Archive for the ‘Economy’ Category
August 24th, 2010
|
Author: 
Selling your first place in Charlotte? Then HGTV is looking for you!
My First Sale, the popular HGTV show, is looking for first-time home sellers (and their real estate agents!) in the Charlotte, NC area.
We are looking for fun, high-energy first-time home sellers who are just starting the process of selling their first place! Our cameras will be there to capture all the trials and tribulations, stress and success of prepping for sale, pricing, negotiating, and ultimately selling a home for the first time.
Taping will begin in Fall 2010 and will continue through Spring 2011. Ideal candidates will be motivated, financially candid people who want to share the experience with the world! Singles, couples and families are all invited to apply!
HGTV is looking for first-time home sellers with a great story who currently live in the home they are selling! Also, make sure your realtor is 100% on board with the show as they are a huge part of your story.
For more information or an application contact:
Marybeth Brush, mbrush@highnoontv.com.
Posted in Economy, Entertainment, Infrastructure, Urban Planning, design, film, real estate
|
Comments Closed
On July 20, 2010, The Arts & Science Council presented its next vision for a for Mecklenburg County. You can read all the details on their website.
Present were community leaders like Mayor Anthony Foxx, Mary Lou Babb, ASC Immediate Past Present Board Chair, and Marc Manly from Duke Energy, ASC Board Chair. Each spoke of the need for a vibrant and diverse community, engaged in arts and culture.
This year’s priorities
ASC laid out three priorities for the upcoming years:
- Restore education funding
- Develop a new cultural action plan
- Address the future of funding through innovation
Future Initiatives
ASC President Scott Provancher laid out ASC’s vision for the future — the Cultural Action Plan. Provancher highlighted previous plans that included public art, cultural facilitates, educational programs, and tourism efforts. He also gave us a peek into the future by announcing the silent launch of the planning process for the upcoming Cultural Action Plan that will tackle the “new normal” of the economy and new, innovative giving models eluding to a possible “cultural marketplace” or a Match.com of sorts; matching donors to specific projects.
2010-2011 Cultural & Community Investments
ASC’s first round of investments total $8,213,100, with museums, science centers, and historic sites receiving over $4M, performing arts receiving $3.3M, and education and community & diversity projects receiving the remainder.
- 4700 full time jobs in the arts, cultural, science, and history sector
- $157.96 million in local economic activity
- 93.3% of respondents think arts, science and history organizations make a positive contribution to the quality of life in Charlotte-Mecklenburg
- 79.8% of Mecklenburg residents support county funding for programs (UNC Charlotte Urban Institute Report)
- young people who are invoked in cultural programs are 4 times more likely to be recognized for academic achievements
- Charlotte Culture Guide included over 60,000 cultural events in 2009.
Posted in Art, Charity, Economy, Fundraising, Mecklenburg County, Music, Outreach, Performance, Theater, UNC Charlotte, education, photography
|
Comments Closed
watch this video in HD on YouTube
We’re wrapping up our series on the Mecklenburg County budget with County Commissioner Jennifer Roberts. Questions indexed below for easy reference.
- Just last week, you and the Board of Commissioners approved the final Mecklenburg County budget for the 2011 fiscal year. How do you feel now? (0:19)
- How do you deal with the pressure? (0:57)
- These are important decisions, but a lot of people aren’t engaged. That is, unless they’re part of an organization receiving big cuts. What’s wrong with the process? Why aren’t more people involved in the public debate? (3:26)
- You just got back from Boston on this year’s Inner City Visit. How was that? (6:07)
- Boston Mayor Tom Menino made a point to offer his assistance in bringing the 2012 Democratic National Convention to Charlotte. Are you involved in this process? What are city and county doing to bring this to Charlotte (9:56)
- The Board of County Commissioners managed to to lessen the blow of cuts by almost
$11.5 million$14 million compared to the recommendations given by County Manager Harry Jones. How is this possible? Where does this money come from? (10:55) - The libraries alone received $3.5 million less in cuts than recommended. But even that still leaves a $10 million dollar cut. A lot of people are asking how the county can justify taking so much money away from libraries, but I want to play dumb for a second: why are libraries important? (14:48)
- Some people might be surprised to find that it’s not all cuts across the board. Why are any programs at all seeing increases in funding from last year? (16:52)
- Let’s talk about city and county consolidation. I know this is a topic you and Mayor Foxx are particularly interested in. What are your feelings about this idea? (21:38)
- How does the board get along? Can politics get in the way of effective decision making? How do you manage this? (28:19)
- What role has media coverage of the budget played in your decision making? Do you feel coverage has been fair or too sensational? (32:08)
- Who can people talk to with questions about county operations? (34:50)
- What are we looking at next year? Do we have more cuts in store? (36:47)
Posted in City, Development, Economy, Feature, Government, Infrastructure, Mecklenburg County
|
Comments Closed
We’ll be interviewing Jennifer Roberts, Chair of the Board of County Commissioners, today at 5:30pm, about the county budget.
You can follow our live-tweets of the interview with the hashtag #meckbudget.
Last Tuesday, the board approved a budget of $1.35 billion for 2011. Their $71 million in cuts, is actually $9 million less than County Manager Harry Jones put forth in his recommendation.
“This budget is the most difficult one I have faced in my 3 terms as a County Commissioner. (…)
It is a budget that has been very painful to discuss, when we feel that most of our choices are not really choices but rather attempts to do the least harm.”
Jennifer Roberts, at DavidsonNews.net
What should we talk about with Jennifer Roberts today? What questions should we ask?
Leave your thoughts in the comments, or over on Google Moderator.
We’ll be interviewing Jennifer Roberts, Chair of the Board of County Commissioners, today at 5:30pm, about the county budget.
You can follow our live-tweets of the interview with the hashtag #meckbudget.
Last Tuesday, the board approved a budget of $1.35 billion for 2011. Their $71 million in cuts, is actually $9 million less than County Manager Harry Jones put forth in his recommendation.
“This budget is the most difficult one I have faced in my 3 terms as a County Commissioner. (…)
It is a budget that has been very painful to discuss, when we feel that most of our choices are not really choices but rather attempts to do the least harm.”
Jennifer Roberts, at DavidsonNews.net
What should we talk about with Jennifer Roberts today? What questions should we ask?
Leave your thoughts in the comments, or over on Google Moderator.
photo: James Willamor
“Slowly, Wall Street South is starting to rise again.
Charlotte, which gained the nickname for its large cluster of financial firms, was slammed by the global credit crisis and recession. Its unemployment rate more than doubled, to the double-digits. Two stalwarts of its economy were battered: Wachovia Corp. was taken over by a San Francisco bank, while Bank of America Corp. was forced to seek a bailout and picked an out-of-state lawyer to succeed longtime chief executive and local resident Ken Lewis, raising fears about the bank’s future in Charlotte.
Though the damage remains, the banking sector has since stabilized. More important, Charlotte’s economy, as Boston’s did nearly two decades ago, has begun to diversify so it is no longer so dependent on a single industry. (…)
“If we’ve seen the worst already, then we are in good shape going forward.”
Charlotte’s struggles mirror the challenges Massachusetts faced in the late 1980s, when it was hit hard by its heavy reliance on defense and technology when the Cold War ended and the minicomputer industry collapsed. Though Boston remains a key center for the financial sector, its strength in other sectors — life sciences, health care, and higher education — helped to soften the blow of the latest economic downturn.
The financial crisis provided a similar wake-up call for Charlotte, pushing city leaders to broaden the local economy so it won’t be as vulnerable in the next downturn. And in another parallel to Massachusetts, Charlotte wants to be as big a hub for the alternative energy industry as it is for banking.”
photo: James Willamor
“Slowly, Wall Street South is starting to rise again.
Charlotte, which gained the nickname for its large cluster of financial firms, was slammed by the global credit crisis and recession. Its unemployment rate more than doubled, to the double-digits. Two stalwarts of its economy were battered: Wachovia Corp. was taken over by a San Francisco bank, while Bank of America Corp. was forced to seek a bailout and picked an out-of-state lawyer to succeed longtime chief executive and local resident Ken Lewis, raising fears about the bank’s future in Charlotte.
Though the damage remains, the banking sector has since stabilized. More important, Charlotte’s economy, as Boston’s did nearly two decades ago, has begun to diversify so it is no longer so dependent on a single industry. (…)
“If we’ve seen the worst already, then we are in good shape going forward.”
Charlotte’s struggles mirror the challenges Massachusetts faced in the late 1980s, when it was hit hard by its heavy reliance on defense and technology when the Cold War ended and the minicomputer industry collapsed. Though Boston remains a key center for the financial sector, its strength in other sectors — life sciences, health care, and higher education — helped to soften the blow of the latest economic downturn.
The financial crisis provided a similar wake-up call for Charlotte, pushing city leaders to broaden the local economy so it won’t be as vulnerable in the next downturn. And in another parallel to Massachusetts, Charlotte wants to be as big a hub for the alternative energy industry as it is for banking.”
image credit: The AARoads Blog
“Gov. Bev Perdue made it official Thursday morning, signing a contract with Blythe Construction Inc. to finish the I-485 beltway.
Perdue, standing in front of a backhoe and a dump truck at the local offices of the state transportation department, called the controversial design-build-finance plan ‘a new chapter’ in how North Carolina handles its overwhelming roads and highway needs. The funding plan allows the state to stretch its payments over five-and-a-half years even though the work will be completed in four-and-a-half years.
“
Read more by Erik Spanberg at Queen City Agenda (a Charlotte Business Journal blog).
image credit: The AARoads Blog
“Gov. Bev Perdue made it official Thursday morning, signing a contract with Blythe Construction Inc. to finish the I-485 beltway.
Perdue, standing in front of a backhoe and a dump truck at the local offices of the state transportation department, called the controversial design-build-finance plan ‘a new chapter’ in how North Carolina handles its overwhelming roads and highway needs. The funding plan allows the state to stretch its payments over five-and-a-half years even though the work will be completed in four-and-a-half years.
“
Read more by Erik Spanberg at Queen City Agenda (a Charlotte Business Journal blog).