Winston-Salem Journal articles from December 2002

Winston-Salem Journal archives from December 2002

Winston-Salem, N.C.-Based Real Estate Firm to Acquire Management Company.
December 31, 2002... Byline: Brian Louis Dec. 31--The Baldwin Cos., a real-estate company based in Winston-Salem, is acquiring Price and Britt Property Management of High Point as part of its effort to become a more regional company. "This is just a good...

Winston-Salem, N.C., Aviation Firm Expands to Arizona.
December 31, 2002... Byline: Kristi E. Swartz Dec. 31--Timco Aviation Sales Inc. has taken over operations at an airframe-maintenance base in Goodyear, Ariz., giving the company an operations foothold in the West, officials said yesterday. Timco has...

Winston-Salem, N.C., Native Follows Dream That Brewed for Years.
December 27, 2002... Byline: Michelle Johnson Dec. 27--When Celeste Beatty moved to Harlem in 1992, she got jazzed about beer after she met some friends who brewed it. Beatty, who grew up in Winston-Salem and went to R.J. Reynolds High School, is the...

Wachovia's Chairman-Emeritus Receives Lifetime Achievement Award.
December 25, 2002... Byline: Jane Seccombe Dec. 25--John G. Medlin Jr., the chairman-emeritus of Wachovia Corp., has received American Banker's 2002 Lifetime Achievement Award for his contributions to the banking industry. "It's nice to be remembered,"...

Pace Airlines Division in Winston-Salem, N.C., Sold to Head of Hooters.
December 25, 2002... Byline: Kristi E. Swartz Dec. 25--Piedmont Hawthorne Aviation has sold its Pace Airlines division to the chairman of Hooters of America Inc., the company said yesterday. Terms were not disclosed. Officials said they expect the...

North Carolina Agency Pushes for Extension of Jobless Benefits.
December 24, 2002... Byline: Kristi E. Swartz Dec. 24--The N.C. Rural Economic Development Center has asked the state's congressional delegation to push for an extension of federal emergency unemployment benefits beyond the Dec. 28 deadline, which would keep...

U.S. Merchants Disappointed Despite Surge of Last-Minute Shoppers.
December 24, 2002... Byline: Fran Daniel Dec. 24--As Khara Bost of Charlotte and her mother, Bonnie Holder of Salisbury, took a breather from shopping at Hanes Mall yesterday, Bost laughed about how she usually doesn't wait to the last minute to finish her...

Deep Discounters Sell Tobacco Cheaply by Evading States' Escrow Laws.
December 21, 2002... Byline: Brian Louis Dec. 21--The best-selling cigarette at the Jackpot tobacco outlet at Cooks Flea Market in Winston-Salem isn't Marlboro, Newport or even Camel, the hometown favorite. It is Tucson, a bargain brand made by Renegade...

North Carolina's Jobless Rate Rises Slightly in November.
December 21, 2002... Byline: Kristi E. Swartz Dec. 21--North Carolina's unemployment rate increased slightly to 6.1 percent in November from 6 percent in October, according to preliminary statistics released yesterday by the state's Employment Security...

Small Business Administration Honors BB&T Corp.
December 19, 2002... Byline: Jane Seccombe Dec. 19--For the fifth year in a row, BB&T Corp. has been named by the U.S. Small Business Administration as one of the top two "small business-friendly" financial-holding companies in the country. BB&T,...

Venture-Capital Firm Asks Winston-Salem, N.C., to Fund a Biotech Firm.
December 19, 2002... Byline: Kristi E. Swartz Dec. 19--The venture-capital firm that has backed a Winston-Salem biotechnology company, Amplistar Inc., has asked the city's civic and business leaders for money so the company can continue operating. ...

Development Group Asks $17.5 Million for Office Park in Winston-Salem, N.C.
December 19, 2002... Byline: Brian Louis Dec. 19--University Center, an industrial and office park off North Cherry Street in Winston-Salem, is up for sale with an asking price of $17.5 million, the park's listing agent said this week. A development...

BellSouth to Increase Basic Phone Rates in North Carolina.
December 18, 2002... Byline: Kristi E. Swartz Dec. 18--Save your pennies. You may need them for your telephone bills next year. BellSouth Corp. said yesterday that it will increase its rate for basic local-telephone service on Jan. 2. The rate increase...

Winston-Salem, N.C.-Area May Get Biotechnology Center.
December 18, 2002... Byline: Kristi E. Swartz Dec. 18--The Triad could have a regional office of the N.C. Biotechnology Center as early as next fall, local business leaders said. "We have made some very significant progress locally," said James McCoy,...

Four Forsyth County, N.C., Startups Take Lead in Business-Plan Contest.
December 18, 2002... Byline: Kristi E. Swartz Dec. 18--KERNERSVILLE, N.C.--Four startup companies in Forsyth County received top billing in the first stage of the Triad's annual business-plan competition. The winners were a technology company, two...

New Diner Nearly Completed in Winston-Salem, N.C.
December 17, 2002... Byline: Fran Daniel Dec. 17--Blink, and there's a stainless-steel diner on Hanes Mall Boulevard. Valiant Diners LLC began assembling the steel-framed modular building to house Simos Silver Diner last Friday and expects to complete...

R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co. Launches New Advertising Campaign.
December 17, 2002... Byline: Brian Louis Dec. 17--R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co. has followed up the unveiling of new packaging for its ailing Salem brand with an advertising campaign slogan of "Stir the Senses." Reynolds Tobacco, the No. 2 cigarette maker in...

Winston-Salem, N.C., Graphics Companies Team Up.
December 14, 2002... Byline: Fran Daniel Dec. 14--The owners of Salem Graphics Inc. of Winston-Salem and J. Edward Fine Art & Mirror Co. in High Point have joined forces to form J. Edward Fine Art/Salem Graphics. Salem Graphics, which has been around for...

Greensboro, N.C., University Forms Anti-Bioterror Water-Testing Company.
December 13, 2002... Byline: Kristi E. Swartz Dec. 13--UNC Greensboro has formed a company based on technology that tests water for possible bioterrorist agents. EcoGenomix Inc. is developing a technology that detects microbes that could affect water...

Time Warner Cable Customers in Winston-Salem, N.C., Area, to See Higher Rates.
December 13, 2002... Byline: Kristi E. Swartz Dec. 13--Time Warner Cable's customers in the Triad will ring in the New Year with a higher monthly cable bill. Starting Jan. 1, customers will pay $3.15 more a month for standard cable services -- $43.40...

Hospital Company Increases Profits in Winston-Salem, N.C., Area.
December 12, 2002... Byline: Fran Daniel Dec. 12--Net income at North Carolina Baptist Hospitals Inc. in Winston-Salem increased 55 percent in its fiscal year ended June 30, partly because of an increase in patients and cost-control measures. N.C....

Winston-Salem, N.C., Chamber Meets with Local Businesses.
December 12, 2002... Byline: Kristi E. Swartz Dec. 12--City and business officials held the last of two meetings yesterday asking local businesses what regulations and procedures prevented them from doing business the way they wanted. The meeting, held...

Modest Job Growth Expected in North Carolina Next Year.
December 11, 2002... Byline: Jane Seccombe Dec. 11--Unemployment in North Carolina's metropolitan areas appears to have peaked and modest job growth is expected next year, an economist at Wake Forest University said yesterday. Gary Shoesmith, the...

Sparta, N.C., Officials Secure Martin Marietta Subsidiary to Fill Vacant Plant.
December 11, 2002... Byline: Jim Sparks Dec. 11--SPARTA, N.C.--Alleghany County and Sparta Town officials have finally found a company to fill the modern manufacturing space left when Bristol Compressors announced they were shutting down operations there 15...

Rise in North Carolina Health Insurance Costs Lower Than National Average.
December 10, 2002... Byline: Fran Daniel Dec. 10--The nation's average cost of health-care benefits for workers rose 14.7 percent this year, but costs in North Carolina appeared to be substantially lower, according to a survey released yesterday by Mercer...

North Carolina's Overall Manufacturing Output Doubled over Past 25 Years.
December 10, 2002... Byline: Jane Seccombe Dec. 10--Despite a marked decline in employment in North Carolina's traditional industries, the state's overall manufacturing output almost doubled over the past 25 years, an economist at North Carolina State...

Winston-Salem, N.C., Shoppers Shun Stores in Wintery Conditions.
December 6, 2002... Dec. 6--Christmas songs were being pumped into Hanes Mall yesterday, and stores shone with lights and decorations. But the usual holiday crowd was nowhere to be seen as ice and snow kept most people indoors for the second day running. ...

Winston-Salem, N.C., Goodwill Hosts Job-Search Workshop.
December 5, 2002... Byline: Jane Seccombe Dec. 5--Undeterred by the threat of bad weather, Clinton Dailey arrived at Goodwill Industries early yesterday to attend a free workshop to help unemployed people brush up on their job-search skills. The former...

R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Plans Cuts in Winston-Salem, N.C.
December 5, 2002... Dec. 5--R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Holdings Inc. said yesterday that it will cut its work force by 635 full-time jobs, or 8 percent, in an effort to cut costs. The company plans to sell two of its nontobacco businesses and will take a charge...

R.J. Reynolds' Winston-Salem, N.C., Packaging Division Sale Stirs Interest.
December 5, 2002... Byline: Brian Louis Dec. 5--The proposed sale of R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co.'s packaging division in Winston-Salem should attract plenty of buyer interest, a packaging-industry analyst said yesterday. Huston Keith, an analyst and the...

BB&T to Buy an Insurance-Premium Finance Firm.
December 5, 2002... Byline: Jane Seccombe Dec. 5--BB&T Corp. said yesterday that it plans to buy Southeastern Fidelity Corp. in a stock swap to expand its insurance business in Florida. The fourth-biggest southeastern U.S. bank, based in Winston-Salem,...

Winston-Salem, N.C.-Based Biotech Firm Targacept Raises Equity Financing.
December 5, 2002... Byline: Kristi E. Swartz Dec. 5--Targacept Inc., a Winston-Salem biotechnology company, said yesterday that it has raised $46 million in equity financing despite a tough investment climate. The lead investor was Nomura International...

R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co. to Give Cigarette a New Look.
December 4, 2002... Byline: Brian Louis Dec. 4--R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co. will roll out a new look for its Salem-brand cigarette next month in an effort to reverse the brand's declining market fortunes. The redesign is the company's latest effort to...

Furniture Firm to Convert Virginia Plant to a Distribution Center.
December 4, 2002... Byline: Fran Daniel Dec. 4--Vaughan Furniture Co. Inc. said yesterday that it will convert its oldest plant in Galax, Va., to a distribution center, resulting in the loss of about 245 manufacturing jobs from February. Increased...

Winston-Salem, N.C., Police Services Firm Aims Beyond 'Rent-a-Cop' Perception.
December 3, 2002... Byline: Patrick Wilson Dec. 3--Don't confuse employees of Corporate Source Special Police with "rent-a-cops." That's a perception that the new Winston-Salem business wants to avoid as it begins marketing its police and...