NOT LEAVING: The heat is on former First Lady Mary Easley. With the chancellor and provost of N.C. State University appearing before a grand jury to testify about how they came to hire the wife of former Gov. Mike Easley, UNC president Erskine Bowles and Chancellor Jim Oblinger called for her to resign. No dice, said Easley. Or rather, said her attorney, Marvin Schiller, at a press conference Thursday.
STILL ON: The former governor's ongoing troubles aren't hurting everyone. With President Barack Obama in the White House, some Democrats had hoped to name a new U.S. attorney in Raleigh. But U.S. Sen. Kay Hagan, who has dibs on the naming rights, said she's asking Republican George Holding to stay on the job at least until he finishes investigations into Easley and the campaign finances of former Sen. John Edwards.
ALMOST OVER? After nearly a month of controversy, the flap over state Rep. Cary Allred's stop by police and subsequent hug of a page has not yet died down. The House sergeant at arms released a report this week detailing the reactions of his Republican colleagues who sat nearby on the night in question. "A gruesome bear hug," said one. Allred said he sees the page "like my granddaughter" and that she and her parents found nothing wrong had happened.
IN OTHER NEWS: Gov. Beverly Perdue ordered the State Highway Patrol to keep better records of its travel with the governor and lieutenant governor after some of Easley's records went missing. ... U.S. Sen. Richard Burr is playing a lead role on Republican efforts to present an alternative to Obama's health care plan. ... One-time Speaker of the House Dan Blue was sworn in to the state Senate, but won't say if he's interested in the U.S. Senate. ... Democrats can't seem to find a candidate to run against Burr in 2010.
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Cost of Corruption in NC: More or less than $109 per family?
It's been reported that the cost of corruption in Illinois eqauls $109 per family which is enough to retain 8,214 public school teachers (see below)
Let us know if you think that the cost of corruption per NC family is more or less than $109 in Illinois and why?
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Researchers at the University of Illinois-Chicago tallied the price of corruption to state taxpayers: at least $500 million a year. Based on prosecution costs and estimates that 5 percent of state contracts go to the politically connected, that equals $109 per family. The total is enough to pay the average salary for 8,214 public school teachers. (http://news.yahoo.com/s/bloomberg/20090522/pl_bloomberg/amdtnyk65y0k)