Fred Aikens says he would increase fiscal accountability as state auditor.

A fiscal analyst for the legislature from 1978 to 1993, he later served as the deputy secretary for the state departments of Transportation and Correction. He said he wanted to clean up corruption in Raleigh.

"You've seen agencies that haven't spent taxpayer's money the way they should and I want to help these agencies be more accountable," Aikens told Dome.

He plans to do this by increasing resources and cooperation between agencies, identifying weaknesses before they becomes crises.

Aikens said he joined the Legislative Black Caucus Foundation in 2007, amid criticism that it gave college scholarships to relatives of legislators.

"I wanted to be a part of helping them get on the right track and I contributed pretty well to that effort," he said.

Rep. Alma Adams says she's done reviewing the books.

The Greensboro Democrat spent most of the last year reviewing the books for the N.C. Legislative Black Caucus Foundation.

In an interview with the News & Record this weekend, she:

* Announced the board would expand from 21 members, including 13 non-legislators.

* Said she would release a list of board members as soon as possible.

* Declined to release an opinion from the N.C. State Ethics Commission.

* Declined to release audits from 2005 and 2006.

On the other hand, she said that the audit and the opinion have "cleared up" most of the questions raised about the group's activities this year. 

Previous coverage of the foundation can be found here. 

* Greg Dority will officiallly kick off his campaign for the GOP nomination for lieutenant governor on Thursday in Beaufort County. (Beaufort Observer)

* U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Dole recognized for work encouraging air bags and seat belt laws while U.S. Secretary of Transportation in the 1980s. (Char-O)

* State's $78 billion pension system lost $306 million from June through September in part because of subprime mortgage meltdown. (Triangle Business Journal)

* Rep. Alma Adams says private auditor has been slow, expects full report on N.C. Legislative Black Caucus Foundation "by the end of the year." (GN-R)

The State Ethics Commission will publish about a dozen reports by the end of the year.

Since it was created in 2006, the commission has fielded more than 2,000 questions from legislators, lobbyists and volunteers, but it has not shown the advice to anyone else.

Executive Director Perry Newson said that it will make public redacted versions of some formal opinions by Jan. 1.

Formal opinions are basically a set of legal precedents to be followed in the future. Those who request them and follow their advice are immune from prosecution.

One outstanding opinion concerns the fundraising activities of the N.C. Legislative Black Caucus Foundation. (GN&R) 

* Mark Harkins, former chief of staff to U.S. Rep. Brad Miller, has joined Womble Carlyle Sandridge & Rice as a senior government relations adviser. (Roll Call)

* State Rep. Alma Adams says she'll answer some lingering questions about the N.C. Legislative Black Caucus Foundation's books "sometime in October." (Capital Beat)

* U.S. Rep. Heath Shuler wants to keep the friendly skies PG-13 with a bill that would prevent showing violent movies like "The Last King of Scotland" in certain parts of the plane. (AC-T)

* Indiana Sen. Evan Bayh, John Edwards' one-time senatorial jogging partner, has endorsed Sen. Hillary Clinton's presidential bid. (Indianapolis Star)