Shareholders of Duke Energy and Progress Energy approved a merger of the two companies that is expected to result in the largest utility in the nation.
Duke Energy will absorb Progress through the merger, which still requires approval from some state and federal agencies. If approved, the new, larger Duke Energy will have 7.1 million customers and a total generation capacity of 572 gigawatts.
Jim Rogers, president and CEO of Duke Energy, said he believes the two North Carolina-based utilities are at the forefront of a consolidation trend that will reduce by half the 58 utilities nationwide within the next decade. Rogers said consolidation is needed to retain cost competitiveness.
According to Rogers, the merger will save Duke Energy and Progress Energy $700 million in fuel and joint dispatch costs. He adds that cost reductions in IT, administration, inventory management and electricity generation also will minimize future rate increases for customers.
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A federal judge ruled last week that North Carolina cannot withhold state funds from Planned Parenthood organizations as planned in the state’s budget.
The Republican-controlled N.C. General Assembly cut funding for Planned Parenthood in the state’s current fiscal year budget, but Planned Parenthood challenged the spending plan. The federal judge granted an injunction to keep funds flowing to Planned Parenthood’s health care clinics until the lawsuit is settled.
Another lawsuit related to the state’s budget is still pending. A Wake County Superior Court judge previously ruled the state cannot withhold funds for pre-kindergarten programs. The state filed a motion to appeal the ruling on the pre-K funding.
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North Carolina is encouraging banks to loan more money to small businesses through a new statewide program that state officials hope will boost the economy.
Over the next two years, the North Carolina Capital Access Program will work to facilitate up to $800 million in loans to businesses with fewer than 500 employees. The program, funded through $46.1 million from the Small Business Jobs Act of 2010, creates a pool of money to cover loan defaults by matching fees paid by lenders and borrowers.
Nearly 60 banks have agreed to participate in the program, and many more are expected to join by the end of the year. Already 38 loans have been made to small businesses, such as restaurants, logging operations, convenience stores and other businesses, at an average of more than $77,000 per loan.
Harry Davis, an economist with the North Carolina Bankers Association, said the program was launched because bank lending has decreased so much that “we’re actually constraining growth.” He attributes the limited lending to new policies created following the 2008 collapse of financial markets.
“Banks are almost forced – at least some of them – to either stop growing or actually decrease their loans and actually decrease their size,” said Davis.
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North Carolina has scheduled three regional forums to promote economic development in small towns across the state. The Governor’s Forums on Small Town Competitiveness are designed to bring state and local officials together with leaders of businesses and non-profit organizations dedicated to community economic development.
The forums will include a panel discussion with local government leaders on best practices within their respective regions and a discussion of the challenges faced by small towns.
The forums also will include a Small Town Competitiveness Resource Fair to connect leaders in small towns with funding and service providers to assist with economic development.
The East forum will be held Sept. 16 in Williamston, followed by the Piedmont forum on Sept.28 in Thomasville and the West forum Oct. 6 at Haywood Community College in Clyde, N.C.
For more information, visit www.nccommerce.com/gfstc.
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N.C. Governor Bev Perdue urged U.S. Commerce Secretary Rebecca Blank this week to continue supporting federal programs that Perdue said are helping make North Carolina a national leader in manufacturing and innovation.
Perdue said the Manufacturing Extension Partnership program, which helps manufacturers improve quality, productivity and safety, has helped create or save 4,500 jobs in North Carolina. She said the program, coordinated through N.C. State University’s Industrial Extension Service, also has helped businesses retain or add $600 million in sales.
Perdue also requested the federal government create a regional Patent and Trademark Office in North Carolina.
“The high number of scientists, engineers and patent attorneys already here, plus four law schools in the RTP region, would mean ideas make it to the marketplace much faster,” said Perdue.
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Five more North Carolina towns have joined the state’s list of Small Town Main Street communities. Bessemer City, Warrenton, Lillington, Pittsboro and Troutman are the newest communities in the program that focuses on creating new jobs and attracting investment to revitalize downtown areas.
North Carolina now has 36 communities in the program,  including Tryon. The program offers on-site and on-call technical services from the N.C. Main Street Center in the N.C. Department of Commerce.
The Small Town Main Street program follows the Four-Point Approach methodology created by the National Historic Trust for Historic Preservation’s National Main Street Center. The approach incorporates organization, design, promotion and economic restructuring initiatives.
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Enrollment at Asheville-Buncombe Technical Community College hit a new record with 7,767 students in the fall semester. A-B Tech’s enrollment is up two percent, while full-time equivalency enrollment is up four percent.
Hank Dunn, president of A-B Tech, said the addition of “mini-mesters,” eight- or four-week classes offering the same credit as 16-week classes, is expected to further bolster enrollment throughout the year.
The college also added some programs for the 2011-2012 year, including a mobile development diploma, an associate degree in healthcare business informatics, a biogas option in industrial systems technology and a geospatial technology option in surveying.
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Enrollment also is expected to climb this fall at Western Carolina University. WCU projects an enrollment for the fall semester of about 9,600 students, up from 9,407 last year.
Phil Cauley, director of student recruitment and transitions, said there are still many people interested in attending the college, although reduced state funding makes it harder to meet the demand. WCU’s budget was reduced by 13.4 percent, which has forced the university to eliminate some courses and scale back some programs of study, said Cauley.
Enrollment is not climbing this fall at UNC Asheville. The university has approximately 3,700 students enrolled for classes this fall, down from 3,765 last year. UNCA attributes the decline, in part, to students struggling to pay for their education.
UNC Asheville Provost Jane Fernandes said more students are asking for leaves of absence because they are unable to pay for college because of the current economic conditions. Fernandes adds that UNCA would not be prepared for higher enrollment as a result of the state funding cuts, which are expected to result in 9,000 fewer course offerings and 1,500 fewer faculty jobs across the state. UNCA eliminated 10.5 faculty positions in its budget, which was cut by about 12 percent.
“We will offer (fewer) classes than in the past and there will be more students in the classes that we do offer,” said Fernandes.
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The Governor’s School of North Carolina has raised more than $130,000 in an effort to keep alive its annual summer program for gifted students. The N.C. General Assembly cut funding this year for the program, forcing the school to turn to donations for support.
Bill Harrison, chairman of the N.C. Board of Education, said the school needed to raise at least $100,000 by Aug. 1 to have sufficient start-up funds for the program next summer. Although the school hit that target, it has a long way to go before reaching its goal of $1.3 million to send 800 students to the summer program for free.
The Governor’s School, started in 1963, offers students six-week programs in specific curriculum areas at one of two college campuses.
Roice Fulton, vice president of the Governor’s School Foundation, said the summer program is “an investment in the future economic engine” of the state.
“We definitely want to see the state restore funding to it,” he said.
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A Western Carolina University professor helped write a new law requiring concussion awareness education for public school student-athletes, their parents and coaches.
James Scifers, the director of the school of health sciences at Western Carolina University, helped draft the bill that became the Gfeller-Waller Concussion Awareness Act.
The law is named after two high school football players who died from head injuries in 2008. Matthew Gfeller was a student at R. J. Reynolds High. Jaquan Waller attended Rose High.
Scifers, a longtime trainer, said he worked with others initially to get a bill passed that would put a certified athletic trainer in every public school. After it became clear that would not happen, efforts turned toward the concussion awareness education bill.
The new law requires school employees, first responders, volunteers, students and parents to sign education literature for the coach before they are allowed to play.
The law also states students must be removed from a sports event if they are exhibiting “any signs or symptoms consistent with concussion.” Athletes are not permitted to return to action until they have been evaluated by a certified medical professional, such as a physician, neuropsychologist or licensed athletic trainer.
Although only about 40 percent of public schools in North Carolina have a certified athletic trainer, most schools in Western North Carolina do have one. Scifers said only Andrews and Murphy do not have a certified athletic trainer.