Sen. Kay Hagan, D-N.C., has made recommendations for new U.S. Attorneys for the Eastern, Middle and Western districts of North Carolina. Barbara Barrett has the story here. Sen. Kay Hagan, D-N.C., has made recommendations for new U.S. Attorneys for the Eastern, Middle and Western districts of North Carolina. Washington Correspondent Barbara Barrett has the story here.
That may surprise folks who recall that she wants U.S. Attorney George Holding, a Republican, to stay on in the Eastern District to complete inquiries of public officials, including former Gov. Mike Easley and former Sen. John Edwards, both Democrats and both under fire. But Hagan wants Holding to keep on those cases while President Obama names someone else to take over all other duties in the U.S. Attorney’s office.
Here's a copy of her letter to President Obama recommending three for each job, including Peter Anderson, Danny Davis or Anne Tompkins for U.S. Attorney in the Western District, which includes Charlotte. Among the nominees in the Middle District are Superior Court Judge Ripley Rand, son of powerful N.C. Senate Majority Leader Tony Rand, D-Cumberland, and in the Eastern District, one nominee is Hampton Dellinger, former legal counsel of Gov. Mike Easley and a partner in the Charlotte firm of Robinson, Bradshaw and Hinson.
In her letter, Hagan told the president she believes Holding should remain on the job "to complete the ongoing investigations of public officials in the state" while someone else takes over the job of handling other matters.
Perhaps that would make Holding the U.S. Attorney for the Easley District of North Carolina. Or the Easley/Edwards District?
Friday, July 10, 2009
Wednesday, July 08, 2009
Best places to stand in North Carolina?
My colleague Mary Newsom has pointed readers to the fun in coming up with a list of best places to stand in Charlotte.
And here's a Web site that invites readers to vote on the 100 best places to stand in the United States.
But I was disappointed to see that only one N.C. attraction -- the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse -- made the list of nominees for the 100 best places.
What would you put on the list of best places in North Carolina to stand?
Here are a few thoughts, in no particular order:
1. On the deck of a 37-foot sailboat at anchor in Silver Lake harbor at Ocracoke Island
2. Ankle deep in the waters of Hatteras' Cape Point -- with the Hatteras Light in the background.
3. On the 50-yard-line at Kenan Stadium late on a fall Saturday afternoon.
4. On the sidewalk in Pinehurst any day between Thanksgiving and Christmas.
5. In the bleachers at the Durham Bulls Athletic Park on a summer evening.
6. In Duke Chapel, after a stroll in Duke Gardens, any sunny day.
7. On top of Mt. Mitchell on a snowy day in August. Well, a flurry, anyway.
8. Atop Chimney Rock on a clear day.
9. On the second floor of the state Capitol, listening to a choir singing under the dome.
10. Sitting at a Formica-topped table (okay, standing at a counter) at any of two dozen good N.C. barbecue joints. I'd start in places like Lexington, Kinston, Greenville, Ayden and Goldsboro.
The list goes on. What's on your list?
And here's a Web site that invites readers to vote on the 100 best places to stand in the United States.
But I was disappointed to see that only one N.C. attraction -- the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse -- made the list of nominees for the 100 best places.
What would you put on the list of best places in North Carolina to stand?
Here are a few thoughts, in no particular order:
1. On the deck of a 37-foot sailboat at anchor in Silver Lake harbor at Ocracoke Island
2. Ankle deep in the waters of Hatteras' Cape Point -- with the Hatteras Light in the background.
3. On the 50-yard-line at Kenan Stadium late on a fall Saturday afternoon.
4. On the sidewalk in Pinehurst any day between Thanksgiving and Christmas.
5. In the bleachers at the Durham Bulls Athletic Park on a summer evening.
6. In Duke Chapel, after a stroll in Duke Gardens, any sunny day.
7. On top of Mt. Mitchell on a snowy day in August. Well, a flurry, anyway.
8. Atop Chimney Rock on a clear day.
9. On the second floor of the state Capitol, listening to a choir singing under the dome.
10. Sitting at a Formica-topped table (okay, standing at a counter) at any of two dozen good N.C. barbecue joints. I'd start in places like Lexington, Kinston, Greenville, Ayden and Goldsboro.
The list goes on. What's on your list?
Tuesday, July 07, 2009
Sustainable energy? Get wind of this
What started out as a bill to give the Department of Environment and Natural Resources the authority to issue permits for large electricity-producing wind turbines -- and preventing their location on ridgetops blocking views in Western North Carolina -- wound up as a much different bill in the Senate Agriculture, Environment and Natural Resources Committee Tuesday. The committee adopted a substitute bill, dropping the language dealing with ridgetop wind turbines in the western part of the state, and keeping a section giving permit-granting authority to the Coastal Resources Commission to allow construction of wind turbines along the coastline. Sen. Charlie Albertson, D-Duplin, said the committee will try to deal with the western N.C. sites later on, but wanted to get the permits bill rolling now.
The revised bill allowing coastal area wind turbines would grant permits only after a study of the effects of noise from the turbines, unless they were at least 0.60 miles from a shoreline, and a study of "shadow flicker impacts" unless they were at least 1.6 miles from the shoreline. These features are designed to deal with complaints from neighbors of wind turbines in other states about the strobe-like flickering on sunny days caused by turning of the blades, and the noise problem that some residents have described as like a constant running of a dishwasher.
The bill originally would have banned the sometimes-400-foot-tall turbines from mountaintop ridges. Attorney General Roy Cooper's office opined a few years ago that the state's Ridge Top Law, designed to stop the construction of hotels, condos and other tall structures on mountain ridges that would interfere with the viewscape, prevented construction of the huge turbines -- though it clearly allows windmills of the size more commonly associated with small farms. As Sen. Joe Sam Queen, D-Haywood, put it, "I do think North Carolina has some opportunities with wind -- particularly at the coast." Senate President Pro Tem Marc Basnight, D-Dare, is especially interested in building windmills in coastal areas, perhaps the state's large sounds that are somewhat protected from the ocean's severe weather.
But some legislators such as Sen. Ellie Kinnaird, D-Orange, believe a ban on wind turbines in Western N.C. conflicts with state law requiring development of new, sustainable energy sources. She’s disappointed that the bill doesn’t recognize places where wind turbines and wind farms -- industrial concentrations of wind turbines -- could be built in the western areas where winds are strong, and said she’s glad to hear of Albertson’s hopes that the bill eventually will address that issue.
The revised bill allowing coastal area wind turbines would grant permits only after a study of the effects of noise from the turbines, unless they were at least 0.60 miles from a shoreline, and a study of "shadow flicker impacts" unless they were at least 1.6 miles from the shoreline. These features are designed to deal with complaints from neighbors of wind turbines in other states about the strobe-like flickering on sunny days caused by turning of the blades, and the noise problem that some residents have described as like a constant running of a dishwasher.
The bill originally would have banned the sometimes-400-foot-tall turbines from mountaintop ridges. Attorney General Roy Cooper's office opined a few years ago that the state's Ridge Top Law, designed to stop the construction of hotels, condos and other tall structures on mountain ridges that would interfere with the viewscape, prevented construction of the huge turbines -- though it clearly allows windmills of the size more commonly associated with small farms. As Sen. Joe Sam Queen, D-Haywood, put it, "I do think North Carolina has some opportunities with wind -- particularly at the coast." Senate President Pro Tem Marc Basnight, D-Dare, is especially interested in building windmills in coastal areas, perhaps the state's large sounds that are somewhat protected from the ocean's severe weather.
But some legislators such as Sen. Ellie Kinnaird, D-Orange, believe a ban on wind turbines in Western N.C. conflicts with state law requiring development of new, sustainable energy sources. She’s disappointed that the bill doesn’t recognize places where wind turbines and wind farms -- industrial concentrations of wind turbines -- could be built in the western areas where winds are strong, and said she’s glad to hear of Albertson’s hopes that the bill eventually will address that issue.
Monday, July 06, 2009
Yadkin River Trust bill up for hearing Tuesday
A state House committee has scheduled a hearing for tomorrow on a Senate-passed bill that would create a Yadkin River Trust to operate the hydroelectric plans now owned and operated by Alcoa Power Generating Inc. The hearing before the House Water Resources and Infrastructure Committee on Senate Bill 967 will be at 2 p.m. in room 1228 of the Legislative Building in Raleigh -- but it's notable that no action is planned. The House calendar says the session will be for discussion only. If the bill get the committee's approval, it will also have to go to two more committees -- the Public Utilities Committee and the Finance Committee -- before it can go to the House floor for consideration by the full House.
The bill has a formidable journey before it, in other words, especially at this juncture of the 2009 session. On the other hand, the House and Senate don't seem to be rushing to a conclusion. They're at odds over how to raise more revenue to balance the 2009-10 budget, and no once expects a quick adjournment. For another thing, this bill has a remarkable coalition of Republicans and Democrats favoring it. In the Senate, it included Majority Leader Sen. Tony Rand, D-Cumberland, and Minority Leader Sen. Phil Berger, R-Rockingham. In the House, the bill's backers include former House Speaker Harold Brubaker, R-Randolph, and Rep. Paul Luebke, D-Durham, senior chairman of the House Finance Committee. There are a lot of Republicans and Democrats behind this bill, which indicates that it isn't a partisan political battle.
It's a fascinating subject because it involves a legislative attempt to create a way to recapture the Yadkin River hydroelectric generating plants that Alcoa and its predecessors have operated for a long time on the Yadkin. Alcoa once employed as many as 1,000 people at its Badin aluminum smelter, but the plant is closed now and there is a relative handful of employees left. Alcoa sells the power it generates on the open market; those backing the bill in the legislature want the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to deny issuing another license to Alcoa to continue operating the plant. Its 50-year license expired last year, and the company is close to getting a license renewal. But lawmakers backing the Yadkin River Trust don't think the company should be allowed to continue operating the plant without the significant workforce it once had. They point to the 1957 licensing process when the employment was cited as a major reason for granting the license.
It's also interesting from this standpoint: Alcoa is a going business and if the bill becomes law it would put the state in the position of purchasing and operating a business whose owner doesn't want to sell. But the Federal Power Act has long contemplated the "recapture" of a facility on public trust waters if a license is denied. That clause has never been invoked, and this could be the first time. What's not clear is how much the recapture would cost -- and how it would work out financially.
Gov. Bev Perdue has intervened in the federal process, and likely would sign the legislation creating the Yadkin River Trust if it passes the legislature.
The bill has a formidable journey before it, in other words, especially at this juncture of the 2009 session. On the other hand, the House and Senate don't seem to be rushing to a conclusion. They're at odds over how to raise more revenue to balance the 2009-10 budget, and no once expects a quick adjournment. For another thing, this bill has a remarkable coalition of Republicans and Democrats favoring it. In the Senate, it included Majority Leader Sen. Tony Rand, D-Cumberland, and Minority Leader Sen. Phil Berger, R-Rockingham. In the House, the bill's backers include former House Speaker Harold Brubaker, R-Randolph, and Rep. Paul Luebke, D-Durham, senior chairman of the House Finance Committee. There are a lot of Republicans and Democrats behind this bill, which indicates that it isn't a partisan political battle.
It's a fascinating subject because it involves a legislative attempt to create a way to recapture the Yadkin River hydroelectric generating plants that Alcoa and its predecessors have operated for a long time on the Yadkin. Alcoa once employed as many as 1,000 people at its Badin aluminum smelter, but the plant is closed now and there is a relative handful of employees left. Alcoa sells the power it generates on the open market; those backing the bill in the legislature want the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to deny issuing another license to Alcoa to continue operating the plant. Its 50-year license expired last year, and the company is close to getting a license renewal. But lawmakers backing the Yadkin River Trust don't think the company should be allowed to continue operating the plant without the significant workforce it once had. They point to the 1957 licensing process when the employment was cited as a major reason for granting the license.
It's also interesting from this standpoint: Alcoa is a going business and if the bill becomes law it would put the state in the position of purchasing and operating a business whose owner doesn't want to sell. But the Federal Power Act has long contemplated the "recapture" of a facility on public trust waters if a license is denied. That clause has never been invoked, and this could be the first time. What's not clear is how much the recapture would cost -- and how it would work out financially.
Gov. Bev Perdue has intervened in the federal process, and likely would sign the legislation creating the Yadkin River Trust if it passes the legislature.
Thursday, July 02, 2009
Head of Water Rights Committee resigns
The head of the N.C. Water Rights Committee, Raleigh City Council member Nancy McFarlane, has resigned. It apparently was related to the committee head's reluctance to answer questions recently when Carolina Journal inquired about the group, which opposes a new Federal Energy Regulatory Commission license for Alcoa Power Generating Inc. on the Yadkin River. It's a hot topic because a bipartisan group of legislators proposes a Yadkin River Trust to eventually buy and take over operation of Alcoa's hydroelectic plants on the river.
David Bracken of the N&O has the story.
Bracken reported, "In an interview conducted before McFarlane's announcement, Roger Dick, one of the founders of the N.C. Water Rights Committee, said her lack of openness is not helping the organization.
"We don't need people being suspicious about the N.C. Water Rights group," said Dick, who lives in Stanly County and is the CEO of Uwharrie Capital, a holding company for several banks. "We didn't maybe make the best choice right now with having Nancy as the president of the water rights because her political platform, I guess, is getting in the way of this."
David Bracken of the N&O has the story.
Bracken reported, "In an interview conducted before McFarlane's announcement, Roger Dick, one of the founders of the N.C. Water Rights Committee, said her lack of openness is not helping the organization.
"We don't need people being suspicious about the N.C. Water Rights group," said Dick, who lives in Stanly County and is the CEO of Uwharrie Capital, a holding company for several banks. "We didn't maybe make the best choice right now with having Nancy as the president of the water rights because her political platform, I guess, is getting in the way of this."
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
Perdue names Republican to judgeship
Gov. Bev Perdue has appointed Eric Levinson to the Superior Court bench in Mecklenburg County. It's an interesting appointment because Perdue is a Democrat and Levinson is a Republican who has served before as a judge prior to going to Afghanistan two years ago for the Bush Administration Justice Department to help introduce a new civil justice system there and to consult on justice issues in Iraq.
N.C. judicial races, of course, are nonpartison now. Levinson was widely regarded as a highly capable, effective judge when he served on the N.C. Court of Appeals and as a district judge in Mecklenburg. He ran unsuccessfully for the N.C. Supreme Court in 2006. Here's Perdue's announcement:
RALEIGH - Gov. Bev Perdue today appointed Eric L. Levinson to the seat of Resident Superior Court judge for Mecklenburg County. Levinson will fill the vacancy created by Judge David S. Cayer’s resignation to serve as a U.S. Magistrate Judge for the Western District of North Carolina.
"Judge Levinson's broad judicial background will allow him to immediately step in and begin serving the community," Perdue said. "I appreciate his continued commitment to the law and his willingness to serve North Carolina."
Levinson recently spent time in Iraq as a Justice Attaché for the U.S. Department of Justice. He also has consulted with the Supreme Court of Afghanistan to help develop its civil court system. Prior to his judicial service overseas, Levinson spent five years on the North Carolina Court of Appeals. Before joining the court he served six years as a District Court Judge in Mecklenburg County and four years as an assistant district attorney for Cabarrus and Rowan counties.
He received his undergraduate degree from the University of Georgia and his law degree from the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill School of Law.
N.C. judicial races, of course, are nonpartison now. Levinson was widely regarded as a highly capable, effective judge when he served on the N.C. Court of Appeals and as a district judge in Mecklenburg. He ran unsuccessfully for the N.C. Supreme Court in 2006. Here's Perdue's announcement:
RALEIGH - Gov. Bev Perdue today appointed Eric L. Levinson to the seat of Resident Superior Court judge for Mecklenburg County. Levinson will fill the vacancy created by Judge David S. Cayer’s resignation to serve as a U.S. Magistrate Judge for the Western District of North Carolina.
"Judge Levinson's broad judicial background will allow him to immediately step in and begin serving the community," Perdue said. "I appreciate his continued commitment to the law and his willingness to serve North Carolina."
Levinson recently spent time in Iraq as a Justice Attaché for the U.S. Department of Justice. He also has consulted with the Supreme Court of Afghanistan to help develop its civil court system. Prior to his judicial service overseas, Levinson spent five years on the North Carolina Court of Appeals. Before joining the court he served six years as a District Court Judge in Mecklenburg County and four years as an assistant district attorney for Cabarrus and Rowan counties.
He received his undergraduate degree from the University of Georgia and his law degree from the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill School of Law.
Monday, June 29, 2009
Corruption hotline, anyone?
Former State Auditor Les Merritt may be out of office but he's not out of the corruption hotline business. Merritt, who lost his seat in the 2008 election, announced Monday that he and former FBI agent Frank Perry are setting up an ethics foundation to, among other things, hear complaints about ethics and public office.
Here's part of his announcment news release:
RALEIGH, NC – Former N.C. State Auditor Les Merritt has teamed up with Dr. Frank L. Perry, a veteran FBI agent who worked for both the N.C. Ethics Commission and the N.C. State Auditor’s office, to launch the Foundation for Ethics in Public Service and its Web site, www.ReportPublicCorruption.org. The Foundation is a non-profit, non-partisan organization which will educate citizens and public officials about the nature, causes and remedies of public corruption and spotlight significant occurrences of public corruption. Specifically, the Foundation will facilitate the investigation and reporting of public corruption by receiving tips about alleged acts of corruption, independently investigating those tips to ascertain their credibility, and passing the information along to investigative reporters or enforcement agencies as appropriate. The organization will also teach classes and conduct seminars and other programs to educate public officials on ethics issues.
Merritt will serve as Executive Director, Perry will serve as Director of Investigations and Public Affairs and Hayley Phillips Bushnell will serve as Director of Operations. Bushnell previously worked at the N.C. Ethics Commission, in the healthcare industry and as a summer intern for U.S. Congressman Mike McIntyre (D-NC).
Here's part of his announcment news release:
RALEIGH, NC – Former N.C. State Auditor Les Merritt has teamed up with Dr. Frank L. Perry, a veteran FBI agent who worked for both the N.C. Ethics Commission and the N.C. State Auditor’s office, to launch the Foundation for Ethics in Public Service and its Web site, www.ReportPublicCorruption.org. The Foundation is a non-profit, non-partisan organization which will educate citizens and public officials about the nature, causes and remedies of public corruption and spotlight significant occurrences of public corruption. Specifically, the Foundation will facilitate the investigation and reporting of public corruption by receiving tips about alleged acts of corruption, independently investigating those tips to ascertain their credibility, and passing the information along to investigative reporters or enforcement agencies as appropriate. The organization will also teach classes and conduct seminars and other programs to educate public officials on ethics issues.
Merritt will serve as Executive Director, Perry will serve as Director of Investigations and Public Affairs and Hayley Phillips Bushnell will serve as Director of Operations. Bushnell previously worked at the N.C. Ethics Commission, in the healthcare industry and as a summer intern for U.S. Congressman Mike McIntyre (D-NC).
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
