Heard on the Street Posted: Thursday, February 5th, 2009 Goodbye Jim Long
North Carolina lost a great public servant and friend in the passing of Jim Long. What a shame that he enjoyed so few days of retirement. He loved North Carolina and he loved what he did in service to our people.
My memories are many. I remember him on the campaign trail, interacting with Jim Graham, Mike Easley, Harlan Boyles and other elected officials. When you were around Jim he was always high-energy, talking fast, quick witted, always with a smile. I remember him wearing his Fire Marshall’s uniform…he was proud of this function of his job. He knew the ins and outs of his task. Few questions were asked he didn’t know the answers to. He loved his wife Peg and treated her with respect, telling everyone he had “overmarried himself.” He was right.
Jim was proud of his ancestry, proud of this state, and willing to stand up to whoever he thought was wrong. Jim Long knew when to be quiet and he also knew when to speak up…especially to bring some levity. I have seen him break up tense situations with a humorous wise-crack, often allowing more congenial discussion and resolution. And always there was that red tie. His trademark.
My last conversation with him came before he left office. I called wanting information about the beach insurance controversy. As usual, he returned my call promptly and was ready for my questions. He had the same energy, the same enthusiasm, the same rapid rate of rattling off information I had always known.
I’m not sure how well Jim would have handled retirement. He said he was going to lobby for Peg but after so many years of busy schedules and a highly public life, he would have had a hard time gearing down. His presence on the stage of state public policy will be missed. There wasn’t another like him. His memorial service is today. Thanks, Jim.
Winter of Discontent
Will Shakespeare nailed it: this is the winter of our discontent. The economy reeks, the weather is crazy (what happened to the snow they promised us Monday and Tuesday?), and despite a week with several last-second nail biters, ACC basketball isn’t very interesting. Then there’s the legislature, facing a HUGE budget deficit, a state health plan needing triage, and some really big government crises, back in their business-as-usual mode. On the national level, things are not much better. President Obama’s hopes have been Daschled over revelations that his cabinet appointments can’t seem to pay their taxes.
Bad news on Jones Street
We hear the statements coming from the Governor and from the legislative staff and most of it is somber. Governor Perdue told the Council of State that all should be prepared for layoffs, trying to be as optimistic as possible. But the fiscal research staff of the legislature dropped bombs. First, this year’s budget deficit is only the beginning. Next year will be even worse. Analysts told legislators to expect $3 billion in red ink in the fiscal year starting July 1, 2009. Our unemployment insurance fund is out of money and we will need to borrow heavily to pay unemployment claims. Our State Health Plan is broke and needs more than $300 million before the end of March and $1.2 billion over the next two years if the benefits and deductibles are to remain at the current levels.
Columnist Barry Smith wrote a good piece saying that this is not the time for legislators to procrastinate about tough decisions. Action is needed. Read it.
RIF could reach 2,000
State Employee layoffs are a certainty and Human Resources personnel are being prepped for a Reduction in Force. We hear the reductions could involve as many as 2,000 state employees. HR staffers are crunching numbers on an early retirement option as well, we hear, which could save more long term dollars than firing long-standing employees.
Who done it?
It gets worse. Not only can we not find 15,000 parolees in our probation system, but we can’t even find the nefarious criminal who knocked over probation supervisor Joyce James’ potted plant. Two days in the field, 21 interviews and a two page report have failed to reveal who is behind this heinous act. No wonder our probation system has problems. We couldn’t make this stuff up, folks. Read today’s N&O for more on the story.
Crisis in Confidence
Bad as the news is, we cannot allow ourselves to panic. We suffer a crisis of confidence in North Carolina. Be sure to read My Spin on this.
School governance
The question of who is in charge of public education in North Carolina has finally reached center stage with the naming of Bill Harrison to be Chair of the State Board of Ed and CEO of public schools. Superintendent of Public Instruction June Atkinson is rightly asking the legislature to clear up the mess, especially since they are the ones who created much of it by stripping authority away from Superintendent Bob Etheridge back in 1995. Even before this, our Constitution appears to create a dysfunctional system.
But lawmakers have a conundrum. Their own study commission recommended that the Superintendent position be abolished, but that requires a Constitutional Amendment. The voters have final say. If legislators decide to even debate the issue you can be sure there are lots of other possible amendments proposed, like possibly eliminating some other Council of State positions. This could turn into a real floor fight. And then there’s the question as to whether or not the voters will even approve such a proposal. It would certainly have to be sold to them and there will be organized opposition to it. Finally, there’s the cost. A statewide election, even if for only one issue, will cost about $3 million. When you have a big budget crisis, do you want to spend $3 million on a one-issue election?
For more discussion on the public schools governance issue, be sure to tune in this week’s NC SPIN. This entire show is devoted to education and our special guest panelist is John Dornan of the Public School Forum of NC. We also welcome Laura Leslie, our favorite barkeep from the Isaac Hunter’s Tavern blog and political reporter from WUNC Radio.
Medicaid cuts going slow
Department of Health and Human Services officials are working to find ways to make cuts to North Carolina’s Medicaid plan. We are told the workgroup is looking at tweaking (read that reducing) physician reimbursement levels to save money. The unanswered question is whether or not the Governor is willing to take on the NC Medical Society in this battle. They are a powerful force and a needed ally in health reforms. This could be an interesting test for our new Governor.
Let ‘em eat….crackers (the non-tainted peanut butter ones, of course)
Senate Majority Leader Tony Rand has a good idea whose time has come. Rand wants to streamline our lengthy legislative process by cutting off the per diem expenses (currently $104) after 135 days during the odd-year “long session” and 60 days in the even-year “short session.” You can be sure that this will reduce the session length. When lawmakers stop being paid they will shut up and stay home. His bill will probably not pass, but it does show some common sense in a place where it is sometimes in short supply.
Two track sex ed
Legislators are now debating whether or not to have a two-track sex ed program in schools, providing not only the abstinence-only approach now mandated but also one that would teach about STD’s and pregnancy prevention. Parents would have to get permission to have their children sit through the second track.
We will never think of sex education without thinking of former Cultural Resources Secretary Betty Ray McCain, who proclaimed she came from a small town and attended a high school that was so small that they were forced to use the same car for driver’s ed and sex ed. ");
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