Leftovers: This and that from around the South

Update from NC-8: Democratic challenger Larry Kissell has conceded to Rep. Robin Hayes halfway through the recount after finding only two new votes. You may recall that Rep. Robin Hayes, who is vice chairman of the House Subcommittee on Terrorism, said last year that Iraq was involved in the Sept. 11th attacks and he knew this because legislators have access to the secret evidence.

Over here in Tennessee, in case you are the last person to hear about it Sen. Dr. Bill Frist has decided not to run for president in 2008. Democrats everywhere were disappointed by the news.

Meanwhile (by way of TGW), incoming freshman U.S. Senator from Tennessee Bob Corker (in fact, the only freshman GOP senator) said in a Nashville Tennessean interview published Sunday that he supports a U.S. Constitutional amendment banning gay marriage because "people from Massachusetts will move to Tennessee" or something. He also opposes civil unions, but might be willing to look at allowing "certain types of visitation in the hospital." Compassion is his middle name. He also said that clean coal is "Very clean. Very, very clean. It's something that is very, very environmentally friendly." We are very, very impressed with his grasp of the technology.

Remember the controversial voter photo ID law in Georgia? The one that was ruled unconstitutional? In the November election, there were exactly eight complaints of voter fraud out of two million votes. And those complaints involved absentee ballots. So why was it again that Georgia needs this law, or now needs to amend their Constitution to make it legal? (By way of So Far, So Left.)

Back in North Carolina, a judge ordered Google to remove personal info from Google's cache about Johnston County residents. The info, which included Social Security Numbers among other things, was inadvertently posted to the county's website.

Over in Mississippi, the town of Southaven is rolling out city-wide Wi-Fi for all residents and businesses. City officials say it will be free for users of public spaces such as parks and recreation areas, and will offer affordable fee-based service to businesses and residents starting next spring.

Librarians from Mississippi and Louisiana are meeting in Baton Rouge at a summit hosted by the Southeastern Library Network to discuss rebuilding 31 public libraries destroyed by last year's hurricanes. The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation has donated $12.2 million to the Gulf Coast Libraries Project towards the effort.

In good news for some New Orleans homeowners, a federal judge has ruled that homeowners are entitled to coverage for water damage despite policy exclusions for flooding. The judge ruled that the language applied to natural flooding but not man-made causes such as levee failure. State Farm policyholders were excluded from the ruling because the company's definition of flooding was more specific.

The State of Florida, meanwhile, is struggling to find ways to make property insurance affordable and keep insurers in the state. Lawmakers will convene a special session in January to discuss ways to shore up the state's reinsurance and "insurer of last resort" programs and to help homeowners with triple-digit premium increases.

In Kentucky, the Secretary of State is calling for early voting and for e-voting machines with a paper audit trail. There are concerns that the new e-voting system is causing long lines and frustrating voters. Early voting would help alleviate that, and a paper audit trail would provide voters "more confidence in the integrity of Kentucky elections."

Election officials in Florida, on the other hand, oppose paper audit trails and prefer paperless systems. They say the printers are cheap, don't print correctly, jam a lot, and are less reliable than electronic systems and that they will cause more problems than they solve. Voters in Florida's 13th Congressional District may have a differing point of view. (Ed. note: many believe optical scan ballots address these concerns. County election officials don't like them because of the expense, but printers everywhere love them!)

Here's some good news for the Southeastern economy. A trade group says there is more than $60 billion of capital investment planned for 600+ industrial development projects in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Mississippi, and Tennessee. Florida leads the way with $23 billion. One possible downside is that the power industry is the largest spender, with more than $35 billion planned for new electrical generating plants. Other industries include "manufacturing, metals and minerals, terminals, pharmaceutical and biotech, and alternative fuels."

Finally, the big news out of Alabama this week is the departure of University of Alabama head coach Mike Shula. As the UA Crimson White newspaper says, "football -- it's a nasty business!" That goes double in the SEC.