September 30, 2007

Too little too late for Duke in Lacrosse rape case

Long after the Duke Lacrosse rape case has been settled, Duke University President Richard Brodhead now offers a feeble apology for not supporting the three accused students before the investigation proved they were not guilty. He now wants to capitalize on the situation and try to save face by telling the world that accused defendants should not be prejudged before evidence has shown guilt or innocence no matter how a situation appears.

He now says "by not repeating the need for the presumption of innocence equally vigorously at all key moments, we may have helped create the impression that the university did not care about its students. This was not the case, and I regret it as well." He also stated "some faculty made statements that were 'ill-judged and divisive' and Duke should have done more to underscore that these were the beliefs of individuals, not the university as a whole.

Reporters, bloggers and media representatives have long said that the university faculty and officials were wrong to not back the accused students during their time of need. Now that the dust has settled, it would seem to be only a face saving measure on the part of the university to come forth with such a statement as Brodhead has made and the damage to the school's reputation will take years to recover, if it ever will.

The reality now is that university officials and faculty failed to follow principles that should have mattered most. The university has lost three outstanding students and the reputation of those accused has been damaged forever when the outcome could have been so much better...
News & Observer
September 30, 2007
Jane Stancill and Anne Blythe, Staff Writers

Duke leader apologizes in lacrosse case

DURHAM - Duke University President Richard Brodhead apologized Saturday for the school's lack of full support for the three lacrosse players falsely accused last year of raping an escort service dancer.

It was Brodhead's first public apology for the university's handling of the case, which drew worldwide media attention.

Brodhead said his own biggest regret was "our failure to reach out to the lacrosse players and their families in this time of extraordinary peril. Given the complexities of this case, getting the communication right would never have been easy. But the fact is that we did not get it right, causing the families to feel abandoned when they were most in need of support. This was a mistake. I take responsibility for it, and I apologize."

He added that some faculty made statements that were "ill-judged and divisive" and Duke should have done more to underscore that these were the beliefs of individuals, not the university as a whole.

And, he said, by deferring to the criminal justice system and "not repeating the need for the presumption of innocence equally vigorously at all key moments, we may have helped create the impression that the university did not care about its students. This was not the case, and I regret it as well."

Brodhead, who did not take questions, made his remarks during a speech at the Duke Law School. He was there as part of a two-day conference focused on the lacrosse case and how it was reported by the media.

"If there's one lesson the world should take from the Duke lacrosse case," Brodhead said, "it's the danger of prejudgment and our need to defend against it at every turn." Read more...


September 29, 2007

Report of NC DOT incompetence hidden from public

An alarming new report provides more evidence that NC's DOT organization is poorly suited to meet transportation needs of the state and reveals the organization is withholding a major consultant review of the DOT paid for by taxpayer dollars. The DOT continues to reflect the incompetence of director Lindo Tippett, appointed by Governor Easley, and the inability of DOT staff in managing thousands of state employees responsible for maintaining NC's road infrastructure and planning what is needed to handle the unprecedented growth in state traffic.

It is clear that the time has come to demand that the DOT director step down and a replacement be appointed that has the knowledge and ability to manage the organization and facilitate planning and funding of what is needed to build and maintain an adequate transportation infrastructure that will allow the state to be competitive.

Results from a comprehensive survey of some 13,000 thousand DOT workers and interviews with at least two dozen key legislators, state officials, business executives and local transportation officials, along with information from follow up discussions, strongly suggests a lack of understanding within the organization about the mission of the DOT and tells of poor use of funds and inadequate project plans and schedules. Mark L. Foster, the department's chief financial officer, confirmed that "DOT employees complained that they lack a shared understanding of their mission." He briefly described other criticisms: "Road projects cost too much time and money. It's hard to figure out who is responsible for any DOT project."

Read the report and learn more about the lack of a "unified vision", deception and confusion in the state's DOT organization...
News and Observer
September 29, 2007
Bruce Siceloff, Staff Writer

Consultants review of DOT under wraps
McKinsey & Co. was asked to prepare a sweeping evaluation of the transportation agency, but DOT and the company are keeping a tight rein on the information

State Department of Transportation officials are paying a consultant $2.5 million to help make the agency more responsive, accountable and transparent.

They are keeping much of the work secret.

Attorneys for DOT and McKinsey & Co., an international management consultant hired in April to evaluate DOT, blacked out several pages of contract details and stamped other pages "CONFIDENTIAL" before DOT released them to The News & Observer.

Other contract documents indicate that McKinsey initially was asked for a candid, sweeping assessment of DOT's "strategic direction and organizational structure." It was expected to file reports in May and June.

DOT has declined to release a word of its consultant's findings. The April 11 contract includes an unusual pledge that DOT will seek McKinsey's permission before making public references to McKinsey or releasing any "reports, analyses or other such materials" it receives from McKinsey.

DOT officials now say they did not request or receive any written reports from McKinsey, whose contract ends in mid-October. Read more...

September 22, 2007

Future sea level rise will flood many cities

New concerns about rising oceans from global warming present an ominous picture of the future. In about 100 years a substantial amount of land will be lost due to oceans rising about 39 inches. This is expected to happen even if steps are taken to reduce the increase of greenhouse gases.

Some 25,000 square miles of land will be underwater in southern and coastal regions. The effect will be seen from New York to Florida. More subway flooding is expected, along with some major airports being underwater and considerable loss of beach front properties.

Facts on rising sea levels:

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency:http://tinyurl.com/2df72n

U.S. Geological Survey:http://woodshole.er.usgs.gov/project-pages/cvi/

University of Arizona's interactive maps:http://tinyurl.com/ca73h

Architecture 2030 study on sea level: http://www.architecture2030.org/current_situation/coastal_impact.html

Read more about this alarming and growing concern...
AT&T News Service
September 22, 2007
Seth Borenstein

Sea level rise could flood many cities

(AP) - Ultimately, rising seas will likely swamp the first American settlement in Jamestown, Va., as well as the Florida launch pad that sent the first American into orbit, many climate scientists are predicting. In about a century, some of the places that make America what it is may be slowly erased.

Global warming _ through a combination of melting glaciers, disappearing ice sheets and warmer waters expanding _ is expected to cause oceans to rise by one meter, or about 39 inches. It will happen regardless of any future actions to curb greenhouse gases, several leading scientists say. And it will reshape the nation.

Rising waters will lap at the foundations of old money Wall Street and the new money towers of Silicon Valley. They will swamp the locations of big city airports and major interstate highways.

Storm surges worsened by sea level rise will flood the waterfront getaways of rich politicians _ the Bushes' Kennebunkport and John Edwards' place on the Outer Banks. And gone will be many of the beaches in Texas and Florida favored by budget-conscious students on Spring Break.

That's the troubling outlook projected by coastal maps reviewed by The Associated Press. The maps, created by scientists at the University of Arizona, are based on data from the U.S. Geological Survey.

Few of the more than two dozen climate experts interviewed disagree with the one-meter projection. Some believe it could happen in 50 years, others say 100, and still others say 150.

Sea level rise is "the thing that I'm most concerned about as a scientist," says Benjamin Santer, a climate physicist at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in California.

"We're going to get a meter and there's nothing we can do about it," said University of Victoria climatologist Andrew Weaver, a lead author of the February report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change in Paris. "It's going to happen no matter what _ the question is when."

Sea level rise "has consequences about where people live and what they care about," said Donald Boesch, a University of Maryland scientist who has studied the issue. "We're going to be into this big national debate about what we protect and at what cost."

This week, beginning with a meeting at the United Nations on Monday, world leaders will convene to talk about fighting global warming. At week's end, leaders will gather in Washington with President Bush.

Experts say that protecting America's coastlines would run well into the billions and not all spots could be saved.

And it's not just a rising ocean that is the problem. With it comes an even greater danger of storm surge, from hurricanes, winter storms and regular coastal storms, Boesch said. Sea level rise means higher and more frequent flooding from these extreme events, he said.

All told, one meter of sea level rise in just the lower 48 states would put about 25,000 square miles under water, according to Jonathan Overpeck, director of the Institute for the Study of Planet Earth at the University of Arizona. That's an area the size of West Virginia.

The amount of lost land is even greater when Hawaii and Alaska are included, Overpeck said.

The Environmental Protection Agency's calculation projects a land loss of about 22,000 square miles. The EPA, which studied only the Eastern and Gulf coasts, found that Louisiana, Florida, North Carolina, Texas and South Carolina would lose the most land. But even inland areas like Pennsylvania and the District of Columbia also have slivers of at-risk land, according to the EPA.

This past summer's flooding of subways in New York could become far more regular, even an everyday occurrence, with the projected sea rise, other scientists said. And New Orleans' Katrina experience and the daily loss of Louisiana wetlands _ which serve as a barrier that weakens hurricanes _ are previews of what's to come there.

Florida faces a serious public health risk from rising salt water tainting drinking water wells, said Joel Scheraga, the EPA's director of global change research. And the farm-rich San Joaquin Delta in California faces serious salt water flooding problems, other experts said.

"Sea level rise is going to have more general impact to the population and the infrastructure than almost anything else that I can think of," said S. Jeffress Williams, a U.S. Geological Survey coastal geologist in Woods Hole, Mass.

Even John Christy at the University of Alabama in Huntsville, a scientist often quoted by global warming skeptics, said he figures the seas will rise at least 16 inches by the end of the century. But he tells people to prepare for a rise of about three feet just in case.

Williams says it's "not unreasonable at all" to expect that much in 100 years. "We've had a third of a meter in the last century."

The change will be a gradual process, one that is so slow it will be easy to ignore for a while.

"It's like sticking your finger in a pot of water on a burner and you turn the heat on, Williams said. "You kind of get used to it." Original article...

September 21, 2007

Internet access improving in NC

Access to the internet has become a vital resource for education and helping the state population connect to information needed for everyday living. This is a vital component to help NC citizens increase knowledge required to compete in the 21st century and is emerging as an infrastructure component that is as vital to economic health and prosperity as much as roads, water, sewer and electricity and telecommunications connectivity.

"Increasing statewide access to broadband Internet service enhances economic progress by allowing citizens to have greater access to health care information, education and job-training opportunities and support for small businesses and entrepreneurs," reports Oppie Jordan, economic developer for the Carolinas Gateway Partnership and chairwoman of the e-NC Authority governing commission.

Internet connectivity has increased only 2 percent from the previous study. A new e-NC report shows the percent of area households having the ability to access broadband Internet this year versus last year: Edgecombe, 77.4 percent, up from 75.05 percent; Nash, 76.32 percent, up from 74.17 percent; Wilson, 90.8 percent, up from 87.51 percent; and Halifax, 80.64 percent, up from 77.18 percent.

Read the entire report...
Rocky Mount Telegram
September 20, 2007
Tom Murphy

High-speed Net access inches up

A state report released by the e-NC Authority shows that availability of broadband Internet access in North Carolina is increasing at a nominal rate.

"High-Speed Internet Access in North Carolina: A 100 County Report" reveals that 83.54 percent of North Carolina households have access to broadband Internet services. This is an increase of less than 2 percent from the previous year, said Oppie Jordan, economic developer for the Carolinas Gateway Partnership and chairwoman of the e-NC Authority governing commission. The e-NC Authority's headquarters are located in Raleigh.

"Counties that lack high-speed connectivity are often at a crucial disadvantage in terms of opportunity and prosperity," Jordan said. "I have a hard time believing that the citizens of our state would accept only 83.54 percent of homes having access to broadband Internet services."

Jordan said North Carolina is in the midst of a transformation toward a 21st century, knowledge-based economy.

"Increasing statewide access to broadband Internet enhances economic progress by allowing citizens to have greater access to health care information, education and job-training opportunities and support for small businesses and entrepreneurs," she said.

The e-NC report shows the percent of area households that have the ability to access a broadband Internet connection this year versus last year: Edgecombe, 77.4 percent, up from 75.05 percent; Nash, 76.32 percent, up from 74.17 percent; Wilson, 90.8 percent, up from 87.51 percent; and Halifax, 80.64 percent, up from 77.18 percent.

Major deployment of broadband Internet access in urban communities is nearly done, Jane Patterson, executive director of e-NC Authority, said in the report.

"What we are now trying to do is push for broadband expansion into the most under served areas, which are often rural and economically disadvantaged," Patterson said. "Dial-up won't cut it anymore – plain and simple.

"If broadband connectivity levels in this many homes, schools and businesses is so inadequate, we can't expect companies to thrive and remain competitive, or that our rural children will have a chance to learn the latest technologies and Web-based applications."

Now emerging as infrastructure that is as vital to economic health and prosperity as roads, water, sewer and electricity, advanced telecommunications connectivity, rarely extends into communities that are sparsely populated, Jordan said.

The e-NC Authority is distributing $1.21 million as matching incentive grants for expansion of high-speed Internet service into communities with the lowest levels of connectivity – Jones, Warren, Gates and Greene counties, she said. Original article...

September 14, 2007

Narrow minded associations demand green grass during extreme drought

Area Home owner associations have crossed way over the line on demanding owner's have green grass and live trees during times of severe drought. The HOA for Margot's Pond subdivision in Wake Forest demand owners make the neighborhood "look good" no matter what and the hired enforcer, Talis Management is harassing them to make sure they follow the demands.

Have these associations gone too far? Do they have the right to demand watering during severe drought when there isn't even enough water to insure everyone will have clean water for drinking and bathing? This is a sign that some groups don't have the brains of a rock and should not be allowed to set rules that violate measures to prevent draining reservours and water supplies that supply the whole region.

Contact your representatives or the Governor's office to ask that these associations and organizations follow the same rules as everyone else so all will have a fair share of limited resources. Email the Governor's office (Click here) or call the Governor's Office at:
1-800-662-7952 (valid in North Carolina only), (919)733-4240, or (919)733-5811.

Read more about how this problem affects you...
News & Observer
September 7, 2007
Sam Lagrone and David Bracken, Staff Writers

Grass must be green, HOA decrees
Community board cuts homeowners no slack during drought

WAKE FOREST - Amid record drought and heat that have pushed Raleigh into severe water conservation measures, residents of the Margot's Pond community off Ligon Mill Road have been told by their homeowners association to keep the grass green.

"While the Board is aware of the inconvenience presented by the heat and water restrictions, we believe that having neatly landscaped lawns of grass is of the utmost importance to our community," said a letter sent to the homeowners in August.

Local homeowners associations are loosening restrictive covenants requiring green grass and manicured lawns. But the Margot's Pond association is not giving residents a break -- and it's causing dissension among some members.

In a letter Aug. 16, Talis Management Group, which carries out the policies of the Margot's Pond HOA, required the homeowners to have:

* Healthy grass free of brown patches and weeds.

* Living trees with mulch.

* Planter beds with living shrubs and flowers.

The letter gave an October deadline to meet the HOA standards. Violators would be subject to fines or "self-help" -- a landscape company would fix the violations; the homeowner would get the bill.

Vann Holland, a member of the Margot's Pond landscaping committee, thought the requirements were too stringent. In an interview with WTVD last week, she asked the HOA to "give the homeowners a break." Read more...


September 12, 2007

NC wildfires surge


NC has been hit with more wildfires this year than in normal years. The unusually dry months have created dangerous conditions that set the stage for fires from tossed cigarettes, lightning and other causes.

News & Observer
September 12, 2007
From Staff Reports

More wildfires blaze this year

North Carolina has been hit with more than 5,400 wildfires this year -- before the typical start of the fall wildfire season, state officials say.

The worsening drought has dried out pine straw and other forest fuels, increasing the fire danger. So far, 30,700 acres have burned statewide, state officials say.

In a typical year, the state has 4,931 wildfires burning 20,008 acres, according to the state Division of Forest Resources.

On Tuesday, winds between 15 mph and 20 mph helped the spread of several large wildfires. A 200-acre fire ravaged fields and threatened homes in the Orange County community of Hebron, after a corn combine caught fire. And a 50-acre blaze broke out near the Highcroft subdivision in Cary.

Earlier this summer, more than 150 wildfires burned nearly 2,915 acres in Robeson County. The Fayettevlle Observer reported that burning debris and arson were responsible for two-thirds of the fires.

Typically, most wildfires start in mid-September.

Because of the danger, the state has banned open burning, regardless of whether a permit has been issued.

That means all open burning is prohibited 100 feet or more from homes. Many counties also prohibit burning within 100 feet of homes.

Also, the state has banned campfires at public campgrounds, except for those in in metal-sided fire rings. The U.S. Forest Service is prohibiting all fires in the backcountry.

Violators face state fines of $100 as well as local penalties. Original article...

September 11, 2007

Fire at Lost Colony site

A landmark North Carolina historical tourist attraction has been devastated by fire. The Lost Colony site in Manteo has been one of the state's outstanding attractions for 70 years.

According to William Ivey Long, production and costume designer, "The Lost Colony" is the nation's longest-running outdoor drama. It tells the tale of British settlers who came to Manteo in 1587, decades before their more famous counterparts at Plymouth Rock, but who mysteriously disappeared. The production celebrated its 70th anniversary this summer.

News & Observer
September 11, 2007
Orla Swift, Staff Writer

Fire destroys "Lost Colony" buildings, costumes

MANTEO - A fire ripped through the theater that hosts "The Lost Colony" outdoor drama early this morning, destroying two buildings and hundreds of costumes and artifacts.

The amphitheater and its sets were saved. But the costume shop yards away was destroyed, including 70 years of costumes, fabrics, sketches and other artifacts and memorabilia.

A nearby resident saw flames at the Waterside Theatre at 12:35 a.m. and alerted firefighters, according to the show's publicist.

The cause of the fire has not been determined, but it appears to have started in a maintenance shed, according to production and costume designer William Ivey Long.

Many valuable costumes were saved by chance, Long said in a telephone interview this morning from his home in New York. Read more...

Gloomy NC job outlook through fourth quarter 2007

The job outlook for NC has worsened, reflecting declining economic conditions and more companies being uneasy about being overstaffed during uncertain times. A September report in the Winston-Salem Journal indicates only 10 percent of employers in the Piedmont area expect to add employees in the fourth quarter.

Winston-Salem journal
September 10, 2007
Richard Craver, journal Reporter

More local companies expect to cut jobs; just 10 percent will add positions

The local employment forecast is gloomy for the fourth quarter, with more than twice as many companies expecting to cut jobs than add, according to a Manpower Inc. survey prepared for release today.

Just 10 percent of employers in the Winston-Salem area plan to add staff in the quarter, according to the Manpower Employment Outlook. The area consists of Davie, Forsyth, Stokes and Yadkin counties.

By comparison, 23 percent of employers expect to reduce their work force. Manpower does not disclose how many employers it surveys in individual markets.

It is the second time in the past five quarters that 10 percent of area employers expressed interest in hiring over the next three months. Before the third quarter of 2006, the last time the local-hiring projection was so low was the fourth quarter of 1996.

"Employer confidence about hiring is significantly weaker as compared to a year ago," said Matt Stadler, the manager of Manpower's office in Winston-Salem. In the fourth quarter of 2006, 20 percent of employers expected to add staff and 7 percent expected to cut jobs.

The survey found that the best job prospects are in the finance, insurance, real estate and service sectors. Employers in nondurable goods manufacturing and the wholesale and retail trade sectors are the most likely to eliminate jobs.

The survey's results run counter to the messages being conveyed by several area employers pursuing cost savings through outsourcing and offshoring information. A short list includes Aon Corp., BB&T Corp., Dell Inc., GMAC Insurance, Hanesbrands Inc., Reynolds American Inc. and Wachovia Corp.

Employment officials said that thousands of jobs could be at stake, either locally or within companies' domestic operations. Some of those job cuts are expected to take place during the next three to six months.

Michael Walden, an economics professor at N.C. State University, said that companies "don't want to be caught in an overstaffed position."

"North Carolina's economic improvement has been stronger than in the nation and Southeast since the current economic expansion began in earnest in 2004," Walden said. "The first implication is that the business cycle is more volatile in North Carolina than in the rest of the country.

"The second is the broad structural transformation under way in the country, resulting from globalization, technological advances, the increased benefits from education, and more intense business competition. As evidenced by the faster changes in the occupational distribution, this transformation is happening more intensively in the state."

One local employer capitalizing on the outsourcing trend is Liberty Hardware Manufacturing Corp., which has 350 workers at Union Cross Business Park. The company said in August that it considering local and out-of-region options for a distribution expansion scheduled to open in mid-2008.

"We've had great success in hiring locally for key positions, especially with people who have been let go, or feel they are going to be let go, by local employers who are going in a different staffing direction than we are, either by outsourcing or offshoring," said Jennifer Shoffner, the vice president of human resources of Liberty's local operations. "We're attractive to people who like the fact we've had low turnover and we're committed to operating locally." Original article...

September 10, 2007

Sign of the times - another NC business lost


North Carolina businesses continue to decline and the state continues to lose more jobs as part of a gradual trend. Textiles, furniture manufacturing, electronics and other long time sources of employment have been hard hit and it seems the trend will continue even as the state tries to lure new industries.

According to the Employment Security Commission of North Carolina, since 1990, the number of manufacturing jobs in North Carolina has dropped from more than 820,000 to fewer than 553,000 in 2006. The ESC reports "of the roughly 249,000 jobs lost over that time, more than a third have come since the turn of the century. The number of manufacturing plants and mills dropped from more than 12,500 to fewer than 10,700 from 2000 to 2006".

"The trends have been particularly devastating for the textile and furniture industries, once pillars of the state's economy. The number of textile and apparel mills dropped by 40 percent between 1996 and 2006, putting more than 153,000 people out of work. Furniture manufacturing losses have been smaller, but significant. The number of plants has dropped by 163 for a loss of about 26,000 jobs, about a third of the state's work force in that industry".

The trend is fueled in many ways by forces of our own making. Expanding "free trade" growth has brought significant competition from overseas and the lure of cheap labor and low overhead costs has encouraged businesses to move production out of the country at the expense of American jobs.

The following account from the Rocky Mount newspaper tells of yet another NC business lost to the pressures of free trade drawing manufacturing away from the United States...

Rocky Mount Telegram
September 9, 2007
Zach Ahmad

Imports take toll on plywood sales

For a man who just lost his livelihood, Ken Burnette is spending a lot of time in the office.

At 10 a.m. on a Wednesday, the founder and now former owner of East Coast Plywood Co. is tied up on a call with a potential buyer for some of the nearly $400,000 worth of wood stocks sitting in the warehouse next door.

As soon as he puts the phone down, it rings again. It's the Rocky Mount Area Chamber of Commerce asking if he wants to be included on a map it is preparing for local businesses. The plant is closed, he tells them, so no thanks.

Later that morning, Burnette will meet with a pair of businessmen from Lexington who are interested in buying a pair of industrial table saws he still owns. Then he'll look into leasing out the building he owns.

"I'm as busy as I've ever been," he said. "Unfortunately, it's a different kind of busy."

More than a month ago, Burnette made the decision to close the furniture parts manufacturing plant he's owned for 21 years, having squeezed what he could out of an increasingly unprofitable business.

The company's work force has been cut to just two employees charged with cleaning up the largely empty 50,000-square-foot warehouse, where workers once converted plywood into drawer bottoms to be used in office furniture – a niche market if there ever were one.

Burnette's focus is now on selling off the rest of his inventory and equipment, which he expects to get peanuts on the dollar for. When that's done, the business owner of more than two decades will be hunting for a job.

"We're bleeding too much, and what's leaving is the equity it took me 21 years to build," Burnette said. "We had to make the decision. We're out of here."

In permanently closing its doors, East Coast Plywood is penning its own version of a familiar story for North Carolina manufacturers large and small over the last several years.

Since 1990, the number of manufacturing jobs in North Carolina has dropped from more than 820,000 to fewer than 553,000 in 2006, according to data from the Employment Security Commission of North Carolina.

Of the roughly 249,000 jobs lost over that time, more than a third have come since the turn of the century. The number of manufacturing plants and mills dropped from more than 12,500 to fewer than 10,700 from 2000 to 2006.

The trends have been particularly devastating for the textile and furniture industries, once pillars of the state's economy. The number of textile and apparel mills dropped by 40 percent between 1996 and 2006, putting more than 153,000 people out of work.

Furniture manufacturing losses have been smaller, but significant. The number of plants has dropped by 163 for a loss of about 26,000 jobs, about a third of the state's work force in that industry.

The causes are as clear as they are frustrating. The rise in global free trade has sent large manufacturers overseas and across borders in search of cheap labor and less restrictive employment and environmental regulations.

In addition to mass layoffs that come as a result of large-scale plant closings, the impact trickles down to smaller manufacturers that feed into the industry. It's a trend many believe is irreversible.

"It's reasonable to assume we've kind of bottomed out," said Steve Walker, assistant director of the Furniture Manufacturing and Management Center at N.C. State University. "There will certainly be opportunities that come along that somebody will see and fill; but to think that those jobs will come back, I don't think it will ever happen."

For East Coast Plywood, the fall came hard and fast.

Burnette started the company in 1986 using a loan and all the savings he had after spending more than a decade in furniture sales. The operation was small but grew quickly, making a profit in its third year with about $1.2 million in sales.

After a decade, that blossomed into more than $6 million in sales a year. The output multiplied from 7,000 drawer bottoms a day to 54,000, and the plant's work force was up to 22 full-time employees. In 1996, the company moved to a new warehouse five times larger than its original location to accommodate the expanding business.

"I found a niche in the marketplace," Burnette said. "We were doing well."

The boom lasted until about 2002, when Burnette started to notice a gradual downward shift in sales and profit margins.

He didn't have to wonder why – it was on the nightly news.

In December 2001, China became a member of the World Trade Organization, eliminating many of the trade barriers that had prevented manufacturers from doing business there.

Soon after, many of the large furniture manufacturers Burnette counted on as customers began to move their operations to China, and took their business with them. By 2004, East Coast Plywood saw its production drop to 32,000 drawer bottoms a day, a 40 percent cut in business from its peak. Then things got bad.

By 2006, output dropped to 24,000 drawer bottoms a day, and annual sales were down a third from a decade earlier, not accounting for inflation. Burnette had laid off more than half his staff, leaving just eight plant workers on the job with more layoffs imminent.

"You'd pick up a newspaper, and you'd see that another furniture plant was shutting down," Burnette said. "Once the water started coming through the dike, it didn't take long at all."

On Fourth of July weekend, Burnette took a trip with his wife to Emerald Isle, the same spot he was at 21 years earlier when he made the decision to go into business for himself.

The plant was now making just 10,000 drawer bottoms a day with five plant workers – barely more than what it was putting out in its earliest years. It was then that he made the call: When he got back to town, he would start shutting things down for good.

"You feel like you lost. You feel defeated," Burnette said. "You can lose money 10 times faster than you can make it."

The first thing Burnette will tell you when discussing his failed business is that he doesn't consider himself a victim. But wait a minute or so, and he'll begin to talk about the free trade realities responsible for his company's demise – the fairness of which he understandably questions.

He's hardly alone. Since the major expansion of international trade agreements in the mid-1990s, concerns about the equity of a relatively unregulated global marketplace have created one of the most consistent and complex threads of ideological debate in the post-Cold War era.

As it relates to the offshoring and outsourcing of U.S. jobs, domestic opponents of free trade point to the often loose labor and environmental practices permitted in many of the benefiting countries – issues they claim the trade agreements inadequately address.

China in particular, which has been a drag on the U.S. furniture industry, has drawn considerable attention for its growing contribution to global greenhouse gasses, with several studies projecting it to become the world leader in emissions in just a few years.

Moreover, critics say the lower labor costs for which offshoring companies leave are typically the result of unbalanced sociopolitical systems in which workers are exploited for little pay.

Regardless of one's theoretical take on global competition, they say, the reality is a situation in which U.S. industries are punished for having to adhere to stricter regulations.

"It's really a fallacy that these smaller firms should be able to adjust their practices to compete on a level with these developing countries," said Ben Plimpton of the Citizens Trade Campaign, a coalition of organizations that promote free trade reform. "Obviously the cost of labor is a fraction of what it is here, and that's made possible by a repressive political climate."

Free trade supporters point out that the United States' emphasis on labor rights and environmental protection is a relatively recent phenomenon, made possible by a stable middle class. Countries such as China are following a similar model, and improvements – the theory goes – will come gradually as they expand to higher levels of development.

"I think Americans often have a less than complete knowledge of the relative comparisons," said Dr. Mitch Renkow, a professor of resource economics at N.C. State University. "A clean environment is in some sense a luxury good. It's only after you get to a certain level that you're concerned about it."

In addition, many economists say the trend is a natural one that carries numerous benefits – cheaper consumer prices, accelerated global progress and a better quality of life in historically underprivileged parts of the world – even if there are bound to be some losers in the equation.

"Economists have studied this for a long time, and if you add up all the benefits and subtract all the losses from these free trade situations, it's always true that the gains outnumber the losses," said Dr. Donald Jud, an economist at the University of North Carolina-Greensboro. "Free trade is making possible a better life in so many parts of the world. The problem is that not everyone is benefiting at the same pace."

In more than 35 years in the work force, Keith Bennett has never been without a job.

As the plant manager at East Coast Plywood for a decade and a half, he's seen the company's staff grow and dwindle, hanging onto his own position as many of his co-workers were let go.

Now, at 60 years old, Bennett is counting down his final days at the company that's provided him with a livelihood for much of his adult life. He is one of two employees still working at the plant, helping to clear out the warehouse so someone else can make use of it.

Bennett will volunteer that he's no expert on the nuances of free trade. Yet, he said he's seen enough to believe there's something fundamentally wrong about the situation he's now in.

"I'm conservative and old-fashioned in nature, and I just think we need to take care of our jobs before we take care of the rest of the world," Bennett said as he took a smoke break, using an empty Coke can for an ash tray.

"I don't know that I'm knowledgeable of world trade and world organizations and what their thing is, but I know enough to make that decision."

Bennett doesn't know what kind of unemployment compensation he'll receive, though he's certain he will eventually need another job.

Having spent his life in manufacturing, Bennett said he'd prefer something different. But he knows his age could work against him, and he's willing to take what he can get.

"My experience has been in wood manufacturing of one sort or another," he said. "I'm just going to see what's out there."

While activists and economists debate the merits of free trade, the situation on the ground remains as is.

Every plant closing leaves a variable amount of people without jobs, many with only the most basic skill sets. Meanwhile, the manufacturing sector is shrinking, and jobs that remain require more advanced training.

In the wake of several high-profile furniture plant closings in the early part of the decade, the state has stepped up efforts to retrain employees who have suddenly found their talents no longer in demand.

The JobLink Career Center System, run through the N.C. Department of Commerce, has teamed up with the state's community college system to locate displaced workers and assist them in finding a new role in the local economy.

When officials get notice of a plant closing, they will often do onsite visits to register employees in the JobLinks database and assess their interests and abilities. From there, they will try to match them up to training programs in community colleges to make them more versatile.

"There's an ebb and flow in the labor market, and what we have here is a cohort of people who have demonstrated some great skills and great work productivity," said Tom White, director of business and industry services for N.C. Division of Workforce Development. "We're able to take that basic set of skills and try to enhance it and develop it to meet the changing needs of the labor market."

Experts say that approach is critical. While the manufacturing industry in North Carolina is not necessarily dying, observers say it is shifting to more advanced stages, and workers will need to learn how to work at higher levels to gain meaningful employment.

"We've been through this sort of longterm structural change before, and we're going through it again," Jud said. "The junior colleges in many of the rural areas of North Carolina, they're the growth industries. Everybody needs to go back and get retrained."

Burnette will soon test those waters himself as he looks for something to replace his once successful, now defunct furniture parts outfit.

The man who prints his business cards on a piece of ultra-thin plywood said he'd like to find something within the furniture industry, but he's open to all options.

Meanwhile, Burnette's 18-year-old son recently started his freshman year at N.C. State. The former plant owner told him a few years ago there wouldn't be any openings at the family business when he graduates. Beyond that, he offers him only general advice.

"I tell him, 'Son, it's highly competitive out there,'" Burnette said. "If you want to get a job, you've got to be better than the guy beside you."

Not to mention the guy halfway around the world. Original article...

September 9, 2007

One-stop voting help's NC turnout

Voting in North Carolina has gotten a little easier, thanks to implementation of One-Stop Voting. One of the traditional reasons for low voter turnout is that many voters don't or can't take time out from work or other commitments to vote in most elections. Now it will be a little easier to vote and make a difference!

Another reason often cited for non-participation is waiting too late, then not having time to stand in long lines. According to Bob Hall of Democracy North Carolina “Young people and busy blue-collar workers don’t pay attention to the election until the final week or so, and by then it’s too late.’’

Another change that will boost turnout is a provision to let new voters register and vote on the same day. Voters will be able to go to a One-Stop Site, present proper identification, register and vote at the same time shortly before an election (but not on Election Day itself).

Read more about how this change should boost NC's voter participation...

Asheville Citizen-Times
August 24, 2007
Citizens-Times editorial

NC's One-Stop voting is a blessing for busy people

In our democracy, there is no greater privilege, right and responsibility than casting a ballot.

We’re pleased to note that process just got easier. Hopefully, the passage of HB-91, “Registration and Voting at One-Stop Sites,” by the General Assembly, and the formal approval of the plan by the U.S. Department of Justice, will give a boost to voter participation locally and across North Carolina.

It should be a particular godsend for new voters and prognosticators.

Government affects virtually everything we do in our lives, from the condition of the road we drive on during our morning commute, to the safety of the workplace we arrive at, to the state of the schools our children attend, the air we breathe and the water we drink.

The vote is where the average citizen gets his or her say on those matters by electing the officials with our best interests in mind.

However, that powerful tool is cast aside by many. In North Carolina, the “Civic Participation Index’’ released earlier this year showed only two of five adults in the state vote in a typical election.

One million citizens aren’t even registered to vote, and even of those who did register for the 2006 election, only 37 percent cast a ballot.

Harried for time

That doesn’t mean North Carolinians are bad people or poor citizens. A comment from Bob Hall of Democracy North Carolina framed the issue succinctly: “Young people and busy blue-collar workers don’t pay attention to the election until the final week or so, and by then it’s too late.’’

Under the old law, when you had to register to vote 25 days before an election, that may well have been true.

Now, voters will be able to go to a One-Stop Site, and after presenting proper identification, can register and vote at the same time shortly before an election (but not on Election Day itself).

The main objection to One-Stop voting was the risk of voter fraud. The new law seems to make that possibility rather remote. Identification will be carefully checked, and the penalty for attempting to perpetrate fraud is steep — a felony.

The voters same-day registration should help the most are young voters attempting to navigate the system for the first time and new residents who need to familiarize themselves with their new state’s voting laws.

North Carolina is breaking ground with this move, becoming just the eighth state in the nation — and the first in the South — to allow citizens to register and vote shortly before an election.

There may be bumps as election officials and voters adjust to the new system, but the potential payoff is huge. Democracy North Carolina reported that a study last month by two political scientists estimated voter participation could rise nearly 11 percent for young voters, 9 percent for new residents and 6 percent for African-Americans.

Democracy North Carolina’s Hall said, “The vote is each person’s voice in shaping policies that will hurt or help their future. North Carolina is among the bottom 15 states for voter participation, and our low rankings for health care, education, pay equity and other indicators mirror that low level of involvement by ordinary citizens.’’

Same-day registration holds the promise of making civic participation less of a chore. Mainly, it holds the promise of making our government — and thus our lives — better.

HOW SDR WORKS IN NC:

The Same-Day Registration law (H-91/Session Law 2007-253) allows a citizen to go to a One-Stop Early Voting site in the county, show proper identification to an election official, fill out the registration form, swear under penalty of a felony that the information is accurate, and then cast a ballot — all on the same day.

Forms of acceptable identification include these documents with the person’s current address:

• a N.C. drivers license

• a telephone, electric, gas or other utility bill

• a bank statement

• a payroll check

• a document from a local, state, or federal government agency

The registration form is processed immediately, through computerized and staff data matching and an address correction card sent via mail; if a problem arises, the ballot (which is coded to the person) can be pulled before the canvass date for the election.

Election officials must now provide a provisional ballot to anyone who wants to vote and then research the person’s eligibility. Many election officials favor SDR because it will drastically reduce the need for provisional ballots.

SOURCE: http://www.democracy-nc.org/.