Gov. Perdue Welcomes Apple to North Carolina
Apple has selected North Carolina as the location for a new data center. The company is expected to invest more than $1 billion in the project over nine years.
"North Carolina continues to be a prime location for growing and expanding global technology companies," said Gov. Perdue. "We welcome Apple to North Carolina and look forward to working with the company as it begins providing a significant economic boost to local communities and the state."
The announcement comes after Perdue signed Senate Bill 575, which modifies the method by which capital-intensive businesses calculate corporate income tax liability in North Carolina.
The facility is expected to employ at least 50 full-time employees. The legislation requires that the average wage exceed the wage standard of the county in which it's located. A data center such as this will typically contract locally for services such as server maintenance and repair, building and HVAC maintenance, landscaping and security - expenditures that could range from $5 million to $6 million annually in the region and create up to 250 jobs. The North Carolina Department of Commerce projects that a data center investment of $1 billion would create more than 3,000 jobs in the regional economy, including hundreds of jobs related to construction and others created as a result of economic growth.
As part of the legislation, a capital-intensive industry must meet investment and wage standards and provide its employees with health insurance. It also must locate in one of the state's more economically distressed Tier 1 or Tier 2 areas.
"During these tough economic times, it's important to make the investments that create jobs in areas that need them the most," said Gov. Perdue.
State Grant Helps Ethan Allen Expand in Maiden, Create 302 Jobs
Ethan Allen Operations Inc., a manufacturer of high-quality upholstered furniture for residential and commercial customers, will expand in Maiden. The company will create 302 jobs and invest $2.79 million during the next three years.
"North Carolina continues to support high-value national operations creating new jobs for our people despite current economic challenges," Perdue said. "Our state remains attractive to established companies, which know the value of our top business climate, skilled workforce and tremendous quality of life."
Ethan Allen Operations is a wholly owned subsidiary of Ethan Allen Interiors Inc. (NYSE:ETH), with headquarters in Connecticut. The company is a leading manufacturer and retailer of quality home furnishings and operates eight manufacturing facilities in the U.S., including two sawmills and one manufacturing facility in Mexico. The company's two Maiden plants manufacture custom-made, handcrafted upholstered furniture.
The company is leaving a leased facility in California and consolidating those operations to its Maiden facilities, which currently employ 540 workers. The move will replace 143 jobs lost in previous layoffs and will add 159 new jobs for a total of 302 jobs.
The announcement was made possible in part by a $109,000 grant from the One North Carolina Fund. Although individual wages will vary by job type, the jobs will pay an annual average wage of $39,946, higher than the Catawba County average wage of $34,216.
North Carolina continues to have a top ranked business climate. Through Governor Perdue's JobsNOW initiative, the state will work aggressively to create jobs, train and retrain our workforce and lay the foundation for a strong and sustainable economic future.
For more information about Ethan Allen Interiors Inc., including employment opportunities, vist www.ethanallen.com .
Gov. Perdue Launches Find-a-Book Summer Reading Program
Gov. Perdue today launched the Find-a-Book Summer Reading Program at Wrightsboro Elementary School in Wilmington to promote the retention and growth of student reading skills during the summer break. Studies show that students who don't read during the summer vacation are more likely to lag behind their peers' reading level when they return to school in the fall.
"The summer is a time for fun, family and a break from school - but learning is something we should do 365 days a year, seven days a week," said Gov. Perdue. "Through the Find-a-Book Summer Reading Program, we can encourage our kids have a good book in their hands even when they're away from the classroom. And we can make sure students continue to learn - and learn to love reading."
Perdue read to a third grade class and talked to them about the importance and joy or reading. She demonstrated the new Find-a-Book Web site, www.lexile.com/findabook , to parents, students and school staff. The Find-a-Book web site contains a searchable database that matches a book's text difficulty to a student's reading ability through a Lexile reading measure. In North Carolina, students in grades 3-8, as well as high school students taking the English I state assessment, will receive a Lexile measure in their end-of-year test results. Lexile is the most widely adopted reading measure in use today.
Perdue urged school faculty to promote the summer reading program to parents, while encouraging community members to become involved in the summer reading program as volunteers and mentors. The governor has sent letters and informational fliers to principals and librarians. Parents will receive letters and information on the summer reading initiative with their child's end-of-year report card.
Public libraries across the state are also participating in the Find-a-Book Summer Reading Program. Library staff can assist parents and students with the Find-a-Book Web site and Lexile reading measures.
Today also marks the 100 year anniversary of Wrightsboro Elementary.
Defense Spending Increased in North Carolina During the 2008 Fiscal Year
Gov. Bev Perdue and the North Carolina Military Business Center (NCMBC) announced this week that Department of Defense spending in North Carolina grew by 22 percent and exceeded $3.6 billion in federal fiscal year 2008 - an increase of $657 million from 2007.
"These numbers are yet another indicator that the Tar Heel state is becoming a very significant player in the global military and defense industry cluster," said Gov. Perdue. "The time to capitalize on this trend is now, to leverage expanding markets, capture federal revenues and grow jobs right here in North Carolina - the most military friendly state in America."
Gov. Perdue was instrumental, with the General Assembly, in establishing the NCMBC in the Community College System and the Defense and Security Technology Accelerator (DSTA) in Fayetteville. She also spearheaded the development of the North Carolina Military Foundation, a private organization focused on recruiting defense contractors and growing the state's defense and homeland security economy.
According to a 2008 Department of Commerce study, the military has a $23.4 billion total annual impact on the state economy. Defense procurement in North Carolina, based on place of performance, increased from $2.9 billion in federal fiscal year 2007 to $3.6 billion in 2008. During the same time frame, spending by all federal agencies in North Carolina increased approximately $743 million, or 16 percent, from $4.5 billion to $5.2 billion.
For more information on Department of Defense spending and the North Carolina Military Business Center, please visit www.ncmbc.us .
Economic Recovery Workshops
Governor Perdue hosted two Economic Recovery Workshops this week. The workshops in Raleigh and Wilmington were the fourth and fifth in a series of six workshops to provide information and guidance to local municipalities, businesses and interested citizens on how the federal recovery funds will be administered. The sixth and final workshop in this series will be held in Charlotte on June 18.
For more information visit NCRecovery.gov .
Click here to see pictures of the Raleigh workshop on Flickr.
Law Enforcement Cites 15,132 Unbuckled People During "Click it or Ticket" Campaign
More than 15,000 drivers and passengers were cited for not wearing their seat belts or having their child properly buckled during the "Click It or Ticket" campaign, which began May 18 and ended May 31.
"I thank law enforcement officers across the state who participated in this life-saving campaign," said Gov. Perdue. "I urge North Carolinians who still choose to remain unbuckled to think twice and remember that a seat belt or proper child safety seat could save your life or the life of a loved one."
The final statewide total for the campaign includes 13,654 seat belt citations and 1,478 child passenger safety citations. State and local law enforcement officers issued the citations at more than 8,500 checkpoints and with stepped-up patrols.
The N.C. Governor's Highway Safety Program administers "Click It or Ticket." The program began as a national pilot project in 1993 to increase seat belt usage and child passenger safety through stepped-up enforcement of the state's seat belt and child safety seat laws.
The National Highway Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA) reported that North Carolina's 2008 seat belt usage rate was 89.8 percent, its highest rate ever. A NHTSA study published last year showed that when worn correctly, seat belts reduce the risk of a front seat passenger being killed in a crash by 45 percent.
Governor's Schedule for the Coming Week
Monday, June 8
- Senior Staff Meeting
- Budget Meeting
- Office Time
- Recovery Meeting
Tuesday, June 9
- Legislative Breakfast with Senate Leadership
- Senior Staff Meeting
- Cabinet Meeting
- Office Time
- Budget Meeting
- National Association of Women Business Owners Reception
Wednesday, June 10
- Meet with Congressional delegation, Secretary of Transportation, and White House officials in Washington, DC
Thursday, June 11
- Senior Staff Meeting
- Office Time
- Budget Meeting
Friday, June 12
- Office Time
Saturday, June 13
- Komen Race for the Cure