Easley sued over transferred funds
Accusing both Gov. Mike Easley and the General Assembly of unlawfully transferring money from the Highway Trust Fund to balance state budgets, two officials responsible for the fund's creation sued the state Thursday.
The lawsuit, filed in Wake County Superior Court, was brought by plaintiffs Jim Harrington, a former transportation secretary, and former senator Bill Goldston, D-Rockingham, who served as co-chair of the committee that drew up the bill in 1989.
Harrington and Goldston claim Easley improperly took $80 million from the Highway Trust Fund to counteract a 2002 fiscal year budget shortfall.
The plaintiffs also found fault in the transferal in September of $205 million from the fund to a general fund, $80 million of which acted as a "recurring inflationary adjustment," according to budget-writers.
The lawsuit says that the state constitution specifies that tax revenues must be used for their intended purpose, and that in the face of a budget crisis, a governor must reduce expenditures rather than usurp revenues.
In the state's budget crisis, Easley has used his emergency powers to take $800 million from one-time revenues.
Suspected al Qaeda member arrested
A fugitive accused of leading a Detroit terrorist cell has been arrested in North Carolina and will be extradited to Michigan to face authorities.
Although originally identified in an indictment as Abdellah, N.C. court papers now identify the man as 36-year-old Abel-Ilah Elmaroudi of Minneapolis.
In an August indictment in Michigan, Elmaroudi was accused of acting for a radical Islamic movement allied with al Qaeda in a "covert underground support unit" and an "operational combat cell."
Elmaroudi, who "provided direction" to the Detroit cell, according to the indictment, was charged with providing material support to terrorists, conspiracy to engage in fraud and misuse of visas, permits and other documents.
Along with Karim Koubriti, Ahmed Annan and Farouk Ali-Haimoud--who pleaded innocent in September to conspiring to provide material support or resources to terrorists--Elmaroudi is scheduled to go to trial Jan. 21.
These are the first known charges since the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks to be brought against an alleged terror cell.
Greensboro lifts water limits
Mandatory water use restrictions were lifted for the first time in a year Thursday in Greensboro, indicating that the drought that has plagued the state in past months may be coming to an end.
For about four years, climatologists have observed less-than-average rainfall in North Carolina. However, the past winter saw acute rainfall and a drought that drained already-suffering water supply systems.
Greensboro has had restrictions in some form or another since last December. During the summer, for example, residents were not permitted to water their lawns or wash their cars at home.
The city's three main reservoirs reached their lowest levels at the end of August. But the week before Labor Day, rain began to fall more heavily and boosted lake levels. Good news came Wednesday when Lake Townsend, the biggest reservoir, filled.
Water systems statewide are recovering in much the same way, although officials still stress the importance of keeping an eye on water measurements.
Case judged by historic panel
For the first time in North Carolina state history, a panel of three black female judges on the Court of Appeals sat together Wednesday to hear a case.
However, the momentous occasion will probably not happen again for quite some time, after two of the judges lost elections last week.
Judges Wanda Bryant and Loretta Biggs lost their elections last week by slight margins and will step down Dec. 31, two years after having been appointed to the court. The third judge, Patricia Timmons-Goodson, will have a chance for reelection in 2006.
Judge James Wynn, the only other black member of the 15-judge appeals court, was responsible for the session. He suggested putting Biggs and Bryant in place of himself and another judge at the hearing of a Greensboro murder conviction appeal to which Timmons-Goodson was already assigned.
At the hearing's end, the judges hugged and posed for pictures.
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