Some of you guys may have had a chuckle over Saturday's Triangle Politics item about Wake County school board member Chris Malone lobbying for an extra exit in the new school board room in Cary.

Malone and board vice chairwoman Debra Goldman had lobbied the board last week to reconsider the Jan. 25 decision to stick with the staff-recommended design. They were lobbying for changes that could have added anywhere from $1,200 to $60,000 more in costs.

The end result last Tuesday was a one-hour discussion on the shape of the table, members' sightlines, security, audience access and places for the superintendent and board attorney to sit.

Should Wake County middle schoos and high schools be patrolled by armed police officers?

As noted in today's article, Advocates for Children's Services, a project of legal Aid of N.C., issued a report Thursday saying Wake should reconsider paying local law enforcement agencies to provide school resource officers. In addition, the ACS wants to ban or at least limit the use of guns and Tasers by the SROs.

While not calling for a ban on the use of pepper spray, they do want limits on their usage as well.

Citing financial costs, the Wake County school board has rejected today going with a new design for the board meeting room that will be built in Cary.

Staff had presented last week a design that drew concerns from some board members, notably Debra Goldman, because it would result in some audience members facing the backs of board members. The board table was closer to the middle of the room.

Staff presented a new plan today that would put the board table at the back of the room so that everyone in the audience would face the board. It would also have provided 260 seats, 30 more than the one presented last week.

Would you be offended if Wake County school board members sat with their backs to you during board meetings?

That's what the blueprints now have in place for the school board room that will be located at the Crossroads complex in Cary that will be the new home for Central Administration. That design can be changed but it would cost money and further delay the move from Wake Forest Road in Raleigh.

But the changes could occur because some board members don't like the design of the new board room.

UPDATE

The discussion of the board room layout has been added to Tuesday's work session agenda before the discussion of the student reassignment plan.

Do not freak out if you see a lot of police cars and helicopters swarming around Dillard Drive elementary and middle schools today.

Taking advantage of today's teacher workday, the Wake County school system is teaming up with 15 other agencies to conduct an emergency response drill on Dillard's campus in Raleigh. They're going to respond to a simulated attack on the campus.

"This exercise will dramatize an event that is more severe than any emergency our schools would likely face, but this will help us be prepared for everything," said Randy Dishong, a school system security investigator coordinating the drill, in a press release. "We will be testing our ability to communicate, delineate and execute our responsibilities during a serious incident."

Some users of Microsoft Hotmail are starting off the new year scrambling to get back e-mails of old. A chorus of frantic users has posted complaints on Microsoft's online forum that all of their messages have disappeared.

Can a wife can expect privacy on a computer she shares with her husband ... while having an affair?

Wake County school board member John Tedesco is talking about threats made against his life in light of this week's shooting at a Florida school board meeting.

As noted today in this Garner Citizen article, Tedesco says he has received multiple threats against his life during the past year. But he said he does not fear for his own safety.

“We’ve already seen it get heated. We had to step up our security measures here a long time ago,” Tedesco said.

Progress Energy has won a second extension of time to bolster the physical security of the Shearon Harris nuclear plant in Wake County as the company works to meet tougher standards imposed in the wake of the 9/11 terrorist attacks.

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission this week gave Raleigh-based Progress until Nov. 30, 2011 to make the required security upgrades -- 19 months after the original deadline of March 31, 2010 -- at the nuclear plant less than 25 miles southwest of Raleigh.

"One reason this was justified is that there were a limited number of vendors who could do the work and they were busy at numerous plants," said NRC spokesman Joey Ledford.

Nuclear plants are considered prime targets for a terrorist attack. A successful attack could cause a radioactive release, spread widespread panic, trigger emergency evacuations and paralyze a major economic region of the country.

After attacking MasterCard, cyber-thugs sympathetic to WikiLeaks add Visa to their hit list.