Winston-Salem Journal articles from November 2005

Winston-Salem Journal archives from November 2005

Labor lawyer advises Winston-Salem firms to be ready for union organizing.
November 30, 2005... Byline: Brian Louis Nov. 30--Employers need to be prepared for renewed union-organizing efforts, a local lawyer said at a briefing in Winston-Salem yesterday. This summer several major unions broke from the AFL-CIO to form Change to...

Triad unemployment rate remains stable in October.
November 30, 2005... Byline: Richard Craver Nov. 30--The Triad's job market shifted into neutral in October, with increased hiring through temporary-staffing agencies being offset by a rise in temporary unemployment claims. The unemployment rate for the...

North Carolina Waffle House tests smoke-free atmosphere.
November 30, 2005... Byline: Brian Louis Nov. 30--Grabbing a bite to eat, drinking coffee and smoking have long been staples for customers at Waffle House restaurants in Winston-Salem. But at the Jonestown Road restaurant, smoking went out of the...

Textile Heritage Center works to preserve 'voices of the mill workers'.
November 29, 2005... Byline: Richard Craver Nov. 29--Lynn Rumley knows that the clock is ticking on preserving a textile heritage that has been sewn into the Triad's culture and economy for nearly 170 years. Not only are mill villages from the 1940s to...

Holiday shopping gets underway.
November 24, 2005... Byline: Fran Daniel Nov. 24--The holiday-shopping season begins in earnest on Friday as traditional post-Thanksgiving sales draw shoppers into stores. Some experts are predicting holiday cheer for retailers despite consumer concerns...

Winston-Salem, N.C., region is rife with community banks.(Company Profile)
November 22, 2005... Byline: Richard Craver Nov. 22--Rick Cole doesn't have to be told that the Triad, according to analysts, has one of the most competitive community-banking markets in the Southeast. Cole deals with the competition daily as a regional...

Triad-themed tourist publication distributed to hotel rooms.
November 22, 2005... Byline: Richard Craver Nov. 22--A Triad edition of Travelhost, one of the nation's largest tourism publications, will be distributed in more than 8,000 area hotel rooms beginning in February. Jordan and Jennifer Bressler of...

North Carolina unemployment rate falls to 5.3 percent.
November 19, 2005... Byline: Richard Craver Nov. 19--North Carolina's unemployment rate dropped to a four-month low of 5.3 percent in October, with nearly 23,000 residents gaining jobs, the N.C. Employment Security Commission reported yesterday. The...

Equipment maker plans to open Winston-Salem, N.C., plant.
November 18, 2005... Byline: Richard Craver Nov. 18--Intertractor America Corp. said yesterday that it is opening a plant in Winston-Salem that would make and distribute equipment used in construction and excavation projects. Intertractor said it is...

Gift certificates are offered to fuel 'Buy Local' campaign.
November 18, 2005... Byline: Richard Craver Nov. 18--The Greater Winston-Salem Chamber of Commerce has turned to gift certificates in its latest strategy for encouraging Triad businesses and consumers to shop locally. The chamber began its...

Parts builder chooses Forsyth; Intertractor will hire 25.
November 18, 2005... Byline: Richard Craver Nov. 18--Intertractor America Corp. said yesterday that it is opening a plant in Winston-Salem that will make and distribute equipment used in construction and excavation projects. Intertractor said it is...

Credit union creates subsidiary payroll firm in Winston-Salem, N.C.
November 17, 2005... Byline: Richard Craver Nov. 17--Allegacy Federal Credit Union has created its second subsidiary, Cooperative Payroll Solutions LLC, to provide payroll services to other credit unions. Allegacy plans to start internal payroll...

Forsyth County, N.C., affordable-housing project opens.
November 16, 2005... Byline: Fran Daniel Nov. 16--Partners for Homeownership officially opened the final phase of its affordable-housing development, Ridgewood Place, in southeastern Forsyth County yesterday. The development consists of about 140 lots...

Industries, consumers brace for high cost of natural gas.
November 16, 2005... Byline: Brian Louis Nov. 16--The recent drop in natural-gas prices has been a welcome development for Pine Hall Brick Co. Inc., one of the region's biggest users of natural gas. "Every little bit helps," Fletcher Steele, the...

Federal official speaks to textile industry executives in Greensboro, N.C.
November 16, 2005... Byline: Richard Craver Nov. 16--GREENSBORO -- The leverage of uncertainty provided the political and economic muscle needed to convince China, as well as U.S. importers and retailers, to accept quotas on textile imports through 2008, a...

Furniture maker plans to close Galax, Va., plant.
November 15, 2005... Byline: Richard Craver Nov. 15--Webb Furniture Enterprises Inc., a major proponent of anti-dumping petitions against Chinese wooden-bedroom importers, said yesterday that it would close its bedroom plant in Galax, Va., on Jan. 13. ...

Japanese construction company buys Mount Airy, N.C.-based firm.
November 15, 2005... Byline: Fran Daniel Nov. 15--Obayashi Corp., a Japanese construction company, said yesterday that it has agreed to buy John S. Clark Co. Inc. based in Mount Airy. The deal is expected to close on Nov. 25. John S. Clark will keep its...

Transport firm puts finishing touch on furniture before getting it to your door.
November 13, 2005... Byline: Richard Craver Nov. 13--EDEN -- Tucked away in a corner of MGM Transport Corp.'s massive distribution center in Eden is a small operation that eventually could play a large role in the future of the trucking company and the...

U.S. Treasury Department reviews tax reform bill.
November 12, 2005... Byline: Richard Craver Nov. 12--Mary Lynn Birkedal is fired up about preserving her family's full benefit from the American Dream. The thought of having a major economic plus of homeownership -- the mortgage-interest deduction --...

Mount Airy, N.C.-based utility profits plunge in the first quarter.
November 11, 2005... Byline: Brian Louis Nov. 11--Pike Electric Corp. reported a 27.7 percent drop in fiscal first-quarter profit yesterday because of lower storm-related revenue and higher labor, fuel and equipment costs. Pike's first-quarter results...

Forsyth County, N.C., commission seeks airport director.
November 10, 2005... Byline: Brian Louis Nov. 10--The Airport Commission of Forsyth County is still searching for a new director for Smith Reynolds Airport. It has been more than a year since Ed Cox stepped down from the job so he could work as an...

Rehoboth Beach, Del.-based bank ends payday-loan business.
November 10, 2005... Byline: Richard Craver Nov. 10--A Delaware bank has decided to abandon the payday-loan business by Dec. 31, which will affect about 42 percent of the financing geared toward the loans in North Carolina. County Bank, based in Rehoboth...

Community college in international spotlight for Gazprom deal.
November 10, 2005... Byline: Laura Giovanelli Nov. 10--When Forsyth Technical Community College announced several weeks ago that it had struck a deal with Russia energy giant Gazprom, Forsyth Tech president Gary Green found himself fielding questions from a...

Talk given on entrepreneurship at Wake Forest University, N.C.
November 9, 2005... Byline: Fran Daniel Nov. 9--Richard Brenner, the chief executive of Amarr Garage Doors, has his own definition of entrepreneurship. "To me, entrepreneurship is about trying a lot of different things, seeing what works, having the...

Textile officials express optimism on limits on Chinese imports.
November 8, 2005... Byline: Richard Craver Nov. 8--Triad textile officials reacted cautiously yesterday to news that the United States reached a three-year agreement limiting the growth rate of Chinese imports. The deal, affecting 34 categories of...

Winston-Salem, N.C., gets new bagel franchise.
November 8, 2005... Byline: Fran Daniel Nov. 8--The competition for bagel lovers is expected to heat up in Winston-Salem when a local franchisee opens a Bruegger's bagel bakery in January. Bagel Boys of the Triad based in Mount Airy plans to begin...

Winston-Salem, N.C., plant exceeds Dell's expectations.
November 8, 2005... Byline: Richard Craver Nov. 8--When the Dell Inc. business model requires producing a computer unit about every three seconds, it takes a lot to impress company officials when it comes to speed. But the Winston-Salem community has...

Sara Lee Corp. reports 81% drop in fiscal first-quarter profit.
November 5, 2005... Byline: Brian Louis Nov. 5--Sara Lee Corp. reported an 81-percent drop in fiscal first-quarter profit yesterday because of lower sales and charges. The company's branded-apparel division, based in Winston-Salem, posted lower sales...

Winston Salem, N.C.-based bank moves closer to profitability.
November 5, 2005... Byline: Richard Craver Nov. 5--TriStone Community Bank achieved its first significant financial goal in the third quarter and moved closer to profitability, according to a filing with the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. released...

Retired Wachovia executive dies.
November 5, 2005... Byline: Richard Craver Nov. 5--John McNair III had a knack for banking and a sense of community, but colleagues and friends said yesterday that it was his gift for tireless service that made him a pillar of Winston-Salem. McNair, the...

Winston-Salem, N.C.-based bank plans to expand into Raleigh area.
November 5, 2005... Byline: Richard Craver Nov. 5--Southern Community Financial Corp. has decided the time is right to enter Triangle banking -- a market that is growing increasingly appealing and crowded. The parent company of Southern Community Bank...

Textile firm plans to cut 144 jobs at Winston-Salem, N.C., plant.
November 2, 2005... Byline: Brian Louis Nov. 2--Hanes Dye & Finishing Co. said yesterday that it would cut 144 jobs at its Winston-Salem plant as it struggles to compete with cheaper textile imports from Asia. The last day for laid-off workers will be...

Sears Portrait Studio goes digital.
November 2, 2005... Byline: Fran Daniel Nov. 2--Sears Portrait Studio has converted its nearly 1,000 studios to all-digital operations. The multi-million dollar investment is the biggest system-wide change in the company's history. The studio at...