State Rep. Thom Tillis will endorse Fred Smith.

Tillis will announce the endorsement tonight at one of Smith's barbecues at Cornelius Town Hall in North Mecklenburg. He thinks Smith is the best candidate to represent the voters in the 98th district he represents.

"Fred Smith has an extraordinary resume with the right mix of business background, legal training and public service at the county and state level," Tillis said.

He also said Smith is a favorite of the Republicans in the General Assembly and of the Mecklenburg Republican House delegation.

Fred Smith is advertising in Charlotte.

In a half-page ad in the Charlotte Observer Sunday, the Republican gubernatorial candidate boasts of his endorsements from state legislators.

"The Stampede Has Begun!" crows the headline, above a picture of a herd of elephants.

The ad, which ran in color on page 22A in the Big Picture weekly section, lists 16 state representatives and 17 state senators who have endorsed Smith's campaign. It includes six from Mecklenburg County: Reps. Jim Gulley, Ric Killian, Ruth Samuelson and Thom Tillis, Sen. Eddie Goodall and former Sen. Bob Rucho.

The copy of the ad is generic, but it aims to sound local.

"The charge from our region to Raleigh is just geting started as Fred Smith, supported by an impressive assortment of local Republican leaders, is committed to providing innovative solutions to transportation, education, immigration and taxation problems in North Carolina," it reads.

Dome doesn't know if the ad is running elsewhere, but the timing may have been influenced by Mayor Pat McCrory's possible bid.

State Rep. Thom Tillis has souped up his e-mail newsletter.

In his regular life, the Huntersville Republican is a management consultant for IBM, so he was a little disappointed at the options for a standard legislative newsletter when he was elected last year.

Tillis shopped around, and now uses a program called Constant Contact. It tracks how many people open the e-mail and how many of them clicked to links for more information on certain subjects.

He's learned that about 36 percent of his contacts read the newsletter, and he has a pretty good sense of what topics interest them. It also tracks which e-mail addresses blocked the newsletter, so he can narrow his list down.

Tillis said he's surprised the software isn't more popular among his colleagues.

"The problem is how long people are in office," he said. "They're not necessarily inclined to make the investment in technology the way you might in business."

Four lawmakers are drafting a bill to provide full scholarships to the children of police and firefighters who are killed in the line of duty.

The lawmakers, all Republicans, are Sen. Richard Stevens of Cary, Sen. Fletcher Hartsell of Concord, Rep. Charles Thomas of Asheville and Rep. Thom Tillis of Huntersville plan to introduce bills in the house and senate in when the General Assembly reconvenes in May.

The scholarships would apply to state public universities or community colleges.

State legislators will square off Tuesday at a Nascar rally.

Teams of senators and representatives will fight to see which would make the best pit crew.

The two teams will change the tires, refill the gas and do other pit stop maintenance on a Nextel Cup challenge car.

Led by captain "Ricky Bobby" Nesbitt, the Senate team hopes to recapture the glory of last year's win with Sens. Stan Bingham, Andrew Brock, Malcolm Graham, Kay Hagan and Eddie Goodall.

On the House side, "Tammy Jo" Earle will lead Reps. Bill Daughtridge, David Lewis, Thom Tillis, Jim Harrell, Bill Faison and Arthur Williams.

For everyone's safety, Gov. Mike Easley will not be driving.