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Fine may not end Easley's problems

November 2, 2009 —

Former North Carolina Gov. Mike Easley's $100,000 fine may not be the end of his legal problems.

The State Board of Elections voted unanimously Friday to penalize Easley for personal and political flights he didn't report when governor. It also sent evidence of campaign finance law violations to the Wake County district attorney.

Easley also faces a grand jury probe into a coastal property he bought while governor and the hiring of his wife, Mary Easley, by North Carolina State University. In testimony last week, the embattled former governor also acknowledged federal investigators have been investigating his campaign finances.

-- The Miami Herald/St. Petersburg Times/Bay News 9 poll released over the weekend is the latest evidence next year could be a doozy of an election year in Florida. In the governor's race, Democrat Alex Sink and Republican Bill McCollum are in a statistical tie. And while Gov. Charlie Crist maintains a strong lead over Marco Rubio in the US Senate race, Crist's job approval rating has fallen the 42 percent, the lowest in his term as governor.

-- How do Arkansans feel about a government-run health insurance option? Two recent polls give sharply different answers. A recent poll commissioned by a business group showed 68 percent in the state preferred private insurance over a government option, but a poll commissioned by the Progressive Change Campaign Committee and Democracy for America showed 56 percent favor a public option, while 37 percent do not. Both polls are aim at influencing one key Arkansan: US Sen. Blanche Lincoln, a key Democratic fence-sitter on the issue.

-- The  Ingalls Shipyard in Pascagoula is the hub of a key Mississippi industry, and the state has bolstered its already impressive political support group.US Sen. Roger Wicker was named Friday the ranking Republican on the Senate Armed Services Committee’s Seapower Subcommittee. Former Gov. Ray Mabus is Secretary of the Navy, and Democratic US Rep. Gene Taylor is chairman of the House seapower subcommittee.

-- Alabama's people and businesses pay less in state and local taxes than any other state in the country, the Birmingham News reported Sunday. The story was based on a review of US Census Bureau reports. Tennessee and Mississippi ranked 48th and 49th.