Audit finds conflicts in programs for juveniles

A state audit of juvenile delinquency prevention programs funded by the N.C. Department of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention found that some of the recipients have conflicts of interest because they serve on county councils that award the money.

State Auditor Les Merritt said in a news release that the audit did not find examples of abuse in the program. He said the department and county councils need to do a better job of monitoring the community programs they fund.

Some data on the programs that auditors examined were found inaccurate.

The department provides more than $20 million to county Juvenile Crime Prevention Councils, which then award it to community programs intended to reduce and prevent juvenile crime. This year, state lawmakers studied the councils to determine whether they were working properly before awarding them money in this year's budget.

The audit found that council members in 14 counties -- none in the Triangle -- are also managers and directors of the programs they are funding. "Although our audit did not find abuse, these conflicting duties create the potential for abuse," the audit said.

In the 2006-2007 fiscal year, the councils funded 499 programs that served more than 34,000 youths.

Easley's surgery goes well

Gov. Mike Easley underwent successful arthroscopic surgery on his right shoulder Tuesday.

Duke Hospital surgeons Dr. Bill Garrett and Dr. Dean Taylor "removed spurs, excised a bursa, and debrided the cuff tendons," according to a statement from the governor's press office. Easley will be in a sling for several weeks.

Easley was not sedated and joked with surgeons during the procedure, but doctors said he was under a local anesthetic.

"I expect the governor's mood to change when the nerve block wears off," Garrett said.

Help McCrory to help McCain?

Is the Republican Governors Association expecting to give a boost to John McCain?

A recent Wall Street Journal article offers another motive for the GOP group's national fundraising efforts in North Carolina's gubernatorial race: bringing more voters to the polls for Republican Pat McCrory should help McCain win the presidency.

"We are the equalizer in this campaign," said Nick Ayers, the association's executive director, in the article. A contributor to the association also mentioned the strategy to the Journal.

Association spokesman Chris Schrimpf told Dome there was no such strategy.

He said association leaders were merely pointing out that competitive gubernatorial races would bring more Republicans to the polls, and those voters would likely support McCain.

Schrimpf wrote a rebuttal letter printed in the Journal a week after the July 3 article that said, "The article took the obvious political truism that strong gubernatorial tickets strengthen their respective tickets, and stretched it beyond recognition to create a story where there is none."

In the past two months, the association's North Carolina political action committee has raised nearly $390,000 to promote McCrory for governor. Because of a recent change in state law, the committee can raise unlimited contributions from individuals, and most of the money comes from 10 out-of-state people, including top executives from Coors Brewing Co. and the Curves fitness chain.

Dole lead slips a bit

U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Dole's lead narrowed slightly.

According to a recent survey by Democratic firm Public Policy Polling, the Salisbury Republican got 49 percent, Democratic rival Kay Hagan got 40 percent and Libertarian Chris Cole got 4 percent.

Seven percent were undecided.

Though Dole is ahead, she has lost a little ground compared with other recent polls, a change pollsters attributed to advertising.

The automated survey of 823 likely voters was taken July 23-27. It has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.4 percentage points.

Presidential race unchanged

The same poll showed the presidential race is in a holding pattern in North Carolina.

McCain had 47 percent, Democrat Barack Obama had 44 percent, and Libertarian Bob Barr had 3 percent. Six percent were undecided.

That matches polls taken since mid-May, all of which have put McCain marginally ahead of Obama in North Carolina.

Obama leads handily among black voters and respondents most concerned with the economy or the war in Iraq. He trails among white voters.