Congressman Howard Coble says President Obama's latest health-care plan is more of the same and he remains opposed to it.

"I have been urging President Obama and congressional leaders Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid to scrap the whole package and start over," Coble said in a statement released Wednesday. "It is obvious by today's speech, President Obama and congressional leaders do not want to listen to the American people. They plan to ram this wrong-headed approach through Congress by using the controversial provision known as reconciliation. I remain opposed to the Democrats' plans to have the government take over one-sixth of our nation's economy."

Coble said the recent White House summit reinforced his notion that bipartisan health-care reform could still be achieved if Democrats would "truly reach out" to Republicans.

"Just because President Obama and congressional leaders say they are 'open' to a few Republican ideas, you cannot fine-tune this disaster of an idea," Coble said. "The truest form of insanity is repeating the same action and expecting different results. Today's plan is just more of the same. I will be opposed to it in its latest form."

DEMOCRATS - Jim Heim, chairman of the Moore County Democratic Party, has announced three more precinct meetings.

West End Democrats will meet at 6 p.m. Wednesday, March 10, at Auman Farm, 3140 N.C. 73, West End.

Robbins Democrats will meet at 6 p.m. Monday, March 8, at Carolina Fried Chicken.

The Taylortown Democratic precinct meeting will be held at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, March 10, at Galilee Missionary Baptist Church, 4140 Main St.

"As well as being a great introduction to grassroots politics, these meetings are where delegates to the county convention in April are chosen," Heim said in urging Democrats to attend their precinct meetings.

NCGOP - State Republican leaders are garnering support for the GOP candidate who has filed for state House Speaker Joe Hackney's District 54 seat.

Hackney, a Chapel Hill Democrat, represents a district that includes all of Chatham County and portions of Orange and Moore counties. He has filed for re-election.

Cathy Wright, the Chapel Hill Republican running against Hackney, joined state GOP leaders Thursday for a joint press conference at noon in Pittsboro.

Leading the conference were state GOP Chairman Tom Fetzer, House Republican Leader Paul "Skip" Stam, House Republican Whip Thom Tillis and Senate Republican Whip Jerry Tillman. They spoke about their success in meeting a goal of having a Republican candidate for every district in the N.C. General Assembly this year. They call this the "M&M strategy," covering legislative seats from Murphy to Manteo.

CARTHAGE - An architecture professor and his class at N.C. State University will arrive in Carthage today to begin work on a design project within the town's historic district.

Dr. Roger H. Clark and 11 graduate students will meet first at the Carthage Museum at 1:30 p.m. for a tour of the museum and a look at the antique buggies that form the centerpiece of the collection. Then they will tour the historic downtown area of Carthage for a closer look at old buildings to be part of their design project.

Bert Patrick, representing the museum, will serve as their tour guide.

MCTS - In preparation for a March 15 public hearing, Moore County Transportation Services has announced that anyone planning to attend and needing auxiliary aids or services under the Americans with Disabilities Act or a language translator must notify the MCTS office no later than March 11.

Timothy W. Thompson, the director, may be reached by telephone at (910) 947-7160 or e-mail at tthompson@moore countync.gov.

MCTS must submit its application for a $547,886 operational grant to the N.C. Department of Transportation by March 31. The county's share of the grant is $66,849.65.

The application is available for inspection at the MCTS office in Carthage from 7 a.m. until 3 p.m. on work days, and written comments may be directed to Thompson prior to March 11.

The hearing will be held during the May 15 regular meeting of the Board of Commissioners, to convene at 6 p.m. in the historic courthouse in Carthage.

Contact Florence Gilkeson at (910) 693-2479 or by e-mail at florence@thepilot.com.