Bob Orr received $284,318 in donations by mid-April of this year.

The Republican gubernatorial candidate raised $76,845 during the first quarter of 2008, according to a campaign finance report that went online today.

Major donors included retired Chapel Hill attorney James Ball, Raleigh developer Max Barbour, Wake County Commissioner Paul Coble and John W. Pope's widow, Joyce.

In addition, Orr loaned his campaign $15,000 in January. Previously, he loaned his campaign $5,000. That raised his campaign's coffers to $304,318 in total.

In the first quarter of this year, Orr spent $68,286 on salaries, office expenses, staff, fundraising and a mailing with the Black Political Caucus of Charlotte-Mecklenburg, which endorsed him.

He ended the quarter with $10,371 in cash on hand.

Clarification: From the Orr campaign: "We did not do a mailing with the Black Political Caucus of Charlotte-Mecklenburg. They were raising money for a voter information mailer and we sent them a small contribution."

Correction: Dome mistakenly included loans in Orr's totals in an earlier version of this post.

The Jesse Helms Center will honor Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia.

During its 20th anniversary celebration in Cary Friday, the center will present Scalia with the James W. Nance Medal of Freedom.

The award is given each year to an individual in government who best exemplifies a devotion to public service and "protection of the nation's foundational values." 

The award is named for Helms' lifelong friend, chief of staff and retired Navy Rear Admiral James "Bud" Nance." Previous recipients include U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld.

The center will also induct five new members into its Free Enterprise Hall of Fame: John W. Pope. A.E. Finley, Ed Morris, Roger Milliken and T. Boone Pickens.

The center, a nonprofit based in Wingate, is named for former U.S. Sen. Jesse Helms.