Document Actions
Wednesday: the Big Chill?
posted at 2008-01-16 23:45 | Last modified 2008-01-30 15:08
So I’m watching the local TV weather guys drumming up panic (not to mention ratings) for the coming ice storm, and wishing I had a little more firewood on hand just in case they’re right.
I wasn’t in NC for the last *serious* icestorm, the one everyone still refers to with reverence. In fact, not long ago, my editor and I were discussing how many large-scale weather-related disasters (hurricanes, icestorms, floods, etc) you have to go through here before you’re considered a local. Two? Four?
Anyway, here’s hoping we’re not all iced in and without power tomorrow, because the GOP gubernatorial candidates are set to debate at 7pm on WRAL, and for the first time, there’ll be four participants. Will McCrory bust a rhetorical move? Will the other three pile on? Or will everyone keep on behaving themselves? Tune in and find out.
Cool Cities, or "Cool Cities"?
Lt. Gov. Bev Perdue’s campaign today announced her “Cool Cities Assistance Initiative.” If she’s elected, she says she’ll set aside $5M in grants to help NC cities reduce their greenhouse gas emissions.
If “Cool Cities” sounds familiar, that’s because it’s the name of a national initiative started in 2005 by the Sierra Club. But the Sierra Club is not connected to Perdue’s proposal, according to SC state liaison Christa Wagner:
"The Sierra Club was not involved in this proposal and in fact only heard about it in the last couple of days. But we think it is a good idea… Cool Cities is a positive, community-based program that deserves state support. "
Wagner also pointed out that although the two “Cool Cities” programs aren’t connected, they share the same qualifications (cities have to be signatories to the US Mayors’ Agreement).
Perdue spokesman David Kochman said he doesn’t anticipate any confusion in using a name that's already in common use by a nationwide advocacy group. And he doesn’t think anyone would see that as implying that Sierra Club is connected to or endorses Perdue, even though the release specifically mentions the Sierra Club in its second line.
“Funding is not tied to being designated a cool city, it's tied to signing the mayors' agreement, and there isn't anything in there indicating any support from Sierra.”
See what you think. The release is here.
Chillin' at the (Grand Old) Party
NC GOP chair Linda Daves informed the state executive committee this evening that former Rep. Ed McMahan “has submitted his resignation as National Committeeman.” The rest of the email is as formulaic and opaque as these things usually are. But what’s really unclear is the reason behind it.
In case you’ve forgotten, Ed McMahan was a six-term Mecklenburg Republican who pulled out of the 2006 race so late that the Meck GOP had to name a replacement (current incumbent Ruth Samuelson) for the general election ballot.
McMahan ran into his share of grief within the party proper, getting busted first for what he said at the time was a misdirected check to Dem Richard Moore’s 2004 campaign, and second, for rumors he allegedly offered to help Dem. Ken Fortenberry unseat then-House Minority Chair Joe Kiser (R-Lincoln).
Anyway, even though he stepped out of his ’06 race, McMahan continued to serve as the state GOP’s national RNC committeeman till today. So what ELSE happened? Who knows - maybe he's going to work for another high-profile Meck Republican - Pat McCrory, the guy he's been making calls for lately. If you know something, share it, already.
Oddly enough, McMahan’s alleged former foe, Joe Kiser, also stepped out of politics today. The former House minority leader (a.k.a “Sheriff”) announced he’s not running for re-election this fall. He’s in his 7th term in the House.
Okay, so it’s possible these two nemeses just happened to get out of politics on the same day. But honestly, what are the odds? If it’s coincidence, I’m buying a lottery ticket tomorrow.
Comments? Drop me a line.
