Ken Otterbourg says Pat Stith will be missed.

In a post on Otterblog, the managing editor of the Winston-Salem Journal laments the impending retirement of the longtime N&O reporter.

Pat is the real deal, and it's not overstating things to say his reporting has led to a better North Carolina. Journalists like the phrase "end of an era" and so we throw it around like a Frisbee, but this is one of those occasions where it truly applies. Pat came to the N&O before Watergate, and he leaves at the moment in time when the public-service journalism that he has embodied is under pressure like never before.

He says that one of Stith's "most remarkable traits is his generous spirit."

"I feel fairly safe to say that if I called him up in the middle of the night and needed a favor, he would try to help me out," he writes.

The Winston-Salem Journal is now calling her "Bev."

In a post on his blog, newspaper editor Ken Otterbourg writes that there's been "a bit of controversy" over Lt. Gov. Beverly Perdue's name.

Perdue goes by Bev, or at least she wants to, but most of the media won’t let her. The AP refers to her as Beverly Perdue. So do most of the state's major newspapers. After some discussions last week, the Journal is calling her Bev, a change from how we used to do it.

Otterbourg says that though they have been sticklers for past governors, calling them James B. Hunt and James G. Martin, they relaxed the rule for Mike Easley.

"I suspect the reluctance for most of the media to use Bev Perdue is a matter of consistency," he writes. "Mike Easley has always been Mike Easley. It's not clear when Beverly became Bev on political documents, but you can see the change on ballots."

Still, he says they decided on the change because it's a "fair and reasonable use."

Previously: What's Perdue's first name?

The Winston-Salem Journal has launched a political blog.

Trail Mix, written by Raleigh-based reporter James Romoser, will focus on North Carolina's 2008 elections, including governor and U.S. Senate as well as John Edwards' bid for the White House.

For now, Romoser is blogging from Iowa, as he follows Edwards.

Managing Editor Ken Otterbourg notes on his blog that Romoser should make a good blogger.

James is scary smart, and a great observer and analyzer. There are a zillion political blogs out there. We hope ours will be distinguished by its quality of content, not just the sheer quantity of links being dumped onto a site. I hope you will check it out and let James know what you think.

Welcome to the fray, James.