NC trails half the country in high-tech jobs

Even with a base of high-tech companies in the state and a lot of effort to attract new companies to the region North Carolina continues to fall behind and ranks 26th in its effort to move toward being a knowledge-based economy according to a new report. With all the effort to provide costly incentives to new companies the trend is declining rather than improving.

A February 28, 2007, news release describes on the state's lagging trend...

News and Observer
February 28, 2007
Johnathan B. Cox - Staff Writer

Knowledge and Innovation

The Triangle has high-tech jobs, big companies and successful entrepreneurs. But it is unusual in the state. Many areas in North Carolina have been defined by manufacturing and are struggling to move forward as traditional industries and employers continue to disappear. A new report, the State New Economy Index, shows that North Carolina is behind in its evolution.

Despite the state's efforts in recent years to build an economy based on technology and innovation, North Carolina's progress still trails half the country's, according to a report released Tuesday.

Of the 50 states, North Carolina ranked 26th for its evolution from a manufacturing economy to one based on knowledge-based jobs and entrepreneurship, according to the 2007 State New Economy Index.

North Carolina fell below its revised 2002 ranking of 24th place. The state was 26th the last time the report was published five years ago; the revised statistic considers differences in methodology to aid comparisons. Read more...

KrispyKreme Doughnuts goes whole wheat

KrispyKreme makes a move to bring customers back with "healthier" doughnut. If you like the original glazed doughnut try the new whole wheat variety!

News and Observer
February 27, 2007
Sue Stock, Staff Writer

On Monday, Krispy Kreme made a bid for health-conscious customers introducing a whole-wheat variety of its original glazed doughnut.

The doughnut, a little darker than its more famous counterpart, is part of the Winston-Salem company's effort to regain public favor after a string of negative publicity about its accounting procedures and slumping financials.

Not to mention those bad carbs.

But there might be little incentive for Krispy Kreme loyalists to switch. There are only 20 calories and one gram of fat difference between the whole wheat and original glazed.

"It does kind of seem to be an oxymoron, doesn't it," asked Durham resident Ron Rogers, who stopped by the Triangle's lone Krispy Kreme, on Person Street in Raleigh, and left the store with a half-dozen original glazed.

Still, the new doughnut might win over some customers.

Durham resident Cindy Davis said she thought it tasted a lot like the original glazed.

"Once you swallow, you can taste the whole wheat," she said. "But I eat whole-wheat bread. It's good."

But is it really better for you?

There are more nutrients and fiber in a whole-wheat food, registered dietitian Diane Danchi with Rex Wellness Center in Cary said. But all of the flour in the doughnut would have to be whole wheat for it to be substantially more healthy. "Nutritionally, you'll get a few more nutrients, but [with] the calories and fat, it's a negligible difference," she said.

Because Krispy Kreme's core business is a doughnut with 12 grams of fat, the whole-wheat variety might be "too much of a stretch," said Bob Goldin, executive vice president of Technomic, a Chicago food industry research firm.

"Consumers who are worried about their health are going to avoid Krispy Kreme entirely," he said.

Profiting from the taxpayers pocket

SAS leader Jim Goodnight says he will give profits made on a Wake County land sale back to taxpayers. Many think the land sale hints that there was "insider knowledge" that the Wake County school board would buy the land for a new school on the site. Interestingly enough Goodnight publicly advocated supporting the record $970 million school construction bond issue approved by voters in November and even asked all of his company employees to support the bond issue.

So... just how do you give profits back to taxpayers? In reality none of us will ever get a cent from Mr. Goodnight if he pulls this off. He might make a donation to some community cause or build another soccer field or take some other step to get a big tax break but taxpayers won't get anything.

Read the complete article...

News and Observer
February 23, 2007
Michael Biesecker, Staff Writer

Goodnight plans to donate profit
Any profit from a land sale to Wake schools would go to taxpayers

RALEIGH - Software mogul Jim Goodnight will return to taxpayers whatever profit he might gain from a proposed $8.7 million land deal with Wake County, according to his development partner.

Tim Smith, president of Preston Development Co., said Thursday that Goodnight had no direct knowledge of the proposed sale of 108.4 acres of land off Humie Olive Road in Apex for a new high school and middle school.

Apex Olive LLC, a company in which Goodnight is a financial backer, bought the land April 28 for $3.25 million. The current county tax value of the undeveloped tract, which had previously been owned by a local family for decades, is $794,180.

The Wake County school board voted Feb. 6 to buy the land for $8.7 million -- a 168 percent jump from what was paid for the tract just 10 months ago. The purchase will not be final until it is approved by the Wake County Board of Commissioners, which is expected to take up the issue in April. Read more...

Less than first class for North Carolina Legislators and Staff

On visiting the North Carolina Legislature building recently I observed first hand that the Information Technology organization operates pretty much with the old fashioned attitude "We decide what you get and don't ask for anything else". I was very suprised that a service organization would be so rigid in providing quality services for users and dictate that no one can have services they weren't offered. All IT staff members have the same view that "items not in the standard configuration cannot be provided and will not be allowed or supported". If this is representative of all organizations in state government then no wonder things are always in a state of chaos and not on par with modern business practices.

A friend in the staff at the Legislature received a "standard" office computer and telephone including a small modular networked workstation, a black and white laser printer and typical Microsoft Word, Powerpoint, Excel and Outlook software and access to a networked file share for document storage. Internet Explorer is the "standard" browser and defaults to a home page tailored to Legislative activities. When users login they are expected to sign in to a "tracking" system so others will know when they are in the building. The premise is to let staff save time when looking for someone by simply checking the signed-in roster but this smacks of "big brother" all the way around.

The basic computer configuration is intended to hold costs down and provide a standard, easy to maintain unit with "most" of what clients need. Beyone this if users need an occasional special purpose application or wants better equipment they get stiff-armed and are told "no". If a client buys their own items the IT group refuses additional support. Only clients that force the hand of IT staff will get additional service and then only if it's not for a normal staff user.

Wow! This is the earmark of a rigid "my way or the highway" service group that does not want to provide excellent support beyond the minimum and support personnel will not budge when asked to make an exceptions or provide an extra service. This supports the notion that many North Carolina state government staffers are out of touch with reality and wont provide modern technology to improve effectiveness of state employees. It's interesting that this situation is far better than what is found in other state organizations. Much of the installed base of office technology seen in many offices is old and difficult to maintain. No one seems to recognize that if facilities incorporated the latest technology that employees would be more productive and maintenance costs would be significantly reduced.

Some productivity improvement items the legislative IT group refuses to provide are:

• Simple PC based video cameras and software to allow users to hold teleconferences with remote clients to save thousands of dollars in travel expenses and lost time.
• Use of color printers for preparation of effective business documents and charts.
• Use of Instant Messenger capability for quick employee to employee communications and communications with traveling persons.
• Installation of additional software not included in the basic configuration to expand productivity.

Even simple services like relocating telephones are not provided without extra fees. Users must pay typically a $200 service charge for such services.

Another very scary issue is a total lack of security in legislative building areas. A visitor can simply walk into buildings carrying practically anything they might want to bring. There is no apparent concern for the safety of legislators, staff and support employees with regard to access by intruders. Once in the building visitors are free to go anywhere and carry most anything into or out of the building. No one monitors who is coming in, keeps a log of visitors and possessions or seems to even care what is going on.

Perhaps the Legislature should take a look at it's internal operations and set a course to provide best in class services and nurture state employees to participate in improving productivity and contributing to more efficient business operations. This in turn benefits operations and helps taxpayers get more "bang for the buck" in tax dollars.

Snow angels

Thousands flapping in the snow attempt to set a record making snow angels and set a new record. Some 8,900 people flapped their arms and legs in North Dakota Saturday in an attempt to set the new record. The Guinness Book of Records must confirm the number that tops the previous world record of 3,784.

The image at the left (from the Boston Herald) shows how thousands of people flap their arms and legs in unison, creating angel imprints, during a world record attempt for the most snow angels, in Bismarck, N.D. Organizers believe almost nine thousand people took part in the event. (AP Photo/Will Kincaid)

From the Houston Chronicle...

Feb. 17, 2007, 4:34PM
More than 8,000 in North Dakota try for snow angels record

By JAMES MacPHERSON
Associated Press

BISMARCK, N.D.— Among the thousands of people frantically flapping in the snow Saturday in an attempt to set the record for the most snow angels ever made were parents, children, even snowplow drivers.

And then there was Pauline Jaeger — who on her 99th birthday, was making her very first angel.

"It's fun," Jaeger said. "I feel just like a kid."

More than 8,900 people flapped their arms and legs on the state Capitol grounds Saturday in an attempt to reclaim the record, which was snatched away about a year ago in Michigan.

The Guinness Book of Records still must confirm the number. The snow angel category was created in 2002 when 1,791 people made snow angels on the Capitol grounds in North Dakota.

Marilyn Snyder, curator of education for the State Historical Society of North Dakota, said 8,910 people registered for Saturday's attempt to break the record of 3,784 snow angels set by students at Michigan Technological University in Houghton.

"That's more than 5,000 more people than what Michigan had," Snyder said. "It's going to be tough to top."

Miles Keeler, a city snowplow driver, took off work for about an hour to make a snow angel with his wife, Connie, and his 13-year-old daughter Kaitlin. Keeler, 49, who's bearded and burly, said it had been decades since he had made a snow angel.

"It's all in the spirit of competition," he said. Afterward, he said, he planned to plow Bismarck-area roads for 12 more hours. The National Weather Service reported 10 inches on the ground in Bismarck on Saturday.

Mel Schlittenhardt of Bismarck brought her three children, including her 5-month-old daughter. The infant even made a snow angel by being spun around in her car seat.

"I think this is a great opportunity to show kids how fun the winter can be in North Dakota," Schlittenhardt said.

Edna Arvidson, 84, of Bismarck, said she participated in the city's record-setting event in 2002.

"It's fun and puts us on the map," Arvidson said. "People think there's nothing going on up here."

North Dakota had planned to organize earlier in the winter, but had to delay the attempt due to a lack of snow. Michigan is keeping a close eye on the record, though — and vows to try and snatch it back.

"That's phenomenal organization and something really to be proud of," said Paul Judge, a Michigan Tech biochemistry major who helped organize Michigan's attempt. "I'm sure once their numbers are verified, there will be a quick reorganization attempt here to reclaim our record."

NC to help counties comply with immigrant translation services

NC will help counties with issues related to language translation to comply with federal regulations requiring that interpreters or documents in other languages be provided. This has become a controversial issue as the immigrant population continues to increase and some citizens claim will help illegal immigrants...

Charlotte Observer
Febuary 18, 2007
Danica Coto

N.C. aids immigrants with language issues
Critics dispute changes they say will help illegal immigrants

North Carolina is making it easier for non-English speakers to file complaints about language barriers and get quicker results, but taxpayers are questioning the move. The push for change comes after a study found that most N.C. social service agencies and health departments -- strapped by resources -- could be violating federal law by not providing interpreters or documents in other languages.

State officials expect to contract with a telephone translation service soon and make it available to 50 counties that haven't been able to afford the program, said Carlotta Dixon, civil rights compliance coordinator for the N.C. Division of Social Services. Mecklenburg already has the service.

Requiring counties to provide translation services, especially smaller, cash-strapped ones, is a touchy subject, Dixon said. "The first thing we'll hear," she said, "is that we're wasting taxpayers' money."

More than 363,000 people in North Carolina who speak another language at home say they don't speak English very well, a 22 percent jump from 2000 to 2005, according to the U.S. Census. Read more...

Not in English? Not in our county...

Have you been following the debate over adopting two languages of choice because of the rapid influx of immigrants? Here's an interesting development in Beaufort, NC, about the Beaufort county commisioners ordering removal of non-English signs and informational material from area county offices and property to keep english as the language of choice in that area.

It will be a cold day in the triangle area when this happens here since there are so many non-english speaking residents moving into the central part of the state.

Here's an exerpt from the news article...

News and Observer - February 18, 2007
Jerry Allegood, Staff Writer

WASHINGTON, N.C. - In what supporters call a move against bilingualism, the Beaufort County Commissioners have ordered the removal of non-English signs and informational material from offices and property under county jurisdiction.

The English-only policy, approved by a 6 to 1 vote, does not apply to programs mandated by the state and federal governments, including health and social services. But supporters said it would indicate local resolve to stop the weakening of English as a result of legal and illegal immigration.

"I'm concerned about the drift toward the nation becoming bilingual," said Hood L. Richardson, a commissioner who proposed the local measure. "We need to stop that." Read more...

Search Angels seeking for identity

Searching for identity in past records requires good research skills, compassion, a strong interest in helping others and being able to talk and work with others. "It is a tedious, all-hours enterprise made more difficult by a state law under which all adoptees' original birth certificates are forever sealed." Some private individuals do this for fun and the sheer pleasure of finding out about the past. Commercial businesses charge up to $3,000 for birth-family searches but "search angels" do it for nothing more than the satisfaction of helping adoptees answer the universal human query of where they came from.

Read the article from the February, 2007, News and Observer...

News and Observer
February 4, 2007
Martha Quillan, Staff Writer

On a quest to unlock identity

APEX - On May 6, 1958, a young Buncombe County woman, maybe afraid and probably alone, gave birth to a baby girl she called Pamela. Unable or unprepared to care for a child, the woman signed some papers, handed the baby over to an adoption agency and resumed her life.

If that woman is still alive, somewhere, sometime -- it may be weeks, it could be years -- her phone is going to ring. And Martha Mills, the daughter she may have thought she never would see again, will be on the line.

Mills believes this because she has an angel on the case: Joanna Freitag, one of dozens of "search angels" in North Carolina. Their mission is to help adult adoptees track down their birth families. Read more...