stimulus package

Son wants mother's killer locked away

bniolet — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 07:30:09 -0400

LONG SHOT: Every year for the past 20, a Charlotte man has made a pilgrimage to Raleigh to beg strangers to keep the man who killed his mother locked up. This week, he made a desperate move to ask the state Supreme Court to keep Bobby E. Bowden, one of two-dozen lifers who may be released unconditionally, in prison. (N&O)

JOB INFLATION: The government overstated by thousands the number of jobs it created under President Barack Obama's stimulus program. One Colorado company said it created 4,000 jobs. The real number: fewer than 1,000. (AP)

OPT-OUT OUT?: House Speaker Nancy Pelosi plans to unveil health care reform legislation that would include a stronger government-run insurance option than the one moving in the Senate. The bill would not allow states to opt-out of the option.(McClatchy)

Dome Memo: Karma and love

bniolet — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 08:36:03 -0400

BOOMERANG: As stunts go, the Republican Party's "Conservative Voter Survey" ranks right up there with some of Evel Knievel's work. A wheelbarrow full of surveys was meant to show how many people don't like Gov. Beverly Perdue, a Democrat. Over at Perdue's office, staff members sifted through the surveys and found plenty of irate voters upset with Republicans as well as a campaign contribution that was intended for the Republican Party.

I LOVE YOU, MAN: Republican Sen. Richard Burr's economic development summit in Durham will be remembered as a great moment in political reconciliation. Burr and the man he beat almost six years ago, UNC system President and Democrat Erskine Bowles, traded fawning, appreciative comments about each other. Whoever wins the Democratic nomination next year to challenge Burr will surely be seeing lots of Bowles' comments in TV ads.

PRO, CON: In Washington, Burr decried the stimulus package. In North Carolina, at a fire station that was getting a grant from stimulus funds, Burr celebrated it.

IN OTHER NEWS: Sen. Kay Hagan and U.S. Rep. Brad Miller are pushing for a coin to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Greensboro civil rights sit-ins. Perdue says a 20-year old affair by the head of the highway patrol is irrelevant to his job qualifications. The Gallup Poll has found that John Edwards’ standing in the minds of Americans has dropped further than Sammy Sosa's image after the slugger was discovered corking his bat.

One bill, two takes

bniolet — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 16:20:13 -0400

In voting against the $787 billion economic stimulus bill last February, U.S. Sen. Richard Burr called it a "hastily written bill" that would ensure "a massive debt for our grandchildren."

Last week in Bethlehem, N.C, he called a $2 million grant from the bill "a great thing for this county."

The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee jumped on the discrepancy Tuesday with an e-mail blast to reporters, Barb Barrett reports.

"Senator Richard Burr, an outspoken critic of the economic stimulus package, showed himself to be a hypocrite when he recently took credit for a project funded by the stimulus package, which he voted AGAINST this past February," the committee wrote.

Obama's Rural Tour coming to N.C.

bkrueger — Tue, 11 Aug 2009 16:31:46 -0400

Two members of the Obama administration are coming to North Carolina next week to talk about rural education and the economic stimulus plan.

The White House announced today that Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack and Education Secretary Arne Duncan will host a community forum at Richmond Community College in Hamlet on Monday.

It is the latest stop in the administration's Rural Tour.

Hagan: stimulus, health reform coming

kkiley — Mon, 27 Jul 2009 13:55:47 -0400

U.S. Sen. Kay Hagan said Congress is working as quickly as possible to dispense stimulus money and reform the health care system.

Speaking to the N.C. Sheriffs' Association on Monday, Hagan touted the $6.3 billion coming to the state from the federal stimulus package, including money for preventing crime, helping victims and violence against women.

"I hear all the time that it needs to start working faster," Hagan said. "Well, we're working on it."

She also spent a few minutes talking about the status of health care reform, which she has played a significant role in crafting.

The Senate committee on health, education, labor and pensions, of which Hagan and Sen. Richard Burr are members, has passed a health care reform bill and is now waiting for the finance committee to figure out how the program will be funded.

She said President Barack Obama's visit to the state Wednesday shows North Carolina's importance in the debate. She said she did not know what Obama will say, but she hopes it moves the debate forward.

"We need to wait and listen to him," she said.

Hagan was joined by U.S. Reps. Bob Etheridge, Brad Miller and David Price, as well as several members of the Council of State.

Parking lot raises ire

bniolet — Wed, 17 Jun 2009 10:57:12 -0400

Sen. Tom Coburn wonders why the federal stimulus package is paying for a $300,000 parking lot in the Guilford County town of Summerfield.

The Summerfield parking lot makes the Oklahoma Republican’s list of 100 questionable projects being financed by the stimulus package passed by Congress earlier this year, Rob Christensen reports.

The report, released Tuesday, notes that the federal government is picking up the tab for a project that was already in the town’s budget.

"The way I looked at it is it didn’t really matter how you felt about the stimulus package, which is a reality," the report quotes Town Manager Michael Brandt. "I thought we might as well seek some benefit...If I don’t go for it, somebody else will."

Also on Coburn’s list was the town of Washington N.C. which is using $40,234 grant to hire a project-funding manager whose job is to get more stimulus money.

DSCC: We have lines of attack

ryanteaguebeckwith — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 16:25:19 -0400

For now, Democrats plan to attack Sen. Richard Burr on the economy.

Eric Schultz, a spokesman for the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, took issue with the headline of a previous post on Burr's chances in 2010.

He rattled off several criticisms of Burr: The controversial ATM statement and his votes against President Obama's stimulus package, the Senate budget resolution, and the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act.

"North Carolinians deserve two senators who will work to get this economy working again," he said. "Not one who stands in the way at every turn."

Several things were notable about the criticisms. They focused on contrasts between Burr and Obama, they centered on the economy and they were recent.

Of course, things change. At this point in the 2008 election cycle everyone thought the race would be about illegal immigration.

Perdue to speak at stimulus workshop

ryanteaguebeckwith — Tue, 02 Jun 2009 13:56:34 -0400

Gov. Beverly Perdue will hold a workshop on federal stimulus money in Raleigh.

Perdue will speak at 1 p.m. Thursday at Wake Technical Community College as part of a series of workshops on how businesses, government and individuals can access stimulus money.

"North Carolina is set to receive more than $8 billion in federal recovery money, and I intend for our state to not only be prepared to use this money to put our people back to work, but also to spend the money with the utmost accountability and transparency," she said in a statement.

The state's stimulus czar, Dempsey Benton, will lead the two-hour workshop.

Other workshops will be held on Friday in Wilmington and June 18 in Charlotte. They have previously been held in Winston-Salem, Clyde and Kinston.

Ground broken on National Guard post

ryanteaguebeckwith — Tue, 26 May 2009 12:30:58 -0400

RALEIGH — Work began this morning on a $57 million new National Guard/emergency nerve center in West Raleigh, one of the most visible North Carolina projects funded by the federal stimulus package.

Gov. Beverly Perdue and Congressman David Price were among those who braved a light rain to to shovel the first dirt on the high tech project that will serve as headquarters for not only National Guard operations, but will serve as the center for the state’s response to hurricanes, tornados and other natural catastrophes.

The governor called it "a state of the art facility," Rob Christensen reports.

The project is being funded largely from the stimulus package passed by Congress earlier this year that is designed to help jump start the economy. About $41 million of the cost comes from the stimulus legislation.

Price, a key House budget chairman who help obtain the money, said the project would result in the creation of 4,000 jobs.

More after the jump.

Quick Hits

ryanteaguebeckwith — Mon, 04 May 2009 09:48:24 -0400

* Former U.S. Sen. John Edwards' troubles had a silver lining: Book pre-sales for wife Elizabeth shot up on Amazon.

* Capitol Monitor starts its own Web site on state stimulus money, including this handy chart tracking spending and potential conflicts.

* Liberal polling guru Nate Silver says Sen. Richard Burr's seat is seventh most likely to flip in the 2010 elections.

* A different kind of sexting: North Carolina teen-agers send text messages to Adolescent Pregnancy Prevention Campaign, get answers.