Posts by Carter Wrenn
Does the Lottery Cause Amnesia?
When the press asked Senate Majority Leader Tony Rand about his dealings with defrocked lottery commissioner Kevin Geddings – Rand had a severe case of amnesia. It appears to be contagious. Now, several other Democratic politicians seem to have suffered a loss of memory. Now, the newspapers are reporting Rand had more reasons to know…
Read MoreSmelly?
Filed under: General, North Carolina – Democrats — Carter Wrenn @ 12:34 pm Now that Kevin Geddings, Scientific Games hand-picked lottery commissioner, has resigned all’s right with the world and North Carolina can roll on to lottery heaven. Right? Wrong. The News and Observer just threw a wet blanket over Act II of the lottery.…
Read MoreCommon Sense in Politics: The Teapot Subsidy
This one is too good to resist. The Winston-Salem Journal reports the Foundation/Pork-Barrel Fund that gives away North Carolina’s tobacco settlement money (to help those in need) just gave $220,000 to the Sparta Teapot Museum. You think that’s something? Sit down. Last year the foundation gave the museum $370,000. And on top of that the…
Read MoreI’m Appalled.’
“I’m appalled,” Lottery Commission Chairman Charlie Sanders said, describing his reaction to the revelation Scientific Games, which wants to bid on a lottery contract, paid Kevin Geddings $24,500. How appalled? Not appalled enough to say that anyone – like Scientific Games – who paid a lottery commissioner $10,000 the day after he was appointed –…
Read MoreThe Lottery Scandal
We’ve got a good, old-fashioned scandal brewing about the lottery. Scientific Games is one of the mega-gaming companies that run lotteries. It wants to run the North Carolina lottery and 1) it got language inserted into the Lottery Bill (by an amenable legislator ) apparently, to give it a ‘leg up’ over competitors; 2) it…
Read MoreMeeker’s Folly
Less than a month after he was reelected with no real opposition, Mayor Charles Meeker is giving Republicans an issue to run against him – and other Democrats – on in the next election. Tomorrow, the City Council is going to vote on building a new Marriott Hotel downtown. Mayor Meeker wants to build that…
Read MoreA Tale of Two Hotels And $20 million of Taxpayers’ Money
Sometimes, something so peculiar happens in politics you just have to stop and ask yourself, “What was that?” Well, something like that has happened in Raleigh. The Marriott Hotels want a subsidy from taxpayers – $20 million – to build a hotel downtown. At the same time a group of businessmen propose to build a…
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