THE ANTI-CZAR CZAR: Rep. Patrick McHenry helped Republicans rail against President Barack Obama's "czars," which he says are making huge decisions and should be confirmed by the Senate. Democrats were quick to mention that a few years ago, McHenry met with President George W. Bush's drug czar. It may be time to appoint a special czar to sort out this czar mess.

CHEF U: The N.C. Institute for Constitutional Law has sued the state over its support for Johnson & Wales University, a private culinary and hospitality school in Charlotte. The center says the $10 million promised by then-House Speaker Jim Black amounted to little more than a patronage gift from Black, who went onto to federal prison fame. The school will argue that educating students is a public purpose. Dome expects testimony to focus on proper hollandaise preparation techniques. The case is a real potboiler.

BREAKER, BREAKER: A last-minute letter from Gov. Beverly Perdue sure got the attention of the N.C. Building Code Council, which voted to keep a special circuit breaker in the building codes.

IN OTHER NEWS: The real "Norma Rae" has died. Former Treasurer Richard Moore has taken a gig at a San Diego investment firm. An appeals court ruled that former Gov. Mike Easley was wrong to borrow highway money to shore up the state's finances.

* The N.C. Institute for Constitutional Law filed a lawsuit Wednesday to force Johnson & Wales University in Charlotte to give back the money the state has given to the culinary and hospitality school.

The institute, a conservative-leaning legal think tank, said the $10 million promised to the school by then-House Speaker Jim Black and other legislative leaders in 2004 doesn't qualify as an economic incentive. The school was not required to create jobs or invest in the state, the steps that state officials typically include to justify the public purpose for a corporate handout.

"This is simply a gift from Jim Black to the school," said Bob Orr, the institute's executive director. "Unfortunately it is one the taxpayers are footing the bill for."

Former Lt. Gov. Dennis Wicker, an attorney for the university, said he expects the courts will not agree with the institute. The courts have yet to agree with suits the institute has filed over incentives to companies such as Dell and Google.

"This went through the legislative process and enjoyed bipartisan support," Wicker said. "Educating our kids is always a public purpose." (N&O)

* As more college students seek financial aid in the troubled economy, the U.S. House of Representatives today is set to overhaul the nation's student loan system.

For students, little in the application process would change beyond a shorter and more simplified form. But more money could be coming their way, and Congress would rework the bureaucracy to potentially save $87 billion in the next decade. (N&O)

* A state task force will try to prevent ex-convicts from going back to prison.

Gov. Beverly Perdue announced 34 members of the StreetSafe Task Force, which will try to find ways to curb recidivism. Every year, 28,000 people are released from prison into a world where their pasts make it difficult to find a decent job and a place to live. Perdue said keeping people from going back to prison is one of the best ways to keep state residents safe.

"This is all about being tougher on crime," Perdue said. "We help people stay out of prison by giving them a life and a job and a capacity to succeed in the community and that's what we want so dare not anybody tell me, 'Oh Bev, you're going soft.' Because I tell you what, if 'soft' means keeping people from being repeat offenders, then I think North Carolina should adopt that motto." (N&O)

The four major Republicans running for governor are fans of nonprofits.

They expressed their gratitude today at a forum in Raleigh sponsored by the N.C. Center for Nonprofits and Generation Engage, reports David Ingram of The Charlotte Observer.

One candidate cited the 19th century French writer Alexis de Tocqueville, who toured America.

"He went and looked at the nonprofits, which were at that time the churches, and he said that’s what makes America great," said state Sen. Fred Smith.

Charlotte Mayor Pat McCrory said nonprofits are important in economic development, citing the Charlotte area’s recruitment of Johnson & Wales University, a culinary school.

"It took cooperation between the private and public sectors, and a lot of speed to beat out our competition," McCrory said.

Read more after the jump.

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The Civitas Institute says it has a poll showing voters do not support the state budget.

But at least three of the questions it asked are so loaded that they aren't reliable.

As an example, Civitas' pollsters asked voters:

"The state is preparing to spend most of the $300 million in temporary taxes on more than 100 special interest projects, such as a drag racing hall of fame, a study of the horse industry in North Carolina and subsidizing a private culinary school. Do you support or oppose these expenditures?"

Not surprisingly given that framing, 84 percent of people said they oppose the spending and only 7 percent supported it.

Incidentally, the drag racing hall of fame was cut from the House budget and cut the subsidy to Johnson & Wales University culinary school in half on May 9, the same day Civitas began polling.

A House committee tinkered with the state budget for about nine hours Wednesday.

The Appropriations committee made dozens of changes to the $20.3 billion budget, which will head to the House floor for a vote today.

Among the cuts: Money for Winston-Salem State, Johnson & Wales University, a Greensboro museum and drag-racing hall of fame.

House Speaker Joe Hackney praised the final product:

"I think we have a pretty clean budget," he said. (AP)

In all over 90 budget amendments were proposed, and 53 were adopted. The third edition of the bill is now available online here. (N.C. Bill Drafting)