Mike Easley no longer lives in North Carolina’s Executive Mansion, and Attorney General Roy Cooper believes that fact alone should end a public-records lawsuit Carolina Journal and other media outlets filed against the Easley administration. CJ Managing Editor Rick Henderson reported on Cooper’s argument this week. The Beaufort Observer and N.C. Senate Republicans both highlighted Henderson’s work. (A separate Senate GOP e-mail also noted Henderson’s most recent Daily Journal column on North Carolina’s ongoing political scandals.) Wake County Superior Court Judge Howard Manning disagreed with Cooper’s arguments. The News & Observer‘s coverage of Manning’s hearing on the public-records lawsuit mentioned the John Locke Foundation’s involvement in the case. CJ Publisher Jon Ham‘s report on the Manning hearing attracted attention from the Beaufort Observer and Lincoln Tribune. Meanwhile, both the Lincoln Tribune and Senate Republicans reacted to CJ Associate Editor David Bass‘ latest article on the troubled UNC-Chapel Hill Citizen-Soldier Support Program. Wearing his columnist’s hat, Bass recently earned a national honor; he is the American Spectator‘s best new writer. Senate Republicans also highlighted in an e-mail Thursday CJ contributor Lee Raynor‘s article about public opposition to municipal annexation efforts across North Carolina.