The state has published a new book on the 1898 Wilmington race riot. It is called, not surprisingly, "A Day of Blood: The 1898 Wilmington Race Riot."

The book, by LeRae Umfleet, is being published by the Historical Publications Section of the N.C. Office of Archives and History and the African American Heritage Commission. Umfleet is chief of collections management for the state Department of Cultural Resources.

Umfleet is scheduled to talk about the book at 7:30 p.m. on Wed., Nov. 18, at Quail Ridge Books in Raleigh.

Correction: Earlier post had incorrect date for reading at Quail Ridge Books. 

Staff attorneys for Attorney General Roy Cooper are presenting evidence of Rep. Thomas Wright's misconduct.

Senior deputy attorneys general William Hart and Alec Peters said they only investigated Wright once the Wake County prosecutor assured them that it would not interfere with criminal proceedings.

They have just handed out a packet of evidence they compiled. It includes:

* Articles of incorporation for The Community's Health Foundation that inlcudes the names of Wright, Daniel Gottovi, James Lofton and Bessie Funderburg, all of Wilmington.

* An e-mail from Wright to Torlen Wade asking him to write a letter saying that $150,000 in funding will be provided by the state, and the subsequent letter from Wade.

* A notice of foreclosure on the Wilmington building owned by the Community Health Foundation.

* A letter from Wright to the Anheuser-Busch Co. asking for a charitable contribution to the foundation to build a museum to the 1898 race riots in Wilmington.

* Bank records showing donations from AT&T, AstraZeneca Pharmaceuticals and Anheuser-Busch worth a total of $8,900.

Hart said that Wright never filed paperwork with the Internal Revenue Service to incorporate the Community Health Foundation as a 501(c)3 nonprofit.

A group of Republican activists will protest Vance-Aycock.

The Carolina Stompers, a recently created group in Asheville, plans to protest the annual Democratic event for honoring former Democratic Gov. Charles Brantley Aycock.

Aycock, as reported extensively in this series, played a role in the Wilmington coup in 1898.

Chad Nesbitt, an Asheville radio and TV producer and stepson of Democratic Sen. Martin Nesbitt, predicted more than 120 people will come to the protest, to be held at the corner of Charlotte and Macon streets, just down the road from the Grove Park Inn.

Nesbitt, who is white, said he was upset that Democrats have apologized for their role in the race riots but continue to honor Aycock with the name of the dinner, which has been held since 1960.

"They're still honoring a white supremacist," he said.

No word yet on if the group plans to protest Thomas Jefferson's ownership of slaves or Andrew Jackson's treatment of American Indians at the Democrats' annual Jefferson-Jackson Dinner.

The 2007 session ended late last night.

The legislature passed bills on a wide range of topics, some important, some not so much.

A few of the major bills will:

Prohibit new lagoons and sprayfields, set permanent standards for treating hog waste and create a program to help farmers convert to innovative waste systems.

Require state agencies with more than $10 million annual budgets, more than 100 full-time employees or more than $10 million in annual receipts to hire internal auditors.

Guarantee state-funded housing, counseling and other services for victims of a crime in which people, often immigrants, are imprisoned and forced to work for little or no pay.

Change birthday cutoff so fewer 4-year-olds will be eligible to start kindergarten.

Acknowledge the Wilmington Race Riot commission's findings and express "profound regret."

Throughout the morning, we'll list other bills that passed.

Like sands through the hourglass, these are the days of our legislature.

A quick look at what passed Wednesday:

APOLOGIES: The Senate expressed "profound regret" for the violence of the 1898 Wilmington race riots, acknowledging the findings of a commission it established to investigate. The bill now goes to the House.

NO SPEED: The House defeated a bill aimed to tightening loopholes that allow chronic speeders to escape punishment, legislation that was inspired by a recent N&O series. They may reconsider the bill today. 

LANDFILL RULES: Despite intense lobbying, both chambers approved tougher new regulation of landfills, adding a statewide disposal tax, increasing setbacks on streams and requiring better financial proof from landfill operators. 

Looking back Wednesday to the Wilmington Race Riot of 1898, the state Senate expressed “profound regret that violence, intimidation and force” were used to overthrow an elected government, force people from their homes and ruin lives.

The Senate resolution said the “government was unsuccessful in protecting its citizens during that time,” reports Lynn Bonner.

The Senate acknowledged the findings of a commission it established to investigate the riot and the events leading to it. The resolution, which now goes to the House, follows one passed earlier this year apologizing for slavery.

Read more after the jump.

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