A number of legislators have left this session.

Below, a running list of state lawmakers who have resigned, died, switched chambers or plan to leave before session's end:

Rep. Linda Coleman, Wake County Democrat: Resigned Jan. 11 after being appointed by Gov. Beverly Perdue to head the Office of State Personnel.

Sen. Vern Malone, Wake County Democrat: Died on April 18.

Rep. Dan Blue, Wake County Democrat: Resigned May 19 after being appointed to Malone's seat in the state Senate.

Rep. Cary Allred, Alamance County Republican: Resigned June 1 after allegations of impropriety with a teen-aged page and a speeding ticket.

Rep. Bonner Stiller, Brunswick County Republican: Announced he will resign June 15 to spend more time with his family and run his law firm.

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.

Rosa Gill will also seek former state Sen. Vernon Malone's seat.

The Wake County board of education member said she will be among the candidates speaking at a forum Saturday sponsored by the Raleigh-Wake Citizens Association, Keung Hui reports.

Other announced candidates include Marlowe W. Foster, a lobbyist with Pfizer; and Bernard Allen II, the son of a former state representative.

Other rumored candidates include Alexander Killens, former director of the state's Division of Motor Vehicles; and state Rep. Dan Blue, a former House speaker.

The association will make a recommendation to the Wake County Democratic Party, which will name Malone's replacement on May 6.

HEALTHY CHOICE? The State Health Plan will stay afloat. After much deliberation, the state House and Senate agreed to fixes that will keep the health insurance plan for state workers and teachers in the black. No one was really happy about the final plan, but both chambers agreed it was only a short-term solution.

BLEAKER NEWS: Former Gov. Mike Easley revealed a new defense in the case of his son's SUV. In filings with the State Board of Elections, Easley's lawyer argued that the SUV was a campaign vehicle in 2003. Meantime, it was revealed that the Robert Bleecker's car dealership paid taxes on the car during that time.

VERN MALONE: Four-term Democratic state Sen. Vern Malone died last weekend. A school board member and county commissioner, he had played a key role in merging the Wake County and Raleigh school systems. A funeral was held Thursday, by which time jockeying had already begun to fill his seat in the state Senate.

IN OTHER NEWS: Duke men's basketball coach Mike Krzyzewski gave President Obama leadership advice, but admitted he was right about the NCAA championship. ... Former U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Dole will join her husband Bob for a speech in Kansas. ... U.S. Sen. Kay Hagan's husband, meantime, is suing the Piedmont Triad Regional Water Authority. ... Forget about offshore drilling. The new talk in energy circles is offshore wind farms, and North Carolina could see some under new federal rules.

Hundreds of mourners filled a Raleigh church to remember Sen. Vern Malone.

In a two-hour service, speakers praised the polite statesman, the fiery advocate who fought for a school merger and the teacher who worked with blind students.

Gov. Beverly Perdue noted that Malone died after mowing the lawn and reading a newspaper that he often criticized.

"The thing that makes me just guffaw," Perdue said, "St. Peter reached out and grabbed Vernon's hand, and the last thing he saw was The News & Observer." 

Malone joined the Raleigh School Board in 1972 when whites were fleeing the suburbs. He helped merge with the Wake County school board during a period of racial divide, then spent 20 years as a county commissioner.

He spent four terms in the state Senate. (N&O) 

Candidates for Sen. Vern Malone's seat will speak at a forum May 2.

The Raleigh-Wake Citizens Association, a local civil rights organization, is sponsoring the forum with the Wake County Democratic Caucus.

Among the people who have been mentioned as replacements: State Rep. Dan Blue, a former House speaker; Bernard Allen Jr., the son of a former representative; and former DMV commissioner Alexander Killens, according to local activist Bruce Lightner.

The forum will be held at 10 a.m. at the Seby Jones Fine Arts Building at St. Augustine's College in Raleigh.

The Raleigh-Wake Citizens Association will make a recommendation to the Wake County Democratic Party after the meeting.

"In the past such recommendations have been given great weight as to the will of the people," Lightner wrote in an e-mail to Dome.

It's hard to measure a legislator's impact.

From the individual votes to the behind-the-scenes support, a state lawmaker can affect a wide variety of issues at the legislature.

As the General Assembly remembers Sen. Vern Malone, we at Dome took a look at a few of the laws and resolutions he wrote in his four terms:  

EDUCATING MILITARY KIDS: A 2008 bill entered North Carolina into an interstate compact to help military children enroll in school.

ALLOWING SCHOOL PARTNERSHIPS: A 2006 bill allowed school boards to enter into partnerships with developers to build new schools.

CHANGING BOARD OF EDUCATION: A 2009 bill allowed the governor to name another public school employee to the State Board of Education. 

HONORING WENDELL: A 2003 resolution honored the founders of the town of Wendell on its 100th anniversary.

LIMITING NUTRIENT OFFSETS: A 2006 bill limited certain nutrient offset payments required of developers whose projects may affect rivers.

In addition, Malone was the prime sponsor of another 39 bills still pending.

* U.S. Sen. Richard Burr praises Sen. Ted Kennedy's bipartisanship, saying he wishes every bill was co-sponsored by him.

* Gov. Beverly Perdue will speak at funeral services for state Sen. Vern Malone at Martin Street Baptist Church in Raleigh tomorrow.

* If Congress moves to impeach federal Judge Jay Bybee over the torture memos, Reps. Howard Coble and Mel Watt will be on the committee.

* U.S. Sen. Kay Hagan takes umbrage at the U.S. trade representative saying there's no need to reconsider the NAFTA trade agreement. 

* Mark Binker culls the best quotes from a legislative debate over officially designating the state's potato festival.

* WUNC's Laura Leslie recalls a time when Sen. Vern Malone rescued another legislator from an interview.

* Paul Woolverton writes that the odds are stacked against a new video poker bill, with legislative leaders in both chambers against it.

* An Asheville Citizen-Times columnist and liberal blogger AshVegas spar over the definition of pork in Rep. Heath Shuler's earmarks.

* Services for state Sen. Vern Malone, who died this weekend, will be held at noon Thursday at Martin Street Baptist in Raleigh. 

* After a trip to Cuba, U.S. Rep. Mel Watt says he was surprised to find that Raul Castro was "just as outgoing and loquacious" as his brother, Fidel.

* More than any other state, North Carolina is seeing a spike in the number of people without health insurance, up to 25 percent.

* Former state treasurer Richard Moore closed out his gubernatorial campaign account, forgiving himself $1 million in loans.