NC SPIN Online

Your help requested
Longtime newsletter readers know that each year at this time we ask you to help in raising money for Juvenile Diabetes. My grandson, Hart, was diagnosed with this horrible disease several years ago. Essentially the pancreas dies, stopping the flow of insulin needed to regulate blood sugars in your body. Without the insulin there can be loss of limbs, organ damage, loss of eyesight or, in extremes, death.

Modern science has made great progress in this disease that attacks young people. Hart has to prick himself five or six times a day to test his blood glucose level, then, using an insulin pump, he can add insulin to keep him regulated. But it is a management process he and many young people must constantly stay on top of.

The Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, the ones who helped in the research for the pump, say that a cure can be found so that young people like Hart don’t have to constantly be checking their blood glucose levels and adjusting their pumps to put more insulin in the blood stream. Much of the research for this cure is being done in RTP.

In this crazy economy, dollars for research are more needed than ever. Won’t you help? I have set a goal of $1,500 for the JDRF walk on November 1. My family will match, dollar for dollar every contribution made. If you can do so, please help us find a cure for juvenile diabetes, not just for Hart but for every young person who is diagnosed with this disease.

To make a contribution, please go to the JDRF site.

“It’s the economy, stupid”
Bill Clinton’s campaign strategist, James Carville, repeated the phrase repeatedly during the 1992 election campaign, making sure Clinton and his team stayed focused on the number one issue. The same is true in this campaign cycle. The stock market is in free fall and confidence is ebbing. North Carolina is faring poorly, most especially Charlotte. Gas prices are higher than all other states, government revenues are falling, unemployment is surging, and businesses are hurting for business and the capital they need to stay viable. And the Wachovia debacle continues with no quick resolution.

Governor Easley said this week that the 2 percent reductions in the state budget he ordered just weeks ago may not be sufficient, hinting that he will keep a close eye on revenues coming in and adjust spending before leaving office rather than forcing the new Governor to face the crisis as he did in 2001.

You know things are bad when the state put off purchasing a new Jet for state use.

As we said last week, the elections are taking a back seat to the economy. But Democrats met in Asheville last week for the annual Vance-Aycock dinner and the mood was festive, especially when Presidential candidate Barack Obama dropped in on the event. Governor Easley was at his humorous best we were told, but it was Bev Perdue who sounded the take-away comment, claiming she didn’t know how to field dress a Moose, as Republican VP nominee Sarah Palin does, but promised she would skin Pat McCrory.

Election update
North Carolina’s elections are tight but internal candidate surveys are showing some surprising trends. The economy is the unquestionable number one issue on everyone’s minds. Most blame the national leadership for the current crisis. Republicans are paying a major price for this, all the way down the ticket. Coupled with the frequent presence of Obama in this state, Democrats are feeling a strong wind behind their backs and polls being conducted this week show this blowing them ahead of opponents. The only really questionable contest in many minds will be the Governor’s race, but even as strong as Republican Pat McCrory might be, trends show Democrat Beverly Perdue moving ahead of him. She has regained her footing and is speaking to the economy, advocating change and acting more gubernatorial even if she won’t debate. By the way, despite the disappointment of many for her not showing up on public debates (even NC SPIN), she is correct in saying she has or will participate in more debates than any gubernatorial cycle in our recent history.

As we stated in our MySpin column in July, this is looking more and more like a Democratic sweep. Four weeks away from Election Day is an eternity, but unless the winds change count on it.

For more on the elections and the economy, be sure to catch this week’s NC SPIN and be sure to read this week’s MySpin on North Carolina’s challenge in this time.

Polling results:
Here are the latest PPP polling results released this week:
President (NC):
Barack Obama (D) 50%
John McCain (R) 44%
Bob Barr (L) 2%
Undecided 4%

U.S. Senate:
Kay Hagan (D) 49%
Elizabeth Dole (R) 40%
Christopher Cole (L) 4%
Undecided 7%

Governor:
Beverly Perdue (D) 46%
Pat McCrory (R) 43%
Mike Munger (L) 4%
Undecided 7%

State Auditor:
Beth Wood (D) 42%
Les Merritt (R) 36%
Undecided 22%

Secretary of State:
Elaine Marshall (D) 47%
Jack Sawyer (R) 35%
Undecided 18%

Ag Commissioner:
Steve Troxler (R) 41%
Ronnie Ainsley (D) 39%
Undecided 20%

Long awaited indictments come down
We’ve been talking for two years about misdeeds involving a proposed ethanol plant to have been located in Beaufort County. Two former officials were indicted on charges of bribery, extortion and perjury. David Lee Brady of Raleigh and James Albert Perry, former Mayor of Wake Forest and an employee of the failed Agri-Ethanol Products Company were indicted by a Grand Jury this summer and appeared before Judge Terrence Boyle this week.

Kudos to Carolina Journal’s Don Carrington, who almost single-handedly, exposed this story and stayed with it throughout. His investigative reporting no doubt helped bring these charges.

We hear there might be more indictments coming. To read Don’s recent reporting of the indictments click here: