Jeff Wilson

Dome Memo: Unloved and outlawed

bniolet — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 16:08:59 -0400

NOBODY LIKES NOBODY: The popularity recession has settled in for most N.C. politicians. Gov. Beverly Perdue, with basement-dwelling approval ratings less than six months into her first term, travelled the state to rally support from unimpressed teachers and Democrats. The raspberries are bipartisan: both U.S. Senators Kay Hagan and Richard Burr's numbers are down. President Barack Obama is slipping, and his policies are less popular than the man.

SPARE A FEW THOUSAND DIMES? One state resident isn't worried about layoffs. Jeff Wilson of Kings Mountain took home $29 million, after taxes, when his father gave him a Powerball ticket that hit the jackpot. (Gotta figure Wilson is apologizing for having ignored any past fatherly advice). We get this question a lot, so before you ask, the lottery can't fix the state's budget problems because it raises only a small fraction of the state's education spending and state law mandates lottery profits go to four specific programs.

PLASTICS, PESTERING AND POTTY TIPPING: The legislature has been on an outlawing binge. It has banned plastic bags on the coast, bullying in schools and vandalizing portable toilets.

IN OTHER NEWS: The state got most of its deposit money back for a private jet officials decided not to buy after all. A new film production tax credit would lose money for the state at first. And Obama does still occasionally smoke, but that's not why he signed into law sweeping new regulatory authority over cigarettes.

Hackney's told-you-so moment

bniolet — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 15:14:36 -0400

At the start of session Tuesday, House Speaker Joe Hackney recognized a number of visitors in the chamber including North Carolina's newest millionaire Jeff Wilson, who claimed his Powerball jackpot today.

"All you who voted against the lottery hold your applause," Hackney said.

And the winner is...

bniolet — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 12:54:44 -0400

Jeff Wilson of Kings Mountain is the winner of the $88.1 million Powerball lottery jackpot.

He took the prize as a lump sum, and will receive about $29 million after taxes, Kevin Kiley reports.

Wilson, a 27-year-old who will attend graduate school next year, got the ticket from his father, who buys his children tickets every round. Wilson appeared at the North Carolina lottery office in Raleigh Tuesday to claim his prize.

He said he is interested in taking a vacation and possibly making a donation to a children's hospital.

He is the second jackpot winner since North Carolina joined the Powerball lottery in 2007.