The Department of Transportation manager whose office bought $15,800 worth of electronic road markers from Law Enforcement Associates says former DOT Secretary Lyndo Tippett didn't know anything about the purchase.
Last month the former CEO of the Raleigh company accused its board chairman, Sen. Tony Rand, of insider trading. Tippett, who is Rand's personal accountant, owned stock in the company while he was head of the DOT and was named last week to the private firm's board. The former secretary has not returned calls seeking comment about his involvement in LEA.
Barry Moose, the top engineer for the DOT division that includes Charlotte, said the 2008 equipment purchase went through the department's routine bid process.
That is in contrast to $64,124 in LEA purchases made by the N.C. Division of Motor Vehicles without seeking competitive bids. George Tatum, the DMV commissioner at the time and a Rand friend, also owns LEA stock.
Moose said five firms put in bids for providing DOT with the road markers, which are packed with battery operated lights and are about the size of a hockey puck. They're used in the place of road flares to warn motorists of a nighttime accident scene.
Moose said that, to his knowledge, Tippett knew nothing of the purchase.
"This was at such a low level, there is no reason the secretary would have been involved," Moose said.
The DOT's Charlotte office bought 320 of the road pucks at a cost of $49.38 each, with batteries, not including sales tax.
Good news for Perdue
Gov. Bev Perdue may be winning over critics.
In a poll conducted Dec. 1-3 for the Civitas Institute, 32 percent of likely state voters said they viewed Perdue favorably compared to 38 percent who saw her unfavorably. Another 28 percent of voters had no opinion.
Although the numbers are still nothing to brag about, negative opinions about Perdue are softening. In October, Civitas reported that 50 percent of state residents saw Perdue unfavorably. In that poll, 37 percent had a favorable opinion of Perdue, while 13 percent were not sure.
The poll of 600 likely North Carolina voters had a margin of error of plus or minus 4 percentage points.
Another, earlier poll by Civitas reported a big jump in job approval for Perdue.
'D' for charter schools
A national organization that promotes charter schools has given North Carolina a "D" on its charter school law.
The Center for Education Reform, based in Bethesda, Md., deducted points from North Carolina because the state limits the number of charters to 100 and does not help the schools with facilities costs.
The center wants states to have more than one entity that can authorize charter schools. In North Carolina, the State Board of Education is the only entity that can give final approval.
Two states and Washington, D.C., received A's from CER. Three states failed. Eleven states that do not allow charters did not get grades.
By staff writers Michael Biesecker, Benjamin Niolet and Lynn Bonner
