They came from Forsyth, Surry and Stokes counties to volunteer their time, knocking on doors for presidential hopeful Mitt Romney in what several of them, despite the gray and white in their hair, said is the most important election of their lifetime.

When the Republican majority redrew state Senate districts last year, they carved Linda Garrou, a senior Democrat with budget-writing experience, out of District 32. Otherwise, little has changed in the political equation for Forsyth County’s two state senate districts.

Yet the three food trucks set up on Commerce Place during a light drizzle and the kind of sky that makes it particularly difficult to get out of bed on a Monday morning were doing steady business by 11 a.m.

After six terms as mayor, Becky Smothers has elected to run at large, providing an opportunity for two veteran council members, Bernita Sims and Chris Whitley, to compete to fill the vacancy.

The southeastern part of Guilford County is Branson’s home turf: He’s lived in Julian for 22 years, grew up nearby in Whitsett, is “a man that wears all hats” at Stout Trucking and attends Tabernacle United Methodist Church right up the street.

Robert Kelly, his fiancée Amanda Compau and their two small children were among some 60 people at the Sunrise Towers residents council meeting who heard Housing Authority CEO Larry Woods’ inaugural pitch for the Path program last week.

Following a brutal redistricting process, Democrat and veteran Commissioner Gibson is running in the district rather than at-large as he has in the past, facing conservative Jeff Phillips, a first-time candidate to the commission promising a significantly different take on the role of local government.

The 2012 Democratic national Convention was the first ever national political convention in the state, a huge mess of delegates, media, vendors, law enforcement and others who came to town to catch a glimpse of the big show.

Harrison, who maintains his innocence, publicly apologized to his family, including a daughter born two weeks earlier, describing personal tragedy and hardship at the time of his arrest, and defending his record as a businessman in remarks to US District Court Judge James A.

Under both Democratic and, more recently, Republican control, the General Assembly has divided the county into five districts — three designed for Republican representation and two ensuring that Democrats are elected.

But in federal court in Winston-Salem on Tuesday US District Court Judge James A. Beaty Jr. ruled that the government will be allowed to present evidence gathered from two vehicle stops that the defendants had sought to have suppressed on similar grounds.

A scathing inspector general report released in early August raised concerns that the volume of files and manner of storage created a risk of loss and exposure to water and fire damage, slowed productivity, put workers’ safety at risk and potentially compromised the structural integrity of the building.

Act Together Crisis Care, an emergency shelter run by Youth Focus for children in crisis or who are homeless or runaways, lost a long-standing contract with the county department of social services and turned to the city and county to request $70,000 from each.

The city condemned the building at 11 p.m. on Aug. 15 after Duke Energy cut the power off at Cascades Grandview just west of downtown Greensboro on Market Street that afternoon. Residents said they were shocked to find the police at their doors telling them to leave and directing them to an emergency shelter if they needed a place to stay for the night.

Roger Fitzgerald, who collects disability, was looking for a new place to live after the house he was living in went into foreclosure. A friend put him in touch with Chrisp, whom he recognized from Urban Ministry.

“We’ve got to understand that in order to win this election we have to appeal to the independent voter and the conservative Democrats,” he said.

The campaign stop at Absolute Style Furniture had people trekking along the shoulder of West Green Drive and waiting for hours in a broad and slow-moving line that snaked around industrial buildings.

US District Court Judge James A. Beaty Jr. also scheduled a hearing on a motion to suppress filed on behalf of defendant Jorge Cornell for Aug. 28.

The Forsyth County Commission’s Republican majority has signaled reluctance to grant a $1.5 million transfer to CenterPoint Human Services, an area mental health agency that manages federal, state and local funds; evaluates needs; and contracts with private providers to serve some of the county’s most vulnerable residents.

Gov. Mitt Romney, the presumptive Republican nominee for president, and his newly chosen running mate, US Rep. Paul Ryan addressed upwards of a thousand supporters in a sweltering High Point furniture factory on Sunday as large crowds turned out and the GOP rank and file showed signs of growing enthusiasm for their ticket.