A familiar face returns to work today at the N.C. Department of Transportation.
Tom Bradshaw, the former state transportation secretary and a former Raleigh mayor, begins a new job at the agency: interim statewide logistics coordinator.
In the post, Bradshaw will oversee and manage all operations of the N.C. Ports and the N.C. Global Transpark, as well as other facilities related to transportation infrastructure.
He will be paid an annual salary of $150,000.
"Tom brings a wealth of real-world experience and knowledge to this position that will greatly benefit the future of North Carolina," said DOT secretary Gene Conti.
Bradshaw, a long-time finance industry executive, is only taking the job temporarily until a permanent coordinator can be found.
Bradshaw was DOT head under Gov. Jim Hunt from 1977 until 1981 and served as Raleigh mayor from 1971 to 1973.
He is a former chairman of the Triangle J. Council of Governments, the N.C. Environmental Management Commission and the N.C.Citizens for Business and Industry, now known as the N.C. Chamber of Commerce.
Educator to attend speech
A Durham educator will travel to Washington to attend the president's State of the Union address Tuesday.
Jason Jowers, assistant principal and dean of students at Hillside High School, will be a guest of U.S. Rep. G.K. Butterfield, a Democrat from Wilson.
Last year, Jowers was Teacher of the Year for the Durham Public Schools.
He taught history at Southern School of Engineering before moving into administration atHillside High.
Jowers is a 2007 graduate of N.C. Central University, where he played football and ran track while also maintaining the highest grade pointaverage in his department.
He went to N.C. Central on a Teaching Fellows scholarship and an athletic scholarship.
On Tuesday, he will dine with Butterfield before taking in the president's speech.
Gay marriage ban march
A group of N.C. State University alumni is organizing a march opposing the state's proposed gay marriage/civil unions constitutional ban.
The March 15 walk from the N.C. State Belltower to Halifax Mallbehind the legislative building is the first public event sponsored by the grass-roots group Honest NC, said Matt Huffman, a 2004 N.C. State graduate and one of the organizers.
The march will begin at 11 a.m., and organizers hope to draw 100,000 people.
Participants also will be invited to register to vote.
The constitutional amendment will be on the May 8 primary ballot.
"We don't have a lot of resources," Huffman said. "We don't have a lot of ways to spread the message.
"We'll have a little time to get organized and have a good show of numbers."
Honest NC's focus is promoting government transparency, Huffman said, but the group wants to weigh in on what he called "the most prescient issue of the day."
The event is not part of the bigger Coalition to Protect All NC Families effort, said campaign manager Jeremy Kennedy.
"It's a great example of grass-roots organizing and frustration among young people in this state about the amendment," Kennedy said.
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