Randy Parton, namesake of one of the worst boondoggles in recent N.C. political history, has died at age 67.
The bass-playing younger brother of cultural icon Dolly Parton died of cancer, according to a statement from the Parton family.
Randy Parton saddled state and local taxpayers with millions of dollars in debt from a performing arts center he arranged in 2005 with subsidies from a regional economic development partnership and money from other investors.
Carolina Journal reported extensively on the project.
The Randy Parton Theatre was a 35,000 square-foot, 1,500-seat music hall off Interstate 95 in Roanoke Rapids. Developers pitched the theater as the anchor of Carolina Crossroads, a planned 1,000-acre entertainment, retail, and lodging complex.