Marvin Speight must be smiling. The Alcoholic Beverage Control (ABC) Commission is back in the hot seat again. For years, Chairman Speight ran the state liquor monopoly as his own personal political fiefdom, while his boss, Governor Jim Hunt, pleaded...... MORE
With new revelations emerging weekly, former Senate Rules Chairman Tony Rand's appointment by Gov. Beverly Perdue to head up the state Parole Commission is proving problematic for the governor as she attempts to sell herself as an ethics reformer.Ever since...... MORE
North Carolina’s Capital City suffered another economic blow this month when Governor Beverly Perdue, reacting to state government’s newest pay-to-play scandal, slapped a gift ban on all state employees in an effort to keep government contractors from buying influence. Judging...... MORE
On August 2, 2010, Gov. Beverly Perdue signed into law the 2009-2010 version of North Carolina's ethics legislation. A small victory for good government advocates across the state, it was nevertheless a far cry from the original proposals - including...... MORE
Free cars, free planes, cheap beachfront property, and high six-figure teaching jobs – Oh, my. Several people not named Easley – both inside and outside of government – have been dragged into the on-going controversy surrounding the state’s former First...... MORE
The state and federal probes of her predecessor have spurred Governor Bev Perdue to reform record keeping procedures for state troopers who provide security for North Carolina’s governors. "This new protocol will provide clear direction," Perdue said in a May...... MORE
The scandal surrounding former First Lady Mary Easley’s employment at NC State University continues to take more twists and turns than a typical road in North Carolina’s Blue Ridge Mountains.More than a year after Easley was fired from her cushy...... MORE
There’s an old saying in politics that “if you can’t stand the heat, get out of the kitchen.” In 2010, continuing state and federal criminal investigations into the activities of former Governor Mike Easley – as well as state legislators’...... MORE
An anonymous tip to a hotline within the State Auditor’s office in 2007 led to a lively legislative battle during the 2008 session over whether alleged violations of ethics laws by public officials should be handled by the Auditor, the...... MORE
He almost made it. After more than seven years of successfully stonewalling the press and public at every turn, thereby leaving little opportunity for unscripted moments that might have resulted in embarrassment - or worse, criticism, North Carolina Governor Mike...... MORE
"Our citizens have a right to demand and expect the highest ethical conduct from their leaders," said Governor Mike Easley at a press conference on March 2, 2006. But a recent deal to change the leaseholder of the state-owned Southport Marina...... MORE