News-Record.com

Well, not really about us, but a former "us" and our current Savvy Shopper columnist, Amy Joyner.

Amy left the security of full-time employment late last year to write book projects and work on some other stuff. She sent the "us" still slaving at our desks the following news on Wednesday:

The boss beat us to this news, but just in case you stay away from the rough and tumble world of his blog, we have a new business reporter starting soon.

Michelle Jarboe, currently working with our sister paper The Roanoke Times, will join us Sept. 6. Michelle is a recent graduate of UNC Chapel Hill and served last year as editor of the highly successful student newspaper, The Daily Tar Heel.

We've asked Michelle to cover a few specific areas for us, including retail and a beat I loosely call "The Office." I'll write more about this later, but I want us to deliver more about the everyday things going on in our offices across this region. That might mean covering the annual scrum of signing up for employer-offered health coverage or the role of the iPod in the workplace. Since many of us spend almost as much time in the office as at home, we should write more about it.

Michelle also will cover breaking business news, along with the rest of the staff, and you're likely to see a number of cover pieces in the Sunday Work & Money section from her. She has a fluid writing style, a determination when it comes to reporting and the vision to spot trends and stories.

Until she gets here, if you have any story ideas for Michelle, forward them on to me. I've already started a list.

Well, it was bound to happen, but now it just seems to have come sooner: the anti-blog backlash.

But perhaps this isn't naysaying just to be naysaying. Check out this coming Sunday's cover story in Work & Money. It's about corporations hiring bloggers.

Just how honest, provocative and interesting can a corporate blogger be? And is corporate blogging the antithesis of the original intent behind the medium? Interesting things to chew on, but not better than that fried chicken sandwich waiting for me in my lunch bag.*

The Wall Street Journal proclaims velvet to be tbe new tweed. Lest we be embarassed by the the 1970s edition of "velvet as fashion," the WSJ embraced the former rendition in today's edition with pictures of Kenny Rogers, Sammy Davis Jr. and others sporting the velv.

But really, the new tweed? Velvet jackets with elbow patches? Hmmmm

More importantly, is this REALLY business news?

Despite the recent news of furniture company layoffs and plant closings throughout Davidson County, one furniture manufacturer announced Tuesday it plans to hire 25 new employees.

Councill, a Denton-based furniture manufacturer, plans to add the new positions to their plants at 267 Councill Access Rd. and 236 N. Jones St.

"Our goal has been to re-engineer our plant processes to keep Councill competitive, reduce our costs and ultimately, remain in Denton," said Carlton Mallory, president of Councill Company. "We are committed to Councill remaining a domestic maker of fine casegoods and upholstery."

In 2003, Councill Craftsman filed for bankruptcy and laid off workers from its three Denton plants. Investors purchased the company and its plants and equipment the same year. In December 2003, the company started under a new name - Councill Company.

The company currently has 170 employees and is looking to add 25 production and manufacturing workers to two of its plants. The new jobs would pay between $8.50 and $15.75 an hour.

For more information or to apply for a job with Councill, call 859-2155 or apply at the Councill Personnel office located at 236 N. Jones St. in Denton.

Let's relax for a minute. That $3-a-gallon price of gas that's bearing down on us is alarming. But on average, it's still less than 4 percent of a family's household budget, according to a report written a couple of years ago at a Washington think tank.

Still, if your budget is smaller, that percentage is higher, especially if you are working and driving a lot.

It's not surprising that the report, published by Economic Opportunity Studies, says the biggest burden of rising fuel prices hit middle and lower income Americans the hardest.

These figures are estimates from last year, but they make the point.

Here is the figure for gasoline as a percent of a family's annual budget:

Lowest 20 percent in income: 3.4%
Second 20 percent in income: 3.7%
Third 20 percent in income: 3.7%
Fourth 20 percent in income: 3.4%
Top 20 percent in income: 2.7%

I finally tested the measure of cell phone number portability on Thursday. Having reached an unhealthy level of hatred with my cell phone provider (all owing to their own stupidity and lack of customer service) I decided to switch.

My cell phone number -- and my wife's -- are important to us. We have no land line, and we hated the thought of getting yet another new phone number and then remembering everyone who needed notification.

I worried about portability. Our now-former provider made it sound next to impossible to do so WITHIN THE SAME COMPANY. How wrong they were.

The Piedmont Triad Entrepreneurial Network is hosting its monthly meet-and-greet at the Green Valley Grill at Greensboro's O Henry Hotel Friday from 5 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.

You don't have to register for Last Call, but must be a member, sponsor or volunteer of PTEN. Any questions, call 533-0025.

Winning Military Contracts
Gary Anderson of the North Carolina Military Business Center will talk about "Exploring and Untapped Marketplace" on Sept. 1 from 10:00 to 11:30 a.m. at the Nussbaum Center at 2007 Yanceyville St. in Greensboro.

Call 379-5001 for directions.

The number of jobless people rose in Greensboro and High Point in July, largely as a result of layoffs and more people entering the workforce, said economists.
Unemployment rose to 5.4 percent in July from 5.2 percent in June, according to seasonally adjusted figures from the N.C. Employment Security Commission.
Summer months are difficult to measure, said economist Mark Vitner of Wachovia Corp. because large transitions in the labor force. Students and recent graduates enter the workforce while teachers drop out. And many people who lost jobs a couple of years ago who have gone through retraining are also starting to look again.
"My hunch is that we will see employment fall back in the next couple of months as new people are absorbed," said Vitner.
But he said layoffs in traditional industries have affected the numbers as well.
Economist Don Jud, professor emeritus at UNCG, said that the higher number of people employed in the state points to the fact that the economy is adding jobs. But "there are still a lot of underemployed people out there who would like to have a better job," he said.

Andy Burke is leaving the GEDP on Friday to start up a new regional economic development organization out of state.
Burke said he was never disenchanted or unhappy with his job or the state of economic development in Greensboro. But he was excited for the "challenge of building the organization from the ground up."
Dan Lynch, the senior vice president of the group, will take over for him in the interim.
The Greensboro Partnership, the umbrella organization for the GEDP, the Chamber of Commerce and Action Greensboro, may not hire a replacement for Burke.
That decision will be left up to a TBD CEO, said Dennis Barry, the chairman of the organization.