News

Don’t forget less privileged areas of the state in 2006, Wachovia president urges in delivering annual economic forecast
The U.S. is likely to see moderate economic growth in 2006 along with a slight rise in interest rates, a dip in inflation and stable housing prices. And in terms of credit availability, 2006 will be a borrower’s market according to Wachovia President and CEO Ken Thompson. In a presentation before business leaders at the North Carolina Citizens for Business and Industry’s annual economic forecast forum on Jan. 3, Thompson said he expected a slowdown in consumer spending as higher energy prices and higher interest rates claim more personal income, contrasted by a rise in business investment and spending. Wachovia has seen a ‘significant uptick’ in commercial loans in recent months, he said – a trend that should continue throughout the year. Yet the picture is much cloudier in some areas of North Carolina, according to Thompson. The state has reinvented its economy by transitioning away from manufacturing to jobs in financial services, tourism, transportation, technology and healthcare, he said, but that reinvention has not extended equally to all areas of the state. Thompson urged state leaders to think beyond the near term in mapping out a plan for future economic prosperity, a plan he said should include improving education and revamping the state’s tax structure to maintain North Carolina’s competitive edge.

Treasurer Richard Moore takes his bid for a $1-an-hour hike in the minimum wage to state’s top business group
State Treasurer Richard Moore took his bid to raise North Carolina’s minimum wage to the very group that is most likely to oppose it, saying he hoped the calculated effort would pay off for the state’s lowest-paid workers. Moore told about 1,000 business leaders and professionals gathered for the N.C. Citizens for Business and Industry's annual economic forecast forum on Jan. 3 that to not raise the state’s $5.15 minimum wage by $1 put them at risk for ‘subsidizing your competition.’ That’s because the state’s estimated 100,000 workers who earn at most $893 a month for a 40-hour workweek cannot make a living and thus must draw upon the state’s social programs, he said. Moore expanded on those remarks in a subsequent public radio interview, telling WUNC’s “The State of Things” host Frank Stasio he will do everything he can to get NCCBI – the state’s largest business group – to back the effort in the upcoming short session of the N.C. General Assembly. Both the House and Senate considered minimum wage hikes last year, but could not agree on other provisions attached to each bill. Moore shot down assumptions that most minimum wage earners are teenagers, citing recent data that, in fact, more than half are over age 25. The state’s minimum wage hasn’t gone up in nine years and is at its second lowest point in the last 50 years when adjusted for inflation. For more information on Secretary Moore’s One Dollar More initiative, click here.

Lawyers for five poor school districts file request for $10.7 million in legal fees from the state
The State of North Carolina owes lawyers in the landmark Leandro schools case $10.7 million, according to court papers filed by attorneys for the five poor school districts in the case. Cumberland, Halifax, Robeson and Vance counties joined a lawsuit initiated in 1994 on behalf of a Hoke County student that argued against public school funding disparities that put poor, mostly rural, school districts at a disadvantage. Supreme Court Judge Howard Manning ruled in the schools’ favor, finding that the state is required by constitution to provide each student with a sound and basic education regardless of where they live. If the $10.7 million request is successful, the five school districts would be reimbursed for the $2.5 million they have spent on the case to date. Bob Spearman, the lead attorney for the districts, said the money should come from state resources and not from funds set aside for the schools. Legislative leaders have yet to comment publicly on the funding request.

Reports and Research

UNC Study finds Hispanics contribute $9 billion to North Carolina economy
North Carolina's rapidly growing Hispanic population contributes more than $9 billion to the state's economy through its purchases, taxes and labor, according to a new study by researchers at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Meanwhile, Hispanics cost the state budget a net $102 per resident in health care, education and correctional services, according to the study, which found that if recent migration trends continue, the total economic impact of Hispanic spending in the state could increase to $18 billion by 2009. These were among the key findings and conclusions of the first major comprehensive study of the state's Hispanic population and its economic impact conducted by the Frank Hawkins Kenan Institute of Private Enterprise at UNC-Chapel Hill for the North Carolina Bankers Association (NCBA), in cooperation with the Mexican Consulate of Raleigh, N.C. The study assessed the economic impact of the state's growing Hispanic population and identified potential business opportunities provided by this fast-growing market. Results of the study were released Jan. 3 at the 2006 Economic Forecast Forum sponsored by NCBA and North Carolina Citizens for Business and Industry. To read the full report, click here.

‘Nature vs. Nurture’ article examines age-old question: Are entrepreneurs born or bred?
The Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond’s article, “Nature vs. Nurture,” begins with the question: Entrepreneurs play a unique role in the American economy. Are they born that way, or can their behavior be taught? To answer that question, researcher Charles Gerena examined national and international data on entrepreneurs, interviewed entrepreneurship professors and researchers – including JoAnn and James Carland from Western Carolina University – and talked with successful North Carolina entrepreneurs who shared their unique stories. Gerena writes that, while there are innate characteristics that most all entrepreneurs share – motivation, drive, and strategic thinking are a few – almost anyone has the potential to be an entrepreneur with the right training. Gerena notes that it is often the regional environment for entrepreneurship that has the biggest effect on business start-ups and their eventual success or failure. Case in point: the top entrepreneurial cities in the nation – including Asheville, Raleigh and Wilmington, which are in the top 50 – are served by regional entrepreneurial councils. These networks create an all-important ‘culture of entrepreneurship,’ Gerena writes. To read the full article, click here.

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Meetings and Events

Predatory lending conference to be held in Elizabeth City on Jan. 19
A regional conference aimed at stemming predatory lending in eastern North Carolina will be held Jan. 19 at Elizabeth City State University’s K.E. White Graduate Center. Conference topics include: how predatory lending has plagued rural America; lending tools for borrowers in trouble; manufactured housing; legal tools and solutions for addressing predatory lending. The conference will provide eastern North Carolina non-profit groups, bankers, community developers, realtors, business owners and others with vital information on helping low-income people and families regain control of their financial well-being. For more information or to register, call (252) 331-2925 or e-mail River City CDC.

New Partners for Smart Growth Conference to be held in Denver Jan. 26-28
The 5th annual “New Partners for Smart Growth Conference” will be held in Denver at the Adams Mark Hotel Jan. 26-28. The conference, considered to be the nation’s premier smart growth event, will cover the latest trends in smart growth presented by a panel of speakers recognized as leaders in their respective fields. The conference will draw a multidisciplinary audience of local elected officials, city and county staff, landscape architects, developers and builders, planners, transportation professionals and traffic engineers, public health professionals, architects, bankers, realtors, urban designers, parks and recreation professionals, environmentalists and others. To find out more, or to register, click here.

National company comes to Raleigh Jan. 25 to show small- and mid-size companies how to grow effectively
Grow Fast Grow Right is bringing its popular business seminar to the McKimmon Center in Raleigh on Jan. 26. The company offers information on 12 tools to grow a business, including: educating company executives on business growth strategies; raising capital in turbulent markets; determining whether a company is on the right path for sustained and durable growth; building the right team of effective outside advisors and board of directors; and identifying, harvesting and leveraging a company's intellectual capital. The fee to register is $695 and includes workshop materials and lunch. To find out more or to register, click here.

This year’s Emerging Issues Forum to focus on how to finance North Carolina’s future
The 21st annual Emerging Issues Forum, “Financing the Future,” will take place at North Carolina State University’s Jane McKimmon Center Feb. 6-7. In its brochure on this year’s forum, the Institute for Emerging Issues cites North Carolina's changing economy and population, along with the state's increasingly unpredictable and unsustainable revenue streams as compelling reasons to find new and better ways to pay for a future that ensures healthy growth and prosperity for all North Carolinians. National, state and local leaders will gather at the forum to debate innovative ideas and chart a course of action on our financial future. Speakers include former U.S. Treasurer Paul O’Neill, businessman Steve Forbes, Virginia Gov. Mark Warner and New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson. To see the full conference agenda and to register, click here.

College financial aid help available in 42 locations across North Carolina on Feb. 18th
College financial aid officers will be available at 42 locations across North Carolina from 9 a.m. until noon on Saturday, February 18, to help students and families complete and submit their Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) forms. A FAFSA is required to be considered for all federal and most state financial aid, including grants, for college. High school seniors are encouraged to register for a FAFSA Day program at any of the 42 locations, which can be found on the College Foundation of North Carolina's website or by calling (866) 866-CFNC. Participants should bring both the student’s and parents’ federal 1040 tax forms for 2005 to FAFSA Day, and are encouraged to obtain a Personal Identification Number (PIN) from the U.S. Department of Education website prior to FAFSA Day. The online Pre-Application Worksheet is available here.

Center-led team to host another round of community-based entrepreneurship workshops in Wadesboro on Feb. 24 and in Sparta on March 31
A series of community-based entrepreneurship workshops held this fall and led by the Rural Center and the Institute for Rural Entrepreneurship were such a success that stakeholders are gearing up for another round of the workshops. Slated for Feb. 24 in Wadesboro and March 31 in Sparta, the “Opening the Door to Rural Entrepreneurship,” workshops will help engage rural community and policy leaders in understanding and supporting their local entrepreneurs and to work with rural business service providers in building support networks capable of growing, nurturing and sustaining entrepreneurs. The Wadesboro meeting will be held at the new Anson County Business and Technology Center, while the Sparta meeting will be held at the Blue Ridge Business Development Center. The workshops are being offered by a Rural Center-led team working to create a comprehensive entrepreneurship development system to serve rural and minority entrepreneurs in low-wealth areas of the state. The team conducted three of these workshops, which are an integral part of the project’s outreach efforts, in eastern and western North Carolina in October and November. To find out more, contact Michelle Hall at the Rural Center at (919) 250-4314.

Energizing Entrepreneurship conference to be held March 7-9 in Salisbury
The Rural Center’s Institute for Rural Entrepreneurship will lead a team of business service providers in adapting a national curriculum on stimulating rural entrepreneurship during a three-day conference in Salisbury. “Energizing Entrepreneurship,” which will be held March 7-9 at the Holiday Inn and Conference Center, is part of a two-year initiative by the W.K. Kellogg Foundation to build an effective entrepreneurship development system in the state. Communities in the region will recruit a diverse team of four-to-five people who will work together to learn about comprehensive entrepreneurship development strategies and then take that knowledge home and help put it into action. The registration deadline is Feb. 15. The fee to register is $275 and includes meals and course materials. To book a room at the Holiday Inn, call 1-(800) 315-2621. To find out more or to register for the conference, contact Michelle Hall at the Rural Center at (919) 250-4314.

UNC School of Government to hold training for small town leaders March 10
Elected officials from small towns with fewer than 5,000 residents will have a unique opportunity to learn how to lead successful economic development efforts in their communities at a one-day training offered through the UNC School of Government in Chapel Hill. The March 10 training will be held in partnership with the Rural Center, which is providing 100 scholarships through its Small Towns Initiative. Scholarships will be awarded first to applicants from communities participating in the initiative’s North Carolina Small Towns Economic Prosperity (NC STEP) demonstration program and then to applicants from other small towns on a first come, first served basis. Applicants will be notified by February 28 if they have been accepted into the workshop, which will provide practical information on the most promising economic development strategies for small communities, including case studies of small towns that have been successful in pursuing these strategies. Topics to be covered in the training include: fostering entrepreneurship in small towns; main street/downtown revitalization; asset-based tourism; and building community capacity for development. For more information, contact Beverly Howarth at the School of Government at (919) 966-4171. To register online, click here.

Council for Entrepreneurial Development to hold annual venture conference in Pinehurst May 2-3
The Southeast’s leading venture conference will be held again this year in Pinehurst at the Pinehurst Resort May 2-3. The Council for Entrepreneurial Development’s 23rd annual event will feature hundreds of leading national investors and the best of the region's growth companies. The annual conference provides entrepreneurs with a chance to present their investment opportunities to early and main-stage technology development companies. Since 1999, companies who presented at CED's annual conference have raised more than $1.6 billion in venture capital. Approximately 25-35 companies will be selected to present to an audience that will include more than 300 expected investors. To find out more or to register, visit their website.

At the Rural Center

Center’s Feb. 23 Water 2030 conference to bring together state’s water resource professionals and policy experts
The Rural Center’s Water 2030 initiative will culminate with a water resources conference on Feb. 23 at the Exploris Museum in downtown Raleigh. Between 250 to 300 water resource professionals and policy experts from across the state will come together to examine data on North Carolina’s water, wastewater and stormwater infrastructure and related improvement costs during the conference. The event caps three years of work designed to arm state leaders with information essential to protecting the environment, preserving quality of life and spurring job growth in North Carolina through 2030. The $2 million initiative has already revealed that state water and sewer infrastructure needs are expected to reach more than $15 billion by 2030. The invitation-only conference will include the release of four reports that detail the impact of the 1998 Clean Water Bonds, track state infrastructure investments from 1994 to 2005, examine new infrastructure data from a recent water and wastewater inventory, and present the state’s first-ever water budget with supply and demand projections through 2030. Following the conference, the Rural Center, in partnership with North Carolina's regional councils of government, will present the findings in a series of local outreach meetings. To find out more about the conference or the Water 2030 initiative, contact project director Jean Crews-Klein at (919) 250-4314.

Board chairman Lambeth receives prestigious North Carolina Award for achievement in public service
Rural Center Board Chairman Tom Lambeth was awarded the prestigious North Carolina Award by Gov. Mike Easley at a ceremony in Raleigh Nov. 21. The award, often referred to as North Carolina’s version of the Nobel Prize, recognizes notable achievements of North Carolinians in the fields of literature, science, fine arts and public service. It is the highest honor the state can bestow. Lambeth, currently serving his second year as chairman of the center’s 50-member board of directors, has devoted his 45-year career to philanthropy and politics. In the early 1960s he helped manage the campaigns of Terry Sanford for governor and John F. Kennedy for president and was part of the Sanford administration’s “brain trust” that established key state institutions including the state community college system and the North Carolina School of the Arts. Lambeth joined the Z. Smith Reynolds Foundation in 1978, serving as executive director of the philanthropic organization until 2001. Today, he is a senior fellow with the Winston-Salem based organization. The first North Carolina Award medals were awarded in 1964 to five recipients. Since then, the state has bestowed the honor on more than 200 notable North Carolinians.

Rural Center gears up for 18th annual Rural Economic Development Institute
The center’s Rural Economic Development Institute will accept applications for its 2006 leadership program through March 3. The institute is a valuable resource for helping rural leaders grow their leadership skills in order to meet the economic development challenges in their communities. There are 30 available slots for the next institute, which consists of nine days of classes over a three-month period. Tuition is $495, with a limited number of scholarships available. The meeting dates for the 2006 institute are April 5-7, May 3-5 and May 31-June 2. For more information or to apply, contact Carol Torian at the Rural Center, (919) 250-4314.

Funding Sources

W.K. Kellogg Foundation launches grant program to strengthen rural policy, advocacy programs
The W.K. Kellogg Foundation has launched a new funding initiative to improve advocacy on rural policy issues. Rural People, Rural Policy is a new, multi-year, national initiative that will energize and equip rural organizations and networks to shape policy that will improve the lives of rural people and communities. Rural People, Rural Policy information meetings took place the week of January 9-12, 2006 across the country, providing an overview of the initiative along with information about applying for grants. Applications are now being accepted for this initiative. To download an application, or if you missed the informational meeting and need details on the initiative, click here.

March 1 is deadline for low-income women age 35 or older to apply for college scholarships through the Jeannette Rankin Foundation
Each year the Jeannette Rankin Foundation (JRF) awards grants to low-income women who have a vision of how their education will benefit themselves, their families, and their communities. This year, 60 awards of $2,000 each will be distributed to women age 35 and older beginning in the fall of 2006. Although the grants are typically awarded through the recipient's financial aid office, the funds are not restricted to tuition expenses. JRF grants can also be used for books, transportation, childcare, and other living expenses. In 2005, JRF selected 55 women for grants from an applicant pool of more than 1000. To find out more, or to apply, click here.

From the N.C. Press

Asheville Citizen Times: Some burley growers in western North Carolina unhappy with buyout payments
The historic tobacco buyout Congress passed in late 2004 will put nearly $10 billion into farmers' hands. But not all tobacco farmers, especially some burley tobacco growers in the mountains, feel they're getting a fair shake. Don Smart, a Haywood County grower maintains that "the letter of the law" said growers would get $3 a pound for their "effective quota" for 2002, the amount the farm actually produced. But instead, Smart says, the U.S. Department of Agriculture took an average of 2002, 2003 and 2004, with some allowances for short crops or disasters. He figures he's been shorted about $60,000, and he's working with a lawyer to file a suit against the USDA, which administered the buyout through its Farm Service Agency. His attorney, Dan Caldwell of the Abingdon, Va., firm of Penn, Stuart & Eskridge, has already filed one suit in U.S. District Court on behalf of two Virginia growers who feel they were shorted. "We feel like we have a very strong case, based on the clear language of the statute," Caldwell said. But Ted Feitshans, an agricultural attorney at N.C. State University, said the tobacco buyout legislation seems to limit any federal liability. "I've read the (lawsuit) pleadings, and while everybody has a constitutional right to dispute government determinations, those kind of lawsuits are an uphill battle," he said.

New Bern Sun Journal: Average scallop catch fewer than two in 25 tows of Core Sound
State fisheries authorities are hoping that the few bay scallops left in Bogue and Core sounds will live a long life. So they did not open the bay scallop season Monday, as allowed by state fisheries rules. "We are not going to open it up because the numbers are so low," said Trish Murphey, biologist supervisor with the Division of Marine Fisheries. Biologists recently sampled Bogue Sound and caught, in 20 tows, an average of fewer than one scallop per two-minute tow, Murphey said. From 25 tows in Core Sound, the average catch was fewer than two scallops per tow, she said. Those numbers are as low as they were after the red tide of 1987, Murphey said. While bay scallops typically live only one year and spawn only once, some do occasionally live to spawn twice, said Murphey, who is helping lead development of a Bay Scallop Fishery Management Plan. "We just felt like there was nothing out there so if we didn't open the season some might survive the winter and spawn," Murphey said. Commercial bay scallop harvests have dropped from 103,069 pounds of meats in 1998 to 80 pounds in 2004, according to state records of dockside seafood sales. There were no landings in 2005, Murphey said. Fishermen have complained the bay scallops are falling prey to large schools of cownose rays that migrate through the area in late summer and early fall. And, a number of research projects over the past several years support this idea.

Whiteville News Reporter: Local businessman helping connect rural Columbus County residents to high-speed Internet
Columbus County is about to become a more desirable place to live and more attractive to business, thanks to businessman Tim Blackmon, who is making a large investment in building a wireless high-speed Internet network. The network will serve rural customers who currently don’t have broadband access and compete with services such as Sprint DSL and Time Warner Roadrunner for individual and business accounts. Blackmon owns several business ventures, including Radio Shack, CB Electronics and the dial-up Internet service provider Weblink. The new company he is starting will be called Weblink Wireless. Dial-up is currently the only practical option available for 44 percent of rural residents in the county. The service is slow and makes it frustrating to access videos and music on the Web. Most computer users who can afford it prefer broadband Internet service, which costs at least $35 per month. Broadband is essential for e-commerce and other business activities. Currently, Sprint, Bell South, Time Warner Cable, Star Telephone and two satellite companies make broadband service available to 56 percent of county residents. The telephone companies combined have 56 percent coverage and Time Warner has 19 percent coverage over some of the same areas with its cable modem service. That leaves nearly half of the potential market wide open for Blackmon’s wireless network.

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The mission of the North Carolina Rural Economic Development Center is to develop, promote, and implement sound economic strategies that improve the quality of life of rural North Carolinians, with a special focus on individuals with low to moderate incomes and communities with limited resources.

N.C. Rural Economic Development Center
Michelle Taylor, UPDATE editor
Courtney Kilpatrick, UPDATE production manager
Elaine Matthews, vice president for communications and development
4021 Carya Drive, Raleigh, NC 27610
(919) 250-4314 Fax: (919) 250-4325
www.ncruralcenter.org