Business North Carolina articles from September 2005

Business North Carolina archives from September 2005

Back to schooling.(UP FRONT)(Column)
September 1, 2005... When I read that the governor was sending in special teams--10 of the 44 "failing" high schools he has targeted are in the Charlotte/Mecklenburg system--I told my wife she should turn state's evidence. "Maybe they have a witness-protection...

Trend.(in North Carolina)(Illustration)
September 1, 2005... [GRAPHIC OMITTED] [GRAPHIC OMITTED] [GRAPHIC OMITTED] [GRAPHIC OMITTED] Latest Previous Previous % change month month year from last year EMPLOYMENT ...

Stock watch.(Illustration)
September 1, 2005... SPOTLIGHT RF Micro Devices stock surged more than 50% in three months but ended July just above where it was a year earlier. [GRAPHIC OMITTED] [GRAPHIC OMITTED] Highest price/earnings ratios ...

Bringing a bit of Branson Down East.(EASTERN)(developing entertainment complex )(Brief Article)
September 1, 2005... Entertainer Randy Parton teamed with local developer Michael Dunlow, the Northeast Partnership regional economic-development group and others to launch a 700-acre entertainment complex near Interstate 95 in Roanoke Rapids. Parton is brother of...

Columbus County Correctional Institution.(EASTERN)
September 1, 2005... TABOR CITY -- Gov. Mike Easley broke ground on the Columbus County Correctional Institution. About 400 will work at the high-security prison when it opens in July 2008. Pay will average about $30,000 a year.

DAK Americas.(EASTERN)
September 1, 2005... LELAND -- DAK Americas, which makes textile fibers and chemicals, planned to close a Monterrey, Mexico, plant in July and transfer work here to cut energy costs. DAK is part of Monterrey-based Alfa SA. It won't add to the 385 full-time and 300...

New Breed.(EASTERN)
September 1, 2005... KINSTON -- New Breed, a Greensboro logistics company that does business with the military and aircraft maker Boeing, will occupy a 120,000-square-foot warehouse at the Global TransPark by year-end. New Breed employs about 360 in North Carolina,...

Chowan County Planning Board.(EASTERN)
September 1, 2005... EDENTON -- The Chowan County Planning Board approved plans by Miami-based Duany Plater-Zyberk for a 1,500-home mixed-use development at Sandy Point on Albemarle Sound. State and federal permits could be issued by year-end.

Bertie County.(EASTERN)
September 1, 2005... WINDSOR -- Bertie County has an option on more than 800 acres for possible use in economic development. County officials withheld some details but say the land is on U.S. 17 in southeastern Bertie. The county must pay $10,000 an acre if it buys...

Working capital.(REGIONAL REPORT)
September 1, 2005... Source: Employment Security Commission, May. Figures are not seasonally adjusted. The index is the number of jobs as a percentage of the average in 2000. [GRAPHIC OMITTED]

Capital gains by buying Burlington bank.(TRIANGLE)
September 1, 2005... Two years ago, Raleigh-based Capital Bank restated its quarterly earnings because of bad loans. It had been one of the state's most acquisitive banks and more than doubled its assets during 2002. But it halted its growth spurt and got its...

Acme-McCrary.(TRIANGLE)(provides employment)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2005... SILER CITY -- Asheboro-based Acme-McCrary plans to lay off 200 at its hosiery mill here by October, leaving about 100 workers. Some of those laid off might find work at the company's mill in Asheboro, where the company expects to add 50 jobs....

Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina.(TRIANGLE)
September 1, 2005... CHAPEL HILL -- Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina plans to build a customer-service center here and add 100 jobs to its 3,700-person work force by the end of the year. The health insurer added 400 jobs during the 15 months that ended...

The Pantry.(TRIANGLE)
September 1, 2005... SANFORD -- The Pantry agreed to buy 23 Sentry Food Mart convenience stores in Virginia from Angus I. Hines. Terms weren't disclosed. The Pantry operates 1,390 stores in 11 states, including 30 in Virginia and 313 in North Carolina.

Law Enforcement Associates.(TRIANGLE)
September 1, 2005... YOUNGSVILLE -- Law Enforcement Associates, which makes surveillance equipment, moved its stock from the over-the-counter bulletin-board exchange to the American Stock Exchange to attract more interest from analysts and institutional investors.

Cornerstone BioPharma.(TRIANGLE)
September 1, 2005... CARY -- Cornerstone BioPharma won federal approval for Balacet 325, which delivers a lower dosage of acetaminophen, a pain reliever found in many other drugs, for greater protection against overdosing. The company expects sales to increase from...

Motricity.(TRIANGLE)
September 1, 2005... Motricity, a Durham-based distributor of music, games and other content for cell phones and other wireless devices, plans to add 110 employees in Durham by the second quarter of 2006. This will bring its local total to 310. It also will add 100...

Kayser-Roth.(TRIAD)
September 1, 2005... GRAHAM -- Kayser-Roth, a Greensboro-based hosiery maker, is spending $7 million to expand its plant here. Over the next three years, the expansion will create 180 jobs, bringing employment to 530. The company received $495,000 in state and...

Sealy.(TRIAD)
September 1, 2005... TRINITY -- Mattress maker Sealy wants to go public. The company hopes to sell $350 million in stock but hasn't set a date. It plans to use the proceeds to pay debt and expand the business. New York investment banks Citigroup Global Markets and...

Unifi.(TRIAD)
September 1, 2005... GREENSBORO -- Yarn maker Unifi plans to move polyester texturing from its Reidsville plant to a larger, more automated texturizing factory in Yadkinville by October. About 150 jobs will be cut in Reidsville, leaving about 525. About 100 jobs...

Box-Board Products.(TRIAD)
September 1, 2005... GREENSBORO -- Box-Board Products, which makes corrugated-cardboard boxes, will expand its 200,000-square-foot factory here by about 74,000 square feet by the end of the year. When the expansion is finished, Box-Board plans to add about 20...

Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University.(TRIAD)
September 1, 2005... GREENSBORO -- Daytona Beach, Fla.-based Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University opened a satellite campus at Piedmont Triad International Airport in August. Students who receive associate degrees in aviation from Guilford Technical Community...

Wake Forest.(TRIAD)(appoints Nathan Hatch and Scott Buechler )(Brief Article)
September 1, 2005... New faces took key jobs at two Triad universities. At Wake Forest in Winston-Salem, Nathan Hatch replaced Thomas K. Hearn as president. Hatch had been provost at the University of Notre Dame. Hearn retired after 22 years as WFU president. Scott...

Job cuts deeper than Sara Lee wanted.(TRIAD)
September 1, 2005... Sara Lee's branded-apparel division, which the Chicago-based conglomerate will spin off next year, will cut 400 jobs in North Carolina by September 2006. That's about 50 more than it said it would earlier this year. Most of the cuts will come...

Bottler caps century as a family firm.(CHARLOTTE)
September 1, 2005... A century of family ownership at Pepsi-Cola Bottling Company of Charlotte likely will end soon. Somers, N.Y.-based Pepsi Bottling Group, the largest maker and distributor of Pepsi-owned drinks, agreed to buy the Charlotte bottler. Terms of the...

Prairie Packaging.(CHARLOTTE)
September 1, 2005... HUNTERSVILLE -- Prairie Packaging, a Bedford Park, Ill.-based maker of plastic tableware, will invest $48 million during the next five years to build a factory and warehouse that will create 242 jobs and occupy 700,000 square feet in North...

RSI Home Products.(CHARLOTTE)
September 1, 2005... LINCOLNTON -- RSI Home Products will spend $9.2 million to more than double its 200,000-square-foot factory here and add 150 jobs by March. RSI, part of Newport Beach, Calif.-based RSI Holding, makes kitchen and bathroom cabinetry and...

Pharr Yarns.(CHARLOTTE)
September 1, 2005... McADENVILLE -- Pharr Yarns will spend $30 million and add 75 jobs in a three-year expansion of its factory here, which employs 1,200. Pharr makes yarns for clothing, carpeting and automotive upholstery.

Paragon Films.(CHARLOTTE)
September 1, 2005... TAYLORSVILLE -- Paragon Films, a Broken Arrow, Okla.-based maker of shipping wrap, will start production in a new $10 million factory here in October. The plant will create 25 jobs during its first two years.

Stanford Hotels.(CHARLOTTE)
September 1, 2005... CHARLOTTE -- Stanford Hotels bought the Hilton Charlotte Center City from Hilton Hotels for $56 million. San Francisco-based Stanford plans to spend $6 million to $8 million during the next two years to renovate it and will continue to operate...

Carolinas HealthCare System.(CHARLOTTE)
September 1, 2005... MOUNT HOLLY -- Carolinas HealthCare System plans to build a 40-bed, 48,000-square-foot rehabilitation hospital here, if the state approves its application for a certificate of need. It expects the hospital to cost $20 million and employ 90....

Robb & Stucky.(CHARLOTTE)
September 1, 2005... LINCOLNTON -- Robb & Stucky, a Fort Myers, Fla.-based interior designer and furniture retailer, plans to invest $4 million to expand its warehouse and add 20 jobs to the 25 it has here. The expansion will be finished this month and add 140,000...

American Converting.(CHARLOTTE)
September 1, 2005... LINCOLNTON -- American Converting moved here from Newton. The company, founded in 2003, changes paper and paperboard into customized shapes and sizes. It has 20 employees.

Bank of America.(CHARLOTTE)
September 1, 2005... Bank of America expanded its sports marketing with deals in baseball and automobile racing. An agreement with Minor League Baseball runs through 2008 and gives BofA exclusive national advertising rights for banking and financial services in...

Black Mountain sees green in project.(WESTERN)
September 1, 2005... Atlanta developers are building a 250-house gated development in Black Mountain, but some residents say it might be too much of a good--or at least expensive--thing. The town board recently voted to annex The Settings, a 370-acre development...

Grove Park Inn.(WESTERN)
September 1, 2005... ASHEVILLE -- Grove Park Inn shelved its plan for a million-square-foot development of homes, shops and offices downtown. A study showed the project was not financially feasible. The plan had been in the works since January 2003, but critics...

Haywood Advancement Foundation.(WESTERN)
September 1, 2005... WAYNESVILLE -- A tentative agreement has been struck between local officials and the state for environmental cleanup of the former Dayco factory here. That would eliminate a barrier to the pending $2.1 million sale of the 33 acres previously...

Duke Power.(WESTERN)(invests to build coal plants)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2005... CLIFFSIDE -- Duke Power plans to invest $2 billion to build two coal-fired plants at its power station here. Construction would require about 1,000 workers and have a payroll of about $75 million. The plants would begin operating in about five...

Charter Communications.(WESTERN)
September 1, 2005... BAKERSVILLE -- This town, Spruce Pine and Mitchell County have reached an agreement with St. Louis-based Charter Communications, the local cable-television provider, to start a local public-access station this fall.

Blue Cross suit might cause stickers shock.(TAR HEEL TATTLER)
September 1, 2005... It's hard not to see Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina in the role of Br'er Fox. You remember him from the Uncle Remus stories: He caught his nemesis, Br'er Rabbit, but then the fox allowed himself to be persuaded to punish the...

Kannapolis biopolis will be on the Dole.(TAR HEEL TATTLER)
September 1, 2005... When it comes to Dole Food Co. owner David Murdock, Kannapolis has long been of many minds--some of them angry ones. That could change if the California financier's plan to turn the town into what he calls a biopolis comes to fruition. ...

Downtown Charlotte seeks cruise control.(TAR HEEL TATTLER)
September 1, 2005... Not many years ago, Charlotte boosters moaned that after 6 p.m. you could shoot a cannon down the city's main drag and barely risk winging so much as a pigeon. Now they complain that the cruisers who flock downtown on weekend nights are for the...

Correction.(Correction Notice)
September 1, 2005... A July People item overstated N.C. State Ports Authority employment. There are 290 full-time and 56 temporary workers.

1776.(WHAT THEY'RE READING)
September 1, 2005... Robert Thomas, CEO, Charles & Colvard 1776 by David McCullough An intriguing book, recommended to me by friends who share my interest in history and historical fiction. It portrays the tough winter and military side of our founding...

NHL Official Guide and Record Book 2005.(WHAT THEY'RE READING)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2005... Jim Rutherford, president, Carolina Hurricanes NHL Official Guide and Record Book 2005 by Dan Diamond With our league getting back to business, I haven't had much chance for casual reading. I've been studying up on players and...

You're In Charge--Now What? The 8-Point Plan.(WHAT THEY'RE READING)
September 1, 2005... Philip Dubois, chancellor, UNC Charlotte You're In Charge--Now What? The 8-Point Plan by Thomas J. Neff and James M. Citrin The chair of my search committee, Smoky Bissell, gave me a copy. It's a quick primer for new or experienced...

No way.(TATTLE TALES)
September 1, 2005... No way: U.S. Rep. Charles Taylor issued a one-paragraph news release that uses "no" seven times--eight, counting a "nay"--to explain his vote on the Central American Free Trade Agreement. No matter. The Brevard Republican blames a...

Well, maybe.(TATTLE TALES)
September 1, 2005... Well, maybe: After telling reporters he was "flat-out, completely, horizontally opposed" and that "a no vote on CAFTA is the right vote for me," Concord Republican Robin Hayes got the voting machine to work well enough to record his vote. It...

Repent--or 30 days.(TATTLE TALES)
September 1, 2005... Repent--or 30 days: First Baptist Church in Wilmington paid $1 million for a 58,000-square-foot building it will use for humanitarian programs. Part of the $2.5 million renovation will be removing bars from the former New Hanover county jail.

Withdrawal symptoms.(TATTLE TALES)
September 1, 2005... Withdrawal symptoms: One possible side effect of Pozen's MT 100 migraine treatment is involuntary grimacing, which seems appropriate since the Chapel Hill pharma spent $39 million on MT 100 before ceasing efforts to win FDA approval.

Wrong numbers.(TATTLE TALES)
September 1, 2005... Wrong numbers: Thirty-six people complained to the state attorney general's office in June and July about SunCom, mostly about service. SunCom is trying to wrap up the addition of 211,000 North Carolina customers to its network in a deal with...

Case in point.(TATTLE TALES)
September 1, 2005... Case in point: While a BNC editor spoke with a SunCom PR person about the complaints, an annoying echo made conversation difficult. The flack was on a SunCom cell phone.

Private eyes, public buys.(TATTLE TALES)
September 1, 2005... Private eyes, public buys: Rowan County Manager Tim Russell paid a private detective agency more than $23,000 to identify a critic of county officials, including himself. Someone has sent hundreds of anonymous letters and cards with a return...

Look homeward angle.(TATTLE TALES)
September 1, 2005... Look homeward angle: After gumshoes from Kiker Investigations in Salisbury targeted eight suspects, they scoured trash cans, conducted surveillance and even tried to lift fingerprints at a barbecue fundraiser before concluding the letter writer...

Payback and payout.(TATTLE TALES)
September 1, 2005... Payback and payout: The commissioners voted 3-2 to fire the county manager--Chamberlain voted in favor--then discovered they may have to pay Russell, who has been on the job 21 years, more than a year's salary in severance. Estimated cost:...

Data bits.
September 1, 2005... North Carolina ranked ninth in sales by building-material and garden-equipment dealers. Sales (billions) 1 California $38.8 2 Texas 22.8 3 New York 16.9 4...

Figuratively speaking.
September 1, 2005... * Percentage of small-business owners who say health-care benefits are the major obstacle when competing with large businesses for qualified employees: 50. Overall benefits package: 40. * Percentage of Americans who claim that exchanging...

She's first of her kind, not of her kin, to lead bankers.(PEOPLE)
September 1, 2005... The label is inevitable, but Hope Connell doesn't like it much: first woman to chair the 108-year-old North Carolina Bankers Association, the trade group that represents the 142 banks, savings and trust institutions with headquarters in the...

Davis is dean of N.C. law-school startups.(PEOPLE)
September 1, 2005... It's time for Leary Davis to move on, time to pay the price for what he considers one of his weak-nesses. "I've got a quarter-century worth of boxes that I have put stuff in that I was going to look at later." He's clearing out his office at...

She reaches peak of the Sierra Club.(PEOPLE)(Lisa Renstrom)
September 1, 2005... Asked to name environmentally friendly businesses, the new president of the 750,000-member Sierra Club rattles off a litany. General Electric. Bank of America. Lloyd's of London. Missing from Lisa Renstrom's list, however, are the two Acapulco...

Heels should put Bobcats on better footing with fans.(Charlotte Bobcats )
September 1, 2005... The excuses must stop. The Charlotte Bobcats had the second-worst attendance in the National Basketball Association last season. The team and its apologists blame it on the city's former franchise, on a poorly designed television package, on...

Fare shares: CEOs keep pulling down princely pay packages, but one is just taking stock, betting a fortune on its performance.(FEATURE)
September 1, 2005... Duke Energy Corp. was about to wrap up one of its worst years. When the bean counters closed the books on 2003, the Charlotte-based utility had to record a billion-dollar loss. Less than three months before the year ended, however, the board...

Snookered: how small farmers and big-city lawyers dug up a way to hoist Navy brass with their own petard.(Cover Story)
September 1, 2005... Kiran Mehta casts about, scanning the folks filling rows of brown plastic seats and squeezing in folding chairs along the walls. Outside the Washington County Agricultural Center, pickup trucks are still easing into parking spaces on Plymouth's...

Stockyard: Robert Crabb Jr., below, is the new owner of the stock market--livestock, that is--that sets the Dow for cows across North Carolina.(PICTURE THIS)
September 1, 2005... When radios had tubes and sat on oilclothclad kitchen tables, a man could count on certain things. One was that somewhere on the dial, just before daylight would be a farm show featuring Reno and Smiley, the Briarhoppers or some other act,...

A clear path: interstate connector boosts three counties.(SPECIAL ADVERTISING SECTION)(highway construction in North Carolina)
September 1, 2005... At first glance, it's just 41 miles of road. But community leaders in the three counties bisected by U.S. 321 from Interstate 40 in Hickory south to 1-85 in Gastonia consider that stretch to be more than gray pavement. They see it as an...

Bricks & mortar.(Showplace)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2005... Evoking the easy curves of a worn recliner, Showplace, center of the International Home Furnishings Market, stretches out in downtown High Point. Completed in 2000 for about $40 million, the five-story building has nearly 500,000 square feet of...