The plea deal is done and former Gov. Mike Easley now goes down in history as the first North Carolina governor to be convicted of a felony connected to conduct in public office. Carolina Journal Managing Editor Rick Henderson details the deal, which includes a $1,000 fine, and he reviews unanswered questions related to the federal and state investigation of Easley. Henderson also discusses the immunity statute that appears to have protected Easley from legal exposure. Then we turn to national politics. Michael Barone, senior political analyst for the Washington Examiner, has spent decades dissecting electoral trends and looking for messages voters send when they cast their ballots. Barone recently shared with a Charlotte audience his theories about the big Republican gains in 2010. You’ll hear highlights from that presentation. Back in North Carolina, one of the chief issues the new Republican-led North Carolina General Assembly must tackle is a state budget with a hole of at least $3 billion. Rep. Marilyn Avila, R-Wake, recently discussed with a John Locke Foundation audience in Raleigh the approach she hopes colleagues will take as they plug the budget hole. That’s followed by a look at the financial crisis, which has generated major changes for Charlotte, one of the nation’s major banking centers. Charlotte Observer banking reporter Rick Rothacker documents many of these changes in the book Banktown. Rothacker discusses the tangible and intangible effects of the economic slump on North Carolina’s Queen City. And finally, in January, the newly elected General Assembly will take up the state budget and other issues. John Locke Foundation Vice President for Research Roy Cordato details a number of policy reforms JLF hopes the legislature will address. They include the areas of property rights, the state lottery, renewable energy, and corporate welfare.