General Assembly has not raised base salaries since 1995

By Jana Benscoter | Carolina Journal

RALEIGH — North Carolina’s top-paid legislator in 2009 earned 48 percent more than the average state government employee earned in the same year, and 54 percent more than the average private sector employee. The top-paid legislator was Senate President Pro Tempore Marc Basnight, D-Dare, who collected $86,211.48. The top-paid legislators also hold the highest offices in the state General Assembly. Among the 25 legislators collecting the highest compensation in 2009, the vast majority were Democrats; only six were Republicans.

Legislators’ earnings come from four sources: salary, which varies based on a lawmaker’s position in the General Assembly; per diem, which is paid each day the lawmaker does legislative work; travel, including mileage reimbursement between Raleigh and lawmakers’ homes, along with other travel related to legislative business; and an expense account, which also is tied to individual lawmakers’ positions inside the General Assembly.

Today is Thursday, Sept. 2, the 245th day of 2010. There are 120 days left in the year.

Today's Highlight in History:

On Sept. 2, 1945, Japan formally surrendered in ceremonies aboard the USS Missouri in Tokyo Bay, ending World War II.

On this date:

Hurricane Earl strengthens as it bears down on East Coast, bringing island evacuations

Hurricane Earl steamed toward the Eastern Seaboard early Thursday as communities from North Carolina to New England kept a close eye on the forecast, worried that even a slight shift in the storm's predicted offshore track could put millions of people in the most densely populated part of the country in harm's way.

Vacationers along North Carolina's dangerously exposed Outer Banks took advantage of the typical picture-perfect day just before a hurricane arrives to pack their cars and flee inland, cutting short their summer just before Labor Day weekend.

The former chief of Lehman Brothers told a panel investigating the financial crisis that the Wall Street firm could have been rescued, but regulators refused to help — even though they later bailed out other big banks.

Richard S. Fuld Jr. told the Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission at a hearing that Lehman did everything it could to limit its risks and save itself in the fall of 2008.

"Lehman's demise was caused by uncontrollable market forces, and the incorrect perception and accompanying rumors that Lehman did not have sufficient capital to support its investments," Fuld testified.

Profile America -- Thursday, September 2nd. Sixty-five years ago today, Japan formally surrendered in solemn ceremonies held on the deck of the battleship USS Missouri in Tokyo Bay. The event marked the end of hostilities in the Pacific theater -- and was the last act of World War II. The day is often called V-J Day, for Victory Over Japan, although the term is also used for the day the unconditional surrender was announced on August 15th. V-E Day, for Victory in Europe, was celebrated the previous May. Fighting in both Europe and the Pacific resulted in the combat deaths of 292,000 American troops on the ground, in the air, and on and under the sea.

by Jim Kouri

On Fox News Channel's top-rated Fox & Friends, host Gretchen Carlson would not allow the White House press secretary to do what his ilk to do best: revise history.

Obama spokesman Robert Gibbs, during what he obviously believed was a Tuesday morning spin session, attempted to evade and avoid direct questions about President Barack Obama's and Vice President Joe Biden attempting to take political credit for the current "highly stable" situation in Iraq that is allowing tens of thousands of American warriors to return home.

Most Americans welcomed the announcement that US-led combat operations in Iraq were over, and that the last combat unit was to be sent home. Last night, when President Obama addressed the nation via live television, he obviously counted on the short memories of the American people in his attempt to garner credit.

High turnout underscores residents’ opposition to tax hikes

By David N. Bass | Carolina Journal

RALEIGH — Watauga County voters snapped a seven-referendum winning streak for supporters of local tax increases Tuesday by voting down, 62-38 percent, a quarter-cent sales tax hike.

County commissioners had pledged to use $1.9 million in revenue generated by the tax to build new recreational facilities, but voters wanted no part of it. At 17 percent, turnout was high for a referendum not held in conjunction with a primary or General Election. Many residents also took advantage of early voting.

“By soundly defeating the tax increase, taxpayers sent a loud and clear message to county commissioners: don’t spend our money like drunken sailors. Spend our money more wisely and efficiently,” said Michael Sanera, the John Locke Foundation’s vice president for research and local government analyst.

Police shot a man upset with the Discovery Channel network's programming who took three people hostage at the company's headquarters Wednesday, officials said. All three hostages escaped safely.

Montgomery County Police Chief Thomas Manger said he did not know whether police killed the gunman, who was upset about the network's programming. Police spent several hours negotiating with him after he burst into the suburban Washington building about 1 p.m. waving a handgun and with canisters strapped to his body.

Board looking at potentially explicit e-mails, audit of Health Department

By Sarah Okeson | Carolina Journal

YADKINVILLE — Yadkin County commissioners took the first steps Monday toward a possible investigation of the county Health Department, whose director recently announced he will retire. But the commission’s initial moves were not posted on a public agenda beforehand, a potential violation of the state’s Open Meetings Act. Moreover, the board’s attorney was not present at the meeting.

The commission also has balked at a request to make e-mails between a county employee and a county official reportedly containing sexually explicit content available to the public.

By Brian Balfour | NC Civitas

Defenders of economic “stimulus” schemes insist that during a recession, government must step in to get idle resources working again. Spending on anything, anywhere will put idle resources such as labor and equipment back to work, so the theory goes.

But such crude, superstitious notions overlook (among many) an important point. As St. Lawrence University (located in New York state) economist Steven Horwitz pointed out recently, capital is not homogeneous. That is, workers are trained to perform certain tasks and most machinery is designed for very specific purposes – to be performed with specific complimentary inputs. As Horwitz noted in a recent “Nightly Business Report” column for PBS:

“One of the gravest sins of modern economics is its tendency to treat resources, both capital and labor, as essentially homogenous aggregates. Capital is more or less interchangeable with other capital, and labor is treated much the same.”

North Carolina coach Butch Davis suspended defensive tackle Marvin Austin indefinitely on Wednesday for violating unspecified team rules.

"This decision is not a result of the ongoing NCAA review," Davis said in a brief statement issued by the school. "Marvin has violated team rules and has neglected his responsibilities to the team."

LAKE NORMAN - Mooresville resident Marcia White recently joined Peoples Bank as Relationship Manager Private Banking serving the Bank’s Lake Norman Region. White has been intricately involved in this market for the past 13 years and brings a wealth of banking knowledge and experience to Peoples Bank. President and Chief Executive Officer Tony W. Wolfe made the announcement and welcomed White to the locally-based community bank. “It is a distinct pleasure to welcome Marcia to Peoples Bank ,” Wolfe commented. “Her impact will be realized immediately as we continue to build our franchise in this important market.”

LINCOLNTON - The Lincolnton Recreation Pool at Betty G. Ross Park will be open this Labor Day weekend, Saturday, September 4, Sunday, September 5, and Monday, September 6. Hours are as follows: Saturday and Monday: 10am – 5pm and Sunday: 1pm – 5pm (Weather Permitting). Admission is $2.00 per person.

The pool will still be available for private rental through September.

For more information, please contact the recreation office at 735-2671.

NEW YORK (Reuters) - The U.S. manufacturing sector grew faster than expected in August but private employers unexpectedly cut jobs, showing the economic recovery still faces headwinds.

The 13th straight month of manufacturing expansion calmed fears that U.S. economy may head back into recession, but the drop in employment and a slump in construction spending to a 10-year low in July kept concerns about slow economic growth alive.

Raleigh, N.C. – Over half of North Carolina’s unaffiliated voters support drilling for oil off the state’s coast, according to a new National Research Inc. poll released today by the Civitas Institute.

According to the live caller poll of 400 unaffiliated likely voters, 51 percent said they support drilling for oil and natural gas off the coast of North Carolina. Thirty-eight percent of voters said they oppose drilling, and 10 percent said they do not know or have no opinion.

This percentage of support mirrors a May 2010 Civitas poll which found that of all statewide voters, 56 percent support drilling for oil while 37 percent oppose it.

Police: At least 1 person being held hostage by gunman in Discovery TV building in Md.

Police in a Washington, D.C., suburb say a gunman has taken at least one person hostage at the headquarters of Discovery Communications.

Montgomery County fire department spokesman Capt. Oscar Garcia says three bomb technicians responded to the scene in Silver Spring, Md., and several more are on their way.

STAFF REPORTS

LINCOLNTON - Poplars Spring A.M.E. Zion Church located at 1205 Buffalo Shoals Road, Lincolnton, NC will host the 5TH reunion for “The Spirits of Hope” a local gospel singing group of the 70’s starting at 6:00 P.M. on Saturday, September 4th and on Sunday, September 5 at 4:00 P.M. at Herndon Chapel A.M.E. Zion Church, 1121 Georgetown Road, Lincolnton, NC.

Photo: A crumpled mess is all that is left of this car that collided with a Directv van on Wednesday.

Report and photo courtesy of news partner WSOC-TV

LINCOLNTON - One person is dead after a crash on North Aspen Street in Lincolnton on Wednesday morning, according to Lincolnton police.

A witness said a car and a DirecTV van hit head-on just before 9 a.m. The driver of the car veered into the van’s path, witnesses said.

Officers said they think a medical problem may have caused the crash.

CHARLOTTE, North Carolina (Reuters) - A federal judge approved the creation of a $150 million fund for Bank of America Corp shareholders as part of a settlement with the Securities and Exchange Commission over the bank's 2009 acquisition of Merrill Lynch.

The SEC alleged in a lawsuit filed last year that BofA, in the months before it bought the investment bank in January 2009, failed to disclose $3.6 billion in bonuses Merrill Lynch paid its employees and $15.8 billion in fourth-quarter 2008 losses at the investment bank.

As part of the settlement, BofA agreed to pay $150 million into a "fair fund" to be distributed to owners of BofA stock who were injured by the alleged misconduct, according to the fund's website.

Bank of America Corp. spent $1.09 million in the second quarter to lobby the federal government on various aspects of the financial regulatory overhaul and other issues, according to a disclosure report.

That's up 36 percent from the $800,000 it spent in the 2009 second quarter as the financial crisis ensued, and 16 percent above the $940,000 it spent in the first quarter of 2010. For the first six months of the year, Bank of America spent $2.03 million on lobbying as banking regulations came to the forefront of the national agenda.

Powerful Hurricane Earl wheeled toward the East Coast, driving the first tourists Wednesday from North Carolina vacation islands and threatening damaging winds and waves up the Atlantic seaboard over Labor Day weekend.

Visitors were taking ferries off Ocracoke Island and told to leave neighboring Cape Hatteras in North Carolina's Outer Banks, and federal authorities have warned people all along the Eastern seaboard to be prepared to evacuate. Emergency officials as far north as Maine were checking their equipment and urging people to have disaster plans and supplies ready.

Jessica Brunelli is a fan of "Jersey Shore" and "The Real World," so the 17-year-old race car driver knows just how addictive reality TV can be.

Addictive enough to draw in viewers who don't know Jeff Gordon from Jeff Burton? That's the gamble behind "Changing Lanes," a new show that airs not on a sports network but BET.

Yes, BET. Where better to reach a completely new audience?

Claiming no victory, President Barack Obama formally ended the U.S. combat role in Iraq after seven long years of bloodshed, declaring firmly Tuesday night: "It's time to turn the page." Now, he said, the nation's most urgent priority is fixing its own sickly economy.

From the Oval Office, where George W. Bush first announced the invasion that would come to define his presidency, Obama addressed millions who were divided over the war in his country and around the world. Fiercely opposed to the war from the start, he said the United States "has paid a huge price" to give Iraqis the chance to shape their future — a cost that now includes more than 4,400 troops dead, tens of thousands more wounded and hundreds of billions of dollars spent.

China began requiring identification on Wednesday from anyone purchasing a new mobile phone number in what it says is a bid to stamp out rampant junk messages but that some say gives the government a new tool for monitoring its citizens.

The rules apply to everyone, including foreigners visiting China for a short stay, the China Daily newspaper reported.

The paper said the regulation was "the latest campaign by the government to curb the global scourge of spam, pornographic messages and fraud on cellular phones."

LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - Poor Lindsay. She can't catch a break.

Released early from rehab and free again to pursue personal and professional rehabilitation, Lindsay Lohan has an opportunity to re-enter the public consciousness with the seriousness of a newly clean starlet intent on sobriety. And then here comes "Machete."

When Robert Rodriguez's Mexploitation flick opens Friday, Lohan will have been out of jail and rehab for a mere 10 days. And the vision that fans, family and friends will see of her in the film is that of a rich, spoiled junkie who makes money on the side by doing homemade sex videos -- with her mom.