A bill that requires boating safety classes for young boat operators cleared the House. 

The House changed the Senate bill to exclude anyone 26 or older from the requirement. The Senate version would have grandfathered boaters who are now 24. Eventually the Senate version would have required safety classes, or passing a test, for everyone.

The House version now returns to the Senate which can agree with the House changes or send the bill to a conference committee.

The House version applies to vessels with at least a 10-horsepower motor, including personal water craft. The House bill allows a young boater to skip the classes if he or she can pass a test.  

"It's about safety education," said Rep. Arthur Williams, a Washington Democrat.

Rep. Marilyn Avila, a Raleigh Republican, said the bill didn't do enough.

"We're asking people to go online and take a test and get the right to put a vehicle or vessel or personal water craft on a lake or in the river that is in some cases horsepower equal to a Mustang GT," she said.

Some interesting bills filed in the House recently:

H.B. 120: Public Municipal Campaigns, Reps. Rick Glazier, Melanie Wade Goodwin, Pricey Harrison and Winkie Wilkins

H.B. 123: Death Penalty / Proportionality Review, Reps. Glazier, Dan Blue, Deborah Ross and Earline Parmon

H.B. 125: Raise the Cap on Charter Schools, Reps. Jim Gulley, Marilyn Avila and Ric Killian

H.B. 126: Eliminate the Cap on Charter Schools, Reps. Gulley, Avila, Killian and Nelson Dollar

H.B. 128: Authorize Grandfather Mountain as State Park, Reps. Phil Frye, Edgar Starnes and Cullie Tarleton

Rep. Marilyn Avila
Raleigh Republican
Second Term

What two things would you cut in the state budget? 1) Gov. Mike Easley's proposed 2008 budget included $15 million for lodge renovations at Lake Mattamuskeet in Hyde County. Other bills that session also sought to fund the ski lodge. "That type of expenditure really needs a second and third look," she said. "I'm not saying it wouldn't be beneficial years down the road, but we're in an extremely unusual financial situation at the moment. I don't think we can do that."

2) The University of North Carolina system had $99.6 million in capital projects in the final 2008 budget. "This is a sacred cow for a lot of people," she said. "I understand a lot of needs are there, but we have got to postpone these sorts of things so that we don't make other cuts in the budget that affect people's health care and (secondary) education. Those are going to be much more crippling to us."

Are there any taxes you would be in favor of increasing? "I couldn't answer that without thinking long and hard about it," she said. You have to understand that means I reach into somebody's pocket and take that dollar out that they need for their retirement or their kids or their medicine. That's absolutely the last resort."

A Raleigh high school junior is organizing an online revolt against the state's new high school graduation requirement — the graduation project.

Alex Paschall's anti-graduation project Facebook page has attracted more than 120 comments. Someone attached to the page an online petition that nearly 600 people, most of whom appear to be students or parents, have "signed," Lynn Bonner reports.

Paschall writes on his page about organzing protests at State Board of Education meetings, but they have not materialized.

Paschall said in an interview that he'd like to fill the entire meeting room with students, but that's not possible because the board meets during school hours.

Instead, Paschall said, he plans to write board members about his objections. He’ll post those letters on his Facebook page and encourage others to write their own letters.

"My issue is not with the project itself," he said. "It's with the state school board mandating the project.”

He hasn't decided what to do with the online petition.

Paschall, who attends Leesville Road High School, is doing his graduation project on the USA PATRIOT Act, examining the sections he argues are unconstitiutional.

Students are required to find mentors to guide them. Rep. Marilyn Avila, a Raleigh Republican who met Paschall while they were working the polls during the election, is his mentor.

After trying his best to lose, Stan Morse now says he's in it to win.

Morse is the candidate who endorsed his opponent, campaigned against himself and issued a concession speech the day before the election — but ended up winning the primary.

He faces one-term Republican uncumbent Rep. Marilyn Avila in November.

"Let's face it, I'm an amateur," Morse said Wednesday. "But I think the voters of the 40th district should have a true representative, not one who is bought and paid for by one giant special interest group. My campaign will show that big money will not keep informed voters from seeing the truth."

Morse's primary opponent, Stan Hart Brewer, called him Wednesday and offered to transfer the remaining balance of his campaign account, more than $3,000, to his campaign.

"I was surprised," Brewer said. "Having had my opponent's endorsement, I didn't really feel I had to spend any money on a primary campaign. But apparently that was not a correct assumption." (N&O) 

State Rep. Marilyn Avila is ready to learn.

The Raleigh Republican said her biggest goal in the upcoming short session is to learn more about how the legislature works.

"Pretty much for me, it's going to be about getting my fundamentals and my basics in place," she told Dome. "I'm not taking any huge leaps on particular issues until I feel like I've got my feet solid underneath me." 

Avila said that she is concerned that requests for the budget are spread too thin, arguing that the state won't be able to fix the mental health system, rebuild state roads and solve a host of other problems at the same time.

"In my personal life, when I try to solve problems I focus on my biggest ones first," she said. "But when we're pulling ourselves in five or six different directions, we're not really making any significant strides."

She said the budget "might put a Band-Aid here and there," but not make any significant difference. 

How much harder can you try to lose a race?

Stan Morse did everything he could. He endorsed his opponent, Sam Hart Brewer, saying he was not only "better looking and smarter" but had a better chance of beating Republican incument Rep. Marilyn Avila.

He sent out a concession speech a day early, campaigned for Brewer outside a Raleigh polling place Tuesday and even voted for Brewer.

But, in a bizarre election-night turn, Morse appeared to be winning.

He also seemed to be taking a step back from handing the election over to his opponent.

"My goal remains to replace the one-term incumbent with a representative who will work for all the people," he said Tuesday night, reading a statement.

It seems like Rule No. 1 of politics: Don't endorse your opponent.

Stan Morse, who is on the ballot in the May 6 Democratic primary for the N.C. House, 40th district, said Wednesday he is endorsing his opponent, Sam Hart Brewer.

Morse said he only filed as a candidate because it appeared no one else planned to challenge the Republican incumbent, Rep. Marilyn Avila. When he learned another Democrat had signed up, Morse said he quickly decided to step aside, Michael Biesecker reports.

"We met for about an hour and a half, saw our politics were identical, and within about 10 days I came to the conclusion that, though I could easily beat him in the primary, he actually is the better man for the job," Morse said of Brewer. "Not only is he better looking and smarter than me, but he has a better chance of unseating the Republican incumbent."

On Election Day, Morse said he plans to be outside his voting precinct in North Raleigh urging his neighbors to vote for Brewer.

Bryan Gossage, an Apex council member in his second term, said today that he's running for a state legislative seat that takes in a slice of western Wake County.

Gossage, 33, is a Republican and owns a marketing and communications firm. He said he's raised $22,000 for the election and has the backing of three House Republicans from Wake County: Paul Stam, Nelson Dollar, and Marilyn Avila.

He said in a news release that he is running to bring back honest government to the legislature and to try to keep taxes under control.

"I am running because I’ll be a strong, sensible voice for Wake County," Gossage said. "North Carolina needs experienced, innovative leadership, and that’s exactly what I’ll bring to Raleigh."

His Web site at Gossage.org also notes that he served as worked for a California state lawmaker for two years.

Gossage is seeking the District 41 seat currently held by Rep. Ty Harrell, a Raleigh Democrat. Harrell won the seat in 2006 by beating Rep. Russell Capps, a six-term lawmaker and Raleigh Republican.