The Council of State -- made up of Gov. Mike Easley and the other nine top statewide elected officials -- is set to consider a series of property deals at its meeting today that would secure game lands for sportsmen, allow access to waterways, protect endangered species and add to state parks.

In all, 15 property deals related to the great outdoors are on the agenda.

State property officials said there is no specific reason why the items are up for a vote today. They are part of a regular cycle of putting together deals and then seeking the Council of State's approval. Highlights:

* TOTAL ACREAGE: If all deals are approved, the state would add 10,304 acres to its portfolio.

* TOTAL COST: $17,932,589

* SOURCE OF MONEY: Most of the cash for the purchases will come from trust funds set up to preserve land. They include the Natural Heritage Trust Fund, Clean Water Management Trust Fund, and Parks and Recreation Trust Fund, as well as federal grants and nonprofit sources.

* LARGEST DEAL: A 5,500-acre purchase in Pender County to add to the Angola Bay Game Land. The land will be used "to protect important wildlife habitat and provide hunting and other wildlife recreational opportunities for sportsmen," according to state records. The cost is $3.7 million. The seller is The Nature Conservancy.

* COSTLIEST DEAL: The state is set to pay $8.5 million for 2,842 acres in Rowan County owned by the City of Kannapolis. The land will be protected for wildlife and sportsmen.

* SMALLEST PURCHASE: Less than an acre in Washington County. The land has a two-story, 2,800-square-foot house on it that state officials say is a "high priority" to buy, at $240,000. It will be a ranger home for Pettigrew State Park.

* PROTECTING THE ENDANGERED: Species to be protected by the purchases include the smooth coneflower; the tall larkspur flower; Gray's lily, a red-orange wildflower; the dwarf wedge mussel and the Tar River spiny mussel.

* WHERE THE DEALS ARE: Only one is in the Triangle -- for 19.53 acres in Durham County to protect flowers, a continuation of earlier purchases there. The others are in Ashe, Burke, Caldwell, Carteret, Franklin, Hyde, Macon, Pender, Rowan, Washington and Watauga counties.

Acuff's a quiet guy at fiesta

Steve Acuff, the Republican candidate in the U.S. House District 4 race, didn't appear on a stage this weekend at La Fiesta del Pueblo in Raleigh -- but wants it known that he visited the event celebrating Latin cultures.

"We met some nice people and we ate some great food," said Acuff, who visited Saturday for about three hours.

Acuff's opponent, Democratic Rep. David Price, made brief remarks at an opening ceremony Saturday. Price said he supports "a balanced and rational" approach to immigration reform that includes giving many immigrants now here a path toward citizenship.

Acuff said he differs sharply with Price's recent votes on immigration, including one in December 2005 against the Border Protection, Antiterrorism and Illegal Immigration Control Act. Acuff said he favors that bill, which focuses on securing the border.

Old governors to get a lift

Roughly a dozen past governors are about to be spruced up.

Their official portraits, that is, are to be restored after at least two decades of inattention. The works include oil paintings of William Umstead, Charles Aycock and Cameron Morrison.

The paintings have hung near Gov. Mike Easley's office at the Administration Building on Jones Street or been loaned to other state agencies. Some are soon to be displayed in the renovated state Senate chamber.

A conservationist from the N.C. Museum of Art recently looked at the paintings and determined work is needed.

"The paintings require cleaning and some have suffered tears and paint loss, some have damaged frames, and all suffer from [ultraviolet light] exposure," according to a memo by the Department of Cultural Resources.

John Ehringhaus' canvas is torn, for example. Benjamin Smith's frame is in bad shape.

The Council of State is expected to authorize $60,000 from a contingency fund to restore the paintings.