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Carolina shuts down Duke's offense in Chapel Hill and takes over the top spot in this week's ranking. Wake loses another heartbreaker. State moves up with a much-needed win.

Carolina and Wake lead the Big Four standings at 1-0 but, thanks to ACC scheduling, won't play each other.

Tarheel Top Ten

1. UNC, 6-3 (No. 2 last week)

2. Duke, 5-4 (1)

3. Wake, 4-6 (3)

4. Elon, 8-1 (4)

5. Appalachian State, 7-2 (5)

6. N.C. State, 4-5 (7)

7. East Carolina, 5-4 (6)

8. Gardner-Webb, 5-4 (8)

9. N.C. A&T, 5-5 (9)

10. UNC-Pembroke, 9-1 (10)

Big Four

UNC, 1-0

Wake, 1-0

Duke, 1-1

State, 0-2

Patrice Hinnant is a devout Christian who once was a divinity school student.

But, when it came time for her to take the oath of office as a Superior Court judge this afternoon, there was no Bible to be found.

The ceremony was held in the commissioners meeting room of the Old Guilford County Courthouse, which hasn't been a working courtroom in many years.

Don't commissioners ever have need to refer to the Good Book?

I guess not.

Oh, well.

"We'll make a ceremonial affirmation," suggested Chief Resident Superior Court Judge Catherine Eagles, who administered the oath.

Hinnant raised her right hand and held her left at her side.

She made up for the lack of a Bible later by reciting Scripture: "Let justice roll down like waters, and righteousness like an everlasting stream" (Amos 5:24). Lovely.

Gov. Bev Perdue promoted Hinnant from the District Court bench to replace Henry Frye Jr., who retired, interestingly, to go into full-time ministry.

She was introduced by Lawrence McSwain, a former colleague on the District Court bench who spoke about her fondness for gospel music and her concern for doing the right thing in every case.

Eagles noted that Guilford County now will be the only judicial district in the state with two women on the Superior Court bench. There are three men: Lindsay Davis, Joe Craig and Stuart Albright.

The ceremony was well-attended by judges from every level of the state's court system: Supreme Court, Court of Appeals, Superior Court and District Court. Other retired judges, elected officials, courthouse personnel, Hinnant family members and some local dignitaries, such as former N.C. Supreme Court Chief Justice Henry Frye Sr., nearly filled the room. At least two ministers were present.

And no one had a Bible.

Well, Hinnant seems well-versed in its teachings. May they help her find the right balance of justice and mercy in every case she tries.

Say it ain't so.

Gerald Hege tells the High Point Enterprise he's running for sheriff of Davidson County in 2010.

Davidson County just got rid of him in 2004 when he pleaded guilty to obstruction of justice in an attempted cover-up of missing funds in his office. After three years on probation, he regained his voting rights -- and right to run for office -- in 2007.

If the people of Davidson County are foolish enough to vote for this egomaniac again -- incumbent David Grice is seeking re-election -- we can look forward to a return of his embarrassing antics.

The Spider Car, paramilitary gear, the "Bunker" office and wild car chases.

No, I don't live in Davidson County. But Hege led one of those wild car chases into downtown High Point, putting the lives of people there at risk.

Visiting Davidson County will become, once again, an uneasy experience.

What sticks in my mind is attending a High Point Central football game at Ledford during the Hege era. He must have had 20 deputies out there -- and a police dog -- patrolling the Central side of the field. It was an obvious attempt at intimidation, for obvious reasons. Central fans and students never caused any trouble at away games, and such a show of force was insulting and uncalled for. There was a similar scene for a game at East Davidson, minus the dog.

People visiting Davidson County deserve better, and so do residents. They should not rehire Gerald Hege. It's been pleasantly peaceful without him.

John Kime's comments in Taft's story today show why Sen. Kay Hagan had to withdraw her recommendation of state Superior Court Judge Calvin E. Murphy for appointment to the federal bench.

"It was clear to me that we weren't getting an unbiased opinion, based on politics," Kime said.

Kime is executive director of the Piedmont Triad Regional Water Authority.

The not-unbiased opinion, in his view, was rendered by Murphy. He issued an interim decision Oct. 23 favorable to Hydrodyne Industries and other companies suing the water authority over issues related to using water from the Deep River downstream of the Randleman Dam.

Sen. Hagan's husband, Chip, has a stake in Hydrodyne Industries, which apparently stands to gain a lot of money if the lawsuit eventually is decided in its favor.

Nine days before Murphy's ruling, Hagan recommended him as one of three candidates for a seat on the federal district court for Western North Carolina. President Obama will make the nomination.

Somebody could string all that together and surmise that one good turn deserves another.

I don't believe for a moment that's what happened.

I believe Hagan when she says she was not aware that Murphy "was hearing a case in which my husband had an interest."

Whether she should have been aware is another matter.

Nevertheless, her only recourse was to pull Murphy's name. He won't get the federal judgeship -- at least not now.

That's an unfortunate break for him, assuming everything was on the up-and-up.

A lifetime appointment to the federal bench is a big deal. A federal judge holds a very powerful position. He or she must be an outstanding jurist whose integrity is beyond reproach. There should be no place on the bench for anyone touched by even a hint that he would tilt a decision in return for any kind of favor.

Kime did more than hint. He told Taft he thought other judges also seemed to have their eye on the federal vacancy.

That's a very serious insinuation. It certainly casts aspersions on the motives and characters of both Murphy and Hagan if it's meant to imply there was quid pro quo involved.

Without proof, that's an unfair implication.

Even the appearance, however, was enough to scotch Murphy's possible appointment. Hagan had no choice.

As the comment string on Taft's story shows, people are conditioned by recent political malfeasance -- Mike Easley, Jim Black, others -- to assume the worst.

Hagan acted quickly to clear this up. It was the best move she had.

 A Winston-Salem ordinance that prohibits "loitering for the purpose of engaging in drug-related activity" is "unconstitutional on grounds of overbreadth and vagueness," the N.C. Court of Appeals ruled Tuesday.

Greensboro has an ordinance that is virtually identical except for one statement that City Attorney Terry Wood believes would let it pass legal muster.

Here's the Greensboro ordinance:

Sec. 18-46.  Loitering for the purpose of engaging in drug-related activity. 

Cash-for-Clunkers was touted as a hugely successful federal government initiative -- both economic stimulus and environmental bonus.

Or maybe not, says today's AP story.

(Associated Press continues to do excellent work lately testing claims from Washington against reality.)

In more than 8,000 transactions, vehicle owners simply swapped an old Ford F-150 pickup truck for a new one.

"The fuel economy for the new trucks ranged from 15 mpg to 17 mpg based on engine size and other factors, an improvement of just 1 mpg to 3 mpg over the clunkers," AP notes.

And this was subsidized with tax dollars.

On that point, an analysis by Edmunds.com found the government spent $24,000 per vehicle under the program.

I guess when you're at the top, everyone shoots at you.

Not only were Republican victories yesterday in Virginia and New Jersey gubernatorial races portrayed as a referendum on President Obama's liberal agenda, but now it's supposedly his fault that voters in Maine repudiated same-sex marriage.

 AP reports:

"Stunned and angry, national gay rights leaders Wednesday blamed scare-mongering ads — and President Barack Obama's lack of engagement — for a bitter election setback in Maine that could alter the dynamics for both sides in the gay-marriage debate."

So Obama was supposed to campaign in Maine on this issue? Would that have made a difference? Would he take that kind of political risk?

More likely, it would have let his critics hang another big loss around the president's neck.

President Obama has nominated two North Carolina judges to vacant seats on the 4th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals in Richmond.

Sen. Kay Hagan, D-N.C., made the announcement minutes ago.

They are Jim Wynn of the N.C. Court of Appeals and  Albert Diaz of the N.C. Business Court in Charlotte.

I don't know much about Diaz, but Wynn is a very deserving choice. He's certainly distinguished himself for many years in our state court system and as a high-ranking U.S. military judge.

He was nominated for this same position by President Clinton but blocked by the late Sen. Jesse Helms -- not one of Helms' better ideas.

This time the confirmation process should proceed smoothly. I would expect Republican Sen. Richard Burr to join Hagan in supporting Wynn.

Addendum, 1:10 p.m., a statement by Sen. Burr:

“The President has nominated two North Carolinians with distinguished backgrounds to serve on the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals, Judges Albert Diaz and James Wynn.  I greatly respect the fact that both of these men have served our nation in uniform, and I look forward to working with them as the confirmation process unfolds.  Since coming to the Senate, I have fought for greater representation for North Carolina on the United States Court of Appeals, and I plan to continue that fight for the people of North Carolina.  I am pleased that the President has recognized North Carolina’s historic under-representation on this important court, and has taken action to address it. "

Burr certainly shouldn't be expected to pronounce an immediate judgment, but he sounds very positive. And Wynn and Diaz aren't suprise choices.

Please go to our Opinion page to see my video interview with Greensboro's new city manager, Rashad Young.

It was taped Oct. 21, when Young had been on the job for less than a week, so it wasn't meant to dig down on major issues. Rather, it's intended to introduce you to Young, giving an idea of his personality and interests, and let you listen to his impressions of Greensboro and get some sense of his approach to managing.

Also worth watching is the High Point Market's video report of last month's event. It provides a look inside the showrooms, as well as all the facts, figures ... and spin.

Attendance was down about 20,000 from the 2006 high of 95,000, not surprising given the lagging economy. But Brian Casey makes a valid point that High Point is still the place where the industry's creative energy is generated -- a point I made in a column Oct. 21.

Lorraine's story today presents damning information against Grayson Dawson of Eden, the driver who authorities allege struck and killed bicyclist David Sherman on North Church Street Oct. 24.

First, she was still driving the same vehicle two days later -- even though her license is revoked, according to the charges against her. This bolsters the argument that her release on an unsecured bond of only $5,000 was a foolish mistake. If the experience of (allegedly) killing someone with her motor vehicle won't stop her from driving, how can anyone believe she won't continue to drive until she's kept behind bars?

Much worse, though, is the statement by an area shopkeeper that Dawson explained the damage to her vehicle, including a caved-in windshield, by saying she'd hit a deer.

A deer riding a bicycle? How could anyone mistake a cyclist for a deer? It's unbelievable.

Or did a man's life not mean any more to her than a deer's?

If, of course, it was Dawson whose reckless driving caused Sherman's death. That's for the courts to decide.

But this information surely will strengthen the case prosecutors can put to a jury.