DHHS, N&O at odds over e-mail request

Gov. Mike Easley's administration is still having trouble turning over copies of the e-mail messages of its officials.

On June 27, The News & Observer filed a request with the state Department of Health and Human Services for copies of e-mail since May 1 from six officials pertaining to the opening of Central Regional Hospital, the state's new mental hospital in Butner.

It took 11 days, until July 8, for the department's public information staff to forward the request to the six employees. DHHS public information staffer Mark Van Sciver instructed the six officials to gather the relevant e-mail and respond by July 23.

The first patients are scheduled to move into the hospital on or about July 21.

Tom Lawrence, the agency's director of public affairs, said his office was not trying to delay the request until after the opening and said those who had the e-mails were busy.

"We have a hospital to open," Lawrence said July 9.

Steve Riley, a senior editor at The N&O, faxed a letter protesting the delay to DHHS Secretary Dempsey Benton later that day.

"It is not reasonable that it should take so long to respond to a request for electronic records that could be copied to a file in a matter of minutes," Riley wrote.

Benton responded by telephone that afternoon, assuring Riley that he would direct his public affairs staff to speed things up.

More than a week has passed, and the e-mail has yet to be provided.

Making her case

State Sen. Kay Hagan had about five minutes last week to prove to U.S. Senate Democrats that she could be a winner in North Carolina.

During her speech in a closed-door meeting in Washington, Hagan talked about education, fiscal responsibility and what North Carolina needs in its next senator, said Sen. Bob Casey, a Pennsylvania Democrat who watched the speech.

Casey said Hagan had gotten her message across "succinctly, with a lot of enthusiasm. ... She's a very dynamic candidate."

Meanwhile, the Cook Political Report says North Carolina's U.S. Senate race is even more competitive.

The nonpartisan analysts previously ranked the race between U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Dole and Hagan as "likely Republican."

It now ranks the state as "leans Republican." That is one degree above "toss-up" in the report's ratings.

Sure it's free, but ...

Elizabeth Edwards was a guest Thursday on "The Colbert Report" to discuss her push for universal health care.

"You are an advocate of universal health care," Colbert said. "Why do you want to turn the United States into Canada?"

Edwards explained that she supports health care for everyone, not socialized medicine.

"We already have a form of universal health care," Colbert said. "It's called prayer, OK? Everybody can do it, and the Lord of the universe hears all prayers, but sometimes the answer is, 'I'm sorry, you're not covered for that.' "

Edwards shot back: "A little too often, it's 'You're not covered for that.' "