Plans to build a $2.7 million topless club in a fast-growing corridor of northwest Raleigh took a hit today when the N.C. Supreme Court ruled that neighboring businesses have the right to oppose a city permit for the club on the grounds it would hurt them financially.

The decision is the latest in a three-year battle between the club's partners and neighboring businesses to the property on Mount Herman Road near Raleigh-Durham International Airport, Dan Kane reports.

The club would be called The Runway, and could seat as many as 560 people. It would be the city's first topless club in 16 years.

The Raleigh Board of Adjustment is required to approve a special use permit for such businesses. Phong Nguyen, a Raleigh doctor who practices in Virginia, and his partners won the permit in 2005. But then two neighboring businesses and a third nearby convinced a state Superior Court judge to throw out the permit.

The businesses said the topless club would cause economic hardship and reduced property values through increased traffic and an unsavory clientele.

The Christian group Called2Action has also sought to prevent the club's construction.

The N.C. Court of Appeals ruled that the businesses — Triangle Equipment Co., Triangle Coatings and the Angus Barn Restaurant — did not have standing to challenge the permit. The high court reversed the appellate court decision. Supreme Court Associate Justice Patricia Timmons-Goodson dissented from the opinion.

Nguyen has since sold out his interest in the club to David "Slim" Baucom, a Charlotte-area businessman who owns adult establishments in North Carolina and the Southeast.

Advertising was much in the news this week.

The most-read posts on Under the Dome from last Sunday to noon today included some serious spending on television advertising, and problems with ads already airing.

1. Six-Million-Dollar Woman? A national Democratic group reserves as much as $6 million in air time to target U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Dole in the fall. Time to buy a Tivo?

2. McCrory's Strip Stake. A Charlotte strip club owner gave Republican gubernatorial candidate Pat McCrory a donation, which the campaign won't return. No word on whether it was in fistfuls of $20s.

3. Some Plane Talk. Dole's campaign mistakenly included footage of a French plane in a TV ad about saving U.S. military bases. At least they got the red, white and blue part right.

4. Postponing Payday. Gov. Mike Easley's delay in signing the state budget meant some state workers would not see their raises right away. Mary Easley's doing OK, though.

5. Bully for You. A Christian conservative group helps defeat an anti-bullying bill because it includes references to sexual orientation. Talk about the bully pulpit...

A Gaston County strip club owner gave Pat McCrory's campaign $200.

Sammy Tillman, owner of the Paper Doll Lounge (NSFW) in Charlotte, made the donation on Feb. 2, according to the Republican gubernatorial nominee's first-quarter campaign finance report. 

Billed as an "upscale gentleman's club," the Paper Doll claims to be the "grand daddy" of Charlotte clubs on its Web site, while a theme song claims to serve "cowboy playboys."

Consultant Jack Hawke said that the campaign did not realize Tillman's occupation, noting that its accountants also referred to former U.S. Sen. Jim Broyhill as a state legislator.

"They don't always catch who everybody is," he said. "It's a $200 contribution. We've accepted it, and I think that's basically the end of the story."

Hawke also joked about the size of the donation.

"I can tell you this, Pat McCrory's not going to take his pants off for $200," he said. When asked if that meant he would do so for more, he demurred. 

"I don't know what the amount is," he said, laughing. 

Jim Black took cash from a strip club owner.

The former House speaker testified today that he also received $2,000 in cash from David "Slim" Baucom, owner of a chain of topless bars in Charlotte.

He told prosecutors that the donation was Baucom's idea. He said Baucom wanted to help Black avoid the political problems of receiving a campaign finance donation from a strip club owner.

"He said it would embarrass me," he said.

Baucom was seen by reporters clutching paperwork as he walked into a federal courthouse where a grand jury was discussing Black's case on April 21, 2006.

"I'm just here to drop some papers off," he said then.

The N&O reported in 2006 that Baucom donated $4,000 to a political action committee that represented restaurant and bar owners, which then turned around and gave $4,000 to Black.

Correction: An earlier version of this post incorrectly stated the newspaper that broke the story.