DHHS tightening laptop security

Top administrators at the state Department of Health and Human Services say laptops must be loaded with encryption software by Thursday. "Nothing will leave the building until these computers are encrypted," said Tom Lawrence, DHHS spokesman.

DHHS Secretary Dempsey Benton and deputy Dan Stewart talked about the encryption requirement at a meeting Monday, Lawrence said. They will have a report Thursday on how many laptops meet the requirement and therefore can be taken off the premises. Encryption makes computer data unintelligible to unauthorized users.

An agency laptop stolen in Atlanta last month did not meet state security standards and left North Carolinians exposed to potential identity thieves. The machine contained Social Security numbers for tens of thousands of clients of the department's Division of Aging and Adult Services. The division has said the stolen laptop was scheduled to have the encryption software installed at the same time the employee had it in Atlanta.

Perdue at Graham's party

Gov.-elect Beverly Perdue delivered "Happy Birthday" wishes on behalf of the state to the Rev. Billy Graham at his 90th birthday party last week.

Perdue was among about 500 attendees Thursday at a dinner at The Greenbrier resort in White Sulphur Springs, W.Va., where she spoke briefly, praising Graham and offering the state's good wishes.

"He has given strength to millions, including me, in times of trial," Perdue told the crowd, according to a copy of her remarks, "built mountains of faith in times of uncertainty, shared times of happiness, and has been there for any and all seeking a new beginning through belief."

Perdue and her husband, Robert Eaves, also attended a private reception before the dinner.

Perdue's chief of staff

Perdue's new chief of staff is a bit of a feminist.

Long before he managed the campaign of North Carolina's first female governor, Zach Ambrose was defending women in the pages of The News & Observer.

In an Aug. 24, 1996, letter to the editor, Ambrose took issue with a column by R. Whitney Christian, a business department employee who was subbing for regular columnist Barry Saunders.

In the column, Christian complained of "political correctness" on his grandson's T-ball team, which was required to have at least two girls on it. In response, Ambrose said Christian should stick to his day job, contending that an all-boy team would not necessarily be better.

"I try to instill in my young daughter that she is a talented and capable person, not a talented and capable girl," he wrote.

At the time, Ambrose was not yet involved in politics. After serving in the U.S. Navy, he was an at-home father while his wife finished a graduate degree.

No vote on gay marriage

Don't expect a state referendum on gay marriage anytime soon.

Ian Palmquist, executive director of the gay rights group Equality N.C., said he is cautiously optimistic that the leadership of the state House and Senate will prevent a referendum from being put on the ballot.

After California voters added a gay marriage ban to their state constitution in a recent election, gays and lesbians nationally have mobilized to protest such measures. Rallies in North Carolina were held during the past weekend.

State Republicans have long called for a referendum in North Carolina, although a state law from 1871 defines marriage as between "a male and female person" and a second law from 1996 specifically invalidates same-sex unions.

The state House and Senate would have to approve putting a referendum on the ballot by three-fifths margins. Saying a referendum is unnecessary, Democratic leaders in the House and Senate have blocked it from coming to a vote.

Palmquist said he's happy that North Carolina has avoided a referendum. "You're essentially putting the rights of a minority up to a popular vote without any other checks and balances on it," he said. "That's not what constitutions are for."