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Jobs-hungry Vance in line for $15M textile plant
An Israeli textile company has picked a site to build a $15 million production facility, and a parcel in Vance County north of Raleigh is a front-runner.North Carolina School Ranked Best Value in Higher Education
Gov. Mike Easley today boasted top rankings for five North Carolina colleges and universities as possessing the best educational value as public secondary education institutions according to Kiplinger's Personal Finance magazine.Point of View: A boost for all
Shaping UNC's student body: More out-of-staters?Point of View: Home folks first
If the UNC Board of Governors wants to make the university more effective for the people of our state, it should abandon the idea of increasing the out-of-state admissions cap from 18 percent to 22 percent.
Jobs-hungry Vance in line for $15M textile plant
Oct. 23, 2003
The Triangle Business Journal
By Amanda Jones, staff writer
© Copyright 2003 American City Business Journals Inc.
HENDERSON - An Israeli textile company has picked a site to build a $15 million production facility, and a parcel in Vance County north of Raleigh is a front-runner.
Harel Rotem, vice president of North American marketing and sales for Albaad Massuot Itzhak, confirms that "a site has been chosen." He and other company officials declined to reveal the site location.
Triangle economic development sources say Vance County is at the top of Albaad's list, though no official word has been sent forth from the company.
Benny Finch, director of the Vance County Economic Development Commission, would not confirm nor deny Albaad's interest in Vance County. "I have no commitments from any industry at this time," he says.
Albaad has been working with representatives of the North Carolina Department of Commerce on a package of economic incentives. Commerce officials would not comment.
According to an Israeli news report, Albaad officials say they can recover 40 percent of their investment through tax breaks, free land and other incentives within a few years. North Carolina's incentives programs include tax breaks linked to job creation as well as cash incentives.
The build-to-suit facility would be about 150,000 square feet, sources say. It is expected to employ no more than 100.
Albaad Massuot Itzhak has a contract with Wal-Mart to produce its White Cloud brand of wet wipes. The company has been exporting the products to the U.S. retailer from its production facilities in Israel and in Germany for several years.
The company wants a U.S. plant, and an Israeli news item published in July reported that Albaad had narrowed its choices to four sites in three states - North Carolina, Virginia and Pennsylvania.
Helmut Hergeth, a textile management professor at North Carolina State University, says nonwoven textile manufacturers such as Albaad produce products that are not labor intensive but do required skilled labor. "And we have that here," he says.
"They also need good access to water and dependable energy sources," says Hergeth. "I believe there is a cost advantage in the U.S. because of the infrastructure already here, especially when you go into mass production."
The company is following a pattern set by Israeli companies in recent years in which they build facilities closer to their customers and in more rural areas, says Tom Glaser, president of the American-Israel Chamber of Commerce's Southeast region office in Atlanta.
In 2002, Mivrag Automotive Group of the Megiddo region of Israel opened a facility in Clinton, Tenn., to manufacture spare tire hoists. The 55,000-square-foot plant employs 75.
"Usually, they try to buy into a U.S. facility to get into the U.S. market," Glaser says. "But (Albaad) is different because they ... already have (U.S.) customers. For North Carolina, it's a very nice deal."
It also would be a very nice deal for economic development efforts in Vance County, where unemployment hit 14.5 percent in August. Indeed, it would be the second recent dose of good news.
Just this month, Dallas, Texas-based Affiliated Computer Services Inc. announced it will open a pharmacy operations center at Triangle North Corporate Park in Vance County. ACS initially will employ 52 full-time clinical professionals, but that could grow to more than 200 within a couple of years.
"(ACS) needed pharmacists, and they found that within commuting distance they have an ample supply to choose from," says Finch. In addition, Vance-Granville Community College has designed a two-week pharmacy tech program to assist with ACS' employee training.
Albaad was founded in 1985 and went public on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange in 1994. It employs about 300 people and markets some of its products in the U.S. under the White Cloud brand name, which is sold to wholesalers through 36 distribution centers. It markets other skin care, cosmetic cleansing and household cleaning towelettes under the Fresh Ones brand name, according to Matimop, the Israeli Industry Center for R&D.
"It's a good company with a good product," Glaser says. A Vance County win, he says, would be "very attractive to North Carolina because it's been losing textiles."
North Carolina School Ranked Best Value in Higher Education
Oct. 22, 2003
ABC 11
By staff report
© Copyright 2003 ABC11.com
Gov. Mike Easley today boasted top rankings for five North Carolina colleges and universities as possessing the best educational value as public secondary education institutions according to Kiplinger's Personal Finance magazine.
The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill topped the list of 100 for the fourth consecutive year. Also included this year were N.C. State University (11), UNC-Asheville (23), Appalachian State University (30) and UNC-Wilmington (35). With five, North Carolina has more schools in the top 50 than any other state in the nation.
"The investments we have made in higher education are paying off," Easley said. "Students in our state are getting a bargain: a better education for their tuition dollar. We must continue to guard against high dollar tuition hikes so all of our students can take advantage of 'the nation's best deal' in higher education." Along with reasonable tuition rates, Kiplinger's noted that "high-caliber academics and generous financial aid are also keys to UNC's top ranking. Chapel Hill's ability to meet 100 percent of the shortfall for students with financial need sets the school apart from the pack."
Kiplinger's ranked the nation's best values in public education using SAT/ACT requirements, student/faculty ratios and four- and six-year graduation rates to rate quality. Other factors considered include total in-state and out-of-state costs, cost after aid and debt after graduation to rate cost.
Dr. Calvin H. Carter, Jr. Named 2002 National Medal of Science Laureate
Oct. 23, 2003
bizink.com
By staff report
© Copyright 2003 bizink.com.
DURHAM, N.C., Oct. 23 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Cree, Inc. (Nasdaq: CREE) today announced that President Bush has named Dr. Calvin H. Carter, Jr. as a recipient of the nation's highest honor for technological innovation. Dr. Carter will receive the 2002 National Medal of Technology at a White House ceremony on November 6, 2003. Dr. Carter was nominated for his pioneering innovation in the development of high quality silicon carbide wafers, leading to new industries in wide bandgap semiconductors and enabling still other new industries in efficient blue, green and white light, full color displays, high power solid-state microwave amplifiers, more efficient/compact power supplies, higher efficiency power distribution/transmission systems, and gemstones. Dr. Carter, one of the founders of Cree, Inc., began his research in silicon carbide in 1977 as a graduate student at North Carolina State University and has served as Director of Materials Technology at Cree, Inc. since its inception. The National Medal of Technology recognizes men and women who embody the spirit of American innovation and have advanced the nation's global competitiveness. Their groundbreaking contributions commercialize technologies, create jobs, improve productivity, and stimulate the nation's growth and development. This award, established by Congress in 1980, is administered by the Department of Commerce. For more information about the National Medal of Technology visit http://www.technology.gov/metal.
Cree is an advanced semiconductor company that leverages its expertise in silicon carbide (SiC), gallium nitride (GaN) and silicon (Si) materials technology to produce new and enabling semiconductors. The products include blue, green and near ultraviolet (UV) light emitting diodes (LEDs), near UV lasers, radio frequency (RF) and microwave devices, and power switching devices. Targeted applications for these products include solid-state illumination, optical storage, wireless infrastructure and power switching. For more information on Cree, please visit http://www.cree.com.
Point of View: A boost for all
Oct. 23, 2003
The News & Observer
By Chip Dillon, staff writer
© Copyright 2003 The News & Observer Publishing Company.
NEW YORK--As a native North Carolinian who graduated from Broughton High School (1976) and UNC-Chapel Hill (1980), I will forever be grateful for the fine education I received. It has served me well in my over 20-year Wall Street career. I have not forgotten these wonderful roots, and my family supports these and other North Carolina educational institutions both financially and in helping graduates find employment.
However, I am troubled by the tone of the debate over lifting of the out-of-state student quota at UNC campuses from 18 percent to 22 percent.
North Carolina clearly has much to gain by adding a small amount of geographic diversity to the educational experience it offers through the university system.
First, even with 22 percent of the spots available to out-of-state students (still well below the University of Virginia's 30 percent), competition for these limited spaces will remain intense among out-of-state applicants; the system will no doubt be able to attract and pick from among top students from around the country and beyond.
Second, as the UNC system expands its national "footprint" with top students, the reputation of the system will no doubt be further enhanced, which should allow it to attract even better professors and administrators.
Third, as the system's influence on the national (and even global) stage expands, so will the career opportunities for all of its graduates.
Fourth, all of these benefits will of course mainly benefit North Carolina: the 78 percent of the students who are native North Carolinians plus the state as a whole.
Lastly, many, if not most, of the 22 percent of highly qualified and highly motivated "out-of-staters" likely will settle in North Carolina, further enhancing the state's ability to attract high-paying employers and expand the tax base.
Those opposing an increase in the out-of-state quota based on the "need for North Carolina to educate her own" should go the full nine yards and suggest that no out-of-state students be accepted. Of course, this tack would be unacceptable, because it would isolate both the system and its students from the national and world stages.
Therefore, the state already has acknowledged that there are other criteria, such as having a nationally competitive state higher-educational system, than merely maximizing the number of North Carolinians who obtain college degrees.
Given that North Carolina demonstrates a desire to include out-of-state students, the current 18 percent quota actually limits the benefits that can be found in geographic diversity; such a low threshold creates too wide an academic gap between the average in-state and out-of-state student. The lower the out-of-state quota, the more competitive such spots become (and, incidentally, the less competitive the "in-state" spots become.)
When I was at UNC, I often felt intimidated by my out-of-state classmates, given their superior average academic aptitude. This year, I heard of an instance in which a 2003 out-of-state high school graduate had gotten into Harvard but was rejected at Chapel Hill. A 22 percent quota will move the average academic aptitude level of the out-of-staters closer to that of their native North Carolinian classmates.
This will create not only a healthier academic climate, it will also enhance the social climate. North Carolina loses if well-rounded and high-achieving out-of-state students ultimately stay away because of fears they will "stick out" too much.
Opponents of an increase also mention that North Carolina taxpayers should not pay for the educational costs of non-North Carolinians. This argument implies that an in-state student remains in North Carolina after graduation. I am an example of a native who moved out of state after graduating; what about the non-North Carolinian who graduates from the UNC system who stays in North Carolina and becomes a taxpayer?
One solution, which I am sure the "marketplace" for education will bear, is to price out-of-state tuition at an even higher premium to in-state. The system will still remain "sold out" with top-notch out-of-state students, and both North Carolina and the world win.
(Chip Dillon is with an investment firm in New York.)
Point of View: Home folks first
Oct. 23, 2003
The News & Observer
By Jim Dickens, staff writer
© Copyright 2003 The News & Observer Publishing Company.
ROCKY MOUNT--If the UNC Board of Governors wants to make the university more effective for the people of our state, it should abandon the idea of increasing the out-of-state admissions cap from 18 percent to 22 percent. It is a bad idea. A better idea would be to lower it, say to 15 percent.
All the education one gets in college does not come from the classroom alone. Good bits of it, although immeasurable, come with exposure to, and interplay with, people from other cultures and geographical areas. So there is no disagreement here that diversity is good for all students. The question is not whether we should have it, but rather how much of it we should have.
When the composition of a fixed quantity is changed, the margin of diminishing returns comes into play. Accordingly, there is a diminished value to each incremental increase. The current 18 percent cap, if anything, is too high. Translated, this means that one in every 5.5 students may come from out of state. An increase to 22 percent means that one in every 4.5 students may come from other states. When applied to UNC-Chapel Hill, this is an incredible increase of 23 percent, or approximately 142 students based on the current freshman class of 3,550. A 15 percent cap would permit about one in seven students to be non-North Carolinians.
If this were a problem of science, it would be easy to solve by applying a scientific formula. But the solution calls for judgment, not formula. In the seesaw exercise of assigning shares from this fixed quantity, it is obvious that (in the absence of dramatic growth in enrollment) for every admission of an out-of-state student there is one fewer place for a North Carolinian. If 18 percent (639) of the 3,550-member freshman class is from out-state, that leaves only 2,911 (the remaining the 82 percent) spots for in-state students.
Fewer than 3,000 students, from among the thousands upon thousands from within this state who aspire to attend the school, get the chance to do so. That makes each spot precious.
It has been reported from Chapel Hill that last year more than 1,000 applicants from out-of-state who had SAT scores in excess of 1400 were denied admission. It was not reported, however, how many North Carolinians with equally high SAT scores were turned down.
A good higher education public policy should put greater emphasis on what we can do for ourselves, making our entire state more competitive, rather than just our universities. Our university system, the crown jewel of our state, is extremely competitive already, and can stand toe-to-toe with any in the country.
Our energy and resources should be deployed to make our state's population more competitive. Reaching out to our high schools and community colleges and telling everyone about the opportunities for and advantages of higher education can better accomplish this objective. After all, the primary mission of the university is to educate the sons and daughters of our state.
Those who support expansion of the out-of-state cap suggest that the increase is so small that it will make little or no difference. Yet a few students this year, added to the same number in future years, multiplied by the number of university campuses where the cap is a problem, begins to make a real difference in short order. And it will make an immediate difference to the ones who are accepted rather than rejected in favor of out-of-state applicants.
A rising tide lifts all boats, so let us apply our efforts to recruit and lift our own, rather than to chase selected students in order to create a student diversity that is already more than sufficient.
Our people and our state will reap far greater benefits if we concern ourselves less with what we bring in, and more with what we turn out.
(Jim Dickens, a Rocky Mount businessman, is a UNC-Chapel Hill graduate who has served on several UNC boards.)
Giant sized food supply helped dinosaurs grow
Oct. 22, 2003
Ananova
By staff report
© Copyright 2003 ananova.com
Scientists say a monster helping of vegetation helped dinosaurs grow as big as they did.
Simulations of Cretaceous era climate show plants grew much faster 100 million years ago than today.
US researchers believe the plentiful vegetation could have supported large populations of big plant eaters, who in turn would have been hunted by giant-sized carnivores.
Fossil evidence shows in the middle of the Cretaceous period herbivorous dinosaurs weighing more than a tonne each roamed western North America in herds 10,000 strong.
Much larger carnivores and herbivores weighing more than 10 tonnes also lived at this time. They included the biggest known animal that ever walked the Earth, the Argentinosaurus from South America which measured 35 metres and weighed 100 tonnes.
Sara Decherd, from North Carolina State University in Raleigh, set out to investigate why the dinosaurs grew so large.
She grew ginkgo plants, which were common 100 million years ago, in a simulated mid-Cretaceous atmosphere with carbon dioxide levels five times what they are now and oxygen levels 1.5 times higher.
New Scientist magazine reports Decherd found photosynthesis rates in the seedlings were three times what they would be in today's conditions, suggesting plants grew faster during the mid-Cretaceous period.
The findings were presented at the annual meeting of the Society of Vertebrate Paleontology in St Paul, Minnesota.