog farmers and Republican House leaders

2002: Meg Scott Phipps

2006: Jim Black

2007: Mary McAllister

2007: Thomas Wright

2009: Mike Easley

Look for plenty of coverage, analysis, pictures and video next week here at Dome, at newsobserver.com and on the new Investigations blog, which launches Sunday. This weekend watch for stories in The News & Observer.

Republicans continue to line up to challenge 8th District Democratic Congressman Larry Kissell.

The latest to join the field is Hal Jordan, a Charlotte IBM executive, who received a lot of attention three years ago when he came within 30 votes of knocking off scandal-plagued Democratic House Speaker Jim Black.

Jordan joins three other Republicans who have already announced their intentions to challenge Kissell: Lou Huddleston, a retired Army colonel from Fayetteville; Tim D'Annunzio, the owner of Sky Venture Skydiving Center in Hoke County, who has loaned his campaign $300,000, and Darrell Day of Hamlet. 

There are several reasons why there is so much interest in the race, Rob Christensen reports. The 8th District is considered one of the few competitive House districts in the state.  Congressmen are considered the most vulnerable the first time they seek re-election. Kissell knocked off Republican Robin Hayes in 2008. 

And the polls suggest that 2010 could be a Republican-leaning year.

The State Board of Elections played a key role in the downfall of former House Speaker Jim Black.

After the board got access to the Black campaign committee checks, the board exposed a scheme in which Black's fellow optometrists wrote campaign checks that left blank the date and who would receive them.

Black in turn would hand them to political allies, particularly Rep. Michael Decker, a Forsyth County Republican, who became a key figure in keeping Black in power.

The board turned up enough to convince Decker to plead guilty to accepting the campaign money as part of a $50,000 bribe. The hearings also put investigators onto the activities of a group of chiropractors.

Payments from three chiropractors to Black, which were made to ensure favorable legislation, led to a five-year federal prison term for Black.

Former Gov. Mike Easley's hearing is to be held in the same hotel where the board held Black's hearings.

Correction: A previous version of this post misstakenly said the board was acting on stories published in the N&O. Dome regrets the error. 

The hearing into possible violations of campaign laws by former Gov. Mike Easley's campaign and the state Democratic Party will be held in a familiar location: Raleigh's downtown Clarion hotel.

That's where board members met several years ago to hear testimony about the campaign of then-House Speaker Jim Black, reports Andy Curliss.

The location is largely to accommodate the media and what is expected to be larger public interest. Elections officials have a small hearing room at the board's regular offices, but had been looking for an alternate spot.

The hearings will open at 11 a.m. on Oct. 26 and continue as needed.

Former Gov. Mike Easley will be the subject of public hearings later this month as part of an ongoing state elections board investigation into questionable activity by the Easley campaign and the state Democratic Party, according to the board's chairman, Larry Leake.

The hearings will begin Oct. 26 at 11 a.m. and could last a week, J. Andrew Curliss reports.

Leake said the hearings will deal with evidence of alleged campaign law violations — and that no one should assume there was any wrongdoing by Easley, the state party or his campaign just because hearings will be held.

"The purpose of the hearings is to find the truth as to what did occur," Leake said.

A spokesman for Easley had said previously that Easley, a Democrat who left office in January after serving eight years, did not think any hearings were necessary.

The hearings will give Easley a chance to publicly appear under oath and answer questions surrounding his campaign. Easley has communicated only through lawyers, spokesmen or written statements since reports in The News & Observer this spring detailed the use of cars and secret flights provided for Easley but for which he did not pay.

Allen Rogers, an aide to House Speaker Joe Hackney, is working his last official day today, ending 41 years of state government service.

Rogers, 65, handles board and commission appointments for Hackney and is sort of retiring for the second time. He retired from the General Assembly Personnel Office, which he helped create, in 2003 and agreed to take the board and commission post under then-House Speaker Jim Black. The job was supposed to be part time.

"That lasted about two weeks," Rogers said, before he became full time. He remained in the post when Hackney took over as speaker in 2007.

In six years, Rogers has not taken any vacation time: "I really need a break," he said.

But he'll take on another task of some sort, he said. Work is his hobby.

Hackney and his staff will miss their soft spoken go-to guy, not to mention his always available dish of bite-sized candy bars.