Clips
See Michael’s most recent work at www.newsobserver.com
Keyword search: Biesecker
POLITICS AND GOVERNMENT:
Governor's son works to lure businesses
Bill would ban courts from using 'foreign law'
Perdue's evolving storm whereabouts
Legislator says the state needs its own currency
Legislating at lightning speed, with lots of goofs
Ailing, in love, upbeat, Basnight quits Senate
Intense memories for Elizabeth Edwards as a mother, mentor
Former Edwards aide must turn over tape
Edwards' mistress says aide stole her tape
Wildlife magazine banned briefly over letter
District attorney will probe Perdue campaign flights
In contradiction, Perdue camp does have flight data
Elections chief Bartlett's pals work for him; one fired for harassment
Election directors solicit vendors
Election investigator: I was held back
The Spanish mustang is officially our prize pony
State spent thousands on LEA gear
Rand says he knows little of LEA
Wide range of politicians, officials held LEA stock
Fancy meals precede awarding of contract
MENTAL HEALTH:
Patients die from poor care; families don't hear full story
Caregivers abuse patients, and usually get away with it
VIDEO: Mental Disorder: The Failure of Reform
Easley seeks power to fix mental health
VIDEO: Easley says he opposed reform, Crane fired
Tape shows progress of a death
Hospital boss finds money for portrait
Two health techs get jail time in Cherry assault
State pays nurse's way to South Africa
Employees travel widely on hospital gifts
Psychiatrist hits teen, keeps his job
State doctor has sex crime on his record
Cherry Hospital chief quitting
Hospital did not report 4 deaths
Broughton Hospital's chief officer demoted
New hospital has hazards built in, is short on space
Death shows gaps in mental health care
Reports of death, rape allegation censored
Patient buried before Cherry filed report to pathologist
SBI probes hospital sex report
Mental patients turned away in Wake
Mental patients get stuck in ERs
Mental hospital fired a worker shown on tape choking a child
SBI probes mental patient's death
Man's death turns glare on Cherry Hospital
For boy, doomed Dix unit was a lifesaver
Vital information withheld by state
Clinic overdose fatal to patient
Mom camps out to get spot in mental ward for son
HIGHWAY PATROL AND PUBLIC SAFETY:
Trooper kills a kitten and loses his job
Trooper, Butner officers fired
Trooper fired at the drop of a hat
Highway Patrol leader resigns on short notice
Perdue recasts words on promotions
Perdue: A few troopers are 'killing' highway patrol's image
Grand jury indicts ex-trooper on felonious restraint charge
Trooper fired for sex wants job back
Agents bust a Nash County still
ALE agents armed with assault rifles; 2 are missing
Four stolen SBI weapons still missing
ALE's pricey guns prove unreliable
Agents pounce on white-lightning ring
PRISONS:
SBI investigates how inmate's brain was badly injured
Paralyzed inmate gives account of beating
VIDEO: Inmate says correction officers beat him
Romance born in prison survives shooting
She shot him and broke his heart
Inmate's arm broken in scuffle with officers
No charges in case of paralyzed prisoner
11 saw inmate's beating, records show
Cell phone smuggling a growing problem in prisons
Inmate population swells, budget declines
Death penalty bill provokes a battle
Prison warden faces prison time
Officer alleges prison cover-up by warden
Molesters might not be far away
State scrambles to update sex offender lists
Ex-con tells of sex forced on him
Budget would cut prison chaplains
House budget excludes prisoner work crews
ACCESS TO PUBLIC RECORDS
Fired press aide: Easley office wanted e-mail killed
VIDEO: Crane alleges e-mails deleted
Easley defends handling of records
Easley lets users trash e-mail value
E-mail panel off to a balky start
E-mail must be kept, media tell state panel
E-mail deletions could continue
DURHAM WATER STORIES:
Durham withheld bad lead-test results
City manager downplays lead danger
Durham violated water test rules
Durham water director away for 164 days
EPA rebuts Durham on lead test
DUKE LACROSSE CASE:
Ethics of Nifong's detective at issue
Detective got tough with Duke students
DA: I haven't heard accuser's account
Police conduct adds new turmoil to lacrosse case
Report involved abuse at age 14
CRIME AND BREAKING NEWS
Ivan starts fatal slide
Fire destroys Starlite screen
Trailer residents scramble for shelter
Robbers gun down Durham merchant
Slayings leave families stunned
Families despair over unsolved slayings
80 sheep weren't flock, but roomies
Dilapidated houses, owners targeted
Durham house goes up in flames
FEATURES AND PROFILES
At Dix grave, a soldier's story is unearthed
From Dukes to paupers, stones speak in silence
Muted by urban noise, carillon bells ring on
Beloved drive-in rises from ashes
The hunt is on: English tradition of fox hunting endures
Diversity thrives in downtown pool room
Wake leader backs busing for school diversity
Fired manager clings to faith
'Gangsta' politics comes to Durham
OTHER INVESTIGATIVE AND WATCHDOG WORK:
Firing ends Wake official's travels
Goodnight plans to donate profit
Profit taints school land purchase
Candidate has extensive arrest record
More say Durham candidate told lies
Durham candidates grilled on arrests
Officials briefed on dump's risk
Council eats, meets; Durham pays
Durham weighs financial deal deal
Finance group pushing interest rate swap is seen as big risk
DURHAM HOUSING AUTHORITY:
Housing authority misspent millions
Housing authority's repair costs run high
Housing agency cuts work force
FROM THE WINSTON-SALEM JOURNAL:
Kindness will defeat terrorism, Bush tells Winston-Salem crowd
Marines greet Bush at Camp Lejeune, applaud morale boost
Nine from Lejeune killed in fighting near An Nasiriyah
Sailor killed in attack on USS Cole buried a second time
Pilot comes home 57 years after his B-25 disappears
Major General from Winston-Salem takes over 82nd Airborne
Power Struggle: Duke Energy pushes pipeline through park
Fueling the campaigns: Duke pours money into politics
An inexorable project: Little traffic projected for bridge
Explosive fire leaves chemicals in a mess
Just lucky? Showman’s skills hinge on educated guesses
Reviving the smoke: Farmer stokes fires of tobacco tradition
Long-lost son returned — by way of FedEx
Photo by Shawn Rocco of The N&O
Reporters Michael Biesecker, center, and Pat Stith, right, stake out the governor's SUV, hoping to ask him more questions. The security man at left was part of a ruse: Gov. Mike Easley sped away in a vehicle that picked him up outside an exit on the other side of the capitol building.
Easley explains his feint: “It was security's idea.”
