Meg Scott Phipps out, doesn't regret choices

You would think after being convicted for extortion, mail fraud and conspiracy that Meg Scott Phipps would leave prison with a more humble attitude than she appears to have. In a News and Observer commentary on her release, her remarks hint that she doesn't feel that her conviction was right and she stated "The only other regret I have is that I haven't been able to make the same speech that the Duke lacrosse young men got to make."

She "stopped short of saying she was unfairly targeted. But her words Monday differed greatly from a remark she made in 2003 after a jury found her guilty on state charges of perjury and obstruction of justice."

If this demonstrates the effect of prison on government employees and politicians convicted of criminal activities in state government then it probably won't make much difference as a deterrent in getting corruption out of government.

Serve on, Meg, while under house arrest... here's hoping your attitude won't get you sent back for the rest of the term.

News and Observer
April 24, 2007
Sarah Ovaska, Staff Writer

Phipps has few regrets after prison
Ex-ag commissioner to serve out sentence under house arrest

HAW RIVER - Meg Scott Phipps, the former North Carolina agriculture commissioner and fallen heir of a political dynasty, left prison Monday with no apologies for the scandal that put her away for more than three years.

Phipps, 51, walked out of a federal prison camp in Alderson, W.Va., Monday morning and drove to Greensboro, where she visited her parole officer to pick up an ankle bracelet for the four months she'll spend under electronic house arrest. From Greensboro, she headed to her home in the Alamance County town of Haw River, where a barbecue dinner was planned with her husband, Robert, their two teenage children, her mother and her father, former North Carolina Gov. Bob Scott.

Phipps said she has no regrets other than missing out on her children's teenage years. She referred to the three Duke University lacrosse players who were exonerated earlier this month when N.C. Attorney General Roy Cooper declared they were falsely accused of raping a woman at an off-campus party.

"The only other regret I have is that I haven't been able to make the same speech that the Duke lacrosse young men got to make," she said. Read more...

Easley wants to increase lottery sales

Governor Easley wants to crank up lottery sales so more funds will be available for education. The lottery has not produced the level of income projected when it was started and some programs may have to be cut or taxes raised to continue them.

News and Observer
April 8, 2007
J. Andrew Curliss, Staff Writer

Easley vows to perk up lottery
Gov. Mike Easley has a lottery itch he hopes players will scratch.

Faced with lagging sales, Easley wants to pump up prizes and spark a spending spree on North Carolina's instant ticket scratch-off lottery games starting this summer.

But numbers from other states suggest the governor's plan isn't a sure thing. And if it doesn't pan out, some of his key education programs would again face cuts or need taxpayer help to make ends meet. That is the situation this year after the lottery missed its goals. Read more...

Free tuition for the favored - more unethical practices in NC politics

In 2003 a tuition grant clause was slipped into the state budget favoring certain students by granting free tuition at UNC campuses for graduates of the N.C. School of Science and Mathematics, the prestigious state boarding school in Durham. The provision was slipped in during budget planning by a Senator chairing the appropriations committee.

Sen. Kay Hagan, a Greensboro Democrat, is the driving force behind the tuition grant. She used her influence as chairwoman of an appropriations committee to insert the grant into the budget.

The provision is unfair to the state's other high-achieving high school graduates. This is yet another example of unethical practices in the legislative process that representatives use to slip in bills favoring selected groups and is both unethical and a conflict of interest. Read the entire news release...

News and Observer
April 6, 2007
Jane Stancill and Lynn Bonner, Staff Writers

Free tuition facing scrutiny
Law's origins, premise under fire

DURHAM - For the third time, opponents are lining up against a law that grants free tuition at UNC campuses for graduates of the N.C. School of Science and Mathematics, the prestigious state boarding school in Durham.

This time, the deal may get the scrutiny that opponents say it deserves. A bipartisan bill in the state House seeks to repeal a law that has granted free tuition to 577 students since 2004 at a cost of nearly $1.9 million. Once fully phased in, it will cost taxpayers more than $2.7 million. Read more...