Gov. Beverly Perdue is flying back from Asia today after a nearly two week expedition to try and lure new businesses to North Carolina.

Perdue is due back this evening after 14 hours of flight time from visits to Japan and China. In addition to corporate shmoozing, she visited schools to get a firsthand look at how those countries' education efforts compare with North Carolina. 

Yesterday Perdue attended a signing ceremony between the Shanghai Center for Disease Control and the Hamner Institutes for Health Sciences, in Research Triangle Park, regarding collaboration on tuberculosis research.

She is due back in the office tomorrow and will make her first post-trip public appearance at the North Carolina Awards ceremony Thursday evening at the N.C. Museum of History.

Burley Mitchell has never gotten the Order of the Long Leaf Pine.

But his wife — and his dog — have.

The former N.C. Supreme Court chief justice says his English bulldog, Bruno, received the award in the late 1970s from then Gov. Jim Hunt.

As secretary of Crime Control and Public Safety, Mitchell had started a neighborhood watch program featuring Bruno that was an early predecessor to McGruff the Crime Dog. Bruno became something of a celebrity in local newspapers. 

"It was sort of a spoof," Mitchell said.

He said the award was not taken as seriously in those days. It had started as a symbolic honor for visiting dignitaries, like being a Kentucky colonel, then became more of an honor for notable North Carolinians, such as Mitchell's wife, Lou, a longtime civic volunteer.

But he disputes the idea that it's the state's highest civilian award.

"Some deputy press secretary over there started the notion that its the highest award the state gives and that concept entered the world through Wikipedia," he said.

By statute, the state's highest award is the North Carolina Awards, selected annually by a committee of the Department of Cultural Resources.

You can catch Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards on PBS tonight.

He will be interviewed by fellow Tar Heel Charlie Rose, whose program airs on UNC-TV.

The hourlong show begins at 11:30 p.m. on Channel 4.

Expect Edwards to congratulate Rose for his recent win of a North Carolina Award, the highest civilian award given by the state. 

Two former Supreme Court justices were recognized. 

Burley Mitchell and Henry Frye received the state's highest honor: the North Carolina Award Tuesday night. They are the first two recipients who have been justices, Titan Barksdale reports.

Mitchell and Frye, who are now both in private practice, received the awards in the field of public service.

Mitchell joined the N.C. Supreme court in 1982 and served as Chief Justice from 1995 to 1999. Frye joined the North Carolina Supreme Court in 1983 and served as chief justice from 1999 to 2001. 

The North Carolina Awards have been given annually since 1964, and a committee selects the recipients. 

Also recognized: Rosemary Harris Ehle, the actress who plays Aunt May in the Spider-man movies. 

When Oliver Smithies won the Nobel Prize in medicine this week, he fondly remembered another award he received in 1993, five years after he moved to this state.

The scientist has a long list of honors to his name, but the North Carolina Award — the highest honor the state can bestow — was especially meaningful, Smithies told admirers at a celebration in Chapel Hill, Jane Stancill reports.

"It's one of my precious ones, because in a sense it was a welcome to being here in North Carolina," he said. "It makes one feel part of the community."

Then, the British-born scientist drew chuckles from the crowd when he added, "I've been part of UNC now for nearly 20 years. Hopefully, I've helped a little. I sometimes think I've been selfish because I haven't been chairman of anything."