The 18th century watering hole partly responsible for Raleigh's selection as state capital may return to life, at least in name.

The New Raleigh web site reports that what used to be the Fayetteville Street Tavern, just south of the capitol, is being renovated with plans to reopen as Isaac Hunter's Oak City Tavern. The pub already has a web site.

In 1787, state leaders partial to the tavern's refreshments decided that the capital had to be established within a ten mile radius. Opposition prevented any action being taken until 1792, when a commission was named to pick the exact site for the new statehouse within the land around the tavern, according to the N.C. Department of Cultural Resources.

The name has been resuscitated over the years, including at a Cameron Village restaurant that opened in 1998 and currently one of the foremost political blogs in the state, run by WUNC radio's Laura Leslie.

Two history programs aimed at kids could be cut.

In recent years, the N.C. Department of Cultural Resources has run an annual "History Bowl" tournament for fourth- and eighth-graders.

Starting with local competitions, the teams of students answer questions on North Carolina history, such as how many state-supported Indian tribes there are or who Isaac Hunter was.

The number of students has dropped from 230 in 2003 to 189 in 2008, said spokesman Joe Newberry. By comparison, the Tar Heel Junior Historians, a scholastic competition, and the national History Day celebration were drawing more interest.

The annual competition cost $17,194.

In addition, the department has had a full-time staffer developing N.C. ECHO, a Web site that features links to state historical collections of interest to K-12 students and curious Web surfers. That position paid $67,232.

Gov. Beverly Perdue has proposed ending state support for the History Bowl and eliminating the Web developer, though the site would remain online.

State agencies are cutting back in small ways too.

As noted previously, Gov. Beverly Perdue asked Cabinet-level agencies to trim their spending. A list of the cuts includes some interesting items:

* The Department of Administration has stopped printing most publications.

* The Department of Cultural Resources is training employees online and turning off computers at night.

* The Department of Revenue is encouraging carpooling.

Some of these cutbacks actually have positive benefits. For example, environmentalists might support putting more state publications online rather than printing them, while carpooling and turning off computers saves gas and electricity.

Fiscal conservatives, meantime, support reduced spending on travel and other items.

Gov. Beverly Perdue promised to focus on the arts.

In a page on her campaign Web site, Perdue gave a few general goals and made a few specific promises:

* Promote collaboration between the N.C. departments of Commerce, Environment and Natural Resources and Cultural Resources on the arts.

* Expand the Main Street program to help towns involve creative businesess and nonprofits in downtown redevelopment.

* Support a "smart, fair system" to help local arts groups recapitalize hundreds of community facilities across the state.

She also said she would protect and develop cultural heritage sites, support and expand arts education and "hear the voice of the arts community."

On his last day at work, Gov. Mike Easley gave the acting head of the Department of Cultural Resources a new job.

Easley appointed Staci Meyer to the N.C. Industrial Commission. Meyer was the chief deputy and general counsel to the department who ran things when Secretary Libba Evans went on extended, unpaid leave.

Meyer spoke for the department in defense of two departmental trips to Europe that included first lady Mary Easley. 

Meyer told her staff of her appointment Monday. The commission oversees workers' compensation.

"I will strive to provide meaningful and effective service to the State through this appointment," Meyer wrote.

Gov. Mike Easley's former sister in law is getting a pay raise and more job security.

Judy Easley, who was married to the governor's brother, went to work for the state Department of Cultural Resources a month after Easley was sworn in for his first term.

She worked as a top assistant to the head of the agency, keeping tabs on about 100 boards and commissions with a particular emphasis on working with the governor's office.

In March, her job classification was changed, making it more difficult to fire her. The change came with new duties and a 10 percent raise. She now makes $70,500.

The change was made without Governor Easley's knowledge, said Staci Meyer, acting secretary of the cultural resources department.

"I made a business decision," Meyer said in an interview. "She is such a valuable piece of what we do. Don't hold it against her because her name is 'Easley.' "

Judy Easley declined to comment. The governor questioned why the changes would produce criticism. (N&O)

Could Gov.-elect Beverly Perdue remake the Cabinet?

As the public and the press (well, the press mostly) awaits the announcements of Perdue's 10 appointed department heads, it's worth noting that she could do more than shuffle names. She could rewrite the jobs, too.

The current lineup of the Cabinet only dates to 2000, when Gov. Jim Hunt appointed the state's first Secretary of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention.

Hunt, who also created the veto and the governor's second (and third and fourth) terms, was a notorious Cabinet woodworker. In 1977, he rewrote the Secretary of Commerce's job to include business recruiting, now its central mission.

He also appointed the first Secretary of Crime Control and Public Safety that same year, protected the job from critics, then switched sides and supported an unsuccessful move to kill it.

Currently, the most common suggestion is to get rid of the Secretary of Cultural Resources, who's been on leave since May. But the job, which dates to 1971, has strong defenders in the arts community and will likely survive.

Efforts in recent years to cut the Crime Control job have met with stiff resistance from law enforcement, and Perdue is unlikely to go after Juvenile Justice.

That leaves four heavyweights — Environment and Natural Resources, Health and Human Services, Transportation and Correction — and two jobs that keep state government humming, Revenue and Administration.

Rep. Alma Adams is in the running for a Perdue post.

The Greensboro Democrat's name has been raised several times for a possible appointment to the cabinet of Gov.-elect Beverly Perdue.

The most recent tip comes from the Greensboro News-Record's Inside Scoop column, which quotes Rep. Earl Jones, also a Greensboro Democrat.

"She probably will get offered a position by Perdue," Jones told the newspaper.

Adams had no comment, but she would be an interesting pick. During the Democratic primary, she cut a TV ad defending Perdue against charges of not opposing racism strongly enough by state Treasurer Richard Moore.

She also was one of the prominent critics of the diversity of Perdue's original transition team.

The News-Record notes N.C. Spin's claim that Adams is in the running for head of the state Department of Administration.

Update: Adams, an art professor, may also be considered for secretary of the state Department of Cultural Resources.

Previously: Names in the mix for Perdue's Cabinet