The associated press”AP” is reporting this for all the newspapers with a headline “NC Newspapers Tout Win Over Public Notice Bill”
One bill that passed crossover in the North Carolina Legislature is Senate Bill #287 and is still alive in the Nort… Read more ›
In Florida engineers are building hurricane-proof buildings. In New Orleans, buildings in flood-ravaged areas now must be built on stilts. This is the third time in 15 years this Oklahoma…Click to Continue » Read more ›
You could forgive Patrick Cannon, Edwin Peacock and any forthcoming candidates for Charlotte mayor if they were a tiny bit jealous Tuesday night.Click to Continue » Read more ›
There may well be policy issues that need to be dealt with in the aftermath of the tornado that devastated Moore, Okla., on Monday, but right now the focus is…Click to Continue » Read more ›
More than half of all doctors and 80 percent of hospitals have now made the switch to electronic medical records in what the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services claims is a “tipping point” for the technology.
“We have reached a tipping point in adoption of electronic health records,” Kathleen Sebelius, secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, said in a statement. “Health IT helps provide better coordinated care, which can improve patients’ health and save money at…
When movie stars become unbankable, they’re no longer a slam dunk at the box office. When investments become unbankable, they’re relegated to the junk pile. For ordinary Americans deemed unbankable, those who don’t have a traditional checking or … Read more ›
Responding to a dramatic decline in smoking rates over the past three decades, cigarette makers including Winston-Salem-based Reynolds American Inc. and Greensboro-based Lorillard Inc. are boosting spending on a host of discounts, giveaways and other promotions to attract an ever-declining pool of customers.
Reuters reports that the latest data from the Federal Trade Commission showed advertising spending on cigarettes rose in 2011 to $8.4 billion, up from $8 billion in 2010. It was the first time…
The owners of a new Boyles Furniture & Rugs store will relaunch the brand with a grand opening Thursday at 182 Farmington Road in Mocksville.
Brothers Chad and Alex Hendricks, together with other investors in a joint venture, are resurrecting the storied brand after it fell into bankruptcy during the recession.
The 50,000-square-foot Mocksville store will offer a host of furniture brands with discounted prices by up to 80 percent.
The grand opening, to be held from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m., will be attended…
Home-improvement retailer Lowe’s Cos. Inc. reports net earnings of $540 million, or 49 cents per share, for its first quarter ending May 3.
That’s up 2.5 percent from earnings of $527 million, or 43 cents per share, during the corresponding fiscal period in 2012, according to the Mooresville-based company’s financial results statement issued Wednesday.
Net sales slipped to $13.1 billion in the most recent quarter, down 0.5 percent from $13.2 billion a year earlier.
“Cooler than normal…
From Arthur Silber at Once Upon a Time: As conditions continue to worsen for many millions of Americans — and they will, for that is obviously the State’s plan — the pressures on the existing system will grow. In time, they will grow to very dangerous proportions. History, and the logic of the situation, tell […]
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The Medicaid shortfall in North Carolina increased another $85 million, state leaders announced late Tuesday.
Again, N.C. Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Aldona Wos blamed the previous administration’s forecasting models, which apparently did not properly calculate how much Medicaid would cost the state. The shortfall for this year will now come to an estimated $333 million.
On May 2, state leaders adjusted the projected shortfall from the original shortfall calculation of $113…
From Barbara Parramore at Alternet: May 20, 2013 | Update: Barbara Parramore was taken into police custody Monday evening. She was part of a crowd of hundreds of peaceable citizens (the highest count yet) gathered at the North Carolina Legislature buidling to protest right-wing policies pushed by GOP lawmakers. The Moral Monday protests, launched by […]
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The cities and universities behind a project that hopes to wire Winston-Salem and several Triangle-area communities with ultra-high-speed broadband are well into the process of selecting one or more vendors, but they still have work to do.
As we reported in February, the N.C. Next Generation Network — also known as NCNGN or “NC Engine” — is a multicity effort to make accessible the kinds of Internet speeds that few in the U.S. have now, but that many predict will be an important economic…
This may seem like a silly question. Mug shots (more formally, “booking photographs”) are everywhere, posted for free, searchable on line, sold in magazines at convenience stores, and regularly provided by law enforcement agencies. I never considered the question of whether North Carolina law enforcement agencies could withhold mug shots until a lawyer at the North Carolina Justice Center asked me to look at an analysis he prepared, arguing that mug shots are not subject to public access. There is no North Carolina case on this point, but now that I have looked into it, I believe that mug shots are criminal investigation records and that local law enforcement agencies have the authority to deny access to them. I’m not arguing that agencies should deny access, but I think it’s important for public agencies to understand that they can. I also think agencies have the authority to release some photographs and not others, if there is a legitimate law enforcement purpose for doing so. As I’ve discussed in an earlier post, records made or received in the transaction of public business are subject to public access under our broad public records law, unless an exception allows or requires the public [...] Read more ›
N.C. Department of Public Safety Secretary Kieran Shanahan on Tuesday announced he would no longer moonlight at his law firm, after questions about working on the side and about the…Click to Continue »
– The proposed $459 million budget for Greensboro keeps the property tax rate the same, but includes some fee hikes, the News & Record reports. Those include a proposed 3.5 percent increase in water rates and 7.5 percent increase in water rates for those outside city limits.
– In Rockingham County, the proposed budget would also keep the property tax rate at its current level, according to the News & Advance.
– State money for the High Point Market remains virtually unscathed in the…
Mattress-maker Kingsdown Inc. has signed a licensing deal to begin selling its products in Indonesia, according to Furniture Today.
The Mebane-based Kingsdown will partner with the Massindo Group, a large Indonesian mattress and furniture producer.
As part of the agreement, Massindo plans to open five retail Sleep Centers this year featuring Kingsdown products.
Kingsdown is working to aggressively expand international sales. In recent years, it has signed licensing deals with Symbol Mattress Industries…
While Greensboro has been the most frequent host of the Atlantic Coast Conference men’s basketball tournament, it now has the Big Apple to contend with.
The News & Record reports that ACC Commissioner John Swofford said venues in New York City are being considered, given the conference’s new footprint.
Greensboro has the tournament locked in through 2015, but the conference is now vetting sites for 2016 through 2021. The conference will be expanding by four teams in the next two years, including…
In what she hopes will be a catalytic project for the 300 block of South Elm Street in downtown Greensboro, City Council member Nancy Hoffmann plans to renovate a three-story, 9,400-square-foot historic building into a mixed-use development featuring retail and apartments.
Hoffmann purchased the building at 304 S. Elm St. from SunTrust Bank in July 2012 for $275,000, according to public records.
“I bought it a year ago because it was my hope that it would be a catalyst for improving the 300 block”…
Contemplating our environmental theme for the Go Green Greensboro series for ABC Wednesday, we’ve been driving around Greensboro looking for solar panels to photograph. We did find some out in the county; however, as far as in-town residences, this house on 16th street is one of the few. Solar panels use light from the sun to generate electricity, decreasing the use of less renewable forms of energy. There are several companies in the Greensboro area that install solar panels. We were interested in Honey Electric Solar, Inc. because Rebekah Hren advises and trains for them. She teaches classes for the… Read more ›
An interesting thing took place in our neighboring state of Virginia this past week. The Virginia GOP decided to nominate its candidate for governor at its state convention instead of holding a primary. The thinking was apparently that a party convention would blunt the power of corporate donors who often tend to support moderate candidates. […]
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Interim Mecklenburg County Manager Bobbie Shields recommended a 2.5-cent tax rate hike Tuesday, largely to maintain current county services and help offset a shrinking tax base after the botched 2011…Click to Continue » Read more ›
Charlotte?s former mayors had differing views Tuesday on the fight over control of Charlotte?s airport. But they generally agreed it should have been handled more openly.Click to Continue » Read more ›
Last week, as Mecklenburg County commissioners descended into name-calling and shouting, Commissioner Karen Bentley called the bickering ?Dysfunction 101.?Click to Continue » Read more ›
Greensboro City Manager Denise Turner Roth proposed a $459 million budget for fiscal year 2013-2014, which includes $4.3 million in budget cuts. The largest decreases would come from infrastructure funding and citywide reductions including a reducing the city’s contract with Lankford Security.
From the press release: “Included are budget reductions of $1,043,194 in infrastructure, $982,244 in public safety, $715,762 in culture, recreation and community character, and $227,569 in general government. In addition, 14 full-time equivalent positions would be eliminated under the proposal, with no impact on sworn employees, and another $2,350,201 in organization-wide reductions.”
The budget does include some increased spending as well: “$40,519 is proposed for additional resources for code enforcement and inspections, and first-year funding of $70,000 for a newly proposed Office of Accountability.”
The proposed budget would also “eliminate funding for the Greensboro Youth Council Carnival” and “supplemental pay for worker’s compensation, reducing the level the City pays to the state mandated amount” and would “transfer ownership of War Memorial Stadium to NC A&T State University.”
The press release does not mention participatory budgeting, which some residents have been encouraging council to adopt and that several council members have said they supported looking into.
Council will hold a public hearing on the budget at its June 4 meeting and will vote on it at its June 18 meeting. The city will post the full budget at www.greensboro-nc.gov/recommendedbudget by noon on Wednesday.
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From the City of Greensboro:
GREENSBORO, NC (May 21, 2013)
– During tonight’s City Council meeting, City Manager Denise Turner
Roth presented a $459 million recommended budget for fiscal year
2013-14. The recommended budget includes approximat… Read more ›
Erendira Méndez, a Greensboro resident who works at Faith Action International, tells Winston-Salem City Council about her experience coming to the United States as a child with undocumented parents, and trying to pursue educational opportunities for herself and for her daughter. Méndez was part of a group of people who urged the council to pass a resolution in support of legislation allowing undocumented students to receive in-state tuition at North Carolina universities and community colleges during the public comment period on Monday night.
Look for the full story in tomorrow’s edition of YES! Weekly.
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Charlotte Mayor Anthony Foxx, who has been nominated by President Barack Obama to be U.S. Transportation Secretary, will be questioned Wednesday afternoon by the Senate?s Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee…Click to Continue » Read more ›
From Glenn Greenwald at The Guardian: Last Tuesday, Al Jazeera English published a lengthy Op-Ed by Columbia professor and Middle East scholar Joseph Massad entitled “The Last of the Semites”. Massad’s argument was obviously controversial: he highlighted the shared goal between the early Zionist movement and Europe’s anti-Jewish bigots (namely, the removal of Jews from […]
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Before a crowd of about 50 friends and supporters, Charlotte Mayor Pro Tem Patrick Cannon entered the city?s race for mayor Tuesday, announcing his candidacy to replace Democrat Anthony Foxx,Click to Continue » Read more ›
NC lawmakers will take to the court against their SC counterparts Wednesday night.Click to Continue »
A House proposal that won unanimous approval last week to allow limited toll collection on Interstate 95 faced an unexpected challenge from toll foes when it returned for a final…Click to Continue »
NetApp plans to cut 900 workers worldwide, about 7.5 percent of its global workforce, including an undisclosed number of employees in Research Triangle Park.Click to Continue »
Mecklenburg County has agreed to pay former County Manager Harry Jones a severance package totaling $263,599.46, a county spokesman said Tuesday.Click to Continue » Read more ›
The tearing wrought by a tornado near Oklahoma City, the cruel randomness of the death and destruction it delivered, has also torn at Americans in other parts of the country,Click to Continue »
The former UNC chancellor should be angry that the athletic and academic scandals happened, but instead he’s upset by the reporting.
Your turn to write the caption! Charlotte Observer cartoonist Kevin Siers has a weekly contest. Here’s the cartoon. Go here to write a caption. You have till noon tomorrow.
For the first time, the daily average for carbon dioxide levels hit 400 ppm. It’s a wake-up call.
Too often, and probably increasingly, not enough Americans will have what a place that knew them intimately, a community to lean on, a strong network in a time of trial.Click to Continue »
N.C. Department of Public Safety Secretary Kieran Shanahan on Tuesday announced he would no longer moonlight at his law firm, following questions raised about working on the side and about…Click to Continue » Read more ›
N.C. Department of Public Safety Secretary Kieran Shanahan on Tuesday announced he would no longer moonlight at his law firm, following questions raised about working on the side and about…Click to Continue »
The state Senate has passed a bill that makes it a crime to install and use vehicle headlights that are not approved by the U.S. Department of Transportation. We’ll all…
The Obama administration has no business rummaging through journalists’ phone records, perusing their emails and tracking their movements in an attempt to keep them from gathering news. This heavy-handed business…
The Greensboro City Council hasn’t announced plans tonight to discuss the Renaissance Community Co-op or the renovation of the City owned Bessemer Shopping Center. They’re working on budget issues tonight and giving the scumbag developers more time to … Read more ›
In a rare moment of bi-partisanship, the North Carolina House Tuesday unanimously passed a resolution honoring Mecklenburg County on the 250th anniversary of its founding.Click to Continue » Read more ›
A House proposal that won unanimous approval last week to allow limited toll collection on Interstate 95 faced an unexpected challenge from toll foes when it returned for a final House floor vote Tuesday. Read more ›
From an editorial Monday in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch:Click to Continue » Read more ›
It is not yet clear where the IRS scandal will lead. But after the revelation that senior White House officials knew about the incipient affair well before previously claimed, White…Click to Continue » Read more ›
On Monday evening at the Rowan County Administration Building, commissioner Craig Pierce began his board?s meeting in the usual way ? head bowed and with an invitation: ?Let us pray.?Click to Continue » Read more ›
This week’s installment of “Jones & Blount,” a strip focused on the doings down at the General Assembly.