During his first campaign for governor in 2008, Republican Pat McCrory hammered his opponent, Bev Perdue, on her ties to major Democratic Party fundraisers on the state Board of Transportation.

McCrory vowed repeatedly in 2008 that he would never appoint campaign fundraisers to the transportation board if he was elected governor.

But that's what he did after he won the 2012 election.

Mike Smith, a Raleigh real estate executive, was sworn into office Thursday (eighth from the left in photo, above) as one of Gov. McCrory's first appointees to the transportation board. Smith reports on campaign disclosure forms that he personally collected $106,000 for McCrory's 2012 campaign. (See copy of his disclosure form, below.) A second appointee, Wilmington lawyer Mike Lee, said he had rounded up $500 as a McCrory fundraiser.... [MORE]

Gov. Pat McCrory's campaign raised $156,394 with the help of nine men and a woman who will take their seats Thursday as his appointees to the state Board of Transportation, according to financial disclosure statements released Wednesday by McCrory's office.

The governor's top helper among the group is Michael C. Smith of Raleigh, president of Kane Realty Corp., the developer of North Hills. Smith is the new transportation board representative for Division 5, seven Triangle-area counties including Durham and Wake.

Smith is the only one of the 10 new board members who reports no campaign contributions directly from himself to McCrory. But he says he worked as a campaign fundraiser, bringing in $106,000 from other donors to McCrory, and his brother gave $250. ... [MORE]

Less than a year after locating its national operations center in Charlotte, XPO Logistics is expanding.

The Michigan-based company, which helps businesses ship freight, plans to hire 287 people by the end of 2014 and invest $688,000 in its operations facility in Ballantyne, according to a release from the governor's office.

Salaries will vary by job, but the average annual pay will be $51,568, slightly below Mecklenburg County's average of $57,144.

If it meets hiring goals and retains the jobs, XPO will receive annual grants for nine years — for a total of $3.598,000 — from the state's Job Development Investment Grant program.

Here are some letters that got overrun by other issues before they made it into the paper.

House and Senate members on the Joint Transportation Oversight Committee say they still have not been given a chance to review 10 new appointees to the state Board of Transportation, as required by state law. But Gov. Pat McCrory is moving ahead with plans to install them at the April 3 board meeting.

On March 1, McCrory sent the 10 names, along with documents that disclose how much money each appointee contributed to the governor's election campaign -- to the House and Senate clerks, the House speaker and the Senate president pro tempore. He didn't send the packets to members of the oversight committee, as was done by previous governors.

“In the past they were mailed directly to us, each member, from the governor’s offices," said Sen. Clark Jenkins, a Tarboro Democrat who serves on the oversight committee and previously was its chairman. “I think the governor’s office should go a little bit further than leaving some sort of notice at the clerk’s office and the chambers’ leadership offices. I think it should go to the oversight committee."

McCrory has sole authority to make appointments to the 19-member board. But the law provides for review by the House-Senate committee of the new members and their campaign financial disclosure statements before they are sworn in: ... [MORE]

Gov. Pat McCrory declared a state of emergency Tuesday for N.C. 12 in Dare County, a move aimed at speeding up the state’s effort to shore up a fragile road frequently closed in recent weeks because of ocean overwash.

The state Department of Transportation is seeking permits for beach renourishment and dune construction at the S-Curves area near Rodanthe on Hatteras Island. DOT plans to use $20.8 million in federal emergency funds related to damage caused last fall by Hurricane Sandy.

Meanwhile, the department has long-range plans to elevate more than four miles of N.C. 12 on bridges high above the surf.

“The people there have real concerns about the road they depend on to get to work, school or medical appointments,” McCrory said. “They need a highway that is not forced to close every time a storm approaches.”

Gov. Pat McCrory has picked 10 new members for the 19-member state Board of Transportation, and he's hoping to seat them at the board's next meeting April 4. But the governor could be forced to cancel the April meeting -- just as he canceled the March meeting-- because he still hasn't submitted his appointee list to a legislative committee responsible for reviewing it.

McCrory did submit a letter (see copy, below) March 1 to Denise Weeks, the principal House clerk, and he copied it to House Speaker Thom Tillis and Senate leader Phil Berger. But he didn't send it to any members of the House-Senate Joint Transportation Oversight Committee, which is responsible under state law for reviewing the names. ... [MORE]

While Gov. Pat McCrory names appointees to the state Board of Transportation, including several developers and major campaign contributors, his transportation secretary is making changes at NCDOT.

(2/20/13 update: Tata brings Cris Mulder to NCDOT, another hire from Wake schools.)

Since Friday, Transportation Secretary Tony Tata has:

* Removed Paul Morris, deputy transportation secretary for transit.

* Removed Eric Boyette, DOT inspector general for the past two years, and returned him to his former IT realm. He is business technology applications specialist and staff assistant to Randy Barnes, the DOT chief information officer. Boyette's salary is unchanged, $102,366.

* Moved Katherine White, general counsel, to an attorney's job in the Division of Motor Vehicles hearings office.

No replacements have been announced.

Other vacant spots at Tata's NCDOT include ... [MORE]

In his first State of the State speech Monday night, Gov. Pat McCrory mentioned both an early accomplishment and a new mission for his transportation secretary, Tony Tata (see speech video).

He credited Tata with moving quickly to address the double billing of hundreds of drivers on the Triangle Expressway, and he asked Tata to improve highway lights in North Carolina:

(2/22/13 update: I'm reporting on the highway lights issue TODAY. Are you concerned about darkness on Triangle area highways? I'd like to speak with you. Pls call me 919-829-4527 or email me (bruce.siceloff@newsobserver.com) with your phone number.) ... [MORE]