The parking sign outside the meeting Monday morning called it the "Burr-Bowles Summit" but it could just have easily called it a "love fest."

Republican Sen. Richard Burr and the man he defeated in 2004, Democrat Erskine Bowles, now president of the University of North Carolina, were the stars of the North Carolina Economic Development Summit, Rob Christensen reports.

"I've had a chance to work with this guy for four full years and nobody works harder or smarter for North Carolina than Richard Burr does," Bowles told about 200 people at N.C. Central University. "His focus on this state is truly unbelievable."

In introducing Bowles, Burr said: "Erskine Bowles is the best president of the university system we had the pleasure of having."

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Sen. Richard Burr, who is seeking to raise his visibility across North Carolina, is planning to hold a state-wide economic development summit later this month in Durham.

Burr, a Winston-Salem Republican, is holding an event that will focus on partnerships between the education and business sectors on Oct. 19th, Rob Christensen reports.

Among those scheduled to attend are Scott Ralls, president of the N.C. Community College System and Erskine Bowles, the president of the University of North Carolina system.

Burr and Bowles have developed a friendship since Burr defeated Bowles in the 2004 Senate race.

The event will be held at 9:30 a.m. at N.C. Central University's H.M. Michaux  Jr. School of Education.

When N.C. Central University officials realized that they needed to charge more for a student activity fee than anticipated, they told students to settle up.

The difference? One penny, Eric Ferreri reports.

Commence chaos. Hundreds of students stood in line Monday afternoon, pennies in hand, after a false rumor began circulating that those who didn't pay would be fined $25.

* Public universities in the Triangle will eliminate about 430 positions this year as part of a massive UNC system budget cut.

N.C. State University is eliminating 205 administrative jobs, and UNC-Chapel Hill is cutting 202 positions, according to a report released Thursday that gave the most detail to date on how the system will slash its operating budget 10 percent. N.C. Central University in Durham is cutting 21.5, including four at its law school.

UNC system President Erskine Bowles had said he expected administrative positions to account for 75 to 80 percent of the cuts. That number has subsequently risen to 96 percent, officials now say — an acknowledgment that administrative job growth swelled out of control over the last several years. Few cuts have been made to academics. (N&O)

* A law recently signed by Gov. Beverly Perdue imposes new regulations on the industry that provides human-resources services to businesses -- in exchange for the repeal of a controversial ban.

Donald Barringer, a former third grade teacher at Pearsontown Elementary School in Durham, is Gov. Beverly Perdue's new teacher adviser.

Barringer taught at Pearsontown for seven years and was an adjunct instructor at N.C. Central University, said Perdue spokeswoman Chrissy Pearson. He is also the president of the N.C. Association of Educators' Durham affiliate, Lynn Bonner reports.

He replaces Ann McArthur, who was former Gov. Mike Easley's teacher adviser.

Barringer will be part of Perdue's education team and someone who will be "her voice in the community," Pearson said.

Update: Barringer started as Perdue's teacher adviser a few weeks ago. He makes $52,000 a year.

Correction: An earlier version of this post misspelled Barringer's name. 

U.S. Sen. Kay Hagan will hold a roundtable on the stimulus.

The Greensboro Democrat and other local, state and federal officials will discuss how female- and minority-owned businesses, small companies and nonprofits can access federal stimulus funds.

State stimulus czar Dempsey Benton, Lee Cornelison of the U.S. Small Business Administration, David Heinen of the N.C. Center for Nonprofits and N.C. Central Chancellor Charlie Nelms, among others, will also speak.

The forum will be held at 10 a.m. on Monday at the Mary Townes Science Complex at N.C. Central University in Durham.

Hagan said the forum was inspired by complaints from the state NAACP executive council about the challenges of minority-owned businesses.

She has also posted an online resource guide about the stimulus package.

Is the 2010 Senate race on yet? 

Attorney General Roy Cooper said he hopes to make a decision on whether to challenge Republican Sen. Richard Burr some time this spring, Rob Christensen reports.

"I want to continue with public service to the people of North Carolina," Cooper said Tuesday morning after attending a meeting of the Council of State. "I'm going to determine the best way to do that. I'm going to decide that very soon."

He said many people have been talking about him about the race. He said he has heard from the Democratic Senate leadership, which is trying to recruit him.  He declined to say who specifically has talked to him about it.

The national Democrats see Cooper, a three-term attorney general, as their strongest candidate against Burr.

Burr is using the Senate recess this week to make numerous public appearances in the Triangle and in Eastern North Carolina.

Among other events, Burr will speak at the Chapel Hill-Carrboro Chamber of Commerce in Chapel Hill this evening, will attend a Veterans Administration Appeals Moot Court event at N.C. Central University in Durham Wednesday morning and will speak to the North Raleigh Rotary Club at lunch tommorow.

Then he is off to Oxford, Henderson, Tarboro, Rocky Mount and Wilson.

Law students participating in a moot court competition at N.C. Central University this month may be more nervous than usual.

Presiding over the panel will be Chief Justice John G. Roberts.

Roberts' two-day visit on Monday and Tuesday, April 13 and 14, will be the first time a U.S. chief justice has come to the school in its 70-year history.

On April 13, Roberts will conduct a swearing-in ceremony to the U.S. Supreme Court Bar for graduates of the NCCU law school.

The moot court event, to take place April 14, will not be open to the public or the media, NCCU officials said. Roberts will serve on the moot court panel with Judge Allyson Duncan, a judge on the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, and retired state Chief Justice Henry Frye.

Roberts also will attend a lunch with students.

U.S. Sen. Richard Burr is attentive to black constituents, a news report says.

An article in CQ Politics Monday noted that the Winston-Salem Republican has done a lot of "political legwork" on issues important to the black community:

In February, Burr introduced legislation (S 413) aimed at boosting graduation rates for low-income and minority students, an issue on which he has teamed up with Pennsylvania Democratic Rep. Chaka Fattah , whose district includes Philadelphia.

He has been involved in efforts to combat sickle cell disease and to reauthorize the Healthy Start program, which is designed to reduce infant mortality and the number of babies born at low weights. Both issues disproportionately affect African-Americans.

The article also notes that Burr has helped get federal money for Central Piedmont Community College, N.C. Central University, a community center in Rocky Mount and a sewage treatment plant in Durham.

In 2004, only 12 percent of his votes came from black constituents.

Hat Tip: CitizenOpinionated

Rev. Al Sharpton will speak in Durham Sunday.

The Baptist minister and former Democratic presidential candidate will be the guest preacher at Mount Vernon Baptist Church.

The historic church is being renovated, so services are being held at the B.N. Duke Auditorium at N.C. Central University. 

Church Secretary Melva Toomer said that Sharpton's visit is part of a guest ministry program tied to family and friends day at the church and is not connected to the upcoming elections. 

She said the visit has been planned for several weeks, though it has not been publicized to now.

"We'll be expecting a crowd then," she said after talking to a reporter.