State Sen. R.C. Soles Jr., the longest serving lawmaker, is considering not running again.

Soles is surrounded by controversy. His shooting of an intruder, and rumors and allegations about his relationships with young men have left the Senate fixture, a Democrat from Columbus County, thinking seriously about calling it quits, the Fayetteville Observer reports.

"I've certainly served in Raleigh a long time," he said. "If I never served another day, it's been a wonderful ride and rewarding, and I hope that I've done a few things that have been good and constructive."

There is quiet interest among Democrats for Soles' seat, should he chose not to run. Former state Rep. David Redwine of Brunswick County said recently he has been asked to seek the seat, but would not consider running if Soles is a candidate.

Republicans, who have been unable to unseat Soles despite serious attempts over the years, have been less reticent.

Bettie Fennell, a former newspaper reporter from Pender County, last month announced her plans to run again for the seat. The state Senate district includes Columbus, Brunswick and Pender counties. 

ONE MORE QUESTION: U.S. Rep. Virginia Foxx has introduced a bill that would requires U.S. Census takers to try to find out how many illegal immigrants are in the U.S. We're guessing some answers to that question might just not be truthful.

BILLIONS AND BILLIONS: The state lottery director wants to add another national super jackpot game to complement Powerball. The move would be the first step toward creating a near-nationwide big jackpot game that would appeal to those who think the Powerball odds are too fair.

BIG SPENDER: State Sen. R.C. Soles Jr., a Columbus County Democrat, spent the second most of any competitive candidate — more than $830,000 — to win his Senate seat last year. That was BEFORE he shot someone. No telling what the figure might be next time.

IN OTHER NEWS: Margaret Harper, who ran twice for lieutenant governor and was a pioneer among female political figures in North Carolina, died at 92. The Triangle region buys 40 percent of all lottery tickets sold in the state. The Attorney General won't appeal Superintendent June Atkinson's right to run the state school system.

Sens. Julia Boseman and R.C. Soles Jr. spent the most of any competitive legislative candidate to win their seats.

Boseman, a Wilmington Democrat, spent $871,500 in her race and Soles, a Columbus County Democrat, spent $839,500, according to an analysis of campaign spending by the Program on Public Life at UNC-Chapel Hill.

The list of top spenders did not include candidates who ran unopposed and therefore excludes spending by Senate Leader Marc Basnight, $1.3 million, or House Speaker Joe Hackney, $744,000.

The top spenders in the House were Randy Stewart, a Nash County Democrat ($382,000) and House Majority Leader Hugh Holliman, a Lexington Democrat ($354,000).

Democrats control the House and Senate and have powerful fundraising machines in place. On the Republican side in the House, top spenders were Rep. David Lewis, a Dunn Republican ($232,000) and House Republican Leader Paul Stam, an Apex Republican ($196,000).

Among Senate Republicans, top campaign spenders were Sen. Neal Hunt, a Wake County Republican ($813,000) and Richard Gunn, an Alamance County Republican, who spent $386,000, but lost the race to Sen. Tony Foriest, a Democrat.

ON SPEED DIAL: 911 calls about incidents at state Sen. R.C. Soles Jr.'s house are a routine occurrence in Columbus County. One call came because a group of young men were riding around his house on mopeds. (N&O)

AND THE WINNER IS: President Barack Obama has been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. The president took office two weeks before the deadline to make nominations so it's fair to say the prize was for the things he said he would do, rather than any actual achievements. (AP)

State Sen. R.C. Soles' famous shot at would-be intruders has offended a gun-rights group.

Soles gets a pretty low rating for his votes on gun issues in the state senate, according to Grass Roots North Carolina, which rates politicians on their pro-gun stance. The rating drew the ire of the National Association for Gun Rights, which slammed Soles on its blog.

Senator Soles is the worst kind of hypocrite. He’s perfectly willing to use a gun to defend himself and his loved ones, but has spent his political career trying to prevent law-abiding citizens in North Carolina from defending themselves with a firearm.

Allen Wayne Strickland, the Tabor City teen with ties to state Sen. R.C. Soles Jr., was back in jail Monday night for violating the terms of his house arrest.

Columbus County Sheriff Chris Batten said Strickland, 17, who is known as "Frog," was hanging outside Soles' home, The Fayetteville Observer reports.

"He was down there waiting on R.C. at his house," Batten said.

A new bond of $500,000 was set for Strickland, who had already been released on a $50,000 bond and house arrest after he was charged with speeding away from police. 

Under terms of his house arrest, Strickland was not to leave the home of an aunt.

BOWLED OVER: UNC system President Erskine Bowles says the system's top board members first supported, then flip-flopped on a deal to pay a healthy severance to outgoing N.C. State University Chancellor James Oblinger. Bowles made that revelation in a visit to The News & Observer’s editorial board. Bowles also said former Gov. Mike Easley wasn’t bothered by the newspaper "picking on" him, but had a real problem with the paper picking on his wife. What really got Dome’s attention was that apparently, the most powerful man in state higher education, eats Chick-Fil-A twice a day. No word on whether he prefers Barbecue or Polynesian sauce.

IN A PERFECT WORLD: The state School Board did some dreaming at its retreat this week. Dome expects an army of four-foot high protesters, armed with spitballs, to protest the board's pipe dream of lengthening the school year.

LOST IN TRANSLATION: Gov. Beverly Perdue is headed to China and Japan to drum up business for the state. Let’s all give a collective cross of the fingers that a mis-translated malaprop won’t accidentally lead to an international incident. Sure would love to see some video of the governor performing at a Karaoke bar, though.

IN OTHER NEWS: Bill Hefner, the one-time dean of the state’s Congressional delegation, died this week. U.S. Sens. John McCain and Mitch McConnell joined Sen. Richard Burr for a health care forum at an invitation-only event. District Attorney Rex Gore has recused himself from deciding whether to prosecute state Sen. R.C. Soles in an incident in which Soles shot a would-be intruder.

* The District Attorney overseeing two investigations of state Sen. R.C. Soles has recused himself from the cases.

Rex Gore said Wednesday he still sees no conflict of interest but didn’t want the focus of the case to be on him.

"I don’t think the focus of any decision that is made in this case or any other case should be anything but the evidence and the laws applied to that evidence," he said. "I’m as confident in the attorney general’s office in making the right decision as I am in my office making the right decision."

Soles is under two investigations. In the first, a Columbus County man accused Soles of fondling him when the man was a teenager. The accuser then recanted his allegation. In the second case, Soles shot one of two would-be intruders.

Gore has long-standing ties to Soles including allegations in a 1983 corruption case in which Soles was accused of trying to buy votes for Gore against Mike Easley in the Democratic primary for District Attorney. The charge against Soles was thrown out and Gore was not accused of any wrong-doing. (WS-N)

* President Barack Obama plans to address a joint session of Congress next week in an effort to rally support for health-care legislation. At the same time, White House officials are looking for ways to simplify and scale back the major Democratic bills, lower the cost and drop contentious elements. (NYT)

* Joseph Abbitt walked free Wednesday after 14 years in prison when DNA testing proved that he was innocent of charges that he raped two Winston-Salem teenage sisters. District Attorney Tom Keith, troubled by an earlier case in which DNA exonerated a convicted man, offered the tests to people prosecuted by his office. (N&O)

A Tabor City teen accused of burning down a house bought by state Sen. R.C. Soles Jr. was arrested Sunday and charged in connection with a high speed police chase.

Allen Wayne Strickland, 17, was driving a sports car that he has said Soles bought him when a detective spotted him, the Wilmington Star-News reports. Strickland is not supposed to drive because he does not have a license.

As the detective approached the Corvette, the vehicle turned around in the road and sped away. The detective turned on his blue lights and sirens and gave chase. The detective lost sight of the car, but found it, abandoned and wrecked in a ditch near the South Carolina line.

Authorities didn't have to look far for Strickland, who is known as "Frog." He went to a police station later in the day to report his car stolen. He was then charged with crimes related to the chase.

The case received news media attention because of Strickland's ties to Soles, who is under investigation for an incident in which he shot one of two intruders in his home. Soles is also under investigation because of allegations, quickly recanted, that he had inappropriate sexual contact with a teenaged boy.

A handful of teens follow Soles around town, yelling and making a scene if Soles ignores them, the Fayetteville Observer reports.

Stickland was arrested last week and charged in the burning of his home. Strickland, who says he is innocent, was released from jail after he says an anonymous donor paid his bond.

UPDATE: Strickland's bond was set at $500,000 during a court appearance this morning, and his car was impounded until he can produce a license, according to District Attorney Rex Gore.