Golden Leaf Foundation to be abolished, funds passed to NC Rural Economic Development Center

The Golden LEAF Foundation was created in 1999 as a non-profit foundation to receive one-half of the funds coming to North Carolina from the master settlement agreement with cigarette manufacturers and distribute the funds to help areas that were heavily tobacco income dependent. The Foundation is supposed to help North Carolinians make the transition from a tobacco-dependent economy through grants and investments that would positively affect the long-term economic advancement of the state.

Recent complaints that Golden LEAF was not doing enough to help counties hurt by the loss of tobacco production has prompted introduction of legislation to abolish the Foundation and direct money now disbursed by Golden LEAF into a trust fund to benefit "tobacco-dependent communities." That money would be distributed by the N.C. Rural Economic Development Center. Sen. Clark Jenkins, D-Edgecombe, said many projects were approved in areas, including western counties, that did not rely on tobacco.

News and Observer
March 30, 2007
Jerry Allegood, Staff Writer

Control of tobacco millions may shift
Bill would kill LEAF Foundation

More than half the state Senate has endorsed legislation that would abolish the Golden LEAF Foundation, which distributes millions of dollars from the state's settlement with tobacco companies.

The legislation, introduced Monday by Sen. Clark Jenkins, D-Edgecombe, would direct money now disbursed by Golden LEAF into a trust fund to benefit "tobacco-dependent communities." That money -- now about $600 million -- would be distributed by the N.C. Rural Economic Development Center, a private not-for-profit organization that works with rural areas.

Jenkins said the legislation was prompted by complaints that Golden LEAF was not doing enough to help counties hurt by the loss of tobacco production. He said many projects were approved in areas, including western counties, that did not rely on tobacco. Read more...

Oh the pain of fire ants...

If you haven't had the experience of touching a fire ant mound and had a swarm of them run onto your foot to sting you, make sure you keep your distance when you see them. The experience is one you will not soon forget.

Fire ants have been imported into North Carolina in loads of pine needles and other products brought in from other states and the creatures continue to spread into many areas of the state. So much so the state is stepping up efforts to try to slow the spread and is now quarantining movement of materials that the ants can be found in. Read more about the continuing problem...

The Raleigh Chronicle
Staff and Wire Reports
March 28, 2007

Fire ant movement sparks quarantine expansion

The continued movement in North Carolina of the imported fire ant, which can inflict very painful venomous stings, has caused the state to expand its quarantine on movement of hay, logs, sod, dirt, and soil equipment in several more counties including Granville County which is just north of Durham.

The NC Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services said this week that it is expanding the quarantine for the imported fire ant "in a continuing effort to monitor and slow the spread of the pest."

The state says that with the expansion, the quarantine now includes portions or entire areas of 61 counties. Read more...

Circuit City cuts pay, lays off better-paid workers

Ever go into a Circuit City store and get overrun by eager sales representatives trying to hustle you with a sale? This has long been one of the tactics used in CC stores that intimidates customers and encourages them to go elsewhere.

The stores are usually well stocked with lots of items consumers want and prices are pretty good. But is being over-run by an aggressive sales staff good for business? For as long as I have patronized CC stores when entering any store I cringe as I walk into the entrance and immediately start watching for sales reps converging on me before I get my bearings.

The company is now starting down a path that will likely push many of their better sales reps out the door and could cause customers to think twice about going into the stores. A plan has been set to lay off better paid employees and replace them with lower paid ones or hire some back at considerably lower pay. It would seem that corporate management thinks customers won't care and that sales will remain the same or improve. This is yet another bad idea hatched by executives out of touch with the real world that will likely bring lower sales and profits and backfire. They don't seem to realize that at in the same effort to cut salaries they are also pushing out thousands of customers that are employees at the same time.

Read more about a plan that is sure to scuttle CC's business...

News and Observer
March 29, 2007
Nae Anderson and Ellen Simon, The Associated Press

Circuit City to lay off better-paid workers

NEW YORK - A new plan for layoffs at Circuit City is openly targeting better-paid workers, risking a public backlash by implying that its wages are as subject to discounts as its flat-screen TVs.

The electronics retailer, facing larger competitors and falling sales, said Wednesday that it would lay off about 3,400 store workers -- immediately -- and replace them with lower-paid new hires as soon as possible.

The laid-off workers, about 8 percent of the company's total work force, would get a severance package and a chance to reapply for their former jobs, at lower pay, after a 10-week delay, the company said. Read more...

Don't even think of letting your cell phone get lost...

Lucy dukes received a cell phone bill for almost $11,000 after not reporting it missing. She's a Raleigh school teacher, doesn't use her phone often and simply did not think there was a problem even though the phone had been missing since January 23rd.

When she got around to reporting the missing phone to the service company they informed her someone had been using it. She decided to get another phone with the same number and soon after began receiving calls from people speaking french from the Congo. Police have now traced use of the phone back to a native of Kinshasa, Congo, and charged him with using Dukes' phone to call his homeland.

Read the complete article...

News and Observer
March 28, 2007
Thomasi McDonald, Staff Writer

This 'roaming' phone delivers $10,733 bill
Police say stolen cell used to call Congo

RALEIGH - Lucy Dukes now realizes she should have called the cell phone company the same day the darn thing turned up missing.

But Dukes, a teacher at Broughton High School, rarely used the Cingular/AT&T Wireless phone that was lost Jan. 23 and figured it was somewhere in her home. She didn't call the company for two weeks.

"I called Cingular and told them, 'I think I lost my phone in the house,' " Dukes said. "They said, 'No, someone has been using it.' "

A day or so later, Dukes received a phone bill for nearly $11,000. Read more...

Is higher cost pet food better?

Is there a real difference in higher cost foods you buy for your pet?

Most pet foods, and food for humans also, generally contain the same or equivalent ingredients. Some of the higher cost pet foods may have extras blended in, such as canola oil or other enhancers.

A March N&O article quotes David Kirkpatrick, spokesman for the American Veterinary Medical Association as stating "Pet-food companies distinguish the more expensive brands by blending in higher-quality ingredients such as canola oil, lamb meat or vitamin supplements. But a few building block ingredients are common to almost any pet-food brand on sale in a typical grocery store aisle."

"Commodity products such as corn gluten, wheat gluten and meat meal form the nutritional backbone of many pet foods", said Robert Backus, assistant professor of small animal nutrition at the University of Missouri.

Read more about food content...

News and Observer
March 24, 2007
Christopher Leonard, The Associated Press

Fancy food for Fido?
Pet-food recall makes owners consider costs

ST. LOUIS - When dog lover Carol Will heard that tainted wheat gluten had spurred a pet-food recall, she wasn't surprised to find that the commodity ingredient was used in a lot of generic brands, such as Hy-Vee and Price Chopper.

But Nutro Natural Choice? That's top-shelf stuff.

"That made me sit up and say: 'Wait a second, I need to look into this further,'" Will recalled.

Will has more than her own pets to worry about. She makes a living selling high-end dog food -- along with doggy dresses and raincoats -- at her store, Lola & Penelope's Premier Pet Boutique and Wellness Center. Read more...

NC aiming for more jobs - recruiting airplane builders

North Carolina efforts to get companies to move to the state now include trying to get airplane builders, parts manufacturers and engine manufacturers to create more jobs and revenues. A recent announcement included a new Honda airplane building facility in Greensboro that would bring 483 new jobs.

Read how recruiting efforts for these new manufacturers could help the state's job climate...

News and Observer
March 23, 2007
Jonathan Cox, Staff Writer

Recruiters aim for the skies
Goal is aviation jobs with higher-than-average pay

North Carolina is trying to live up to its tag line: First in flight.

Recruiters are stepping up efforts to attract plane builders, engine makers and parts manufacturers to the state that claims the birthplace of aviation. Their goal is to win industry jobs that pay double the average weekly wage in North Carolina.

In the past two months, Gov. Mike Easley has announced 483 new positions in the aviation industry. Honda Aircraft Co. in February said that it will build a jet plant in Greensboro, and Smiths Aerospace this month said it will expand in Asheville.

More could be on the way. Rolls-Royce, one of the world's largest jet-engine makers... Read more...

Rural NC areas continue losing people, businesses

Ten eastern NC counties lost population from 2005 to 2006, continuing an alarming trend. Of the counties that lost population, a dozen had fewer people than in 2000. Ten of the 12 are in Eastern North Carolina.

Lost industry and jobs in those areas has fueled the migration of people away from these areas and efforts to draw new businesses to the region has not helped as expected even after the state spent millions of dollars to attract new companies and jobs.

The N&O report paints a gloomy picture for that part of the state. "We keep hoping things are going to get better, but it hasn't happened," said Claudia Cahoon, a Hyde County native who works nights at Hyde Correctional Center and runs a struggling seafood business during the day. "You've got to love it to stay here."

The article further states that "eastern North Carolina leaders say the biggest challenges lie ahead for counties that are too far from the coast to attract tourists and retirees and too far from urban centers to attract commuters. Without the textile plants and small tobacco farms that once fueled their economies, some say, there are few prospects for growth."

News and Observer
March 22, 2007
Kristin Collins and Jerry Allegood, Staff Writers

Rural East losing people
Ten Eastern counties are among 15 in the state that lost population from 2005 to 2006, new estimates show

SWAN QUARTER - Jobs at the state prison are all that separate many

How much would you pay to save your pet?

Would you pay a significant amount to save your pets life or help it recover from a major injury? The news article below describes just such a situation. The decision of what to do pulls at the very strings of your heart and when an event takes place where you must choose between losing your pet or helping it live many would simply pay whatever it would cost to save the animal.

We have had two experiences when we decided our family animals (one was a pet and one was a show horse) were worth saving with costly surgery. In one case our cat walked up to a Border Collie that was our daughter's pride and joy and reached out and scratched the dog's eye. Unfortunately the cat did more than just scratch the surface of the dog's eye and we ended up rushing the dog to a regional veterinary clinic almost 200 miles away. After two surgical procedures and weeks of recovery we ended up with a dog that had one good eye and one glass eye and a major bill for the services.

The second situation brought on even more trauma when our daughter's show quarter horse rolled over while in training in Florida and poked a rigid piece of grass into its eye. This really brought on a dilemma and another difficult decision about what to do to help the horse. Fortunately we had taken a step to purchase insurance on the horse since it was a significant investment but we discovered the insurance would only cover the horse if it had died. Once again we made a decision to go ahead and have a veterinarian specializing in equine eye surgery take care of the horse and after months of specialized treatment the eye healed but had only about eighty percent of normal vision. But having that care allowed the horse to continue being a show horse for a little more time.

Was it worth it? If you have animals that become part of the family you would say yes. If you are a person that thinks of animals as property then perhaps you would say no.

Having gone through two situations where we had to decide to spend big bucks to save and treat animals we would agree with the steps Jane Phipps has gone through in helping take care of her dog Tony. Looking back we would make the same decisions again to provide the help needed for our animals. And we are sure Jane would do the same again for her pet. Perhaps help will come to her from people that read her story and she can have help with the bills she is facing. Only time will tell. Read the account from the March 21 N&O...

News and Observer
March 21, 2007
Benjamin Niolet, Staff Writer

Would you pay $25,000 to save a pet?
Price is no object for some when it comes to saving their animals

About a month ago Tony, a dog, ruptured a disc and started fighting to breathe. His owner, Jane Phipps, rushed him to a veterinary hospital. He underwent surgery and spent 30 days on a ventilator.

Tony pulled through, although he still needs physical therapy.

And now Phipps needs $25,000 to cover her vet bill. So far, her only plan to pay it down is a yard sale. She's put more than $16,000 on a credit card.

"Some people think I'm a lunatic for spending that kind of money," said Phipps, 53, a nurse who reviews medical charts for an insurance company. "My priorities are my family, and he's a part of my family. Read more...

NC using flawed formulas to calculate benefits from give-aways?

According to a study by the N.C. Budget & Tax Center in a March 21, 2007, article by Jonathan Cox at the N&O, the method NC uses to estimate benefits to be gained from large give-aways to lure business to NC is flawed. This means lawmakers making key decisions to give away future income and tax benefits to companies in exchange for building in NC are based on misleading information that does not accurately predict the benefits of the deals.

"Instead of pumping millions of dollars into state coffers, some economic development deals might actually be costing revenue and hurting taxpayers, according to the study by the N.C. Budget & Tax Center, a non-profit group that advocates for the poor."

Read the complete article...

News and Observer
March 2q1, 2007
Jonathan B. Cox, Staff Writer

Report challenges N.C.'s incentives formula

State officials overestimate the benefits gained from companies that get rich incentives to expand in North Carolina, a report says.

Instead of pumping millions of dollars into state coffers, some economic development deals might actually be costing revenue and hurting taxpayers, according to the study by the N.C. Budget & Tax Center, a non-profit group that advocates for the poor.

At issue is a computer spreadsheet that Department of Commerce officials use to assess economic development deals. They plug in variables -- from the number of jobs expected to the amount of sales an operation will generate -- to determine whether future benefits will outweigh the costs.

The report says that the model is flawed and that officials too often use inflated assumptions that make projects look better than they are... Read more...

NC Issued 27,000 licenses on invalid social security numbers

More alarming news from the office of Les Merritt, our state auditor working on the state payroll and in his own personal business.

North Carolina has issued some 27,000 drivers licenses on invalid social security numbers. Why is this a big problem? This means that thousands of drivers licenses accepted for identification in all sorts of situations can't be traced back to known US citizens and could be used for virtually any purpose and could allow holders to gain access to places they should not be allowed into, cash checks or withdraw funds illegally, etc.

In a state audit report released March 20th it has been stated that "auditors don’t know if the invalid Social Security numbers were intentionally used to obtain licenses" according to Chris Mears, a spokesman for the auditor’s office. “We’re assuming that some of those simply will be keypunch errors [by DMV clerks], but we thought that 27,000 was a big number,” Mears said.

Yeah, right. This is a pretty large blunder to simply write off to possible data entry errors. This means we could have hundreds or thousands of unscrupulous people loose in the state that have accepted means of identification that could now gain access to many places where they can do harm or proceed to arrange further means to obtain funds or illegal accounts or whatever might serve their purposes without anyone knowing it.

Read the report out today..

News and Observer
March 20, 2007
Dane Kane

27,000 licenses on invalid Social Security numbers

A state audit released today has found that North Carolina has issued roughly 27,000 drivers licenses to motorists based on invalid Social Security numbers.

State Auditor Les Merritt said the problem lies with licenses issued under an older system that the state Division of Motor Vehicles now uses. The new system, which the division began using in August, checks Social Security numbers automatically before issuing licenses. The old system did not.

“The hole we discovered was that DMV did not review previously issued licenses," Merritt said in a news release. “That hole presents a potential threat to homeland security and exacerbates the problem of identity theft.” Read more...

Enola Gay artifacts aquired by NC Museum of History

The North Carolina Museum of History has acquired artifacts from Thomas Ferebee's military collection, including notes written on Aug. 6, 1945, maps, his dress uniform, desk nameplate, reunion pins and mugs, and a substantial amount of paperwork documenting his 30-year career in the Air Force. Why is this important? Thomas Ferebee (on left in AP file photo)was an North Carolina native and was the one that pulled the lever to drop the atomic bomb on Hirosima and helped end the war. Read the fascinating story about how this unfolded...

News and Observer
March 15, 2007
Craig Jarvis, Staff Writer

Airman's artifacts come to N.C.

RALEIGH - Col. Thomas W. Ferebee had a distinguished military career that lasted from World War II to Vietnam, but it was a single day that ensured him a place in history. On Aug. 6, 1945, he pulled a lever aboard the Enola Gay that dropped the atomic bomb on Hiroshima.

The attack -- so horrific and so significant in ending the war -- did not define the North Carolina native's life. But it did add historical significance to the souvenirs of his military service that he so scrupulously saved. Now those artifacts have been returned to his home state.

The N.C. Museum of History announced Wednesday that it has acquired Ferebee's military collection, including notes written on that day, maps, his dress uniform, desk nameplate, reunion pins and mugs, and a substantial amount of paperwork documenting his 30-year career in the Air Force. Read more...

Terror leader studied in North Carolina

Terrorist leader Khalid Sheikh Mohammed "first came to the United States as a student at Chowan College in early 1983, according to the 9/11 Commission Report" as reported on the March 16th N&O.

News and Observer
March 16, 2007
Jay Price, Staff Writer

Mastermind of 9/11 studied in N.C.

The confessed mastermind of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks spent three years in North Carolina as a college student, his only opportunity to learn the lessons about how to blend into U.S. society that later helped his plotting.

Khalid Sheikh Mohammed first came to the United States as a student at Chowan College in early 1983, according to the 9/11 Commission Report.

Mohammed studied a semester at Chowan, a small Baptist college in Murfreesboro -- which is in Hertford County in the northeastern corner of the state. Then he transferred to N.C. A&T State University in Greensboro, according to the commission report. Read more...

UNC system will have to accomodate 300,000 by 2017

North Carolina's university system must undergo massive planning to accommodate up to 300,000 students by the year 2017. In the next ten years the annual high school graduation rate is expected to increase by 30,000 students, and almost 22,000 of those will be Latino students.

New programs and methods must be implemented to allow the university system to be flexible and accommodate the growth. Read more from the news release from today with remarks from UNC President Erskine Bowles...

News and Observer
March 15, 2007
Jane Stancill, Staff Writer

UNC system plans for growth

GREENVILLE - By 2017, the number of students enrolled in North Carolina’s public universities could reach nearly 300,000, with no majority race among high school graduates by then.

The future UNC system will be substantially bigger and more diverse, according to projections presented today to the UNC Board of Governors.

The trends are startling. During the next decade, the number of annual high school graduates in North Carolina is expected to grow by 30,000 — and almost 22,000 of those are Latino students.

“That will change this university,” said UNC President Erskine Bowles. Read more...

States spending billions on pre-kindergarten education

The trend is increasing to find ways to start educating children before the kindergarten age.

A report being released Wednesday finds "states spent at least $3.3 billion last year on pre-kindergarten. That doesn't include money from federal and local governments, which contribute to the state programs. The state funding is up from $2.8 billion in 2005, according to the report by the National Institute for Early Education Research at New Jersey's Rutgers University."

The trend is increasing to find ways to start educating children before the kindergarten age.

CNN.com
March 14, 2007
Associated Press

States stress benefits of pre-kindergarten programs

ARLINGTON, Virginia (AP) -- Yasmine Carrizo has trouble pinpointing exactly what she likes best about pre-kindergarten at Carlin Springs Elementary.

"I like the toys, and playing house, and book time, and sleep-over (nap) time," the wide-eyed 4-year-old says one morning as she colors with markers at a table just her size.

Barely taking a breath, Yasmine starts to list additional favorites when she gets a cue from her teacher. "Gotta go," she tells a visitor, dashing off with pigtails bobbing to join her friends at the classroom door. "It's library time!"

It's not hard to find such enthusiasm at the cheerful school, one of several hundred in Virginia that offer state-funded preschool to low-income 4-year-olds.

Nationwide, children typically enter school at around age 5, when they're ready for kindergarten. But research highlighting the importance of early learning is prompting more and more states to add pre-kindergarten programs. Read more...

Don't walk, don't even run

Don't even think about walking across Raleigh's Capital Boulevard. Even if you follow all the rules and do everything right there's a greater chance of being killed on the road than on most others around the region.

The boulevard is as wide as half a football field and has no crosswalks or pedestrian signals. Read the full report...

News and Observer
March 14, 2007
Sam LaGrone, Staff Writer

Crossing Capital on foot poses risk
Since 2002, road has claimed eight

RALEIGH - Sandra Hicks does everything right. She looks both ways. She crosses on green. But even then, Hicks, 42, says she has almost been hit at least five times this year while crossing at North Raleigh's Capital Boulevard and Calvary Drive.

Easy to see why.

Capital at Calvary is half a football field of asphalt from curb to curb with no crosswalks or pedestrian signals.

"It's not safe for the pedestrian," Hicks said. "And these drivers have a hard time screeching on the brakes." Read more...

Best US city for jobs

Back in February Forbes magazine listed Raleigh as the best city in the US for jobs. This is great news for the area and is backed by facts indicating the region has "low unemployment, strong income and job growth, and high incomes -- yet it still maintains a relatively low cost of living." according to Hannah Clark in a Forbes report.

Also see recent reports from the North Carolina Progress Board on employment and long term economic growth from the NC Progress website.

WRAL.com
February 17, 2007

Best City in U.S. for Jobs? It’s Raleigh-Cary, Says Forbes Magazine

RALEIGH, N.C. - Raleigh-Cary is the hottest metropolitan area for jobs in the United States, says Forbes magazine in its annual survey of the top 100 cities.

Raleigh-Cary vaulted to first from seventh in the 2006 list, which was announced on Friday.

The area scored best in job growth rank, 10th, and income growth rank, 12th, in five separate statistical surveys that made up the survey.

“Raleigh, N.C., topped our list this year,” wrote Hannah Clark in the Forbes report. “The city has low unemployment, strong income and job growth, and high incomes--yet it still maintains a relatively low cost of living. Raleigh is part of the "research triangle," including Durham and Chapel Hill. Three major universities - Duke, the University of North Carolina, and North Carolina State University - make their homes in the area. The result: A city with good weather, a relatively low cost of living and a highly educated population.”

"There isn't much of a negative in Raleigh," Steven Cochrane, an economist with Moody's economy.com, told Forbes. "It has a lot of the amenities of Florida, except not the hurricanes." Read more...

UNC laboratory draws map of cancer

Researchers at UNC-Chapel Hill are helping create the national Cancer Genome Atlas to map mutations found in cancer tumors. The goal is to point the way to better tests and treatments.

Chuck Perou's laboratory at UNC-CH is conducting an analysis of hundreds of tissue samples from lung, brain and ovarian cancer tumors and plans to build an map that could aid doctors in finding better treatments for the cancers.

News and Observer
March 14, 2007
Jean P. Fisher, Staff Writer

UNC helps draw map of cancer
Genetic study of tumors might help scientists with detection, cure

The scientists in Chuck Perou's laboratory at UNC-Chapel Hill plot cancer genes like towns and roads on a map -- coordinates that one day will result in a cancer atlas guiding doctors to smarter treatments.

In the next few weeks, Perou, a cell biologist and geneticist, will lead his research team in an analysis of hundreds of tissue samples taken from lung, brain and ovarian cancer tumors. All three have limited treatment options and have never been thoroughly analyzed at the genetic level.

Advances in care for other types of cancers have shown that understanding the genetic characteristics of tumors can be clinically valuable.

Read more...

Plants big business in North Carolina

Steve Troxler, state Agriculture Commissioner said in a recent news article about the "green industry in North Carolina" “We always knew the green industry was big business in North Carolina, but we didn’t know how big.” The plant business is big business in NC and includes all sorts of job resources - "greenhouses, nurseries, florists, sod producers, landscapers, irrigation contractors, lawn and garden centers, and Christmas tree farmers".

News and Observer
March 13, 2007
John Murawski, Staff Writer

N.C. plant biz pumps in $8.6B yearly

North Carolina’s plant and garden industry contributes about $8.6 billion a year to the state’s economy, according to a study released today by the state Department of Agriculture.

The industry comprises greenhouses, nurseries, florists, sod producers, landscapers, irrigation contractors, lawn and garden centers, and Christmas tree farmers.

The study concluded that the industry employs 152,000 people statewide and includes 120,741 acres in production. The average homeowner spends about $838 a year on lawn and landscape expenses.

“We always knew the green industry was big business in North Carolina, but we didn’t know how big,” Agriculture Commissioner Steve Troxler said in a statement. Read more...

Teaching from Afghanistan

When you feel like your commute to work is too long and your job is too demanding, think of this Mount Olive College professor. While deployed in the military he rises early to teach computer science to his North Carolina students at a distance of 7,100 miles. He is serving in Afghanistan...

News and Observer
March 12, 2007
Jane Stancill, Staff Writer

Deployed professor teaches from Afghanistan
Stays on duty at Mount Olive

In recent months, Ted Janicki has done most of his teaching late at night or during the dark, still hour around 4 a.m.

That's when the Mount Olive College professor rose early to beat his three roommates to the computer in the cement building where he lives. Janicki, a captain in the Air Force Reserves, has taught computer science to his North Carolina students at a distance of 7,100 miles. He is serving in Afghanistan.

He never met his American students, and some of them weren't even sure how to pronounce his name. While they slept, Janicki graded their tests or tapped out e-mails about their assignments. Read more...

Pensions still fading away

The accelerating trend for corporations to move away from company provided pensions and retirement benefits has brought about a lot of anxiety about whether benefits will be available when they will be needed. Many companies have already eliminated traditional retirement plans and have been steadily moving to pass the cost of medical benefits on to employees or eliminate plans altogether.

Those already retired face a constant fear of losing benefits they have begun to receive or being overloaded with rising costs for benefits they expected to last a lifetime. Most retirees now absorb annual cost increases passed on to them by companies not willing to carry the expense of keeping up with rising costs.

A March 8, 2007, article from the News and Observer gives insight into yet another example of this scenario and describes what IBM is doing to help prepare employees for a freeze of its pension plan next year by offering employees an opportunity to learn more about managing their own retirement...

News and Observer
March 8, 2007
Anne Krishnan, Staff Writer

IBM eases shift away from pensions
Employees to get free financial counseling

IBM wants workers to be prepared when it freezes its pension fund next year and switches workers into investments they will have to manage themselves.

So this month, IBM will introduce a financial education and coaching program for its 127,000 U.S. employees.

The program, which IBM expects will cost $50 million over five years, will provide seminars, online planning and one-on-one financial help, all free for employees.

"We're going to give them the tools and the guidance and the knowledge to make decisions on their own," said Randy MacDonald, IBM's senior vice president of human resources. "We don't want people to make decisions in a vacuum."

The program could soothe employees struck by pension cuts over the past several years. It could polish IBM's image, as well. Read more...

Smoking ban proposed in North Carolina

Will North Carolina change course on smoking in State owned facilities and ban smoking? According to this March 7, 2007, news article "State lawmakers in tobacco-rich North Carolina are headed for a showdown over smoking in public places."

The North Carolina Progress Board also issued a report on theimproving trend in Smoking in the state.

Exerpt from the article...

News and Observer
March 7, 2007
David Ingram, Staff Writer

Statewide smoking ban gains support

State lawmakers in tobacco-rich North Carolina are headed for a showdown over smoking in public places.

Spurred in part by a request from Mecklenburg County commissioners, the General Assembly is considering legislation that would allow counties and other localities to regulate smoking on their own.

Or lawmakers could go further. Read more...

Good news for Apex residents - EQ can't rebuild

Great news for Apex residents... The State of North Carolina Division of Waste Management said Tuesday that EQ is being barred from rebuilding the Apex facility destroyed in its recent chemical fire. EQ bypassed Town of Apex and sought to have the state grant an exception on a recent Town of Apex declaration because the company had been established in the now mostly residential area prior to town zoning changes banning hazardous material facilities in the area. This is good news for the thousands of Apex residents living near the former facility and may help to reduce anxiety about such a facility appearing nearby in the future.

A March 7, 2007, News and Observer provides details of the ruling...

News and Observer
March 7, 2007
Toby Coleman, Staff Writer

Hazmat plant can't rebuild
State: Violations were not reported

EQ Industrial Services kept silent about fires and chemical reactions that plagued its Apex hazardous waste warehouse in the two years before it blew up, the state Division of Waste Management said Tuesday as it barred the company from rebuilding.

State regulators say EQ flouted reporting rules intended to ensure that the people who live and work around hazardous waste warehouse are safe. They said the company should lose its permit to operate on Apex's Investment Boulevard and pay a $553,225 fine because it did not submit required reports of two fires and three potentially dangerous chemical reactions.

"Our actions today send a clear message that the state of North Carolina will not tolerate non-compliance with rules and non-reporting of incidents that occur at commercial hazardous waste facilities across the state," division director Dexter Matthews said in a prepared statement. Read more...

Worried about clean drinking water?

When you turn on the faucet do you wonder if the water is clean or will stay clean? Is it safe to drink or is this one of those weeks when a water alert has been issued?

An article from the Chatham Journal gives insight to how clear the future of clean water is for North Carolina. Additional information is contained in a report on Safe Drinking Water from the NC Progress Board.

Chatham Journal Weekly - Chapel Hill, NC
March 5, 2007
D. G. Martin

We’ve got plenty of water in North Carolina, so why worry so much about it?

But people are worried. They are worried even though North Carolina is more richly blessed with natural water resources than almost every other state. More folks are worried because water is at the heart of so much of what makes the good life in our state possible. If the abundant supply of pure drinking water is at risk, our good life is threatened.

Good water is one of the reasons people and businesses are moving to North Carolina in droves. Paradoxically, that growth is one of the major threats to the “good water” that is attracting new people to our state. Read more...

North Carolina's best teachers and most needy kids rarely mix in state's schools

According to a January, 2007, article on education in North Carolina the most qualified teachers and high-need students are rarely matched up in our education system. Even with aggressive work to build a skilled base of certified teachers, students needing the best teachers don't always have access to them. "Why not make sure that all students have access to these teachers?" said Eddie Davis, president of the N.C. Association of Educators".

The state continues to work hard at providing a highly qualified teaching staff and in fact North Carolina "leads the nation with teachers holding a national credential, considered the gold standard of the profession". The national board announced recently that more than 1,500 NC teachers earned certification this year, the most in the nation, pushing the total number in the state to more than 11,000.

The article further states this has been achieved largely by offering "a pay incentive matched by few other states. North Carolina pays teachers with national certification an extra 12 percent on top of their annual salary, regardless of where they teach", letting them earn upwards of $5,000 per year in additional pay.

For more information see also the 2006 Education Report issued by the North Carolina Progress Board with an overview of the state of education in NC.

News and Observer
January 23, 2007
Todd Silberman and David Raynor, Staff Writers

Highly qualified teachers, high-needs kids rarely mix in North Carolina
N.C. leads in top teachers, but few are in poor, rural schools

Knightdale Elementary School isn't the kind of school that typically attracts many nationally certified teachers.

Teachers with the credential, which enhances pay and reputation, tend to work in richer schools with fewer minorities.

But this year, 11 Knightdale Elementary teachers hold certification from the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards. The number has more than tripled since 2002. Six more teachers this year are working toward certification. Read more...

Stem cell researchers have alternative to embryonic stem cells

Research at North Carolina's Wake Forest University may lead the way for stem cell research without the heated deadlock seen in recent political debates. Dr. Anthony Atala found a new class of stem cells that may provide an alternative to using embryonic stem cells. This could allow research to continue and avoid tight financial restrictions imposed by the Bush administration.

Scientists have found cells in many more places than once thought possible, including the brain, bone marrow, the blood, skeletal muscle, skin -- even fat. Doctors at Duke University have pioneered life-saving treatments using stem cells harvested from umbilical cord blood but the cords generally produce only enough cells to provide treatment for children.

Exerpt from the news release...

News and Observer
January 8, 2006
Catherine Clabby, Staff Writer

New stem cells offer promise
A scientist at Wake Forest helped discover the cells in amniotic fluid. Their harvest requires no destruction of embryos. Researchers envision a human repair kit

WINSTON-SALEM - A Wake Forest University scientist says he has discovered a new class of stem cells in the wombs of pregnant women that may provide an alternative to embryonic stem cells.

The new cells, unlike embryonic cells, could be harvested without the destruction of early-stage human embryos. That means research and development of treatments using these cells would probably not be subject to the tight financial restrictions the Bush administration has imposed on scientific work involving embryonic stem cells. Read more...

Clean water a critical issue in NC

Clean water will be one of the continuing issues facing North Carolina as the population rapidly expands. A report on clean drinking water issued last year by the North Carolina Progress Board also sheds more light on this issue. The following news release touches on the urgency of this growing problem...

News and Observer

March 1, 2007
Wade Rawlings, Staff Writer

Perdue urges protection for water sources

The availability of clean water in North Carolina is likely to become a widespread problem as the population continues to increase, said participants in a conference on the future of the state's water supplies.

North Carolina is the sixth-fastest growing state in the country, and the population is expected to increase by 50 percent to more than 12 million people by 2030, state demographers say.

Along with more people, water demand is expected to increase by 35 percent to 2.2 billion gallons a day. Read more...

Reslice the pie says Easley

Another twist in Governor Easley's budget has bubbled to the surface. Now he wants to "reslice" the lottery pie to direct more funds toward four year old education. Easley frequently wants to stir the pot if he can tie the topic to "his" education plans but this one would spark another debate about how lottery funds are used. In the midst of raging discussions about changing school terms and build new school sites the governor wants to take funds away from the urgent need for building.

From the news release...

News and Observer
March 2, 2007
J. Andrew Curliss, Staff Writer

Reslice lottery pie, says Easley
Reopening a debate, the governor thinks more money should go to his signature preschool

Gov. Mike Easley is proposing a reordering of what North Carolina's new lottery pays for, spending less on school construction and college scholarships and more on his signature program for pre-schoolers.

Easley, a Democrat, included the spending changes in his budget proposal for the next fiscal year. His plan is uncertain, however, because it reopens the long debate over how lottery money should be used. Legislators in 2005 fought long and often over how to divvy the proceeds and decided by slim votes to create the games of chance. Read more...

Osprey will carry Marines after 20 year development

After 20 years of testing and rework the Marine Osprey aircraft is at long last on the edge of deployment. "The Osprey takes off and lands like a helicopter, but once in the air, the two motors mounted on its wing tips tilt forward so it can fly like an airplane. The Marines say the aircraft will allow them to strike farther and faster than the CH-46 helicopter it is supposed to replace."

Exerpt from the news report...

News and Observer
March 2, 2007
Jay Price, Staff Writer

Long-hobbled Osprey finally soars
Exercise wins Marines' praise

ATLANTIC - Above the scrub-pine horizon, four small smudges appeared, then within seconds became odd-looking aircraft that swooped down onto the cracked pavement of the old airfield. As a storm of rotor wash sprayed grit and rocks, the V-22 Ospreys disgorged about 75 Marines, who dived to the ground pointing their M-16s or faded into the adjacent tree line.

Then the Ospreys clawed back into the sky, tilted their engines forward and were gone.

The Marines who took part in this exercise Thursday won a battle older than some of them: making the long-troubled Osprey officially ready to be ordered to war.

The mock airfield seizure in a remote corner of Carteret County was the final exercise for Marine Medium Tiltrotor Squadron 263 before it gets an order to deploy and begins mission-specific training, which Marine leaders have said could be this year. Read more...

Governor Easley wants to take school construction money

Governor Easley now wants to take lottery funds needed for school construction and divert it to his pet pre-school program, More at Four.

Republican state senate leader Phil Berger (R-District 26) says “North Carolina’s lottery should not become a slush fund for gubernatorial pet projects. Recent studies have shown that students in More at Four and Smart Start are not showing the success in improving long term academic performance. It makes no sense to divert much needed education dollars from school construction and scholarships.”

A news article in the March 2, 2007 Chatham County Journal has this to say about the Governor's proposal...

Chatham Journal Weekly
March 2, 2007

Govenor Easley wants lottery money diverted

Raleigh, NC - One year after the passage of North Carolina’s lottery, Governor Easley wants to reduce the percentage of lottery proceeds going to education. Now he has announced plans to redirect lottery funds for school construction and need based scholarships to his pet pre-school program, More at Four. School construction statewide would receive $43 million less than anticipated and, although no lottery scholarships have been handed out yet, $10 million would be diverted from the scholarship program. Read more...