Record amounts of campaign cash are already flowing into the Wake County school board races with a month of fundraising still to go.

As noted in today's article, the individual candidates have raised a record total of more than $238,000 so far. That's more than the $167,000 raised by candidates in 2007 and the $155,000 raised in 2009.

With the political parties and political action committees also actively raising cash, it's likely this year's final total will exceed the more than $340,000 in overall school board election money raised in 2009.

Wake County school board member Keith Sutton has raised nearly $20,000 in his bid to keep the District 4 seat.

The new campaign report filed today shows Sutton having raised $19,892 as of Aug. 30 with $12,272.86 on hand. No report has been filed yet by opponent Venita Peyton.

Sutton's biggest individual donor in the new report is Capitol Broadcasting CEO Jim Goodmon, who gave $1,000. It's Goodmon's first recorded school board contribution this season, but he is one of the hosts for a Wake County Democratic Party fundraiser being held next week.

New appointees to UNC-TV’s Board of Trustees include Capitol Broadcasting CEO Jim Goodmon and former associate justice of the North Carolina Supreme Court Robert F. Orr.

Also named were news director for Curtis Media Group and newspaper columnist Rick D. Martinez, and travel and tourism executive Sabrina Bengel of New Bern.

Martinez’s column runs on the op-ed pages of The News & Observer.

Martinez and Orr have been appointed to two-year terms that will run through June 30, 2013. Goodmon and Bengal are filling vacant positions that were four-year appointments. Bengel’s term ends June 30, 2014 and Goodmon’s term ends May 31, 2014.

Bengel was appointed by the UNC Board of Governors, Martinez was appointed by president pro tempore Sen. Phil Berger, and Justice Orr was appointed by NC House Speaker Rep. Thom Tillis. Goodmon, who has previously served on UNC-TV boards, was appointed by Gov. Beverly Perdue.

The first time I read correspondent Virginia’s Bridges’ sentence about Liberty Warehouse’s 2.4 acre roof, I thought it might be a mistake.

It wasn’t. Greenfire Development partner Michael Lemanski drives the point home as he leans over a cardboard model of downtown Durham and puts his right index finger on top of the warehouse building.

“Ten thousand roof penetrations,” he says.

What he means is nails, or technically maybe screws. The historic building between Rigsbee Avenue and Foster Street is dotted with skylights from the days the sun illuminated the tobacco warehouse floor. In just the space represented by his finger, there are probably 10,000 holes.

And over time, they leaked. Until May 14 when Greenfire says a poor drainage system led to the collapse of part of that 2.4 acre roof and a flood of bad PR the company is still trying to mop up.

Jim Goodmon, CEO of Capitol Broadcasting, said this week that reporting of the student assignment issue in Wake County had been too balanced. Goodmon, a vocal supporter of Wake schools' long-standing diversity policy, said that reporters typically talked with each side of the debate and then quit reporting. He compared it to a reporter working on a story about whether the Earth is round or flat. The reporter quotes one academic saying the Earth is flat and another saying it's round. "I've done my job. Film at 11," Goodmon said. He believes deeper reporting would show that the diversity policy is the correct course to take.

Goodmon made his comments Monday at the annual Martin Luther King Triangle Interfaith Prayer breakfast. Capitol Broadcasting owns WRAL-TV and its website. He said WRAL reporters are "the best." But he said, "I'm mad at them." Goodmon did not mention The News & Observer but confirmed later that his comments included coverage of the issue in The N&O. --John Drescher

The forum Thursday at Lacy Elementary School's PTA meeting produced more than a few highlights.

You had, as previously noted, school board members Ron Margiotta and Deborah Prickett objecting to the use of student achievement in the Alves plan. You had a somewhat modified version of the presentation on the Alves plan from what was given last week to the Garner Chamber of Commerce.

You had Dana Cope questioning Tim Simmons about the Alves plan and objecting to board member Carolyn Morrison's vote this year against returning the Lacy nodes from Stough Elementary.

Capitol Broadcasting CEO Jim Goodmon decided to financially back all four Democratic candidates for Wake County commissioner after all.

A last-minute report for Commissioner Lindy Brown shows that she got $1,000 from Goodmon. It's one of the 48-hour campaign reporting notices that candidates submit if they get at least $1,000 from a donor between the period of the last pre-election report and Election Day.

Previously, Brown had been the only Democrat who hadn't gotten money from Goodmon.

All of the final pre-election campaign finance reports are in now and they show that the four Republican candidates for Wake County commissioner have raised more than their Democratic opponents.

Republicans got $48,000 from Art Pope and his family and $31,000 from political action committees for realtors and homebuilders. They also got thousands of dollars from individuals involved in both fields.

Democrats got $13,000 from Jim Goodmon and his wife. Democrats didn't get anywhere close to the Republicans in terms of PAC money. But they did a lot  of individual smaller donations from people who've opposed the school board's elimination of the diversity policy.

Businessmen Art Pope and Jim Goodmon are out in the financial forefront when it comes to backing candidates for Wake County Board of Commissioners.

As noted in today's article, the latest round of campaign reports show that  Pope and his family have given at least $32,000 to Republican candidates for commissioner. Campaign reports also show that Goodmon and his wife have given at least $13,000 to Democratic candidates for commissioner.

“It’s a contributor referendum on the school board,” said Democratic candidate Jack Nichols.

Capitol Broadcasting CEO Jim Goodmon lambasted the Wake County school board majority in his 16-minute speech at Saturday's Great Schools in Wake Coalition forum.

As noted in today's article, Goodmon accused the board of engaging in poor governing practices and being ideologically focused. He chastised the board for several of the decision that have been made, including eliminating the diversity policy.

Along the way, Goodmon got repeated applause and laughter from the crowd of  around 200 people. He also found time to repeatedly plug WRAL, which his company owns.