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Charlotte.com: N.C Breaking News
News, sports and entertainment from Charlotte.com

• Roanoke Rapids taxpayer sues Parton, colleagues
  A Roanoke Rapids taxpayer has filed a lawsuit against the brother of country music star Dolly Parton and others involved in an embattled theater project.Milton Jim Garrett says in his lawsuit that the backers of the Randy Parton Theatre mislead the city to get public financing. The lawsuit was assigned to state business court last week and is similar to a lawsuit filed by the North Carolina Institute for Constitutional Law.City officials have booted Randy Parton from managing the theater and taken his name off the facility after slow ticket sales and accusations of misused funds.The city spent some $21.5 million to help build the site, hoping it would be an entertainment destination and help the region's struggling economy.
• N.C. county missing $20 million from reserve fund
  A cash-strapped county has spent more than $20 million in reserve funds but can't account for virtually any of that money, and the state has notified the county it has violated the law, a newspaper reported Monday.Susanne Stallings, the clerk in of the Chowan County Board of Commissioners, told the Virginian-Pilot of Norfolk, Va., that she had searched a decade of meeting reports and found just one instance in which the board approved a payout from the reserve fund.The state Local Government Commission told the county last week that it must rework its budget and that it had overstated its revenue estimates. The state panel also recommended a tax increase.County Manager Peter Rascoe said the county has a "fiscal crisis" and he is trying to make cuts to reduce a possible tax hike."If you go too deep, it will affect the actual services being provided to the citizens," he said."The alternative, unfortunately, is the possibility of a tax increase to make up the difference. No one wants a tax increase, and no one wants a cut in services. We did go through and have departments propose 10 percent cuts to see how far we can get."Rascoe said he learned on his first day of work after being appointed to the job in June that the county couldn't pay its bills because of low cash on hand. He called the Local Government Commission.The newspaper said the county has used reserve funds to balance its budget for at least five years. The board told its clerk to see if the expenditures had been approved.Rascoe took the job after Cliff Copeland retired in May after 29 years as county manager. Copeland said last week that the county hadn't grown as officials hoped and that led to reduced reserves."The revenue just didn't come in as anticipated," Copeland said.Lisa Jones, county finance manager, said the reserve was at least $2 million in May but nearly all of it was used to pay salaries and bills."To know that $20 million was spent and we didn't realize it was shocking," said board vice chairman Jimmy Alligood. "I always thought the money was still there."If the county can't balance its budget by the end of September, the state could take over the county's daily operations and require a tax increase, Rascoe said.Chowan County, the state's smallest, has about 14,500 and sits on Albemarle Sound about 100 miles east of Raleigh.
• NC county says Oprah's mag generates most leads
  Tourism officials in a coastal North Carolina county say advertisements in Oprah Winfrey's O magazine generated nearly twice as many leads as its closest competitor.The Virginian-Pilot of Norfolk, Va., reported Monday that Currituck County received 14,312 leads from vacation planning ads it ran in Winfrey's publication. The county includes the northern section of the North Carolina Outer Banks.County officials told the newspaper the closest competitor among 45 publications that ran ads for the county generated 7,744 leads.County tourism director Diane Sawyer says studies showed that women plan vacations more often than men.County figures show that in 2006, tourists spent $120.3 million in Currituck County. That was triple the spending of a decade ago."Something's got to be working," Sawyer said.She added that marketing draws people to the county and helps increase tax revenues.County figures showed that ads in Great Vacation Getaways generated 7,744 leads. Ads in Southern Living, Woman's Day and Bridal Guide also generated leads.The ad tracking shows that hunting and fishing attractions in the county are being supplanted by beaches, wild horses and the Currituck Beach Lighthouse.The county said it expects to collect $9 million this year in occupancy taxes on cottages and hotels. State law requires that a third of the taxes be spent on marketing.
• Police question 2 people after NC State shooting
  Raleigh police are questioning two people after a man and a woman were wounded in a shooting at the North Carolina State University campus.WRAL-TV reported that police said the victims were sitting under a gazebo near Wolf Village just after midnight early Monday morning. A gunman approached and opened fire.The man was shot in his stomach and the woman was wounded in her foot. They were taken to WakeMed for treatment.Police said the shooting appeared to be a random incident and that neither the victims nor those being questioned are believed to be N.C. State students.WRAL said Capt. Jon Barnwell said campus police will increase patrols in the area.Wolf Village is apartment-style housing for students who are juniors, seniors or in graduate school.
• NC county says Oprah's mag generates most leads
  Tourism officials in a coastal North Carolina county say advertisements in Oprah Winfrey's O magazine generated nearly twice as many leads as its closest competitor.The Virginian-Pilot of Norfolk, Va., reported Monday that Currituck County received 14,312 leads from vacation planning ads it ran in Winfrey's publication. The county includes the northern section of the North Carolina Outer Banks.County officials told the newspaper the closest competitor among 45 publications that ran ads for the county generated 7,744 leads.County tourism director Diane Sawyer says studies showed that women plan vacations more often than men.
• Woman escapes attacker who held knife to throat
  Authorities say a woman who accepted a ride from a man and was held with a knife to her throat escaped with the help of three people who came to her rescue.The Times-News of Burlington reports the 42-year-old woman accepted a ride early Sunday and was taken to an industrial area instead of where she wanted to go. Police say the man held a knife to her throat and tried to sexually assault her, but she escaped. The man chased her, but police say three unidentified witnesses helped her get away.Police say 40-year-old Roger Lane King of Graham is charged with a variety of offenses. Those include first-degree kidnapping, attempted first-degree rape, assault with a deadly weapon, driving with a revoked license, fleeing to elude arrest, failure to stop for police and resisting a public officer.
• All NC public schools to be smoke-free by Friday
  No more lighting up at public schools in North Carolina.The Charlotte Observer reported Monday all public schools will be tobacco-free by Friday. Each of the state's 115 school systems will have a policy banning smoking and other tobacco use by anyone on campus or at off-campus school events.State law requires that all school districts have a no-tobacco policy by Aug. 1.Supporters hope the policy will cut down on student smoking, as well as providing a healthier work place for school employees.Vandana Shah with the North Carolina Health and Wellness Trust Fund says there was some resistance based on the state's historic and economic connections to tobacco.Larry Wilson with the Mooresville school board says he's not sure how the ban will be enforced at off-campus events.
• State regulators consider Duke Energy program
  State regulators open hearings on an energy conservation program Duke Energy says will save money for customers and the company.The News & Observer of Raleigh reported Monday the Charlotte utility says Save-a-Watt would be unlike any other efficiency program.Duke's chief strategy officer Keith Trent says the program would start next year and cost typical residential customers $1 a month. Trent says all customers would pay the fee and those who participate would save about $5 a month. Those who volunteer typically would accept financial incentives from Duke to upgrade appliances and get home energy audits.Critics say Duke would be the primary beneficiary. They say the utility would overcharge the public and deliver minimum energy savings.Regulatory hearings are expected to last all week.
• NC sheriffs gather for annual training conference
  North Carolina sheriffs are in New Bern for their annual convention.The North Carolina Sherrifs' Association training conference will feature workshops and speakers on a range of issues,