Washington

N.C.'s official state rock song?

ryanteaguebeckwith — Tue, 28 Apr 2009 16:53:34 -0400

North Carolina does not have a state rock song.

Sure, you're thinking, who does? As it turns out: Washington, Oklahoma and Ohio.

When Dome was a teen-ager, a local comedy sketch show staged a campaign to have the incomparable "Louie, Louie" declared the state song.

Legislators were loath to jettison the existing tune, so they named the Kingsmen's one-off hit the state rock song instead.

Recently, a group in Oklahoma held an online contest to determine that state's rock song.

The winning song — "Do You Realize??" — was referred to the legislature, though there were a few hiccups when a member of The Flaming Lips wore a T-shirt with a hammer and sickle.

Ohio also named "Hang on Sloopy" by the McCoys.

So, North Carolina, what would be your official state rock song?

Post your comments in the thread below or e-mail dome@newsobserver.com.

Easley stops in D.C., Florida too

ryanteaguebeckwith — Tue, 02 Dec 2008 17:29:43 -0500

Gov. Mike Easley is on the road this week, but he won't say exactly why.

Easley took a state jet to Philadelphia yesterday for an economic summit with President-elect Barack Obama and other governors.

According to publicly available flight records, the Cessna Citation twin-jet plane left Philadelphia International at 1:33 p.m. for Reagan National Airport in Washington, D.C.

After a three-hour layover, the plane was scheduled to go to Hollywood International Airport in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., arriving later tonight. A flight plan filed with the N.C. Department of Commerce, also a public record, shows the plane won't leave Florida until 1 p.m. on Thursday.

Although the flight records are widely available on the Internet and through public records, spokeswoman Renee Hoffman would not discuss Easley's travel plans "for security reasons" and gave only a vague answer about his reasons for stopping in Washington and Florida.

"I can tell you that the governor is on a business trip to make a speech and attend a meeting," she said in an e-mail to Dome.

The flight plan shows Easley is traveling with executive counsel Ruffin Poole and a sergeant from the N.C. Highway Patrol.

Dole's 2006 stops for NRSC

ryanteaguebeckwith — Thu, 30 Oct 2008 16:40:30 -0400

Sen. Elizabeth Dole visited a number of states in 2006.

As head of the National Republican Senatorial Committee that year, Dole campaigned for Republican Senate candidates in a number of states, according to news reports:

Minnesota: In March, Dole traveled in Minnesota on behalf of Senate candidate Mark Kennedy, according to the Minneapolis Star-Tribune.

Montana: In April and August, Dole toured Montana with Sen. Conrad Burns, according to the Associated Press.

Washington: On Aug. 25, Dole appeared at a $100-a-plate luncheon with Washington Senate candidate Mike McGavick, according to The Columbian.

Tennessee: On Aug. 28, Dole toured Eastern Tennessee with Senate candidate Bob Corker, according to the Knoxville News-Sentinel.

Michigan: On Aug. 29, Dole went on campaign stops with Senate candidate Mike Bouchard, according to the Muskegon Chronicle.

Pennsylvania: On Aug. 31, Dole spoke at a press conference at the Omni William Penn Hotel in Pittsburgh, according to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.

Arizona: On Sept. 22, Dole headlined an entourage of female senators at the Arizona Inn in Tuscon, according to the Arizona Daily Star.

New Jersey: On Oct. 11, Dole traveled in New Jersey, according to The Hotline.

Ohio: On Oct. 16, Dole traveled to Ohio, according to the N&O.

Missouri: On Oct. 18, Dole headlined a breakfast for Sen. Jim Talent, according to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

Virginia: On Oct. 31, Dole appeared with Sen. George Allen at the Omni Charlottesville Hotel, according to the Richmond Times Dispatch.

In addition, the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee says an official e-mail from Dole shows she traveled to Nebraska in August.

D.C. debates pulling Smithfield hams

ryanteaguebeckwith — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 11:15:13 -0400

Will Smithfield hams get pulled from the shelves?

The Washington, D.C., City Council today will talk about whether to ask area supermarkets to stop stocking bacon, ham and other foods from a North Carolina company that some say mistreats its workers.

Eight members of the 13-member council plan to introduce a Sense of the Council resolution accusing Smithfield Foods of creating an environment of “intimidation and fear for workers who desperately want a voice on the job” at its slaughterhouse and meat-packing plant in Tar Heel, N.C., Barb Barrett reports.

The City Council resolution will be referred to committee, which will later hold a hearing before casting a vote.

The resolution is part of a continuing public relations effort by the United Food and Commercial Workers union to criticize Smithfield. The union has been trying to organize the plant in Tar Heel for years and has been publicizing worker injuries and what it calls intimidation practices against workers there.

A similar resolution passed last fall in Prince George's County, Md., a Washington suburb. The union also has launched a $200,000 advertising campaign against Smithfield with ads on area buses and in the subway.

Smithfield defends its record and says it is the union, not the company, that has intimidated workers.

The company also owns a meat-packing plant in nearby Landover, Md., which is unionized.