NC Hires 5600 Teachers from Out-of-State!

State officials report that NC needs 10,000 NEW teachers each year. NC colleges graduate only 3300. Wake County school officials attended teacher job fairs in 35 states this year.Wake county still has 40 unfilled vacancies as school is about to start in two weeks. Officials report that the hardest teaching jobs to fill are in special education, middle-school math and science, and foreign language. Long term substitutes will fill the temporarily unfilled positions. Many teachers coming in from other states report school budget problems that have seriously affected the quality of teaching in their home states.

Honda, Fed Ex buildling large facilities in the Triad

Honda Aircraft and Fed Ex will be hiring hundreds of workers in the Almance County-Guilford county area. NC landed two of these large companies in the last year, promising many high paying jobs. The Triad Cities area continues its economic boom.

Coastal Carolina - Invasion of Boomers

When I ask the newcomers to the area around the Outer Banks, the New Bern, Morehead City & Beaufort areas - when I ask "How did you come to know about NC?" The answers often fall into three categories: 1. I visited a friend, or relative down here for the first time, who moved from my area up north, 2. My dad was in the military at Camp LeJeune or Cherry Point. We used to come back here for vacations - I always remembered how much I liked it back then (so, here I am today, living here) or 3. I kept reading in many magazines about how great North Carolina is. My wife and I made a couple of trips. Now, here we are!

NHL Hockey Players Choose Raleigh & Cary!

Yikes! The NHL IS COMING! First it was the IBMers, then younger techies discovering the RTP and the cerebral climate there; and then families sweeping in from up north to escape the cold and HIGH TAXES in exchange for bigger houses and yards, great jobs, low cost of living, beaches, mountains - and a vibrant economy. Now the NHL is taking over? What next.....(Psst.....the New York Giants moving their team to Clayton?) It' a rumor. The Carolina Panthers are checking it out. Back to the NHL:
The News & Observer had an interesting article in the paper this week about NHL players.
Ron Francis, Hurricanes, Aaron Ward (Boston Bruins,New York Rangers)Glenn Wesley, Rod Brind'Amour, Bates Battaglia (Toronto Maple Leafs), Peter Laviolett (former Canes coach now coach of theMaple Leafs) all call Raleigh home, or have homes here. Retired players like Steve Halko, Shane Willis, Robert Kron, and Jessee Boulerice have chosen Raleigh as the place they want to live. GREAT INDORSEMENT for the Triangle Area Raleigh, Cary and North Carolina!
Bates Battaglia even has a bar 'Lucky B's' on Glennwood Avenue South - Toronto, Canada is a little ways up the road from Raleigh. There are so many NHL guys here that they have formed an "upper tier youth hockey league." The N&O reports that Ron Francis helped get it started.

What? No hurricanes yet?

Shuuuh! Be careful what you think about, or talk about.
It is Saturday, July 14, 2007 and all is quiet on the North Carolina coast and out in the Atlantic Ocean. This has been a year of unusal weather, globally. The forecasters have universally, this year at least, predicted a much higher than usual incidence of these unique storms. We still have at least two and one half months to go. Unusually quiet so far. Fingers crossed.
Yesterday was Friday the 13th. For all those with a condition known as "Triskaidekaphobia" (irrational fear of any and all Friday 13th's), hopefully it was an uneventful day.

North Carolina Realtors

Out of state purchasers of our book "Move To North Carolina", www.emeraldislepress.com, have emailed us and or called us asking why we did not (still do not) provide any references to real estate companies - along with the wealth of info that is in the book. We are in process of providing a limited number of listings for each town/city to answer that request and will soon have an informational link "Prominent NC Realtors". It will be available whether of not they purchase our info book. Duh! It may even provide addtional revenue. We are compiling a list/description of the most attractive second home/recreational/retirement beach and mountain developments.

Baby Boomers discover New Bern:
They are coming! New nestled on the
beautiful Neuse River, comfortably
close to the Altantic Ocean, this eastern
NC town has been discovered! New Bern
has one of the very best, very attractive
Civic Centers in North Carolina. A superb
boating scene, lots of water, historical
sites.

N. Carolina Housing Market

I was talking to several realtors in Raleigh on June 14, 15.
No question that housing sales have slowed. Still the market
in Wake County is still "fairly valued" with only a 5% to 8%
decline in asking prices over a year ago.
The Carolina market is far better condition that those in the
Northeast, Florida, Las Vegas, southwest in general.

Big Rock Marlin Tournament Ends

$ 800,837.50 First Prize Money won by Bak Bar from Huger, SC. Angler Tommy Lewis.
It took six hours for Charlie "Montukie" Lewis to get the giant marlin to into the boat.
It was 11pm before they got back to the official weighing station. 2,000 people were down at the weighing station on the Morehead City waterfront when the fish was weighed in.
Approximately 183 boats were entered in the week long event. Many paid the max. calcutta entry fee of $ 12,500 (entering all levels). $ 2,500.00 was the minimum entry fee.
$ 258,752.50 went to the second place boat, Liketysplit from Hatteras, NC.
$ 171,835.oo went to Maggie out of Morehead City, NC
$ 82,912.00 was won by Sea Striker for winning the Total Release category - 4 blue marlin
released overall. Three were caught and released same day, Wednesday.
Safari, a boat from Dania, Florida led all week, since Monday. By early afternoon Friday, they looked like they would win it all - $ 1,200,000.00, but four weigh-ins in succession, late Friday and Friday night, pushed it all the way down to fifth place - totally out of the money.

New RTP High Paying Jobs

North Carolina continues its growth and reputation as a state with ever increasing high paying jobs. The proximity of the major universities, talented worker pool and low cost electricity were reasons given by Net App (along with some hefty tax incentives) for expanding here.
646 New high paying jobs ($ 94,000 yr./ave.) are being created by NetApp a California based digital-data managment company. These jobs will be in Wake County and the Research Triangle Partk. This announcement was made today. NetApp already has 633 employees in Wake County, RTP specifically. NetApp's sales are increasing 30% a year. The State of NC has made large financial incentives to NetApp. Credit Suisse and General Electric have also just received additional incentives to expand and create additional jobs.

Wake County Schools(Raleigh-Cary)

To have, or not to have, that is the question!......Year round schools.... or NO! There are 128,000 students in the Wake County School system. 8,000 new students are coming in August-Sept.
Friday, May 4, after a court ruling, the opponents of year round schools were happy! Today, Monday, May 7, there is a "little twist": the school board is appealing the ruling, pushing ahead with plans to convert 22 schools to a year round calendar by July 2007. Judge Howard Manning ruled Thursday that the school board does not have the authority to mandate year round schooling. Year round schools can handle more students because they are in use all the time, make the most efficient use of physical facilities. Many present year-round school students want to go to traditional-calendar schools. At this moment, it is not entirely clear how it will all shake out. Some parents who were resigned to having their children going to year round schools are also upset because they already made vacation plans based on their new, assumed school situation. Go to newsobserver.com

Unusual Spring Storm

Wow. Big winds! Big ocean waves. Here on the coast at Emerald Isle-Beaufort-Morehead City, same from Cape Hatteras to Wilmington/Wrightsville Beach - 25 to 40 mph winds the last three days. Gusts last night to dawn to 50-55 mph continuing into late morning this Monday. 30 ft to 40 ft. waves 15 to 20 miles offshoreHigh, grey overcast skies. The entire month of April was beautiful - but oh so windy! Unusual. Coast Guard had to make two dramatic rescures, two separate sailboats, one 160 miles east of Cape Hatteras and another 60 miles off of the Diamond Shoals southeast of Cape Hatteras. I took my digital still-camera over to the beach. 25 teenagers out there in 10-12 ft. waves coming onto the beach, wet-suits and all that. 40 mph winds made it feel cold on shore. Water temp they told me was 70 degrees. Kinda-Cozy. What? I am taking my video camera over there in the early AM.

UNC vs Georgetown-shades of 1982

Carolina woke up in the last eight minutes against Southern California. Onto the Final Eight Sunday. It was in 1n 1982 in the national championship game against Georgetown, that a young freshman, Michael Jordan made the key shot that guaranteed the Carolina national title.
Georgetown is really tough this year. Either team can win this one. It is possible that it could be a blow-out too - happens in these big games sometimes.

Spring, Gardening on the NC coast

Pindo (butia) palms are sending up first new fronds. These tough guys are impervious to the 20 degree nights we get here only a couple of nights each winter. Sega palms (two to four ft. height) on the other hand, have to be wrapped in plastic or burlap if one wants to be certain they won't be lost to the cold temps. I had to keep mine wrapped for ten days of up and down really cold nights and days. My neighbors did not protect theirs and without exception they got zapped. The Oleander bushes got a mega-trim. The Oleanders have such gorgeous flowers all summer and into the early fall. These abound in Bermuda. Bermuda is 600 miles directly east of Morehead City, NC. Centipede, Bermuda and Zoysia grasses are fast turning green. It is very hard to maintain these palms even 50 miles to the north of Morehhead City, New Bern, Oriental. We are just about on the northern edge (proximity of the Gulf Stream) where these tropical plants can survive year round. Haven't planted any banana plants so far - these dudes grow BIG TIME here , die back in winter.(my dear spouse is not interested in seeing a 15' banana plant in the backyard - no sense of humor). The large tree palms, several varieties are very happy clams here on the southeast coast. When planted right, after surviving the first year, they do really well, standing up to the severe northeaster storms also. Fire ants have made their appearance, beginning a spring-summer-fall battle with insecticides. These tiny, red/brown little creatures can ruin your day (your next five days) if you are not aware that you have stepped on their nests. Their tiny bites create painful burning sensation around the bite-area, (fire ants!) I am on the case! So far, at at best, it has been a standoff. This year I plan to prevail!

First Offshore Fishing Day!

I have the fever. March 23, is an early 'offshore' day even by NC standards (unless you go the 42 miles to the Gulf Stream where everyday is summer). My good friend Ron and I went to a couple of artificial reefs just two to three miles offshore of Atlantic Beach. His boat this time, 24' Sailfish center console with 250hp Yamaha. Lots of dolphins frolicking out there. Beautiful day. Ocean fairly calm and smooth early in the AM. New sea birds on the scene! Have never seen these dudes before (going back to 1978, fishing out here). Hundred or so large white birds with heavy black tipped wings, light golden throat and neck feathers, three ft wingspan approx., about twice to three times the size of a seagull, very slender. Fantastic divers too. They would go to a height if about 40-50', fold their wings and plunge straignt down onto their finny prey. Checked my Audobon book later: Gannets, related to booby birds and frigates; far, far away from their normal Northern Canada habitat; normally come nowhere this far south during migrations. Whatssup? Water temp was 54.8 degreess. Much too chilly yet for the Spanish Mackeral, Cobia, Kingfish and many familiar bottom feeders like spots and trout. Only the small dogsharks were home and hungry. Using only medium spinning rods they put up a fight. We were using circle hooks making quick release fairly easy.

Winter of "No Winter"

December and January - so warm that I did not have to winterize the boat. My Hibiscus plants still produced flowers outside into the first week of January. Tulip trees and cherry trees bloomed in early February.
What's up with that? Great way to spend "winter". My wife and I took a slow ride to Beaufort in late January on the boat - normally it "winterized" and hibernating in the boat storage building. What experiences have y'all had?