Wilson

Obama's visits to N.C.

ryanteaguebeckwith — Tue, 04 Nov 2008 08:06:24 -0500

Barack Obama's crowds in North Carolina have gotten bigger.

Below are crowd estimates from events held during the primary and general election by the Democratic presidential candidate.

In all, they total 194,050, although presumably some people attended more than one rally.

Before Election Season:

Durham, Nov. 1, 2007: 4,000

Before Primary (57,550):

Fayetteville, March 19: 150
Charlotte, March 19: 2,500
Greensboro, March 26: 2,400
Raleigh, April 17: 2,000
Greenville, April 17: 8,000
Wilmington, April 28: 6,000
Chapel Hill, April 28: 18,000
Winston-Salem, April 29: 2,000
Hickory, April 29: 2,500
Raleigh, May 2: 5,000
Charlotte, May 2: 9,000

On Primary Day:

Raleigh, May 6: 2,000

After Primary (133,000):

Raleigh, June 9: 500
Raleigh, Aug. 19: 2,500
Charlotte, Sept. 21: 20,000
Greensboro, Sept. 27: 20,000
Asheville, Oct. 5: 28,000
Fayetteville, Oct. 19: 10,000
Raleigh, Oct. 29: 25,000
Charlotte, Nov. 3: 25,000

Hunt campaigns for Obama, again

ryanteaguebeckwith — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 09:06:12 -0400

Jim Hunt is campaigning again for Barack Obama.

The former governor will join former Mississippi Gov. Ray Mabus for two stops in Wilson and Goldsboro today. (Mabus has separate stops in Kinston and Lumberton.)

Though he stayed neutral in the Democratic primary, Hunt has campaigned vigorously for Obama in recent weeks, appearing at a James Taylor concert, speaking at the Raleigh Farmer's Market and attending a town hall meeting and a fundraiser.

In addition, his wife hosted former Sen. Jean Carnahan in Wilson for an Obama event.

In June, Hunt told Dome that he wasn't interested in a position in the Obama administration, though his schedule certainly looks like he's trying. (He's long been on the list of potential education secretaries in what turned out to be nonexistent Democratic administrations.)

Certainly, he's done more Obama events than Gov. Mike Easley, who might also be on the list.

Correction: An earlier version of this post misstated the cities the two would stop in.

Carnahan to tour for Obama

ryanteaguebeckwith — Sun, 21 Sep 2008 09:37:08 -0400

Former Sen. Jean Carnahan will again tour North Carolina.

The former Missouri senator previously visited the state in April as part of Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama's primary battle.

On Tuesday, she will stop in Wilson at 10:30 a.m. for an economic community meeting with former First Lady Carolyn Hunt. Carnahan's husband, Mel, and Hunt's husband, Jim, were governors of Missouri and North Carolina during the mid to late 1990s.

She'll then hold another community meeting at Print Products Etc. in Louisburg, and a meet and greet with Durham women at the home of Jean O'Barr.

The trip is part of a recent string of high-profile visits by Obama and his surrogates, including his wife Michelle and running mate Joe Biden.

N.C. Democrats honor John McCain

ryanteaguebeckwith — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 13:51:34 -0400

Four state Democrats want the legislature to honor John McCain.

But not that John McCain.

State Reps. Jean Farmer-Butterfield of Wilson, Joe Tolson of Pinetops, Marvin Lucas of Spring Lake and Martha Alexander of Charlotte filed a bill to honor Dr. John L. McCain, a Wilson County physician who died in 2005.

Dr. McCain has at least one thing in common with his namesake. Like the Republican presidential candidate, he served in the Navy, although it was during World War II, not the Vietnam War.

Unlike the other McCain, he was once appointed to a national advisory board by President Jimmy Carter.

Hunt attends Obama rally

ryanteaguebeckwith — Tue, 29 Apr 2008 10:11:23 -0400

Tim Boyum spotted former Gov. Jim Hunt at a rally for ... Barack Obama.

On his Political Connections blog, the News 14 Carolina reporter writes that he saw Hunt at a rally on Wilson, and Obama pointed him out in the audience.

"Is it an endorsement or just someone who wanted to see the event?" he wrote.

An Obama endorsement would be highly unexpected.

Many of Hunt's former top staffers and supporters are serving on Hillary Clinton's campaign committee, he has strong ties to Bill Clinton as a former Southern governor and he recently appeared with his wife at a Clinton rally in Wilson.

A nod from Hunt would be one of the five endorsements that would matter. (U.S. Reps. Mel Watt and David Price are for Obama, while Gov. Mike Easley is for Clinton. Former U.S. Sen. John Edwards is not likely to endorse.)

It's also possible that Hunt wants to remain neutral and he attended the Obama rally to counteract the impression he gave by going to a Clinton rally.

B. Clinton returns to N.C.

ryanteaguebeckwith — Wed, 09 Apr 2008 09:59:29 -0400

Bill Clinton is coming back.

The former president will stump for his wife's presidential campaign in North Carolina on Friday, holding "Solutions for America" events in Roanoke Rapids and Rocky Mount.

The latter event will be at 9 p.m. at N.C. Wesleyan College.

On Saturday, he'll travel to Greenville, Wilson, Goldsboro, Kinston, New Bern and Jacksonville.

The Wilson event will be at 11:30 a.m. at Barton College.

Further details on the trip are not yet available.

All events are free and open to the public.

Bye-bye for WiFi bill

ryanteaguebeckwith — Wed, 25 Jul 2007 08:33:16 -0400

Municipal WiFi is safe for now.

A bill that would have restricted local governments from offering Internet access to residents stalled out in committee Tuesday, according to a post by Mark Binker on Capital Beat:

The bill has been turned into a "study" bill, which is legislative speak for "We'll think about it and get back to you ... next year ... maybe."

The bill drew opposition from city leaders in Wilson and Morganton, which offer the service because local telecoms don't offer fast enough Internet access, as noted by Jordan Schrader on Capital Letters.

Google, which has proposed providing wireless access in San Francisco, even got in the act, writing a letter opposing the legislation.

Related: Mark Turner's cable modem is down; suspicion abounds.

Internet.gov

ryanteaguebeckwith — Wed, 06 Jun 2007 10:55:47 -0400

A House bill that would limit towns from offering high-speed Internet access stayed alive today.

The bill's backers argued that it was necessary to keep local government from creating monopolies on wireless access, cable television or phone services.

"If you had closed your eyes at last week's meeting (on the bill), you would have thought you were in Moscow," said Wade Hargrove, a Raleigh attorney working for the telecommunications industry.

But opponents said it would hurt towns, cities and counties from offering a service in areas that industry is not interested in serving.

"This time the infrastructure isn't water or sewer or electricity, the infrastructure of today and tomorrow is fiber optics," said Bruce Rose, mayor of Wilson.

The bill passed a voice vote in the public utilities committee and now heads to finance.