Elizabeth Edwards, the wife of former presidential candidate John Edwards, will appear Sunday on North Carolina Bookwatch to discuss her best-selling book "Resilience."

The show will air on UNC-TV at 5 p.m.

When it came out last spring, Edwards' book garnered considerable national attention because it dealt with her reaction to her husband having an extramartial affair.

But much of the book deals with her continuing battle with cancer.

Elizabeth Edwards will be interviewed by the show's host, D.G. Martin.

John Edwards' political career was launched when he defeated Martin capture the Democratic nomination for the U.S. Senate in 1998.

North Carolina Public Television is planning a call-in show on health care that will be brought to you by the letters "D" and "R."

UNC-TV intends to air the live show 9 p.m. Tuesday. All members of the state's congressional delegation have been invited. So far, Democratic Reps. David Price, Bob Etheridge, Brad Miller and Mel Watt have accepted, according to a UNC-TV spokesman. Sen. Richard Burr, a Republican confirmed his participation Thursday afternoon.

Sen. Kay Hagan (D), and Reps. G.K. Butterfield (D), Howard Coble (R), Virginia Foxx (R), Walter Jones (R), Sue Myrick (R), Mike McIntyre (D) and Heath Shuler (D) have declined the recently issued invitations.

Reps. Larry Kissell (D) and Patrick McHenry (R) have not yet responded.

Perhaps UNC-TV should sweeten the pot with a few tote bags and mugs.

Update: Post includes updated list of who has decided to participate. 

A former UNC-TV executive is interested in state Sen. Vernon Malone's seat.

Jay Holloway, who worked for the public television channel for nearly 14 years, announced recently that he is seeking the nomination of the Wake County Democratic Party for the seat left empty by Malone's recent death.

Holloway said he would announce a five-point plan to improve education and bring green jobs to the Triangle area.

"We must be innovative in offering real-life solutions to the everyday kitchen table discussions of the residents of District 14," he said in a statement.

Wake County school board member Rosa Gill, Pfizer lobbyist Marlowe W. Foster, and the son of former state Rep. Bernard Allen are also seeking the nomination.

The Raleigh-Wake Citizens Association will make a recommendation to the Wake County Democratic Party, which will name Malone's replacement.

Update: Former DMV director Alexander Killens has also announced he's running for the open seat.

A table by former Gov. Mike Easley sold for $3,400.

The two-term Democrat, who left office earlier this year, had made the simple walnut table on a special episode of "The Woodwright's Shop" in 2007.

He recently contacted UNC-TV, which is in the middle of a monthlong pledge drive, and told them he would donate the table.

The public TV station took bids during an episode of "The Antiques Roadshow" last night. It also offered tickets to an upcoming "Roadshow" visit to Raleigh.

Spokesman Steve Volstad said they do not know the actual value of the table, which was built and stained in about an hour by Easley and "Woodwright's Shop" host Roy Underhill.

But he said the station was pleased with the results of last night's drive.

"They both did really well," he said. "I don't know if it was realistic to think the table would go for $50,000, but we were happy with what it did get." 

* The Greensboro News-Record's Mark Binker cautions casual political fans not to expect too much too soon from the legislature.

* The House selects new Democratic whips: Reps. Larry Bell, Larry Hall, Jean Farmer-Butterfield, Deborah Ross and Bruce Goforth.

* More cutbacks in the field of journalism: UNC-TV will no longer pay political analysts who appear on its "Legislative Week in Review" show.

* Liberal blogger Andrea Verykoukis says the state's anti-sodomy law "has been used to persecute ... certain parties with certain proclivities" for centuries.

UNC-TV will air a documentary on Bob Scott tonight.

The public television station will re-air an episode of its "Biographical Conversations" series at 8 p.m. on its digital channel, UNC-NC.

With North Carolina experiencing a hot governor’s race, the N.C. Museum of History is beginning an exhibit looking at nearly 300 years of Tar Heel governors.

The exhibit, which starts Oct. 25, includes artifacts, photographs and portraits of past governors, Rob Christensen reports.

Among the events surrounding the exhibit will a panel discussion with three former North Carolina governors — Jim Holshouser, Jim Martin and Jim Hunt. Former Gov. Bob Scott, who has been struggling with health issues,  does not plan to attend.

The panel discussion will be held Oct. 24th and be moderated by Bill Friday, the former president of the University of North Carolina system.

Today — Oct. 16 — is the last day to register for the evening. But the event will later be rebroadcast on UNC-TV. For more informaiton call 919-807-7900.

Mike Munger will get half of the spotlight again Wednesday night.

The Libertarian gubernatorial candidate and Republican Pat McCrory, the mayor of Charlotte and Republican nominee, will debate on WUNC TV. Democrat Beverly Perdue declined to join the debate, the second live forum televised statewide. Perdue skipped the first one as well.

Perdue's campaign emphasizes that they agreed to five other televised debates, four of which have already been held. Those match-ups were in individual television markets, such as the Raleigh area, but were sometimes broadcast at later times by stations in some of the other markets.

Perdue participated in the UNC-TV debates held during the Democratic primary.

U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Dole and Beverly Perdue have become gun shy about debating.

The lack of face-to-face debates is particularly noticeable in the Senate race, where Dole has declined to commit to five televised debates. In the governor's race, Perdue has declined two statewide televised debates hosted by UNC-TV, including one tonight.

So with the election in its final month, many North Carolinians will have little or no opportunity to see the candidates answer questions.

The only televised debate in the U.S. Senate race was on June 21 at the N.C. State Bar Association convention in Atlantic Beach. Since then, several televised debates have been proposed by the likes of UNC-TV, the N.C. Association of Broadcasters and various local TV stations.

Officials with Kay Hagan's campaign said they agreed to those debates, but event organizers said Dole never committed as scheduling deadlines passed. A spokesman for Dole said that organizers never confirmed that Hagan had agreed. (N&O)

The Republican Governors Association has apparently turned on one of its own.

In a new ad, the group calls Democratic gubernatorial candidate Beverly Perdue manipulative, using footage of her in a UNC-TV interview from 2000.

"I do really admire someone who can be charming and manipulative at the same time," she says in the ad.

According to an Aug. 4, 2002, story in the Charlotte Observer, Perdue went on to say "...if they can be on the right side of public policy issues."

So who was Perdue talking about? Former president Ronald Reagan.

You know, the former Republican governor who chaired the Republican Governors Association from 1968 to 1969.