MARCH 16, 2001

State Government News

Zoo tickets going up a bit
Admission to the N.C. Zoo will go up from $8 to $10 for adults and from $5 to $6 for children and senior citizens, effective July 1. The increase, approved Tuesday by the N.C. Zoo Council, is expected to provide between $667,793 and $955,079 in increased revenues. About half the new revenues would be used to offset reductions in state appropriations; the other half would be used to help market the zoo. The zoo will continue providing free admission to registered school groups from within N.C. on Mondays through Fridays, and to registered college groups from N.C. on Mondays through Saturdays.  

ESC now accepting unemployment insurance taxes electronically
Employers can now use the Internet to pay quarterly unemployment insurance taxes or accounts receivable owed to the state Employment Security Commission (ESC). "We are trying to empower employers to make this quarterly ritual as simple and safe as possible," said ESC Chairman Raymond W. Goodman Jr. "Employers can control the timeliness of when their payment comes to us, and since the payment goes directly into the bank, this service eliminates the fear of payments being lost in the mail." To use this payment option, employers should access "Business Services" on ESC’s website at www.esc.state.nc.us . Answers to "Frequently Asked Questions" (FAQs) relating to Internet credit-card payments can also be found on ESC’s homepage. Online credit card payments is the latest option available to employers for paying quarterly taxes. For several months, employers have also had the option of paying taxes with a credit card by telephone, or by electronic funds transfer. The ESC accepts Visa and MasterCard.

Wal-Mart announces new distribution center in Vance County
Wal-Mart Stores Inc. said Wednesday it plans to build a $20 million food distribution center in Henderson in Vance County, creating up to 400 jobs in one of the state’s most economically distressed counties. Construction on the 400,000-square-foot facility will begin late this summer 2001. The facility should be operational in about a year. Wal-Mart plans to hire about 250 employees in April 2002 and expects to grow to 400 employees within three years. Wal-Mart currently operates 65 discount stores, 26 supercenters, 16 SAM’S clubs and two distribution centers in North Carolina employing more than 32,900 workers in the state and 962,000 nationwide. “This project was made possible through the hard work and efforts of the Vance County Economic Development Commission, as well as the economic development team in the Department of Commerce,” said John Hay, real estate manager  for Wal-Mart distribution centers.  “Wal-Mart realizes that the most important part of any economic development announcement is the people and the main reason we chose Vance County as the site for this distribution center was due not only to the quantity of the available workforce, but the high quality of that workforce. It is for these reasons that we look forward to becoming part of the community of Vance County.” Wal-Mart is eligible to receive job creation and investment tax credits under the William S. Lee Quality Jobs and Expansion Act.

Ten-digit local phone calls coming to the Triangle . . .
Ten-digit dialing of local phone calls – a product of population growth that Charlotte is learning to contend with (see below) – is officially coming to the Triangle as a result of action Tuesday by the State Utilities Commission. No date was set for the change; the Triangle’s new “overlay” area code will be determined by an industry organization. The commission said it will schedule implementation of the 919 overlay later and ordered phone companies and interested parties to recommend an implementation plan within 30 days. The commission will likely order a "permissive" dialing period when local calls can be made by dialing either seven or 10 digits. Under the overlay, existing phone numbers will retain the 919 area code, but new numbers will be assigned the new area code. The commission chose the overlay over a geographic split because it would spare many customers the inconvenience and expense of changing phone numbers.

. . . and become mandatory in the Charlotte area
Meanwhile, mandatory 10-digit dialing for local calls began Thursday in the 704 area code around Charlotte, making way for a new 980 area code. The change, caused by a shortage of new phone numbers, had been scheduled to start in January but was delayed because 11 burglar-alarm companies could not update automatic dialing equipment in time. Starting April 1, phone companies can activate 980 numbers for new customers. Local rates, 911 calls and toll-free numbers will not be affected. Under the 10-digit dialing system, callers dial the area code plus the seven-digit phone number for local calls. The "1" must be dialed for long-distance calls. Although Charlotte is the first to get an overlay in N.C., similar proposals have been made for the 919 area code in the Triangle and the 336 area code in the Triad. The State Utilities Commission has scheduled hearings this week in Guilford County on a proposed overlay for the Triad.

DPI nominates seven schools for national award
Seven elementary schools from across the state have nominated by the N.C. Department of Public Instruction for the 2000-01 Blue Ribbon Schools Program award presented by the U.S. Department of Education. The award recognizes the nation's most successful schools that exhibit a strong commitment to educational excellence for all students. The schools are:

Barringer Academic Center, Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools
Davis Drive Elementary and Wiley International Elementary, Wake County Schools
Emma Elementary, Buncombe County Schools
Harnett Primary, Harnett County Schools
Unionville Elementary, Union County Schools
Waccamaw Elementary, Brunswick County Schools


DOT awards contract for Business I-40 improvements in Winston-Salem
The N.C. Department of Transportation has awarded a $12.5 million contract to improve a 2.6-mile segment of Interstate 40 Business/U.S. 421 in Forsyth County. The project extends from west of the Old Vineyard Road (S.R. 1212) overpass to east of Stratford Road (U.S. 158). The project will consist of paving, constructing a concrete median and installing guardrail. During the project, motorists can expect reduced lanes, delays during peak travel times, ramp closings and nighttime work. The project is anticipated to be complete in late 2002.

Board approves $129 million in community college projects
The State Board of Community Colleges on Thursday approved 42 new construction and repair and renovation projects at campuses around the state and one land acquisition project. The projects were submitted by 24 community colleges and have a combined price tag of $128.7 million, with $110.7 million in 2000 state bond funds needed. However, only $48.8 million is available to the colleges in the first year of the six-year bond project. Each college will receive funds to support its respective projects in accordance with the cash flow model approved at the February State Board meeting. The first round of bonds sales are scheduled and money will be available in April. Projects approved include: A pier and dock replacement ($1 million bond funds) for Cape Fear Community College in Wilmington; an Information Technology Building ($17 million bond funds) for Central Piedmont Community College in Charlotte; an Art-Civic-Technology (ACT) Center ($ 6 million bond funds, $9 million total) for Edgecombe Community College in Tarboro; a Health Sciences Building ($3.5 million bond funds) for Richmond Community College in Hamlet; and the Western Stanly Center ($4.2 million bond funds, $4.8 million total) for Stanly Community College in Albemarle. 

First black woman named a community college president
At its meeting on Thursday, the State Board of Community Colleges approved two new community college presidents. Dr. Mary C. Wyatt will become the first African-American woman to lead a North Carolina community college when she takes the helm of Roanoke-Chowan Community College in Ahoskie on April 1. Dr. Wyatt is a native of Virginia and comes to North Carolina from Lincoln University in Jefferson City, Mo., where she is the assistant to the president for institutional planning. The board also approved Dr. Gary M. Green as president of Forsyth Technical Community College in Winston-Salem. Dr. Green is a native of Kentucky and comes from Calhoun Community College in Decatur/Huntsville, Ala., where he is the executive vice president. Dr. Green’s term begins on July 1. 

N.C. commemorative quarter 
officially goes into circulation
The U.S. Mint on Tuesday officially unveiled North Carolina's commemorative quarter depicting the Wright Brothers' 12-second flight at Kill Devil Hills nearly 100 years ago (right). The ceremony to release the "First Flight" quarter, the 12th in the Mint's program for all 50 states, drew a standing-room-only crowd at the N.C. Museum of History. Accompanied by two U.S. Mint police officers, Mint Director Jay Johnson and his staff brought 700 brand new N.C. quarters to distribute after the unveiling. The bulk of the new quarters -- made in Philadelphia and Denver -- were shipped to the Federal Reserve, where they will be distributed to banks across the country.  

Loophole Closing Commission holds first meeting
The newly appointed North Carolina Efficiency and Loophole Closing Commission held its first meeting Friday in Raleigh. The group heard remarks from Sabra Faires, assistant secretary of tax administration; Ron Hawley, chief information officer at ITS; Tom Wright, director of the Office of State Personnel; Martin Lancaster, president of the North Carolina Community College System; and Gwen Canady, chief deputy of the State Controller's Office. Co-chairs of the commission are former governors Bob Scott and Jim Holshouser and former state Treasurer Harlan Boyles. The full membership includes: State Auditor Ralph Campbell; Rick Carlisle, CEO and general managing partner of Economic Opportunity Fund; George Miller, a former state representative; Barbara Matula, director of health care services of the N.C Medical Society; Ed Crutchfield, former chairman of First Union; Ben Ruffin, chairman of the UNC Board of Governors; Darlene Johns, president of Alphanumeric; Richard Stevens, former Wake County manager; Frank Emory, a member of the executive committee of NCCBI; Dick Daugherty, executive director of the N.C. State Research Corp.; Chuck Hayes, CEO of Guilford Mills; Linda Carlisle, former owner of Copier Consultants; Dan Gerlach, Ddirector of the N.C. Budget and Tax Center; Steve Lusk, chief fiscal officer of the Administrative Office of the Courts; John D. Hopkins, executive VP and general counsel of Jefferson-Pilot; Cliff Cameron, former CEO of First Union; and Andrea Harris, president of the N.C. Institute of Minority Economic Development.  

Return to Page One