Obama, congressional Democrats, try to seize initiative on Gulf oil spill disaster
President Barack Obama and congressional Democrats are trying to prevent a political disaster along with the environmental one taking place in the Gulf of Mexico as they try to convince Americans frustrated by the ongoing oil spill that BP and Republican coziness with the oil industry are to blame.
Within a few hours Tuesday, the White House said President Barack Obama would visit the Gulf Coast again next week, while House Speaker Nancy Pelosi set a strict deadline for new oil spill legislation.
LINCOLNTON – The Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office announced yesterday that a Lincolnton man, Charles Michael Woodward, has been charged with indecent liberties with a child.
The incident allegedly occurred on Friday and Woodward was arrested later that day.
Detective Sally Dellinger who investigated the incident and spoke with the victim and the suspect arrested Woodward.
Proposal guaranteeing returns could push many into annuities
By Karen McMahan | Carolina Journal
RALEIGH — In February, the U.S. Treasury and Labor departments jointly announced they were seeking public comment on proposed design changes to employer-sponsored 401(k) plans and individual retirement accounts that would centralize the private pension system under structures created and administered by the government.
Supporters say these changes are needed to ensure Americans save more for their retirement and have lifetime income options that prevent them from outliving their retirement savings, protecting them from market risk.
At stake for the millions of Americans with private retirement plans: Would they be able to continue making their own investment decisions? Or would Congress mandate both investment options and distribution methods? Government Retirement Accounts also would prevent workers from owning their retirement savings fully, as they could bequeath only half of their remaining account balances to their heirs.
LINCOLNTON - The following listing represents incident and arrest reports from the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office.
This listing does not necessarily mean anyone at the listed address was accused of any crime, only that a report was made at that location. Also, it is advisable to understand that many people may have the same or similar names.
Local law enforcement asks that anyone with information about any of these incidents or to report a crime call CrimeStoppers at (704) 736-8909. CrimeStoppers allows you to remain anonymous and pays up to $1,000 for information that leads to an arrest.
Incident reports are brought to you by Helms Security, Inc. in Lincolnton. Follow update “tweets” on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/helmssecurity .
INCIDENTS 2010-03409 No Operator’s License, 2nd Degree Trespassing, Drug Paraphernalia Assigned: File Only (Rex) Location: 803 N. Aspen St. Victim: State of N.C. Suspect driving without license and on school grounds Date Reported: May 26, 2010 District B
Progressive leaders upset with White House, complain that Democrats are timid, compromise
Progressive activists who helped elect Barack Obama president complained on Monday that the administration and congressional Democrats have been too timid and too willing to compromise.
Even though Obama's major first-term achievement — an overhaul of the nation's health care system — passed without a single Republican vote, progressive leaders who gathered in Washington criticized the president for failing to create a government-run insurance option to compete with private industry.
Wischmeier brought Indiana performance from bottom 25 percent to top tier
By Sarah Okeson | Carolina Journal
RALEIGH — State Treasurer Janet Cowell has chosen the Indiana state retirement system’s top money manager to oversee investments in North Carolina’s $68 billion pension fund.
Shawn Wischmeier will become North Carolina’s chief investment officer June 23 and will be paid a base salary of $320,000.
“Mr. Wischmeier brings a great set of analytical and management skills to this Department,” Cowell said in a statement to the media. “I look forward to working with him as he takes on the responsibilities of leading our expert investment team that works to protect the benefits for over 820,000 retirement system members.”
In what they characterized as "a baffling development," a public-interest law group revealed that a major U.S. county is allowing the Mexican government to operate "a satellite consular office" to offer the area’s illegal immigrants identification cards that will facilitate life in the United States since they are accepted by many jurisdictions, with the Obama Administration turning a blind eye to a flagrant violation of law.
According to Judicial Watch, Mexican officials requested the Homeland Security agency charged with immigration enforcement not to enforce the law in the area while the cards -- known as Matricula Consular --are being issued last week.
Profile America -- Tuesday, June 8th. There are many special observances during June -- it's Potty Training Awareness Month, for example, and also Accordion Awareness Month. One of the lesser known events recalls a part of life that is steadily disappearing -- it's International Clothesline Week. Americans of a certain age remember well helping their mothers hang up wet clothes or taking them in after they dried -- especially in the winter, when they resembled stiff boards. The idea of Clothesline Week is to encourage households to save energy by hanging their clothes outside to dry instead of using an electric or gas dryer.
Stray Cat Strut Dancers: Emily Gunter, Caroline Jenkins and Josie Sigmon (names may not be in order).
By Ron McCann
Lincolnton: The Dancer's Edge Dance Studio in Lincolnton held its 10th annual Spring Recital at the James W. Warren Citizens Center on Sunday afternoon.
Over 40 dance routines (including gymnastics) in two age brackets were performed during the recital with an awards ceremony following each of the group performances.
A good time was had by all.
Memory Dancers: standing (l-r) Megan Jenkins, Sierra Taylor, Sofia Mollahassani, Kathyrn Macomsom, (kneeling) Erin McCann
American Pickers Show Up in Lincolnton on Tonight's Show on the History Channel
TONIGHT - Mike and Frank comb through a master collector's untouched outbuildings in Lincolnton, North Carolina at 9 p.m.
After getting past a few petrified hams they find a true gem, a 1950 Studebaker that Mike falls in love with. But can Mike negotiate a deal at a price that makes sense?
Mike then becomes obsessed with a 1934 pre-Airstream trailer and the negotiation becomes a classic in its own right.
General Assembly relying on federal aid that may not materialize
By Anthony Greco | Carolina Journal
RALEIGH — Representatives in North Carolina's House passed a budget Friday morning despite being unsure whether the federal government would provide all the money the state expects. No Republicans voted for the spending plan.
US Defense Secretary Robert Gates on Sunday endorsed the ex-general named to take over as Washington's new spy chief, seeking to counter criticism from lawmakers over the nomination.
Some Republicans have already voiced doubts about retired air force general and veteran intelligence official James Clapper, who President Barack Obama nominated on Saturday to serve as the new director of national intelligence (DNI).
CHARLOTTE -- Delivering on her promise to fast-track the I-485 Charlotte Outer Loop project, Gov. Perdue traveled to the Queen City as the award letter was signed for the $139.5 million contract. Shovels should be in the ground early next year. The entire project should be completed in 2015, years ahead of the schedule in place when Gov. Perdue took office.
“This is a great day for the people of Charlotte and the state of North Carolina,” said Perdue. “It represents my commitment to do more for less – and to do it faster.”
The 2010 elections have changed the direction of government only half way through the primary season, with voter anger and economic jitters causing lawmakers to balk at their most basic duties as well as key elements of President Barack Obama's agenda.
After betting their political future on a government-mandated expansion of health care to include millions more Americans, Democrats appear to have little appetite for more legislative showdowns given voter rebellion against government spending amid trillion dollar-plus annual deficits.
Food crisis not over in developing countries as surging prices make many staples unaffordable
Families from Pakistan to Argentina to Congo are being battered by surging food prices that are dragging more people into poverty, fueling political tensions and forcing some to give up eating meat, fruit and even tomatoes.
Scraping to afford the next meal is still a grim daily reality in the developing world even though the global food crisis that dominated headlines in 2008 quickly faded in the U.S. and other rich countries.
Profile America -- Monday, June 7th. A home entertainment revolution began on this date in 1975 when the videocassette recorder was introduced. The VCR allowed people to watch movies at home when they wanted to and to record and watch their own videos. At its peak, some nine-out- of-10 households across the country had a VCR. Then the digital video disc, or DVD, was introduced in 1997 and quickly relegated stacks of VHS tapes to thrift shops. Now, the hottest format is the Blu-ray system, allowing video quality to match high-definition television sets. Americans spend an average of $106 annually on videos to play at home.
LINCOLNTON - The following listing represents incident and arrest reports from the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office.
This listing does not necessarily mean anyone at the listed address was accused of any crime, only that a report was made at that location. Also, it is advisable to understand that many people may have the same or similar names.
Local law enforcement asks that anyone with information about any of these incidents or to report a crime call CrimeStoppers at (704) 736-8909. CrimeStoppers allows you to remain anonymous and pays up to $1,000 for information that leads to an arrest.
Incident reports are brought to you by Helms Security, Inc. in Lincolnton. Follow update “tweets” on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/helmssecurity .
INCIDENTS 2010-03431 Larceny Assigned: File Only (B Posey) Location: 842 S Hwy 16 Victim: Landon Dellinger Suspect took copper tubing Date Reported: June 02, 2010 District C
RALEIGH – North Carolina has more government than North Carolina taxpayers can or wish to finance.
That’s the fundamental cause of the state’s continuing budget woes – not the mortgage crisis, or misbehavior on Wall Street, or the misdeeds of George W. Bush or Barack Obama. The economic downturn of 2008-09 may have triggered the state’s fiscal deficits. But the structural problem predated the recession.
State and local government in North Carolina has grown rapidly during boom times. In the two decades leading up to the 2009-10 budget crisis, for example, state spending alone grew by 41 percent after adjusting for inflation and population growth. During economic busts, spending growth has slackened or even ceased for a time, but has never been significantly rolled back. Instead, governors and legislators have raised taxes to finance their past spending increases.
Raleigh, N.C. – A majority of North Carolina voters continue to support drilling for oil off the coast of North Carolina according to a new National Research Inc. poll released last week by the Civitas Institute.
According to the poll of 600 likely voters, 56 percent indicated their support for drilling off the state’s coast for oil and natural gas. Thirty-seven percent said they were opposed, and 7 percent said they didn’t know or had no opinion.
“North Carolina voters consistently support drilling for oil and natural gas off the coast,” said Civitas Institute Executive Director Francis De Luca. “They understand how it affects not only national security, but would be a tremendous economic benefit to the North Carolina economy.”
RALEIGH - You probably have never ridden one, but every time you put gas in your car you are helping to subsidize North Carolina’s small fleet of ferries.
The North Carolina Ferry Division runs ferry services for beach-hoppers on the state’s coast through eight terminals, and is managed by the Department of Transportation. Sadly, however, because the ferries are not self-supporting the Ferry Division is a fiscally disastrous program that drains massive amounts of tax payer money every year. While this program leaks money like a sieve, the North Carolina House and Senate aim to throw more money than ever this year at the Ferry Division despite the state government’s massive budget shortfall.
LINCOLNTON – The Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office announced yesterday that a Lincolnton man, Charles Michael Woodward, has been charged with indecent liberties with a child. 
STAFF REPORTS
by Jim Kouri
American Pickers Show Up in Lincolnton on Tonight's Show on the History Channel
LINCOLNTON - It almost brought tears to your eyes just to watch the Hot Wings Eating Contest sponsored by Court Street Grill in Lincolnton.
General Assembly relying on federal aid that may not materialize
By John Hood
By Andrew Henson | NC Civitas
