The North Carolina Department of Transportation announced Friday that Mike Robertson will head up the N.C. Division of Motor Vehicles.
The new commissioner is no stranger to government work. From 2002 through 2007, he served as the director of the N.C. Department of Crime Control and Public Safety’s Division of Alcohol and Law Enforcement.
“Mike’s extensive law enforcement experience makes him an excellent choice to lead DMV,” NCDOT Secretary Gene Conti said in a press release.
Robertson will start his new job on March 2. He will oversee daily operations for the division, which includes oversight of driver licenses, vehicle registration, and safety and emissions inspections.
Saturday, February 28, 2009
NC Poll says adults support increase in cigarette tax
More than 73 percent of North Carolina adults support or strongly support an increase in the state's cigarette tax as a way to close a growing budget shortfall, according to an Elon University poll released Friday.
The survey also found support for increasing taxes on beer, liquor and wine. The support for a cigarette tax hike comes despite concerns from the tobacco industry that sustains about 65,000 jobs in North Carolina - the nation's largest tobacco-producing state.
Poll director Hunter Bacot said the so-called "sin taxes" generally see higher support than others because they affect a select group of people. He said that support appears to be growing as the economy worsens.
"People realize that something has to be done, but they're willing to let other people do it before they themselves have to sacrifice," Bacot said, adding that he is a smoker. "They're saying 'go there first.'"
Federal health officials report that about 22.9 percent of North Carolina adults were smokers in 2007. Fittingly, the poll found that 22.7 percent of respondents objected to the cigarette tax increase.
Respondents widely opposed raising sales taxes, income taxes and gas taxes. The Elon poll surveyed 758 North Carolina residents Sunday through Thursday. It has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.6 percentage points.
State leaders are trying to close a potential $2.2 billion shortfall this year, and Gov. Beverly Perdue's office has estimated a potential $3.6 billion gap between projected revenues and expenses next year.
Senate leader Marc Basnight, D-Dare, along with anti-smoking advocates, have been the most vocal proponents of raising the cigarette tax, but lawmakers generally are averse to raising any taxes in a recession. And analysts at the General Assembly calculate doubling the current rate would only generate about $200 million in additional revenue next year.
The survey also found support for increasing taxes on beer, liquor and wine. The support for a cigarette tax hike comes despite concerns from the tobacco industry that sustains about 65,000 jobs in North Carolina - the nation's largest tobacco-producing state.
Poll director Hunter Bacot said the so-called "sin taxes" generally see higher support than others because they affect a select group of people. He said that support appears to be growing as the economy worsens.
"People realize that something has to be done, but they're willing to let other people do it before they themselves have to sacrifice," Bacot said, adding that he is a smoker. "They're saying 'go there first.'"
Federal health officials report that about 22.9 percent of North Carolina adults were smokers in 2007. Fittingly, the poll found that 22.7 percent of respondents objected to the cigarette tax increase.
Respondents widely opposed raising sales taxes, income taxes and gas taxes. The Elon poll surveyed 758 North Carolina residents Sunday through Thursday. It has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.6 percentage points.
State leaders are trying to close a potential $2.2 billion shortfall this year, and Gov. Beverly Perdue's office has estimated a potential $3.6 billion gap between projected revenues and expenses next year.
Senate leader Marc Basnight, D-Dare, along with anti-smoking advocates, have been the most vocal proponents of raising the cigarette tax, but lawmakers generally are averse to raising any taxes in a recession. And analysts at the General Assembly calculate doubling the current rate would only generate about $200 million in additional revenue next year.
Friday, February 27, 2009
N.C. launches website to track stimulus money
Gov. Bev Perdue has launched a Web site to track how money from the federal economic stimulus bill will pay for projects in North Carolina.
The site, www.ncrecovery.gov, also will provide information about local contract and grant opportunities.
It will be a guide to the services of the newly created Office of Economic Recovery and Investment. In the coming weeks, visitors will be able to track money as it is spent, suggest projects for funding and learn how to apply for contracts and grants that may be available.
“I am committed to providing the people of North Carolina with a simple-to-navigate guide that is efficient, transparent and accountable,” Perdue says. “I want the people of North Carolina to understand exactly how the money will be used to put North Carolina back to work.”
The federal government has created a similar site related to the stimulus bill at www.recovery.gov.
The site, www.ncrecovery.gov, also will provide information about local contract and grant opportunities.
It will be a guide to the services of the newly created Office of Economic Recovery and Investment. In the coming weeks, visitors will be able to track money as it is spent, suggest projects for funding and learn how to apply for contracts and grants that may be available.
“I am committed to providing the people of North Carolina with a simple-to-navigate guide that is efficient, transparent and accountable,” Perdue says. “I want the people of North Carolina to understand exactly how the money will be used to put North Carolina back to work.”
The federal government has created a similar site related to the stimulus bill at www.recovery.gov.
Thursday, February 26, 2009
North Carolina considers marketing cuts for furniture market
Budget cuts confronting state politicians could inhibit the ability of the High Point Furniture Market to promote itself to furniture industry insiders.
North Carolina is considering eliminating the nearly $900,000 the state contributes toward marketing the market each year. The state gave the event an extra $500,000 for promotional spending last year.
In all, North Carolina taxpayers spent more than $2.5 million to support the market last year.
High Point Market Authority president Brian Casey doubts the cuts will become a reality because lawmakers understand the market's economic impact.
A UNC Greensboro economic researcher estimated the market has a $1 billion impact.
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North Carolina is considering eliminating the nearly $900,000 the state contributes toward marketing the market each year. The state gave the event an extra $500,000 for promotional spending last year.
In all, North Carolina taxpayers spent more than $2.5 million to support the market last year.
High Point Market Authority president Brian Casey doubts the cuts will become a reality because lawmakers understand the market's economic impact.
A UNC Greensboro economic researcher estimated the market has a $1 billion impact.
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Here at ascensor we are at the cutting edge of web design business development and online marketing
Remax Yard Signs
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Wednesday, February 25, 2009
FDA did not inspect syringe plant despite reports
A North Carolina syringe factory linked to hundreds of sicknesses and five deaths operated for almost two years without an inspection despite a series of complaints that its needles were dirty or filled with colored particles.
Court documents in the North Carolina case show the U.S. Food and Drug Administration only inspected the AM2PAT Inc. plant in December 2007 after an outbreak of illness was reported by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Federal investigators contend that the company was so consumed with maximizing profits that it shipped syringes filled with saline and the blood-thinner heparin from a dingy facility without ensuring they were sterile. Authorities are now searching for the Chicago-based company's CEO Dushyant Patel, who was indicted last week. They believe he fled to his native India.
In 2007, before the outbreak of illness was traced back to the company's syringes, the FDA received more than a dozen reports of problems with AM2PAT's products. Some reported "orange specks" floating inside the unopened syringes, while others reported "yellow sediment" or "muddy brown" syringes filled with floating white specks.
FDA records show the agency first received complaints of particles in AM2PAT syringes in November 2005. FDA spokeswoman Siobhan DeLancey said the company was inspected in January 2006 but then wasn't checked again until the December 2007 inspection: a gap of 22 months.
DeLancey did not have an immediate explanation for why the facility wasn't inspected for so long. But inspections at AM2PAT were frequent by FDA standards. A Government Accountability Office report issued last year found the agency was more likely to inspect manufacturers like AM2PAT every five years.
"Typically a firm is inspected within two years," DeLancey said. "They'd prefer to do them faster, but there's always that resources issue that we have."
The FDA declined this week to release its inspection reports detailing its January 2006 and December 2007 visits to the plant in Angier, about 20 miles south of Raleigh. DeLancey said those reports could be released through a Freedom of Information Act request, which is pending.
But Diana Zuckerman, who tracks health and safety issues as president of the nonprofit National Research Center for Women and Families, said there's no excuse for inaction when people are reporting visible contamination of a product.
"Any time you get to a point where there's a contamination of a syringe you can see with the naked eye, you close down the business if you care about the public health," Zuckerman said. "You have to assume that this is the tip of the iceberg. If 15 people reported it, it happened a lot more than that."
AM2PAT, which also sold products under the name Sierra Pre-Filled, produced syringes of heparin and saline, which are often used on already vulnerable patients during cancer treatments, kidney dialysis and other procedures. Along with five deaths, prosecutors say the tainted product sickened up to 300 people, with some of the illnesses resulting in spinal meningitis and permanent brain damage.
"FDA can complain about resources, but if you're going to triage your resources, I think contaminated syringes would be pretty high on the list (to investigate)," Zuckerman said.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Jason Cowley said a person who had the title of "microbiologist" at the company was a teenager who had dropped out of high school. Photographs that prosecutors introduced as evidence also show a "clean room" with a window fan patched with duct tape. Other photos show a rundown facility with paint chipping from the floor and syringes piled high on a table.
"The pictures speak for themselves in regard to the type of environment that these syringes were being manufactured," Cowley said.
In court documents, investigators contend: the company bypassed internal checks designed to ensure the safety of syringes; testing reports were backdated to make it appear as if the syringes had passed internal inspection before shipping; and some of the test results, which the company was required by federal rules to keep on file, were also manipulated or fabricated.
Plant manager Aniruddha Patel, 43, of Carpentersville, Ill., and quality control director Ravindra Kumar Sharma, 54, of Richmond, Va., each were sentenced Monday in U.S. District Court in Raleigh to 4 1/2 years in prison for fraud and allowing tainted drugs into the marketplace.
Prosecutors do not know if Patel still has an attorney. He faces up to 95 years in prison if convicted.
Court documents in the North Carolina case show the U.S. Food and Drug Administration only inspected the AM2PAT Inc. plant in December 2007 after an outbreak of illness was reported by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Federal investigators contend that the company was so consumed with maximizing profits that it shipped syringes filled with saline and the blood-thinner heparin from a dingy facility without ensuring they were sterile. Authorities are now searching for the Chicago-based company's CEO Dushyant Patel, who was indicted last week. They believe he fled to his native India.
In 2007, before the outbreak of illness was traced back to the company's syringes, the FDA received more than a dozen reports of problems with AM2PAT's products. Some reported "orange specks" floating inside the unopened syringes, while others reported "yellow sediment" or "muddy brown" syringes filled with floating white specks.
FDA records show the agency first received complaints of particles in AM2PAT syringes in November 2005. FDA spokeswoman Siobhan DeLancey said the company was inspected in January 2006 but then wasn't checked again until the December 2007 inspection: a gap of 22 months.
DeLancey did not have an immediate explanation for why the facility wasn't inspected for so long. But inspections at AM2PAT were frequent by FDA standards. A Government Accountability Office report issued last year found the agency was more likely to inspect manufacturers like AM2PAT every five years.
"Typically a firm is inspected within two years," DeLancey said. "They'd prefer to do them faster, but there's always that resources issue that we have."
The FDA declined this week to release its inspection reports detailing its January 2006 and December 2007 visits to the plant in Angier, about 20 miles south of Raleigh. DeLancey said those reports could be released through a Freedom of Information Act request, which is pending.
But Diana Zuckerman, who tracks health and safety issues as president of the nonprofit National Research Center for Women and Families, said there's no excuse for inaction when people are reporting visible contamination of a product.
"Any time you get to a point where there's a contamination of a syringe you can see with the naked eye, you close down the business if you care about the public health," Zuckerman said. "You have to assume that this is the tip of the iceberg. If 15 people reported it, it happened a lot more than that."
AM2PAT, which also sold products under the name Sierra Pre-Filled, produced syringes of heparin and saline, which are often used on already vulnerable patients during cancer treatments, kidney dialysis and other procedures. Along with five deaths, prosecutors say the tainted product sickened up to 300 people, with some of the illnesses resulting in spinal meningitis and permanent brain damage.
"FDA can complain about resources, but if you're going to triage your resources, I think contaminated syringes would be pretty high on the list (to investigate)," Zuckerman said.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Jason Cowley said a person who had the title of "microbiologist" at the company was a teenager who had dropped out of high school. Photographs that prosecutors introduced as evidence also show a "clean room" with a window fan patched with duct tape. Other photos show a rundown facility with paint chipping from the floor and syringes piled high on a table.
"The pictures speak for themselves in regard to the type of environment that these syringes were being manufactured," Cowley said.
In court documents, investigators contend: the company bypassed internal checks designed to ensure the safety of syringes; testing reports were backdated to make it appear as if the syringes had passed internal inspection before shipping; and some of the test results, which the company was required by federal rules to keep on file, were also manipulated or fabricated.
Plant manager Aniruddha Patel, 43, of Carpentersville, Ill., and quality control director Ravindra Kumar Sharma, 54, of Richmond, Va., each were sentenced Monday in U.S. District Court in Raleigh to 4 1/2 years in prison for fraud and allowing tainted drugs into the marketplace.
Prosecutors do not know if Patel still has an attorney. He faces up to 95 years in prison if convicted.
Tuesday, February 24, 2009
Authorities say 1person killed in NC helicopter crash at Xe
A helicopter crash killed a pilot and seriously injured a passenger Tuesday on the northeastern North Carolina campus of the private security contractor Xe, authorities said.
The Federal Aviation Administration initially reported that one person was hurt in the 1:33 p.m. crash, but Camden County Sheriff Tony Perry confirmed the pilot had died.
Currituck County spokesman Randall Edwards said the seriously injured passenger was taken to a hospital in nearby Chesapeake, Va. FAA spokeswoman Kathleen Bergen said an instructor pilot and a student were aboard the small helicopter, which crashed when its skid caught on an object and flipped over.
Xe is the security and training company formerly known as Blackwater Worldwide and its campus is located about 30 minutes south of Norfolk, Va.
It was the first fatality in the 11-year history of the company's training facility, which is now known as U.S. Training Center Inc., company spokeswoman Anne Tyrrell said.
The Federal Aviation Administration initially reported that one person was hurt in the 1:33 p.m. crash, but Camden County Sheriff Tony Perry confirmed the pilot had died.
Currituck County spokesman Randall Edwards said the seriously injured passenger was taken to a hospital in nearby Chesapeake, Va. FAA spokeswoman Kathleen Bergen said an instructor pilot and a student were aboard the small helicopter, which crashed when its skid caught on an object and flipped over.
Xe is the security and training company formerly known as Blackwater Worldwide and its campus is located about 30 minutes south of Norfolk, Va.
It was the first fatality in the 11-year history of the company's training facility, which is now known as U.S. Training Center Inc., company spokeswoman Anne Tyrrell said.
Monday, February 23, 2009
Search stopped for soldier who fell overboard near N.C.
The U.S. Coast Guard suspended its search today for a U.S. Army soldier who fell overboard Sunday morning off the North Carolina coast.
Coast Guard and Marine Corps search crews were helping to search for a crewmember of the Army tugboat Major General Winfield Scott, which is homeported at Fort Eustis, according to a Coast Guard news release.
The crewmember was last seen on the bridge of the vessel while it was about 15 miles off Drum Inlet, south of Ocracoke Inlet. The crew searched the ship before declaring a man overboard and calling the Coast Guard for help at 11:20 a.m. Sunday, the news release said.
Assisting in the search was a Pedro helicopter rescue crew from Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point and Coast Guard rescue crews from Elizabeth City, Fort Macon and Hatteras Inlet.
The crews searched more than 1,572 square nautical miles during the 40-hour search for the soldier. The search area, the Coast Guard news release said, was larger than the state of Rhode Island.
The missing crewmember was not identified while officials notify next of kin.
The tugboat, which typically has a 24-member crew, was headed south to South Carolina to participate in a U.S. Navy training mission, said Karla Gonzalez, a spokeswoman for Fort Eustis.
Coast Guard and Marine Corps search crews were helping to search for a crewmember of the Army tugboat Major General Winfield Scott, which is homeported at Fort Eustis, according to a Coast Guard news release.
The crewmember was last seen on the bridge of the vessel while it was about 15 miles off Drum Inlet, south of Ocracoke Inlet. The crew searched the ship before declaring a man overboard and calling the Coast Guard for help at 11:20 a.m. Sunday, the news release said.
Assisting in the search was a Pedro helicopter rescue crew from Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point and Coast Guard rescue crews from Elizabeth City, Fort Macon and Hatteras Inlet.
The crews searched more than 1,572 square nautical miles during the 40-hour search for the soldier. The search area, the Coast Guard news release said, was larger than the state of Rhode Island.
The missing crewmember was not identified while officials notify next of kin.
The tugboat, which typically has a 24-member crew, was headed south to South Carolina to participate in a U.S. Navy training mission, said Karla Gonzalez, a spokeswoman for Fort Eustis.
Friday, February 20, 2009
Judge throws out NC's ban on video-poker machines
North Carolina can't legally ban video poker machines while also allowing the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians to operate the games on their lands within the state, a state court judge ruled.
The ruling late Thursday issued by Wake County Superior Court Judge Howard Manning overturns the 2006 law that ended the state's 13-year experiment with video poker machines, a popular attraction when legal in bars and convenience stores.
The ruling won't lead to the immediate return of the machines, since Manning also issued a stay of his order to give the state time to file an expected appeal.
Manning's decision came in a lawsuit filed by former video poker machine vendor McCracken and Amick Inc. and its owner. The Fayetteville company's attorneys argued the federal law that governs the state's gambling agreement with the Cherokee does not permit the state to bar games it allows on tribal lands.
"The state acted unlawfully in authorizing the Eastern Band of the Cherokee Indians to possess and operate video gaming machines on tribal lands within North Carolina because that activity is not allowed elsewhere in the state," Manning wrote in his order.
Sen. Charlie Albertson, D-Duplin, the primary booster of the legislative ban, said late Thursday it was approved after lawmakers heard repeated complaints about people losing money playing machines that could legally offer only $10 in merchandise as a prize.
"There was no regulation of these machines," Albertson said. "You couldn't find anything good about them, to tell you the truth."
After legalizing the machines in 1993 and approving new regulations on them in 2000, lawmakers imposed a one-year phase out of the games that was completed in June 2007. The Eastern Band began offering video poker machines in the mid-1990s after it negotiated a gambling agreement with then-Gov. Jim Hunt, who was obligated by federal law to work out a deal.
The lawsuit filed last fall and Manning issued an oral ruling from the bench Monday in Raleigh, said Mike Tadych, an attorney for the plaintiffs. The judge's written order was filed late Thursday afternoon.
Tadych said he argued that McCracken and Amick shouldn't be forced out of the video poker machine business because the Cherokee Indians were still allowed to offer the games to customers at their reservation casino.
"The Legislature couldn't carve out the exception after prohibiting this type of gaming in this law," Tadych said. The text of the law said the statewide ban would be voided if a court made a final ruling similar to what Manning approved.
The video poker ban law "is null, void and of no effect," Manning wrote.
Asked about Manning's decision, a spokeswoman for North Carolina Attorney General Roy Cooper declined to comment Thursday evening.
Associations with the video poker industry sent one western North Carolina sheriff to federal prison and led to an investigation of former House Speaker Jim Black.
Former Buncombe County Sheriff Bobby Medford was sentenced to 15 years in prison after being convicted last May of taking up to $300,000 in bribes from illegal video gambling operators while sheriff. Many witnesses testified they gave money to Medford so he would turn a blind eye to their operations.
State and federal officials also had investigated Black's ties to the video poker industry for two years. Black's campaign had been the largest recipient of legislative campaign donations from the video poker industry. The Mecklenburg County Democrat had blocked an outright video poker machine ban for years, arguing they generated thousands of jobs.
But Black finally relented on the ban. In 2007, Black was sent to federal prison after pleading guilty to accepting illegal cash payments from chiropractors.
The ruling late Thursday issued by Wake County Superior Court Judge Howard Manning overturns the 2006 law that ended the state's 13-year experiment with video poker machines, a popular attraction when legal in bars and convenience stores.
The ruling won't lead to the immediate return of the machines, since Manning also issued a stay of his order to give the state time to file an expected appeal.
Manning's decision came in a lawsuit filed by former video poker machine vendor McCracken and Amick Inc. and its owner. The Fayetteville company's attorneys argued the federal law that governs the state's gambling agreement with the Cherokee does not permit the state to bar games it allows on tribal lands.
"The state acted unlawfully in authorizing the Eastern Band of the Cherokee Indians to possess and operate video gaming machines on tribal lands within North Carolina because that activity is not allowed elsewhere in the state," Manning wrote in his order.
Sen. Charlie Albertson, D-Duplin, the primary booster of the legislative ban, said late Thursday it was approved after lawmakers heard repeated complaints about people losing money playing machines that could legally offer only $10 in merchandise as a prize.
"There was no regulation of these machines," Albertson said. "You couldn't find anything good about them, to tell you the truth."
After legalizing the machines in 1993 and approving new regulations on them in 2000, lawmakers imposed a one-year phase out of the games that was completed in June 2007. The Eastern Band began offering video poker machines in the mid-1990s after it negotiated a gambling agreement with then-Gov. Jim Hunt, who was obligated by federal law to work out a deal.
The lawsuit filed last fall and Manning issued an oral ruling from the bench Monday in Raleigh, said Mike Tadych, an attorney for the plaintiffs. The judge's written order was filed late Thursday afternoon.
Tadych said he argued that McCracken and Amick shouldn't be forced out of the video poker machine business because the Cherokee Indians were still allowed to offer the games to customers at their reservation casino.
"The Legislature couldn't carve out the exception after prohibiting this type of gaming in this law," Tadych said. The text of the law said the statewide ban would be voided if a court made a final ruling similar to what Manning approved.
The video poker ban law "is null, void and of no effect," Manning wrote.
Asked about Manning's decision, a spokeswoman for North Carolina Attorney General Roy Cooper declined to comment Thursday evening.
Associations with the video poker industry sent one western North Carolina sheriff to federal prison and led to an investigation of former House Speaker Jim Black.
Former Buncombe County Sheriff Bobby Medford was sentenced to 15 years in prison after being convicted last May of taking up to $300,000 in bribes from illegal video gambling operators while sheriff. Many witnesses testified they gave money to Medford so he would turn a blind eye to their operations.
State and federal officials also had investigated Black's ties to the video poker industry for two years. Black's campaign had been the largest recipient of legislative campaign donations from the video poker industry. The Mecklenburg County Democrat had blocked an outright video poker machine ban for years, arguing they generated thousands of jobs.
But Black finally relented on the ban. In 2007, Black was sent to federal prison after pleading guilty to accepting illegal cash payments from chiropractors.
Thursday, February 19, 2009
Green Beret faces NC court-martial in Afghan death
The court-martial has begun for a North Carolina based Green Beret from Michigan accused of killing and mutilating an Afghan man he encountered during a convoy in March.
Master Sgt. Joseph D. Newell of Tecumseh, Mich. is charged with murder. The 38-year-old could face life in prison if convicted.
Ten jurors were selected Thursday morning. All are in the Special Forces and outrank Newell. The judge, Col. Patrick Parrish, expected opening statements later Thursday.
Newell is accused of fatally shooting a man he thought was an insurgent and cutting off the man's ear. His defense attorney has suggested the case is largely based on testimony from members of his Special Forces team who disliked him.
Master Sgt. Joseph D. Newell of Tecumseh, Mich. is charged with murder. The 38-year-old could face life in prison if convicted.
Ten jurors were selected Thursday morning. All are in the Special Forces and outrank Newell. The judge, Col. Patrick Parrish, expected opening statements later Thursday.
Newell is accused of fatally shooting a man he thought was an insurgent and cutting off the man's ear. His defense attorney has suggested the case is largely based on testimony from members of his Special Forces team who disliked him.
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
NC governor says stimulus isn't all she hoped for
Gov. Beverly Perdue said she is preparing to spend North Carolina's slice of an economic stimulus plan quickly, hoping to infuse the cash into projects to get people to work and get the attention of Washington.
The North Carolina Democratic leader said the bill isn't all that she'd hoped for, arguing that it should have contained more money to cover Medicaid shortfalls and more investment in infrastructure. But, overall, Perdue said she was pleased.
"At this point in time, anything is better than nothing," Perdue said Monday, talking with reporters after a speech at a biotech conference in Raleigh. "It's great money. It's going to quickly put some people in our state to work."
The Democratic chief executive said she is putting together a panel to oversee the spending of the stimulus money and that she's lining up projects so that they can use the money quickly. She wants North Carolina to invest so quickly and efficiently that the state might be able to spend the money before other states that remain stuck in bureaucracy.
Her North Carolina office released a list of billions of dollars worth of "shovel-ready" projects, spanning from roads to school construction to wastewater improvements.
"It is so important in my mind that as the money becomes available that we immediately infuse our projects with resources to begin, so that we might have a shot at a second bite at the apple," Perdue said. "We need to do it quickly and efficiently."
North Carolina is expecting to receive at least $6.1 billion from the $787 billion stimulus plan expected to be signed by Obama on Tuesday. That doesn't include money for tax cuts and other competitive spending.
Perdue had been panned by some in North Carolina for taking a vacation in the midst of the stimulus debate and just one month after taking office. She refused Monday to say where she was during the four-day trip, but she said that she was working.
"If that's all I take flak about taking four days, and knowing that in the 21st Century you're never really off with technology and cell phones you just kind of laugh about it," she said. "This is something that we planned long ago. Every family should have an opportunity to be together if they can."
The North Carolina Democratic leader said the bill isn't all that she'd hoped for, arguing that it should have contained more money to cover Medicaid shortfalls and more investment in infrastructure. But, overall, Perdue said she was pleased.
"At this point in time, anything is better than nothing," Perdue said Monday, talking with reporters after a speech at a biotech conference in Raleigh. "It's great money. It's going to quickly put some people in our state to work."
The Democratic chief executive said she is putting together a panel to oversee the spending of the stimulus money and that she's lining up projects so that they can use the money quickly. She wants North Carolina to invest so quickly and efficiently that the state might be able to spend the money before other states that remain stuck in bureaucracy.
Her North Carolina office released a list of billions of dollars worth of "shovel-ready" projects, spanning from roads to school construction to wastewater improvements.
"It is so important in my mind that as the money becomes available that we immediately infuse our projects with resources to begin, so that we might have a shot at a second bite at the apple," Perdue said. "We need to do it quickly and efficiently."
North Carolina is expecting to receive at least $6.1 billion from the $787 billion stimulus plan expected to be signed by Obama on Tuesday. That doesn't include money for tax cuts and other competitive spending.
Perdue had been panned by some in North Carolina for taking a vacation in the midst of the stimulus debate and just one month after taking office. She refused Monday to say where she was during the four-day trip, but she said that she was working.
"If that's all I take flak about taking four days, and knowing that in the 21st Century you're never really off with technology and cell phones you just kind of laugh about it," she said. "This is something that we planned long ago. Every family should have an opportunity to be together if they can."
Tuesday, February 17, 2009
Obama administration: Stimulus act to net 105,000 jobs for North Carolina
The $789 billion economic stimulus package that President Barack Obama will sign into law Tuesday will create or save 105,000 jobs in North Carolina over the next two years.
That's according to the White House, which released state-by-state numbers on the estimated impact of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, a nationwide effort to create jobs and stimulate growth.
The White House also provided estimates of the number of jobs that would be gained in each Congressional District. The three districts the cover most of the Triangle area – districts 2, 4 and 13 – are projected to gain a total of 26,200 jobs.
The stimulus package – which will become law at a signing ceremony in Denver, Colo., – will create or save 3.5 million jobs nationwide over the next two years, with more than 90 percent in the private sector, according to the Council of Economic Advisers.
Christina Romer, chair of the Council of Economic Advisers, and Jared Bernstein, chief economist for the vice president, analyzed the overall job impact of the act. The numbers also were derived from estimates of the working age population, employment, and industrial composition of each state.
The U.S. lost 598,000 jobs last month, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, and the unemployment rate jumped to 7.6 percent. About 3.6 million jobs have disappeared since the recession began in December 2007 — half of those in the past three months, according to BLS.
North Carolina's unemployment rate was 8.7 percent in December, according to the Employment Security Commission of North Carolina, which will unveil the state's January unemployment number on March 11.
That's according to the White House, which released state-by-state numbers on the estimated impact of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, a nationwide effort to create jobs and stimulate growth.
The White House also provided estimates of the number of jobs that would be gained in each Congressional District. The three districts the cover most of the Triangle area – districts 2, 4 and 13 – are projected to gain a total of 26,200 jobs.
The stimulus package – which will become law at a signing ceremony in Denver, Colo., – will create or save 3.5 million jobs nationwide over the next two years, with more than 90 percent in the private sector, according to the Council of Economic Advisers.
Christina Romer, chair of the Council of Economic Advisers, and Jared Bernstein, chief economist for the vice president, analyzed the overall job impact of the act. The numbers also were derived from estimates of the working age population, employment, and industrial composition of each state.
The U.S. lost 598,000 jobs last month, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, and the unemployment rate jumped to 7.6 percent. About 3.6 million jobs have disappeared since the recession began in December 2007 — half of those in the past three months, according to BLS.
North Carolina's unemployment rate was 8.7 percent in December, according to the Employment Security Commission of North Carolina, which will unveil the state's January unemployment number on March 11.
Monday, February 16, 2009
Winter returns to NC with snow likely in mountains
After a run of unseasonably warm weather, much of North Carolina has been abruptly reacquainted with winter.
The National Weather Service reported that temperatures dropped into the 30s across most of the state Monday and aren't expected to get above the 40s during the day. The coast could see highs in the 50s.
Patchy snow flurries are expected across much of central North Carolina, including Winston-Salem, Raleigh, Roanoke Rapids and Wadesboro. But forecasters said the snow will only stick to colder surfaces, such as cars. All precipitation is expected to end by late morning.
Forecasters said upper level disturbance combining with a weak low pressure system over the mountains helped produce the winter weather.
The National Weather Service reported that temperatures dropped into the 30s across most of the state Monday and aren't expected to get above the 40s during the day. The coast could see highs in the 50s.
Patchy snow flurries are expected across much of central North Carolina, including Winston-Salem, Raleigh, Roanoke Rapids and Wadesboro. But forecasters said the snow will only stick to colder surfaces, such as cars. All precipitation is expected to end by late morning.
Forecasters said upper level disturbance combining with a weak low pressure system over the mountains helped produce the winter weather.
Sunday, February 15, 2009
Escheats Fund getting attention as value drops
A little-known state fund flush for years with forgotten insurance policies and utility deposits soon will get lots of attention with projections its open spigot for college scholarships will run dry.
The Escheats Fund, now with $584 million, could go broke in 2012 if the Legislature doesn't find another way to pay for student financial aid that's drawing down its balance rapidly.
The fund is expected to provide at least $210 million in financial aid to college students this fiscal year, helping, among others, 54,000 students at University of North Carolina system campuses.
Lawmakers "need to sort of make a decision: either they find other sources for scholarships or reduce the rate that they're paying out," said new State Treasurer Janet Cowell, whose office manages the fund. Otherwise, Cowell said, future students won't have as much access to grants and loans.
Lawmakers have tapped into the fund's balance with increasing frequency in recent years. They're aware of the trend, although fixing it is not as urgent as this year's budget troubles.
"It was done to help more kids go to college, very simply," said House Speaker Joe Hackney, D-Orange. "We have an entire session to figure out what we're going to do about scholarships this year, and we re-examine that every single year."
Cowell's office estimates that without changes, the fund's value will drop to $297 million by mid-2010 and fall to $83 million in 2011.
The demand for scholarships will only grow as the UNC system projects student enrollment to grow by 50,000 students, or more than 20 percent, in the next decade. At least one Republican said the dwindling Escheats Fund is a symptom of a larger problem with legislative budget-writers, most of whom have been Democrats.
"The creative financing that's been used in recent years is catching up with us," said Rep. Nelson Dollar, R-Wake, vice chairman of the House education university subcommittee.
The Escheats Fund is a pot of money where property unclaimed or forgotten by its previous owners are sent to Cowell's office by banks, utilities, government agencies or insurance companies.
The treasurer tries to return held funds to their rightful owners and invests the rest of the money. The state constitution requires proceeds go toward aid for needy students attending public higher education institutions, including community colleges.
Valued at $184 million in 1998, the fund's size has soared as companies sent more held cash. The additional money outpaced efforts by then-Treasurer Richard Moore to promote an online database that helped return up to $41 million annually to their owners.
Lawmakers historically used interest earned on the escheats for financial aid. But this decade, they have eaten into the fund's principal, swapping out scholarship money paid through the state's general operating funds.
The Escheats Fund transferred $101 million in principal to scholarship programs for the 12 months ending last June 30, according to the treasurer's office.
This fiscal year, the principal will be doubled, mostly due to a $60 million requirement through Gov. Mike Easley's EARN Scholars initiative, which funds $4,000 grants to students in low-income families so they can obtain a college degree debt-free.
"It's a way that can really cut back on the amount they borrowed for college," said Steven Brooks, executive director of the N.C. State Education Assistance Authority, which distributes student aid. "It's a wonderful public policy."
Easley had wanted to use taxpayer money for the program when he introduced it in 2007. But the General Assembly decided last year to earmark escheats for more than half the grants in part due to worsening budget numbers, said Sen. Tony Rand, D-Cumberland.
"The revenue estimate went down and the amount of money available," Rand said. "It was simply a matter of trying to find available funds to allow this to happen."
Budget-writers now must decide whether to spend another $40 million on the EARN Scholars program next year. Gov. Beverly Perdue is promoting college affordability. And the UNC system is seeking $23.4 million more for financial aid.
"We understand that we must protect the integrity of the Escheats Fund," said Rob Nelson, the UNC system's vice president for finance. "But we also know that we want to have enough need-based grant money so that every student ... who is eligible receives those funds."
A state law that says the Escheats Fund can't fall below $400 million can be changed. Shifting scholarships more to taxpayer money may be difficult in a year when lawmakers may have to narrow a $3 billion spending gap.
Cutting scholarship aid would seem to be a bad political move.
Hackney and Rand said they understand that the fund's faucet can't be a torrent forever.
"This fund has existed for a long time to help students," Rand said. "We really have to be careful.
Source
The Escheats Fund, now with $584 million, could go broke in 2012 if the Legislature doesn't find another way to pay for student financial aid that's drawing down its balance rapidly.
The fund is expected to provide at least $210 million in financial aid to college students this fiscal year, helping, among others, 54,000 students at University of North Carolina system campuses.
Lawmakers "need to sort of make a decision: either they find other sources for scholarships or reduce the rate that they're paying out," said new State Treasurer Janet Cowell, whose office manages the fund. Otherwise, Cowell said, future students won't have as much access to grants and loans.
Lawmakers have tapped into the fund's balance with increasing frequency in recent years. They're aware of the trend, although fixing it is not as urgent as this year's budget troubles.
"It was done to help more kids go to college, very simply," said House Speaker Joe Hackney, D-Orange. "We have an entire session to figure out what we're going to do about scholarships this year, and we re-examine that every single year."
Cowell's office estimates that without changes, the fund's value will drop to $297 million by mid-2010 and fall to $83 million in 2011.
The demand for scholarships will only grow as the UNC system projects student enrollment to grow by 50,000 students, or more than 20 percent, in the next decade. At least one Republican said the dwindling Escheats Fund is a symptom of a larger problem with legislative budget-writers, most of whom have been Democrats.
"The creative financing that's been used in recent years is catching up with us," said Rep. Nelson Dollar, R-Wake, vice chairman of the House education university subcommittee.
The Escheats Fund is a pot of money where property unclaimed or forgotten by its previous owners are sent to Cowell's office by banks, utilities, government agencies or insurance companies.
The treasurer tries to return held funds to their rightful owners and invests the rest of the money. The state constitution requires proceeds go toward aid for needy students attending public higher education institutions, including community colleges.
Valued at $184 million in 1998, the fund's size has soared as companies sent more held cash. The additional money outpaced efforts by then-Treasurer Richard Moore to promote an online database that helped return up to $41 million annually to their owners.
Lawmakers historically used interest earned on the escheats for financial aid. But this decade, they have eaten into the fund's principal, swapping out scholarship money paid through the state's general operating funds.
The Escheats Fund transferred $101 million in principal to scholarship programs for the 12 months ending last June 30, according to the treasurer's office.
This fiscal year, the principal will be doubled, mostly due to a $60 million requirement through Gov. Mike Easley's EARN Scholars initiative, which funds $4,000 grants to students in low-income families so they can obtain a college degree debt-free.
"It's a way that can really cut back on the amount they borrowed for college," said Steven Brooks, executive director of the N.C. State Education Assistance Authority, which distributes student aid. "It's a wonderful public policy."
Easley had wanted to use taxpayer money for the program when he introduced it in 2007. But the General Assembly decided last year to earmark escheats for more than half the grants in part due to worsening budget numbers, said Sen. Tony Rand, D-Cumberland.
"The revenue estimate went down and the amount of money available," Rand said. "It was simply a matter of trying to find available funds to allow this to happen."
Budget-writers now must decide whether to spend another $40 million on the EARN Scholars program next year. Gov. Beverly Perdue is promoting college affordability. And the UNC system is seeking $23.4 million more for financial aid.
"We understand that we must protect the integrity of the Escheats Fund," said Rob Nelson, the UNC system's vice president for finance. "But we also know that we want to have enough need-based grant money so that every student ... who is eligible receives those funds."
A state law that says the Escheats Fund can't fall below $400 million can be changed. Shifting scholarships more to taxpayer money may be difficult in a year when lawmakers may have to narrow a $3 billion spending gap.
Cutting scholarship aid would seem to be a bad political move.
Hackney and Rand said they understand that the fund's faucet can't be a torrent forever.
"This fund has existed for a long time to help students," Rand said. "We really have to be careful.
Source
Charlotte has same problem as Wall Street
The financial collapse has hit the city known as Wall Street South.
For years, Bank of America Corp. and Wachovia Corp. helped turn Charlotte into a financial powerhouse. Now, the big banks have thrust it into the same predicament as the real Wall Street — the city is losing thousands of jobs and an unquantifiable amount of prestige. Residents who invested heavily in the banks have seen their wealth dissipate and lifestyles change radically.
"It's kind of sad, disheartening because the banks have been the backbone of Charlotte for so long," said Carl Clayton, a 55-year-old retired school teacher.
The loss of so many bank jobs is causing upheaval in other industries. Consumers who have been laid off or fear being out of work are curtailing their spending, forcing restaurants and retailers to close — among them Morton's, a high-end steakhouse, and a 15-month-old Home Depot Design Center. Even some of the Charlotte's lively night clubs have shuttered their doors.
"There's a bit of a state of disbelief," said Bob Morgan, president of the Charlotte Chamber of Commerce. "We are seeing things happen that no one else has contemplated before."
Charlotte remains the nation's second-biggest bank town by assets — second to New York, and in front of San Francisco. But, Morgan said, "we don't know what the city is going to look like once we emerge."
"We do know that tremendous wealth has already been lost."
A big reason why is the amount of banking shares owned by people who have worked for Wachovia, now owned by Wells Fargo & Co., and Bank of America. Both have used their stock to compensate employees.
Bank of America's shares have been among the hardest hit among financial companies. The company has lost more than 56 percent of its value since it closed on its acquisition of investment bank Merrill Lynch & Co. at the beginning of the year. The stock is down nearly 85 percent from a year ago.
Last year, before Wachovia was acquired by Wells Fargo, its shares had slid 85 percent.
Clayton estimates he has lost about $60,000 because of stock holdings in the two banks, along with other North Carolina banks, including BB&T Corp.
"I had a lot of bank stock, but now it's gone," Clayton said. "What wealth I had, is gone."
Residents and employees never expected such a downfall. Wachovia, once headquartered in Winston-Salem, N.C., joined the Top 5 ranks of national banks after it was acquired by Charlotte-based First Union Corp. in 2001. The combined company took Wachovia's name.
Banker Hugh McColl Jr. led NationsBank Corp. through some 70 acquisitions starting in the early 1980s. His biggest coup was San Francisco-based BankAmerica Corp., a financial institution bigger than NationsBank. He adopted the name and also moved the headquarters to Charlotte.
Some say Charlotte's troubles began in 2006, when Wachovia acquired mortgage lender Golden West Financial Corp. for roughly $25 billion at the height of the housing boom. With that purchase, Wachovia inherited a $122 billion portfolio of deteriorating mortgages, leaving the company with huge losses. Charlotte residents were unnerved as they watched Wachovia falter and then be taken over by Wells Fargo in what amounted to a fire sale late last year.
Down the street, at Bank of America, things were looking just as bleak. A series of bad bets in the investment banking unit over the past year sank companywide profits, and as Bank of America completed its acquisition of struggling investment bank Merrill Lynch & Co., shareholders watched its stock price slide to historic lows.
Both Wells Fargo and Bank of America have said they remain "committed" to Charlotte.
Wells Fargo, based in San Francisco, has said Charlotte will be its eastern headquarters, though it remains unclear exactly what that means. The fear is that Wells Fargo, as it completes its integration of Wachovia, will keep shedding Charlotte positions. Wachovia has about 20,000 employees in the city.
Bank of America, meanwhile, with about 15,000 employees in Charlotte, is eliminating some 35,000 jobs companywide.
North Carolina already has nearly 400,000 unemployed workers. The jobless rate was 8.7 percent in December, the highest since 1983, according to the most recent available data.
Charlotte, with a population of nearly 700,000, is the 20th-largest city in the country. About 45 percent of the residents of its home county, Mecklenburg, make more than $50,000 a year, according to data supplied by the Charlotte Chamber of Commerce.
Outside the downtown offices buildings filled with bank employees, there's a sense of disbelief as people huddle together drinking coffee or smoking cigarettes and then shuffle off to their jobs. When a reporter approached employees for interviews, they declined to speak, or said they didn't want to give their names, worried about keeping their jobs.
Charlotte relies on the banks for more than employment — its lifestyle, even its skyline has depended on Wachovia and Bank of America.
Wachovia sponsors the city's annual PGA tournament, among the most popular on tour, while Bank of America's name is on the football stadium and the bank is a sponsor of one of NASCAR's top auto races. Both fill towering downtown office buildings — Wells Fargo, now by way of Wachovia, is building a 48-story headquarters and adjoining city arts campus. The bankers and traders who work for both helped create the demand — and now vacancies — for the high-rise condos near by.
"I have received more calls over the past month from people wanting to list their homes, with a majority of them having financial problems," said Rich Ferretti, a broker at Jamison Reality in Matthews, a suburb of Charlotte.
Stores in the city's affluent SouthPark area are less crowded on the weekends. And a recent happy hour at Capital Grille, located just across from Bank of America's headquarters, was sparsely attended.
Charlotte also faces civic and philanthropic repercussions. Unlike Wachovia, Wells Fargo's executives have few North Carolina ties. Bank of America typically offers up the lead gift on projects.
"We will honor our existing commitments and we are still in the process of determining any future commitments," Wells Fargo spokeswoman Mary Eshet said.
Now, the city is waiting for major changes.
"A lot of our friends work for the banks," said Leslie Hunter, a 38-year-old mother of two. "People are not stopping everything, but their awareness has increased."
After being laid off from his bank consulting job 11 months ago, Jim Edwards' daily routine of networking, applying for jobs and going to the gym keeps his spirits up.
"I've been out of work and living on my retirement income," said the 62-year-old, who added it's been a struggle finding employment because no one is hiring.
While many unknowns remain, Mayor Pat McCrory is optimistic.
"Charlotte does have very strong resilience and I anticipate that a lot of the talent that's moving out of the banks will stay," he said in an interview with The Associated Press.
Some job relief may be moving in. GMAC Financial Services and Morgan Stanley are rumored to be looking to move at least parts of their companies to the Charlotte area.
GMAC Financial Service's chief executive, Al G. de Molina, used to be Bank of America's chief financial officer. Morgan Stanley has already hired at least four former Wachovia executives to help the New York-based firm's retail banking expansion effort.
McCrory wouldn't talk about the two firms, but said the large amount of talent in Charlotte will "attract others in the financial services industry to set up here."
"We're going through a major adjustment, but when the economy rebounds, I think Charlotte will rebound the quickest," he said.
For years, Bank of America Corp. and Wachovia Corp. helped turn Charlotte into a financial powerhouse. Now, the big banks have thrust it into the same predicament as the real Wall Street — the city is losing thousands of jobs and an unquantifiable amount of prestige. Residents who invested heavily in the banks have seen their wealth dissipate and lifestyles change radically.
"It's kind of sad, disheartening because the banks have been the backbone of Charlotte for so long," said Carl Clayton, a 55-year-old retired school teacher.
The loss of so many bank jobs is causing upheaval in other industries. Consumers who have been laid off or fear being out of work are curtailing their spending, forcing restaurants and retailers to close — among them Morton's, a high-end steakhouse, and a 15-month-old Home Depot Design Center. Even some of the Charlotte's lively night clubs have shuttered their doors.
"There's a bit of a state of disbelief," said Bob Morgan, president of the Charlotte Chamber of Commerce. "We are seeing things happen that no one else has contemplated before."
Charlotte remains the nation's second-biggest bank town by assets — second to New York, and in front of San Francisco. But, Morgan said, "we don't know what the city is going to look like once we emerge."
"We do know that tremendous wealth has already been lost."
A big reason why is the amount of banking shares owned by people who have worked for Wachovia, now owned by Wells Fargo & Co., and Bank of America. Both have used their stock to compensate employees.
Bank of America's shares have been among the hardest hit among financial companies. The company has lost more than 56 percent of its value since it closed on its acquisition of investment bank Merrill Lynch & Co. at the beginning of the year. The stock is down nearly 85 percent from a year ago.
Last year, before Wachovia was acquired by Wells Fargo, its shares had slid 85 percent.
Clayton estimates he has lost about $60,000 because of stock holdings in the two banks, along with other North Carolina banks, including BB&T Corp.
"I had a lot of bank stock, but now it's gone," Clayton said. "What wealth I had, is gone."
Residents and employees never expected such a downfall. Wachovia, once headquartered in Winston-Salem, N.C., joined the Top 5 ranks of national banks after it was acquired by Charlotte-based First Union Corp. in 2001. The combined company took Wachovia's name.
Banker Hugh McColl Jr. led NationsBank Corp. through some 70 acquisitions starting in the early 1980s. His biggest coup was San Francisco-based BankAmerica Corp., a financial institution bigger than NationsBank. He adopted the name and also moved the headquarters to Charlotte.
Some say Charlotte's troubles began in 2006, when Wachovia acquired mortgage lender Golden West Financial Corp. for roughly $25 billion at the height of the housing boom. With that purchase, Wachovia inherited a $122 billion portfolio of deteriorating mortgages, leaving the company with huge losses. Charlotte residents were unnerved as they watched Wachovia falter and then be taken over by Wells Fargo in what amounted to a fire sale late last year.
Down the street, at Bank of America, things were looking just as bleak. A series of bad bets in the investment banking unit over the past year sank companywide profits, and as Bank of America completed its acquisition of struggling investment bank Merrill Lynch & Co., shareholders watched its stock price slide to historic lows.
Both Wells Fargo and Bank of America have said they remain "committed" to Charlotte.
Wells Fargo, based in San Francisco, has said Charlotte will be its eastern headquarters, though it remains unclear exactly what that means. The fear is that Wells Fargo, as it completes its integration of Wachovia, will keep shedding Charlotte positions. Wachovia has about 20,000 employees in the city.
Bank of America, meanwhile, with about 15,000 employees in Charlotte, is eliminating some 35,000 jobs companywide.
North Carolina already has nearly 400,000 unemployed workers. The jobless rate was 8.7 percent in December, the highest since 1983, according to the most recent available data.
Charlotte, with a population of nearly 700,000, is the 20th-largest city in the country. About 45 percent of the residents of its home county, Mecklenburg, make more than $50,000 a year, according to data supplied by the Charlotte Chamber of Commerce.
Outside the downtown offices buildings filled with bank employees, there's a sense of disbelief as people huddle together drinking coffee or smoking cigarettes and then shuffle off to their jobs. When a reporter approached employees for interviews, they declined to speak, or said they didn't want to give their names, worried about keeping their jobs.
Charlotte relies on the banks for more than employment — its lifestyle, even its skyline has depended on Wachovia and Bank of America.
Wachovia sponsors the city's annual PGA tournament, among the most popular on tour, while Bank of America's name is on the football stadium and the bank is a sponsor of one of NASCAR's top auto races. Both fill towering downtown office buildings — Wells Fargo, now by way of Wachovia, is building a 48-story headquarters and adjoining city arts campus. The bankers and traders who work for both helped create the demand — and now vacancies — for the high-rise condos near by.
"I have received more calls over the past month from people wanting to list their homes, with a majority of them having financial problems," said Rich Ferretti, a broker at Jamison Reality in Matthews, a suburb of Charlotte.
Stores in the city's affluent SouthPark area are less crowded on the weekends. And a recent happy hour at Capital Grille, located just across from Bank of America's headquarters, was sparsely attended.
Charlotte also faces civic and philanthropic repercussions. Unlike Wachovia, Wells Fargo's executives have few North Carolina ties. Bank of America typically offers up the lead gift on projects.
"We will honor our existing commitments and we are still in the process of determining any future commitments," Wells Fargo spokeswoman Mary Eshet said.
Now, the city is waiting for major changes.
"A lot of our friends work for the banks," said Leslie Hunter, a 38-year-old mother of two. "People are not stopping everything, but their awareness has increased."
After being laid off from his bank consulting job 11 months ago, Jim Edwards' daily routine of networking, applying for jobs and going to the gym keeps his spirits up.
"I've been out of work and living on my retirement income," said the 62-year-old, who added it's been a struggle finding employment because no one is hiring.
While many unknowns remain, Mayor Pat McCrory is optimistic.
"Charlotte does have very strong resilience and I anticipate that a lot of the talent that's moving out of the banks will stay," he said in an interview with The Associated Press.
Some job relief may be moving in. GMAC Financial Services and Morgan Stanley are rumored to be looking to move at least parts of their companies to the Charlotte area.
GMAC Financial Service's chief executive, Al G. de Molina, used to be Bank of America's chief financial officer. Morgan Stanley has already hired at least four former Wachovia executives to help the New York-based firm's retail banking expansion effort.
McCrory wouldn't talk about the two firms, but said the large amount of talent in Charlotte will "attract others in the financial services industry to set up here."
"We're going through a major adjustment, but when the economy rebounds, I think Charlotte will rebound the quickest," he said.
Saturday, February 14, 2009
Bank of America bonuses attacked by North Carolina
Bank of America Corp (BAC.N), which has received $45 billion of taxpayer money in the last four months, should not be paying out bonuses to its employees and must justify why it is doing so, the attorney general of North Carolina, the bank's home state, said.
"I am appalled that 2008 bonuses would be distributed, given the current circumstances," Attorney General Roy Cooper said in a February 12 letter to the largest U.S. bank. "I expect an explanation from the board as to the appropriateness of any bonuses while public money is being provided to the bank."
Cooper is also investigating the timing and scope of 2008 bonuses paid by Merrill Lynch & Co, which Bank of America bought on Jan 1. The Charlotte-based bank is due to pay bonuses on Sunday, Cooper said.
The bank is cooperating with the attorney general, bank spokesman Scott Silvestri said.
Big banks are under fire from investors, politicians and regulators over bonuses amid the multibillion-dollar bailout of the U.S. financial industry.
New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo is also investigating the Merrill bonuses. In a letter to Rep. Barney Frank, who chairs the House of Representatives Financial Services Committee, Cuomo said Merrill gave at least $1 million to each of nearly 700 employees.
Silvestri said Bank of America is paying bonuses to associates based on the $4 billion it made in profit during 2008. Bonuses have been reduced by more than 60 percent, on average, from 2007, he said.
Chief Executive Kenneth Lewis and other top executives are receiving no bonuses, and the next rung of executives are seeing bonus payouts cut by 80 percent, Silvestri said.
Bank of America shares were down 2 percent at $5.75 in Friday afternoon trade.
"I am appalled that 2008 bonuses would be distributed, given the current circumstances," Attorney General Roy Cooper said in a February 12 letter to the largest U.S. bank. "I expect an explanation from the board as to the appropriateness of any bonuses while public money is being provided to the bank."
Cooper is also investigating the timing and scope of 2008 bonuses paid by Merrill Lynch & Co, which Bank of America bought on Jan 1. The Charlotte-based bank is due to pay bonuses on Sunday, Cooper said.
The bank is cooperating with the attorney general, bank spokesman Scott Silvestri said.
Big banks are under fire from investors, politicians and regulators over bonuses amid the multibillion-dollar bailout of the U.S. financial industry.
New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo is also investigating the Merrill bonuses. In a letter to Rep. Barney Frank, who chairs the House of Representatives Financial Services Committee, Cuomo said Merrill gave at least $1 million to each of nearly 700 employees.
Silvestri said Bank of America is paying bonuses to associates based on the $4 billion it made in profit during 2008. Bonuses have been reduced by more than 60 percent, on average, from 2007, he said.
Chief Executive Kenneth Lewis and other top executives are receiving no bonuses, and the next rung of executives are seeing bonus payouts cut by 80 percent, Silvestri said.
Bank of America shares were down 2 percent at $5.75 in Friday afternoon trade.
Wednesday, February 11, 2009
NC employee group wants free insurance premium
The head of the State Employees Association of North Carolina says requiring workers to pay their own health insurance premium would set a bad precedent.
Executive Director Dana Cope spoke Tuesday at the group's legislative lobbying day in Raleigh.
State employees and retirees don't pay a premium for their own basic health insurance. Requiring a small premium could generate hundreds of millions of dollars that could help cover a funding shortage for the State Health Plan, which provides the insurance.
A new report by the association said North Carolina state government already ranks 40th among states in its contribution to individual health insurance. Employees pay all the premium for their spouses and children if they are covered under the plan.
Executive Director Dana Cope spoke Tuesday at the group's legislative lobbying day in Raleigh.
State employees and retirees don't pay a premium for their own basic health insurance. Requiring a small premium could generate hundreds of millions of dollars that could help cover a funding shortage for the State Health Plan, which provides the insurance.
A new report by the association said North Carolina state government already ranks 40th among states in its contribution to individual health insurance. Employees pay all the premium for their spouses and children if they are covered under the plan.
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
Bill seeks to ban text-messaging by NC drivers
North Carolina lawmakers told teenagers three years ago to shut off their cell phones while driving.
Now the legislators want all drivers to stop mashing down on those phones with their thumbs, too.
At least three bills have been filed since the General Assembly reconvened last month seeking to bar drivers from text messaging, which lawmakers and safety advocates argue create another distraction that can lead to accidents, injuries and death.
"This is about safety, protecting the public - not just about children, but protecting all of us," state Insurance Commissioner Wayne Goodwin said Tuesday at a news conference backing a House measure. "As technology advances, we must ensure that public safety is not diminished."
The bills attempt to build on a 2006 law that makes it illegal for drivers under 18 to talk on the phone, whether or not a handsfree device is used. While texting is a popular pastime with young people, the bills introduced would apply to all drivers as the activity spreads to more adults.
In the bills, people who break the law would be subject to a fine of up to $100 and court costs. No driver's license points or insurance penalties would be issued. Emergency personnel would be exempt from the ban.
Seven states and the District of Columbia currently have a text messaging ban for all drivers, according to the national Governors Highway Safety Association, which represents state highway safety agencies.
Text messaging appears to be more distracting than talking on the phone, according to lawmakers, because drivers often look down - and away from the road - to type, or they hold onto the wheel while typing into their cell phones with both hands.
As with the 2006 law, which can lead to a $25 fine, the bill's chief sponsors acknowledge that law enforcement officers may find the texting ban difficult to enforce.
The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety said last June that researchers who watched as North Carolina high school students left school found that teenage drivers used their cell phones at about the same rate both before and after the law took effect.
"I think everybody would agree that texting is a lot different from talking on the phone," said Senate Minority Leader Phil Berger, R-Rockingham, who voted against the final 2006 cell phone law. Right now, Berger said he wouldn't fight against the texting-ban bill: "While it's hard to be against something like texting while driving, I just don't know that what we'd be doing is something that would provide positive impact."
Rep. Garland Pierce, D-Scotland, one of the bill's primary sponsors, said teaching people about the law will serve as a deterrent even if catching violators is difficult.
"We know that people are going to take shortcuts," Pierce said. "But we hope that ... folks who are law-abiding would choose not to something they know is going to be dangerous."
Recent tragedies have raised awareness about the dangers associated with text messaging and operating vehicles.
Investigators have said a California community train engineer who failed to stop at a red light in September before colliding with a Union Pacific train had sent a text message seconds before the accident. Twenty-five people were killed.
Closer to home, a Greensboro university professor was injured last March when his bicycle was struck from behind by a motorist who police said had been text messaging on her phone moments before the collision.
A study co-sponsored by the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute found that nearly 80 percent of crashes and 65 percent of near-crashes involved a form of driver inattention seconds before the accident. A primary cause of inattention includes cell phones, the 2008 study found.
"We know that motorists recognize that cell phone usage in cars for both hand-held and handsfree and texting are major distractions - if they're honest," said Stephen Phillips, traffic safety manager for AAA Carolinas motor club, which supports the texting ban.
AT&T North Carolina also supports the bill if it applies to manual texting, said Herb Crenshaw, a company lobbyist. Voice-activated technology could one day make pressing the phone to text unnecessary, he said.
Now the legislators want all drivers to stop mashing down on those phones with their thumbs, too.
At least three bills have been filed since the General Assembly reconvened last month seeking to bar drivers from text messaging, which lawmakers and safety advocates argue create another distraction that can lead to accidents, injuries and death.
"This is about safety, protecting the public - not just about children, but protecting all of us," state Insurance Commissioner Wayne Goodwin said Tuesday at a news conference backing a House measure. "As technology advances, we must ensure that public safety is not diminished."
The bills attempt to build on a 2006 law that makes it illegal for drivers under 18 to talk on the phone, whether or not a handsfree device is used. While texting is a popular pastime with young people, the bills introduced would apply to all drivers as the activity spreads to more adults.
In the bills, people who break the law would be subject to a fine of up to $100 and court costs. No driver's license points or insurance penalties would be issued. Emergency personnel would be exempt from the ban.
Seven states and the District of Columbia currently have a text messaging ban for all drivers, according to the national Governors Highway Safety Association, which represents state highway safety agencies.
Text messaging appears to be more distracting than talking on the phone, according to lawmakers, because drivers often look down - and away from the road - to type, or they hold onto the wheel while typing into their cell phones with both hands.
As with the 2006 law, which can lead to a $25 fine, the bill's chief sponsors acknowledge that law enforcement officers may find the texting ban difficult to enforce.
The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety said last June that researchers who watched as North Carolina high school students left school found that teenage drivers used their cell phones at about the same rate both before and after the law took effect.
"I think everybody would agree that texting is a lot different from talking on the phone," said Senate Minority Leader Phil Berger, R-Rockingham, who voted against the final 2006 cell phone law. Right now, Berger said he wouldn't fight against the texting-ban bill: "While it's hard to be against something like texting while driving, I just don't know that what we'd be doing is something that would provide positive impact."
Rep. Garland Pierce, D-Scotland, one of the bill's primary sponsors, said teaching people about the law will serve as a deterrent even if catching violators is difficult.
"We know that people are going to take shortcuts," Pierce said. "But we hope that ... folks who are law-abiding would choose not to something they know is going to be dangerous."
Recent tragedies have raised awareness about the dangers associated with text messaging and operating vehicles.
Investigators have said a California community train engineer who failed to stop at a red light in September before colliding with a Union Pacific train had sent a text message seconds before the accident. Twenty-five people were killed.
Closer to home, a Greensboro university professor was injured last March when his bicycle was struck from behind by a motorist who police said had been text messaging on her phone moments before the collision.
A study co-sponsored by the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute found that nearly 80 percent of crashes and 65 percent of near-crashes involved a form of driver inattention seconds before the accident. A primary cause of inattention includes cell phones, the 2008 study found.
"We know that motorists recognize that cell phone usage in cars for both hand-held and handsfree and texting are major distractions - if they're honest," said Stephen Phillips, traffic safety manager for AAA Carolinas motor club, which supports the texting ban.
AT&T North Carolina also supports the bill if it applies to manual texting, said Herb Crenshaw, a company lobbyist. Voice-activated technology could one day make pressing the phone to text unnecessary, he said.
Thursday, February 5, 2009
750,000 in Political Contributions to Gubernatorial and State Level Candidates
Study: Duke Energy's Real 'Green Power' Initiative in North Carolina Is $750,000 in Political Contributions to Gubernatorial and State Level Candidates
Most Cash Flowed to Former Charlotte Mayor/Gubernatorial Candidate McCrory, Lt. Gov. Dalton, Gov. Perdue, and Influential State Sen. Clodfelter; Contributions Made as Key Utility-Related Matters Were Decided.
When it comes to Duke Energy in North Carolina, "green power" means political contributions, according to a comprehensive new analysis of State Board of Elections data conducted for four North Carolina groups concerned about climate change. The report finds that executives of Duke Energy and the company's political action committee (PAC) gave a combined $744,512 to state level candidates in North Carolina and their party committees between January 2005 and November 2008, a period culminating in last year's hard-fought race to elect a new governor.
Titled "Duke Energy: The Power of Green in North Carolina," report produced for NC WARN, The Canary Coalition, Southern Energy Network, and Mountain Voices Alliance notes: "The contributions were made as Duke Energy sought favorable state action on a host of fiercely debated energy matters, including approvals for a new Cliffside coal fired power plant; approval of Senate Bill 3, which shifted much of the risk of building new power plants to the consumer; a possible nuclear plant just across the border in South Carolina; and the 'Save-a-Watt' scheme the company touts as a tool to promote energy efficiency but which critics call a consumer rip-off that does very little to reduce demand for electricity."
The biggest beneficiaries of Duke Energy political largesse during the four years studied included:
* Charlotte mayor and 2008 GOP gubernatorial nominee, Pat McCrory, who took in $96,900.
* Walter Dalton, recently sworn in as lieutenant governor who previously served as appropriations committee chairman in the state Senate, with $40,830 received from Duke donors. (Dalton represented the district in which the controversial proposed Cliffside coal-fired power plant is located.)
* Bev Perdue, the new governor, came in third at $27,347.
* Scores of lawmakers also took in Duke Energy funds, topped by $21,000 to Dan Clodfelter, a state Senator credited with securing the pro-utility cost recovery provisions in Senate Bill 3. Overall, more than 100 North Carolina politicians holding or seeking legislative or statewide offices in Raleigh have benefited from Duke donations since 2005.
Pete MacDowell, program director, NC WARN, said: "This study casts some interesting light on political 'business as usual.' When politicians let big corporations 'pay to play' in rigging the rules regulating their industry, the results can be disastrous - as we have seen in the Wall St. financial crisis. If Duke Energy continues to get its way, our climate is at stake, our air and water are at stake, and our pocketbooks are at stake. We urge our political leaders to say they can't be bought by Duke Energy - and then show us that it is true."
Avram Friedman, executive director, The Canary Coalition, said: "Duke Energy has long exerted a disproportionate and inappropriate influence over the political and regulatory processes in North Carolina. This study clarifies how the power of a self-serving corporate entity can get out of control to the detriment of public health, the economy and the environment. As a result of Duke Energy's financial influence on the electoral process, energy policies in North Carolina have been directed toward maximizing shareholder's profits, rather than toward achieving energy independence, efficiency and a clean, safe and sustainable environment."
Russ Anderson, North Carolina campus coordinator, Southern Energy Network, said: "This study shows more of the same old political influence peddling. In a time such as this where we should all be looking towards the future and real solutions to climate change, Duke Energy is still looking backwards and working within old frames of thinking. Students in North Carolina are registering in the hundreds to go the Power Shift 2009 conference in Washington D.C. at the end of the month. We are mobilizing in the hundreds in North Carolina and the thousands across the country and are holding our representatives accountable for our future. Young people have everything to lose. We will be fighting back - at the U.S. Capitol, in Raleigh, in the districts, and at the front steps of Duke Energy."
Also commenting on the report was Grant Smith, executive director, Citizens Action Coalition, Indianapolis, IN., said: "As the numbers show, Duke's influence over the political and regulatory process is striking in North Carolina. However, Duke's influence does not stop there. The company has far reaching political tentacles across its utility territory and in Washington, D.C. With Duke and its CEO Jim Rogers it's all about boosting revenue. The planned coal plants in North Carolina and Indiana are not needed. Duke has received approval based on pliable regulatory regimes in the face of evidence demonstrating that cheaper and cleaner alternatives can meet electric energy demand. Duke has managed the same type of influence peddling by arranging for a similar amendment to the federal stimulus package. The amendment ties pro-utility rate designs, in this case decoupling, to energy efficiency block grants. As usual, the company is attempting to create unjustified, additional revenue streams on the backs of ratepayers who cannot afford Duke's business plan."
The new report finds that contributions from Duke executives accounted for $222,432 of the total, including multiple donations from Chairman/CEO Jim Rogers and about two thirds of Duke's senior executive team. Additionally, the Duke Energy Corporation Political Action Committee gave $522,080 during the same period. (North Carolina law prohibits corporate donations, so Duke could not contribute company funds directly, as it sometimes does elsewhere.)
The report was prepared for the North Carolina groups by the nonprofit and nonpartisan Civil Society Institute and TheCLEAN.org.
ABOUT THE GROUPS
NC WARN (North Carolina Waste Awareness & Reduction Network) is a grassroots non-profit tackling the accelerating climate crisis by working for a swift North Carolina transition to energy efficiency and clean power. Visit http://www.NCWARN.org on the Web.
The Canary Coalition is about family, friends and neighbors getting together to do something about the poor quality of the air they have been breathing in western North Carolina and the southern Appalachian region. Visit http://www.canarycoalition.org on the Web.
The mission of the Southern Energy Network is to build and facilitate an inclusive student- and youth-led movement in the Southeast that empowers communities, develops leaders, and promotes a clean, just, safe, and sustainable energy future. Visit http://www.climateaction.net on the Web.
Mountain Voices Alliance works to preserve and protect the environment, including the natural beauty, abundant resources, quality of life and cultural heritage of our communities. The organization achieves its goals by working with local governments, developers, organizations and individuals to encourage responsible and sustainable development that is in the best interest of citizens, visitors, and future generations. Visit http://www.MVAlliance.net on the Web.
EDITOR'S NOTE: A streaming audio recording of the news event will be available on the Web at http://www.stopcliffside.org/news.php as of 6 p.m. ET on February 5, 2009.
SOURCE NC WARN (North Carolina Waste Awareness and Reduction Network, Durham, NC); The Canary Coalition (Sylva, NC); Southern Energy Network (Chapel Hill, N.C.); Mountain Voices Alliance (Asheville, N.C.)
Source
Most Cash Flowed to Former Charlotte Mayor/Gubernatorial Candidate McCrory, Lt. Gov. Dalton, Gov. Perdue, and Influential State Sen. Clodfelter; Contributions Made as Key Utility-Related Matters Were Decided.
When it comes to Duke Energy in North Carolina, "green power" means political contributions, according to a comprehensive new analysis of State Board of Elections data conducted for four North Carolina groups concerned about climate change. The report finds that executives of Duke Energy and the company's political action committee (PAC) gave a combined $744,512 to state level candidates in North Carolina and their party committees between January 2005 and November 2008, a period culminating in last year's hard-fought race to elect a new governor.
Titled "Duke Energy: The Power of Green in North Carolina," report produced for NC WARN, The Canary Coalition, Southern Energy Network, and Mountain Voices Alliance notes: "The contributions were made as Duke Energy sought favorable state action on a host of fiercely debated energy matters, including approvals for a new Cliffside coal fired power plant; approval of Senate Bill 3, which shifted much of the risk of building new power plants to the consumer; a possible nuclear plant just across the border in South Carolina; and the 'Save-a-Watt' scheme the company touts as a tool to promote energy efficiency but which critics call a consumer rip-off that does very little to reduce demand for electricity."
The biggest beneficiaries of Duke Energy political largesse during the four years studied included:
* Charlotte mayor and 2008 GOP gubernatorial nominee, Pat McCrory, who took in $96,900.
* Walter Dalton, recently sworn in as lieutenant governor who previously served as appropriations committee chairman in the state Senate, with $40,830 received from Duke donors. (Dalton represented the district in which the controversial proposed Cliffside coal-fired power plant is located.)
* Bev Perdue, the new governor, came in third at $27,347.
* Scores of lawmakers also took in Duke Energy funds, topped by $21,000 to Dan Clodfelter, a state Senator credited with securing the pro-utility cost recovery provisions in Senate Bill 3. Overall, more than 100 North Carolina politicians holding or seeking legislative or statewide offices in Raleigh have benefited from Duke donations since 2005.
Pete MacDowell, program director, NC WARN, said: "This study casts some interesting light on political 'business as usual.' When politicians let big corporations 'pay to play' in rigging the rules regulating their industry, the results can be disastrous - as we have seen in the Wall St. financial crisis. If Duke Energy continues to get its way, our climate is at stake, our air and water are at stake, and our pocketbooks are at stake. We urge our political leaders to say they can't be bought by Duke Energy - and then show us that it is true."
Avram Friedman, executive director, The Canary Coalition, said: "Duke Energy has long exerted a disproportionate and inappropriate influence over the political and regulatory processes in North Carolina. This study clarifies how the power of a self-serving corporate entity can get out of control to the detriment of public health, the economy and the environment. As a result of Duke Energy's financial influence on the electoral process, energy policies in North Carolina have been directed toward maximizing shareholder's profits, rather than toward achieving energy independence, efficiency and a clean, safe and sustainable environment."
Russ Anderson, North Carolina campus coordinator, Southern Energy Network, said: "This study shows more of the same old political influence peddling. In a time such as this where we should all be looking towards the future and real solutions to climate change, Duke Energy is still looking backwards and working within old frames of thinking. Students in North Carolina are registering in the hundreds to go the Power Shift 2009 conference in Washington D.C. at the end of the month. We are mobilizing in the hundreds in North Carolina and the thousands across the country and are holding our representatives accountable for our future. Young people have everything to lose. We will be fighting back - at the U.S. Capitol, in Raleigh, in the districts, and at the front steps of Duke Energy."
Also commenting on the report was Grant Smith, executive director, Citizens Action Coalition, Indianapolis, IN., said: "As the numbers show, Duke's influence over the political and regulatory process is striking in North Carolina. However, Duke's influence does not stop there. The company has far reaching political tentacles across its utility territory and in Washington, D.C. With Duke and its CEO Jim Rogers it's all about boosting revenue. The planned coal plants in North Carolina and Indiana are not needed. Duke has received approval based on pliable regulatory regimes in the face of evidence demonstrating that cheaper and cleaner alternatives can meet electric energy demand. Duke has managed the same type of influence peddling by arranging for a similar amendment to the federal stimulus package. The amendment ties pro-utility rate designs, in this case decoupling, to energy efficiency block grants. As usual, the company is attempting to create unjustified, additional revenue streams on the backs of ratepayers who cannot afford Duke's business plan."
The new report finds that contributions from Duke executives accounted for $222,432 of the total, including multiple donations from Chairman/CEO Jim Rogers and about two thirds of Duke's senior executive team. Additionally, the Duke Energy Corporation Political Action Committee gave $522,080 during the same period. (North Carolina law prohibits corporate donations, so Duke could not contribute company funds directly, as it sometimes does elsewhere.)
The report was prepared for the North Carolina groups by the nonprofit and nonpartisan Civil Society Institute and TheCLEAN.org.
ABOUT THE GROUPS
NC WARN (North Carolina Waste Awareness & Reduction Network) is a grassroots non-profit tackling the accelerating climate crisis by working for a swift North Carolina transition to energy efficiency and clean power. Visit http://www.NCWARN.org on the Web.
The Canary Coalition is about family, friends and neighbors getting together to do something about the poor quality of the air they have been breathing in western North Carolina and the southern Appalachian region. Visit http://www.canarycoalition.org on the Web.
The mission of the Southern Energy Network is to build and facilitate an inclusive student- and youth-led movement in the Southeast that empowers communities, develops leaders, and promotes a clean, just, safe, and sustainable energy future. Visit http://www.climateaction.net on the Web.
Mountain Voices Alliance works to preserve and protect the environment, including the natural beauty, abundant resources, quality of life and cultural heritage of our communities. The organization achieves its goals by working with local governments, developers, organizations and individuals to encourage responsible and sustainable development that is in the best interest of citizens, visitors, and future generations. Visit http://www.MVAlliance.net on the Web.
EDITOR'S NOTE: A streaming audio recording of the news event will be available on the Web at http://www.stopcliffside.org/news.php as of 6 p.m. ET on February 5, 2009.
SOURCE NC WARN (North Carolina Waste Awareness and Reduction Network, Durham, NC); The Canary Coalition (Sylva, NC); Southern Energy Network (Chapel Hill, N.C.); Mountain Voices Alliance (Asheville, N.C.)
Source
Domtar cuts 185 jobs at its North Carolina mill
Forestry company Domtar Corp. says it will permanently close its fine paper manufacturing sector at its Plymouth, North Carolina mill, cutting 185 jobs.
Domtar president and CEO John Williams said Thursday that the cuts are a result of adverse economic conditions and the decline of fine paper orders.
The streamlining comes as the Montreal-based company reported a net loss of $676 million for the fourth quarter, compared with a net loss of $26 million for the same 2007 quarter.
Domtar said the Plymouth North Carolina mill will continue to operate two pulp lines, one pulp dryer and one paper machine.
Domtar president and CEO John Williams said Thursday that the cuts are a result of adverse economic conditions and the decline of fine paper orders.
The streamlining comes as the Montreal-based company reported a net loss of $676 million for the fourth quarter, compared with a net loss of $26 million for the same 2007 quarter.
Domtar said the Plymouth North Carolina mill will continue to operate two pulp lines, one pulp dryer and one paper machine.
Tuesday, February 3, 2009
Bloody cockfighting raid in NC gets 73 arrested
More than 70 people have been arrested in a cockfighting ring that secretly gathered in central North Carolina to watch a $40,000 tournament so gruesome that one of the roosters splattered blood on the investigators' search warrant, authorities said.
Deputies didn't expect to find so many people crammed into three chicken houses that had been cleaned out to provide hidden parking spaces and a cockfighting pit, Randolph County Sheriff Maynard Reid Jr. said in an interview Monday. Authorities arrested 73 people, ranging in age from 16 to 79, and charged them all with cockfighting and cruelty to animals, both felonies.
Reid said several others escaped after fleeing a back door during the raid Saturday afternoon at the site about 15 miles southeast of Asheboro in the center of North Carolina.
"I had no idea it would be this large," Reid said. "I've raided these things before and (if) you get 20 or 25 people, you've got a big crowd. I thought that this was unreal."
He described a grisly scene: About 20 birds were already dead, eliminated early from a deadly tournament. A fight was ongoing when deputies arrived, and one of the combatant roosters jumped up onto the betting table and spattered blood onto a search warrant that investigators were serving, Reid said.
Photos provided by the sheriff's office show a building strewn with feathers and debris, including several dead birds and a pile of empty beer cans dumped together in a corner. Makeshift benches surround a plywood ring, where the body another rooster is lying.
The tournament's grand champion, Reid said, was slated to win $40,000. He named the ringleader as 33-year-old Barry Ritter. Reid said Ritter was charging $25 to watch the event at a facility he owned with his father, who was not among those arrested.
"I think it was used at one time to raise chickens," Reid said. "Now it is being used for cockfighting. They had a rural area. They thought nobody would catch them there. But I think we've sent a message that we will not tolerate this in our county."
The sheriff's office said investigators also seized 73 vehicles, two firearms and cash. They also found cocaine and marijuana at the scene. Much of the crowd was Hispanic, and Reid said authorities were still checking the immigration status of those arrested.
The county's animal control officers took possession of 130 live roosters.
John Goodwin, manager of animal fighting issues for The Humane Society of the United States, said North Carolina still appears to have a large number of cockfighting rings even though the state passed law in 2005 making it a felony. Goodwin visited the state last year to help educate law enforcement personnel about cockfighting rings, and he said similar efforts around the country have increased attention on the rings.
He said the Humane Society is focused on passing felony laws in a number of other states that haven't yet done so.
"If you can win a $40,000 prize, what kind of deterrent is a $200 misdemeanor penalty going to be?" Goodwin said.
Sunday, February 1, 2009
Housing bust hits hard in small NC factory town
When this Appalachian town's light-switch plant went dark, fortunes dimmed for Jeff and Amanda Ruegsegger, and hundreds of their neighbors.
No more Sunday lunches at the Mexican restaurant between morning and evening church: they now pack sandwiches. No more saving for retirement: they tapped Jeff's 401(k) to pay down a home-equity line of credit. The health insurance is gone, too, replaced by prayers that the Ruegsegger's and their two teenage children stay healthy.
"There's a feeling of worthlessness," said Jeff, a former tool-and-dye maker. A severance package is helping, but the lack of jobs could force the family to move.
In small towns like West Jefferson across the country, factories and families had thrived on the back of the housing boom. Now, employers are fighting for survival and laid-off workers are conserving cash.
Local officials still cling confidently to the long-term viability of their manufacturing-dependent economies. But states most reliant on this sector have some of the highest unemployment rates.
For the 12 months ending in December, Labor Department data show North Carolina's unemployment rate grew at the second-fastest clip nationwide. The biggest increase was in Rhode Island, another state with a heavy manufacturing base.
The bursting of the housing bubble delivered West Jefferson the financial equivalent of a concussion, with damage largely beneath the surface. There are no empty housing developments or surging foreclosure rates. And the county's sales tax collections have held up fairly well, thanks to Wal-Mart and Lowe's franchises that attract budget-conscious customers from neighboring counties.
But West Jefferson is not its old self.
_ The owner of West Jefferson's only radio station, Jan Caddell, said the area's retailers tell him their business is off by up to 25 percent.
_ Tammy Dreyer, the former owner of Thistlewood, a women's clothing boutique, recently shut down her shop after three years in business. "Going deeper and deeper in debt" was not an option, Dreyer said.
_ A Dodge dealership closed last summer, vacating a building where cars have been sold since the mid-1950s.
_ A food pantry operated by Ashe Outreach Ministries now feeds about 200 families a month, up from 135 families a year ago, executive director Rob Brooks said.
In a little more than a year, the town and the neighboring county seat of Jefferson have lost more than 500 factory jobs — a number equal to 20 percent of the towns' population. The county's unemployment rate is 1.5 percentage points higher than the nationwide average of 7.2 percent.
Ruegsegger's former employer, Leviton Manufacturing Co., shut down one factory and scaled back operations at another in West Jefferson. It closed a third in Jefferson. Catawissa Lumber & Specialty Co., a maker of wood furniture, shut its 70-employee West Jefferson plant.
Hammered by the same broader market forces, many of the region's construction workers are also without jobs.
"This is all about what's going on with the residential housing market," said Leviton human resources vice president Mark Fogel.
Local factories that make ambulances and aircraft parts have so far escaped layoffs. But an auto parts factory was forced to reduce its work force by roughly 8 percent.
At the turn of the 20th century, West Jefferson was perhaps best known for its dairy farmers, and a cheese factory remains one of the region's signature employers. Today, government agencies and a hospital are big employers, too.
Still, manufacturing has for decades been the backbone of the economy, its ups and downs tracking the fortunes of the furniture, textile and apparel industries.
During hard times, residents count on side jobs to carry them through. They farm small plots of land. They also grow Christmas trees — locally grown Fraser firs have been the official White House tree two years running. But the depth of this recession has forced tougher decisions.
Former Catawissa plant manager Brantley Price and his wife already sold $11,000 in beaten-down stocks to pay off their pickup truck and SUV; and they'll sell more so that their sons, aged 13 and 9, can continue competing on traveling basketball teams.
Earlier ideas of expanding his stand of Christmas trees or raising more beef cattle with his brother are on hold since those markets are depressed too. Price, who is 45, recently put a 5-acre lot of land up for sale. His next career move is still up in the air.
"It won't be manufacturing, you can bet on that," Price said.
But manufacturing is likely to remain central to the area's economy into the future, county economic development director Pat Mitchell said. She has been working with officials in two neighboring counties for years to attract companies that make ceramics, plastics and other materials.
For now, the Ruegseggers are trying to live frugally.
They expanded the vegetable garden on their 20-acre mountaintop property, a former dairy pasture inherited from Amanda's father.
Amanda, 38, buys the family groceries each week at Wal-Mart. But she no longer stops at the Domino's pizza franchise on her way home — it shut down in August.
As he searches for work, Jeff, 49, tries to make the most of the government's jobless benefits. He started a computer course, and plans to get trained as a heating and air conditioning technician. He may even sign up for community college. But none of this is satisfying.
"If I could find a good-paying job, it kind of validates my role as head of the household," he said.
No more Sunday lunches at the Mexican restaurant between morning and evening church: they now pack sandwiches. No more saving for retirement: they tapped Jeff's 401(k) to pay down a home-equity line of credit. The health insurance is gone, too, replaced by prayers that the Ruegsegger's and their two teenage children stay healthy.
"There's a feeling of worthlessness," said Jeff, a former tool-and-dye maker. A severance package is helping, but the lack of jobs could force the family to move.
In small towns like West Jefferson across the country, factories and families had thrived on the back of the housing boom. Now, employers are fighting for survival and laid-off workers are conserving cash.
Local officials still cling confidently to the long-term viability of their manufacturing-dependent economies. But states most reliant on this sector have some of the highest unemployment rates.
For the 12 months ending in December, Labor Department data show North Carolina's unemployment rate grew at the second-fastest clip nationwide. The biggest increase was in Rhode Island, another state with a heavy manufacturing base.
The bursting of the housing bubble delivered West Jefferson the financial equivalent of a concussion, with damage largely beneath the surface. There are no empty housing developments or surging foreclosure rates. And the county's sales tax collections have held up fairly well, thanks to Wal-Mart and Lowe's franchises that attract budget-conscious customers from neighboring counties.
But West Jefferson is not its old self.
_ The owner of West Jefferson's only radio station, Jan Caddell, said the area's retailers tell him their business is off by up to 25 percent.
_ Tammy Dreyer, the former owner of Thistlewood, a women's clothing boutique, recently shut down her shop after three years in business. "Going deeper and deeper in debt" was not an option, Dreyer said.
_ A Dodge dealership closed last summer, vacating a building where cars have been sold since the mid-1950s.
_ A food pantry operated by Ashe Outreach Ministries now feeds about 200 families a month, up from 135 families a year ago, executive director Rob Brooks said.
In a little more than a year, the town and the neighboring county seat of Jefferson have lost more than 500 factory jobs — a number equal to 20 percent of the towns' population. The county's unemployment rate is 1.5 percentage points higher than the nationwide average of 7.2 percent.
Ruegsegger's former employer, Leviton Manufacturing Co., shut down one factory and scaled back operations at another in West Jefferson. It closed a third in Jefferson. Catawissa Lumber & Specialty Co., a maker of wood furniture, shut its 70-employee West Jefferson plant.
Hammered by the same broader market forces, many of the region's construction workers are also without jobs.
"This is all about what's going on with the residential housing market," said Leviton human resources vice president Mark Fogel.
Local factories that make ambulances and aircraft parts have so far escaped layoffs. But an auto parts factory was forced to reduce its work force by roughly 8 percent.
At the turn of the 20th century, West Jefferson was perhaps best known for its dairy farmers, and a cheese factory remains one of the region's signature employers. Today, government agencies and a hospital are big employers, too.
Still, manufacturing has for decades been the backbone of the economy, its ups and downs tracking the fortunes of the furniture, textile and apparel industries.
During hard times, residents count on side jobs to carry them through. They farm small plots of land. They also grow Christmas trees — locally grown Fraser firs have been the official White House tree two years running. But the depth of this recession has forced tougher decisions.
Former Catawissa plant manager Brantley Price and his wife already sold $11,000 in beaten-down stocks to pay off their pickup truck and SUV; and they'll sell more so that their sons, aged 13 and 9, can continue competing on traveling basketball teams.
Earlier ideas of expanding his stand of Christmas trees or raising more beef cattle with his brother are on hold since those markets are depressed too. Price, who is 45, recently put a 5-acre lot of land up for sale. His next career move is still up in the air.
"It won't be manufacturing, you can bet on that," Price said.
But manufacturing is likely to remain central to the area's economy into the future, county economic development director Pat Mitchell said. She has been working with officials in two neighboring counties for years to attract companies that make ceramics, plastics and other materials.
For now, the Ruegseggers are trying to live frugally.
They expanded the vegetable garden on their 20-acre mountaintop property, a former dairy pasture inherited from Amanda's father.
Amanda, 38, buys the family groceries each week at Wal-Mart. But she no longer stops at the Domino's pizza franchise on her way home — it shut down in August.
As he searches for work, Jeff, 49, tries to make the most of the government's jobless benefits. He started a computer course, and plans to get trained as a heating and air conditioning technician. He may even sign up for community college. But none of this is satisfying.
"If I could find a good-paying job, it kind of validates my role as head of the household," he said.
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