“The program will help low-income families afford their energy bills, as well we reduce energy waste and our dependence on foreign oil,” said U.S. Sen. John Edwards in an announcement Wednesday. “This is good news for the environment, for the economy and for our national security.”
The funds will help the state to conduct audits of eligible homes to find the most cost-effective ways to reduce energy costs, the senator said.
SCAP serves Moore, Montgomery, Richmond and Anson counties. The agency has headquarters in Carthage.
SPAM — U.S. Rep. Howard Coble is taking a leadership role in the battle against spam, the word covering unsolicited e-mail messages.
Coble chairs the Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism and Homeland Security, which conducted a public hearing Tuesday on a bill dubbed Reduction in Distribution of Spam (RID Spam) Act of 2003.
Another North Carolina congressman, Rep. Richard Burr of the 5th District, sponsored the bill. Burr is expected to be a Republican candidate for Edwards’ Senate seat next year.
The legislation would allow consumers to opt out of all commercial e-mail, prohibit the sending of fraudulent spam, provide states, the Federal Trade Commission, the U.S. Department of Justice and other agencies with the necessary criminal and civil tools to enforce state computer fraud laws against spammers.
E-mail spam has exploded in recent months from an occasional nuisance into a serious problem for parents, consumers and businesses, according to a news release from Coble’s office. Fraudulent e-mail headers disguise the source of e-mail, resulting in pornography Web site links sent to children.
Service slowdowns and lost productivity caused by spam will cost American businesses an estimated $10 billion in 2003 alone, Coble reported.
Coble, a Greensboro Republican, represents Moore County in the 6th District.
DOLE FOR BUSH — U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Dole has been tapped to chair President Bush’s campaign for re-election in North Carolina.
Dole will serve as overall state chairwoman, and Jim Culbertson, a Winston-Salem businessman, will be the campaign finance chairman. According to the Under the Dome column in The News & Observer of Raleigh, Culbertson was a key fund-raiser for Bush in 2000 and chaired Dole’s finance committee last year.
First lady Laura Bush will be in North Carolina next week for a $1,000 per person luncheon to be held at a private residence in Raleigh.
LILY — The Carolina lily is destined for fame as North Carolina’s official state wildflower.
The state Senate voted unanimously Wednesday to approve a bill designating the bright orange roadside lily as the state wildflower. A similar bill made it through the House last year but was held up in the Senate.
Gov. Mike Easley is expected to sign the bill this week.
PERSONNEL — The Moore County Board of Commissioners has authorized revisions in the county’s classification and pay plan and the local reporting form for the Office of State Personnel.
The revisions, approved last month, do not require appropriations from the General Fund, according to information provided to the commissioners by Deputy County Manager Michael Griffin.
One change amends the position of voter registration supervisor as a means of correcting an unintentional inequity.
