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State Amphibian: Meet the Candidates
posted at 2007-04-18 21:11 | Last modified 2007-11-14 10:38
Thanks for all the positive feedback on the State Amphibian story that aired this morning! If you missed it, you can hear it here.
The next chapter
House lawmakers are set to vote tomorrow on Rep. Tim Spear's bill to name the bullfrog the official state amphibian. Proponents include Mrs. Baker's 4th grade class from Pines Elementary, Plymouth. They suggested the bill, and they'll be in the gallery tomorrow to watch the vote.
Meantime, Dr. Alvin Braswell, the herpetologist in my story, forwarded me this draft of a letter to Rep. Spear from the NC Herpetological Society. The letter names some preferred candidates - see below for pix - and even some suggested wording changes for the bill. It may be too late for the House vote, but there's always the Senate, right?
The contenders (photos below):
Frontrunner: The bullfrog -- tough, outspoken, great PR, popular with kids. Lucrative sunscreen endorsement deal. On the other hand, it eats anything too small to eat it, especially other frogs and the occasional bat. Considered a pest in some states.
Other candidates:- Pine Barrens Tree Frog - how cute is this guy?
- Hellbender - aka "Snot Otter" - two feet of cranky, ancient mountain amphibian.
- Neuse River Water Dog - only found here in NC, in the Neuse and Tar River basins.
To see more frogs and toads, and even hear what they sound like, check out Frogwatch. You can find more information on salamanders, newts, etc, at the NC Herpetological Society.
Wednesday: Stackin' and Packin'
posted at 2007-04-18 23:37 | Last modified 2007-11-14 10:38
Today was the House deadline for public (i.e. statewide policy) bills, and as of 5:30pm, the timestamp machine in Denise Weeks' office was still chunk-chunk-chunking away. The harried staff were nice enough to let me wait around for the official numbers, as long as I stayed out of the way.
269 bills came down the pipeline today. Each had to be checked, given a number, copied, stamped, and filed. That's a whole lot of paper for one day.
With all those bills, you know there has to be some good material to work with. Here's a few of my favorites:
Unfortunate Title:
- H1578, "Confederate States of America Funds," by Duplin Dem Russell Tucker. It's a proposal for funds to restore the former Confederate Armory in Duplin for tourism purposes. So why not say THAT in the title?
Ripped from the Headlines:
- H1619, "Executive Officials No Outside Employment," by Durham Dem Larry Hall. Paging Les Merritt.
- H1806, "Investment Authority to Retirement Board," by Wake Dem Linda Coleman. Paging Richard Moore.
Stop Me If You've Heard This One Before: (No shortage of nominees here)
- H1547, "Left Turn on Red" by Mecklenburg Republican Jim Gulley. Okay, to be fair, this was filed Tuesday, not today. But it's a perennial also-ran of note.
- H1614, "Inherently Dangerous Animals" by Guilford Dem Earl Jones. Someone runs this every session.
- H1773, "Taxpayer Bill of Rights," by Guilford Rep. John Blust. Destined to die quietly at the far end of a committee agenda.
- H1782, "Ultrasound Before an Abortion," by Catawba Rep. Mark Hilton. Didn't South Carolina just turn this one down?
- H1786, "Prohibit Toughman Matches," by Alamance Dem Alice Bordsen. There goes Friday night in Asheville.
Packin' Heat on the Bench
House lawmakers gave tentative approval today to a proposal to let judges carry concealed weapons beneath their robes. Opponents say more guns just beget more violence. But supporters, who overwhelmingly carried today's vote, say all too often, judges are vulnerable targets with little protection. It sailed through 2nd reading today, and is likely to do the same on 3rd reading tomorrow.
That's not to say everyone liked it. There was a lot of debate about it, some of it heated. Durham Dem Mickey Michaux pointed out it might be tough for a judge to reach the gun under the robes if needed. Halifax Dem Angela Bryant said defendants shouldn't have to worry about being shot by the judge hearing their case. Durham Dem Paul Luebke talked about Europe's low gun crime rate as proof that gun control works.
If you were waiting for someone to mention the VA Tech shooting, you weren't disappointed. Opponent Buncombe Dem Susan Fisher invoked the V-Tech tragedy, telling her fellow House members that this, of all weeks, is not the time to approve more guns. But Robeson Dem Ronnie Sutton countered with his trademark tact, saying the V-Tech rampage would have been a lot shorter if one of the victims had been "carrying a 9mm."
Comments? Drop me a line.
