Gerding said he wants to follow Chief District Court Judge Joe Buckner's lead and create a new specialty court like those Buckner has created on specific issues such as substance abuse, mental health, domestic violence, family disputes and truancy.

Gerding wants to establish an Elder Protection Court to deal with elder abuse, financial fraud and identity theft in an atmosphere friendly to older people who may have trouble sitting through a full day's docket in regular District Court or need special accommodations for limited hearing or mobility.

"There's just a lot of issues related to aging that can draw a person into court against their wishes ... when you're less capable physically or mentally of dealing with what goes on," Gerding said.

STITH'S MONEY: Though it didn't do him much good, Thomas Stith III has officially shattered the record for most money raised in a Durham city race by more than twofold.

He raised $201,428 in his unsuccessful bid to unseat Mayor Bill Bell, spending nearly $199,000 of that, according to year-end campaign finance reports.

Bell, by contrast, raised about $58,000 and spent all but about $7,000.

If you're keeping score at home, that meant Stith spent almost $15 for every vote he got. Bell only needed about $3 per vote.

The previous fundraising record was the $60,000 Nick Tennyson raised in his unsuccessful attempt to defend his mayor's seat against Bell in 2001.

The message: It'll take a lot more than cash to beat Bell.

CONFLICT? The Durham Office of Economic and Workforce Development's digs on East Pettigrew Street represents a conflict of interest, political activist Victoria Peterson says.

The building is owned by Scientific Properties, a company established by developer Andrew Rothschild that has received millions in city funding, Peterson points out. Rothschild also sits on the Workforce Development board.

Peterson says the city could house the department in a city-owned building for less money than it's paying Rothschild's company. She will hold a news conference at 2 p.m. Monday at 1107 Holloway St. to lay out her case.

SPEAKER: The Orange County Republican Party welcomes Mike Adams, columnist for Townhall.com and a professor at UNC-Wilmington, to its annual Reagan Day dinner at 6:30 p.m. Thursday at the Big Barn in Hillsborough. For a reservation, call Carrie at 942-8096. Tickets are $25 per person and $12 for students. County party Chairman Augustus Cho, who is running for Congress in the 4th District, will also deliver a tribute to the late president.

POLITICALLY SPEAKING

"I've gotten a lot of phone calls and e-mails about the situation, and they've all been what I'd describe as pro-taco."

Carrboro Mayor Mark Chilton after an anonymous complaint to Town Hall threatened to shut down the town's taco trucks.

(Compiled by staff writers Meiling Arounnarath, Jesse James DeConto and Matt Dees)