WASHINGTON – President Barack Obama says residents of hurricane-prone communities need to take responsibility for their own safety and they need to start planning now.
Hurricane season officially begins Monday.
 
Emerging from a disaster-preparedness briefing Friday, the president said the government is determined to be ready when the next large storm hits the coast of the United [...]

RALEIGH, N.C.  – Gov. Beverly Perdue has appointed the chief executive of the North Carolina Biotechnology Center to serve on the North Carolina State University board of trustees.
Norris Tolson will fill the seat that former board chairman McQueen Campbell left open when he resigned amid scrutiny of the university’s hiring of former first lady Mary [...]

RALEIGH, N.C. – Gov. Bev Perdue today announced the awarding of $62 million in grants to state and local agencies to improve community safety and assist crime victims.
After reviewing more than 520 grant applications, the Governor’s Crime Commission (GCC) made awards for 315 programs in 86 counties, five universities and six state agencies. The money [...]

CHICAGO  – The Chicago Tribune reports that a relative of a key figure in the state’s corruption scandal got admitted to the University of Illinois despite sub-par credentials – after then-Gov. Rod Blagojevich put in a good word for him.
The newspaper did not identify the applicant Friday except to say he was related to Tony [...]

WASHINGTON  – America has for too long failed to adequately protect the security of its computer networks, President Barack Obama said Friday, announcing he will name a new cyber czar to take on the job.
Surrounded by a host of government officials, aides and corporate executives, Obama said this is a “transformational moment” for the country, [...]

HEADLINES:
- Budget-writers interested in eliminating support services for mental health patients
- House votes to give treasurer more investment options as pension funds returns underperform
- Top consumer advocate on utilities no longer fighting deregulation of landline phone prices
- Senate considers link of Apple data center tax break to location where economy most sour
- Detailed rules for [...]

RALEIGH, N.C.  – North Carolina business recruiters plan a two-week trip to Europe that includes a stop at the Paris air show and an estimated price tag of more than $137,000.
The News & Observer of Raleigh reported Friday that the five-member delegation has meetings scheduled with 27 companies in five countries. Officials say the trip [...]

A North Carolina state House member accused by colleagues of embracing a teenage female page inappropriately says he will leave the Legislature after the current year’s session ends.
GOP Rep. Cary Allred of Alamance County told The Times-News of Burlington on Thursday he’ll retire from the House by Sept. 1.
A legislative ethics committee last week received [...]

RALEIGH, N.C.  – North Carolina House budget-writers want to raze a heavily scrutinized state program that pays for non-medical care for mental health patients living at home.
A draft proposal released Thursday by the health budget subcommittee would phase out the “community support” services program through Medicaid, saving $176 million.
A 2007 review of the program said [...]