Document Actions
Tuesday late: Odds and Ends
posted at 2007-10-30 23:35 | Last modified 2007-11-14 10:38
"Don't spend the rain"
Governor Mike Easley MC'ed a Press-a-Palooza on the drought today. The event was held in the Emergency Management bunker, down in the basement of the State Admin building. Easley was joined by folks from DENR, Commerce, state Emergency Management, local and county representatives, the works.
If you weren't already taking the drought seriously, this was meant to convince you. Half a dozen officials sat along a long table beneath a wall of flat-screen monitors showing drought maps, stats, and agency logos. It looked SERIOUS.
All that electronic eye candy made it a better story for TV than radio. But the speakers did have a few interesting things to say.
Well-Supplied?
Tops on that list was the issue of emergency regulation of private wells. While it isn't exactly the third rail, it's still a touchy subject.
On one hand, there's private property rights to contend with. Water systems have no power to regulate people who have their own wells. On the other hand, once you drill down far enough, private wells and public systems all share the same aquifer systems. How much right does a private interest have to a public resource when said resource is technically on his/her property?
After weeks of rumbling, today was the first time I've heard public officials talking openly about whether private wells should be subject to emergency regulation. NCNN's Matt Willoughby tells me he's talked to local officials who back the idea.
Governor Mike Easley seems open to the idea, too. He said today he thinks legislators will take a look at the topic during the '08 session.
On a lighter note, Easley offered up some impromptu tips for gaming your old-fashioned toilet to conserve water. Who'd have guessed the Gov knows his way around a bubble float?
Easley on the Senate Race
After the drought-a-thon, Easley was asked about today's news that State Sen. Kay Hagan (D-Guilford) plans to challenge Elizabeth Dole for the US Senate in '08. The Governor had very nice things to say about Hagan, but trod carefully on the topic of Hagan's Dem challengers.
When I asked him about the prospect of a Dem Senate primary, Easley said it's a good news/bad news scenario.
Into the West
Word came out today that N&O Executive Ed Melanie Sill is headed out to my old stomping grounds, Sacramento, to take over McClatchy's flagship, the Sac Bee. From the AP:
"Melanie Sill, executive editor of The News & Observer of Raleigh and part of a Pulitzer Prize-winning team there, is the new editor of The Sacramento Bee.
Sill replaces Rick Rodriguez, who led the Bee for nine years before resigning this month in a dispute over the long-term direction of the newspaper. She is to be succeeded at the Raleigh newspaper by managing editor John Drescher."
The N&O has a write-up on John Drescher's rise here. Congratulations and good luck to both!
(And Melanie, please have a margarita on the patio at Vallejo's for me...)
Comments? Drop me a line.
& Newsletters
