Jobless benefits for 47000 in NC start flowing

RALEIGH, N.C. A lifeline of extended unemployment benefits on Monday started reaching the first of about 47,000 jobless workers caught for seven weeks in a partisan political conflict, but questions persisted about whether Gov. Beverly Perdue had the authority to unfreeze the money.

Unemployed worker Debra Koonts, 55, of Lexington checked her online bank account and found two weeks of benefits for her husband Charles, 51. Both were laid off by a truck manufacturer in March 2009.

"It's there," Debra Koonts said, drawing in a breath of relief when considering the new bump to her bank account. "I'm thankful that this has happened. I'm sure that others that are being affected by it, that are scraping by. This will help them, too."

The Koontses and thousands of others were suddenly cut off from federally funded benefits after Democratic Gov. Beverly Perdue vetoed Republican-written legislation that would have allowed the extended benefits to continue, but only if Perdue accepted a double-digit budget cut.

Republican legislative leaders, who this year took control of the General Assembly for the first time in more than a century, linked the two issues to pressure Perdue into approving a spending plan well before the current budget year ends at the end of the month.

The governor on Friday issued an executive order she contends authorized the benefits to flow again. The Employment Security Commission began processing frozen claims that afternoon and about 20,000 people should see money landing in their accounts this week, agency spokesman Larry Parker said.

Perdue said she issued the executive order after trying for weeks to negotiate with GOP lawmakers to free the unemployment benefits from budget negotiations.

"This should not have been about who holds whom hostage," Perdue said Friday. "They were holding me hostage, but they were really holding 47,000 people hostage. So, yeah, finally I'm going to act on my own. I'm tired of waiting for a partner that does the right thing."

But whether Perdue had the authority to act on her own is being questioned by the General Assembly's long-time constitutional expert, Gerry Cohen. He said he could find nothing in state or federal law that gave Perdue the right to order the money released without legislative action to change the formula showing North Carolina is one of the states most battered by the recession.

"Congress has clearly provided that the decision in each state is a legislative power, not an executive one," Cohen wrote in an email Friday. Cohen did not immediately return a call seeking comment Monday.

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&Ldquo;Dillon has been a proven leader in our program,” said Pinecrest High head coach Jeff Hewitt. “Whether on the field or off, he has shown leadership qualities that have not only helped himself but his teammates as well. Dillon has balanced his academics and athletics evenly throughout his four years here at Pinecrest. His desire and enthusiasm for not only the game of baseball but his academics will allow him to be successful in whatever the challenge may be in his future.” About the blogger Tim has covered high school sports for more than 40 years. He is the only active newspaper reporter in the National High School Sports Hall of Fame and is a member of the N.C. High School Athletic Association Hall of Fame. He was the co-author of the original NCHSAA record book. When he not writing about boys and girls, he often is at church or in a theater. Email Tim .

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