Charlotte Observer

Quest highlights barriers to meeting renewable-energy goal
Wind power is on a lot of minds in the N.C. mountains and on the coast, where breezes blow strong and steady. Harvesting them will be key to meeting the state renewable-energy goal that legislators are poised to adopt.

But making that happen in a big way, energy experts say, will depend on untangling red tape and calming neighbors angered by the prospect of towering windmills in beloved, scenic places.

Other obstacles: a state law that prohibits tall structures on mountain ridges and a maze of regulations. As many as 18 government agencies could claim a role in reviewing a wind-farm proposal, wind advocates say.

“We’ve talked to a dozen different wind developers now, and to a person they say, `Just tell us what the rules are,’ ” said Dennis Grady, director of Appalachian State University’s Energy Center.

ASU estimates that 12 to 20 small, utility-scale wind farms in the mountains and on the coast could produce 6.5 percent of North Carolina’s electric power. That estimate assumes that turbines wouldn’t be placed near scenic public places such as the Blue Ridge Parkway. Read full story

Winston-Salem Journal  

June rate rises because of tight summer-job market, officials say

Increased competition for summer jobs sent the Triad’s unemployment rate to an 11-month high of 5.3 percent in June, the N.C. Employment Security Commission reported yesterday.

The rate was 4.8 percent in May.

It was the first time that the Triad’s jobless rate was above 5 percent since February. Economists said that by traditional definition, a 5 percent unemployment rate signifies an economy at full employment in which everyone available for work has a job.

Eight of the 10 counties in the Triad had an increase in their unemployment rates, with Guilford’s rate rising to 5.3 percent from 4.7 percent in May and Stokes’ rate going to 5.5 percent from 4.9 percent in May.

However, Davie County’s rate dropped to 4.9 percent from 5.8 percent in May.

“The upshot I take from all of this in recent months is that things are a bit shaky,” said Todd Cherry, an economics professor at Appalachian State University. “Things are not solidly strong, but it may not be that bad. Read full story

Asheville Citizen-Times
Elected officials, business people and others working to sustain or grow tourism in the 25-county Western North Carolina region must work together to protect the natural beauty that draws tourists to the area.

“Individual policy makers need to understand that if they want tourism, they need to protect the product,” said Mike Evans, a professor in the Walker College of Business’ Department of Management at Appalachian State University. “Sustainable tourism such as ecotourism and cultural/heritage tourism is what brings people to the area.” Read full story

Winston-Salem Journal

Bonnie, Jamie Schaefer will be the hosts at spa
When invitations went out for a $2,300-a-person cocktail reception for Hillary Rodham Clinton on Saturday at Westglow Resort & Spa, some people wondered if it was a hoax.

“We’ve got a lot of calls from the area from people who can’t believe it and say it’s wonderful,” said Blake Zeff, a spokesman for the Clinton campaign. “Yes, it’s true.”

Daniel German, a political-science professor at Appalachian State University, said that people have teased him about how many tickets he’s buying, but he jokes back that it’s a bit out of his price range.

These kind of private fundraisers are common, he said, although he thinks it’s stunning that Clinton is coming to the mountains of North Carolina right now. The earlier states’ primaries will have all but decided the party’s nomination by North Carolina’s May 2008 primary.

“The tickets are $2,300 to $4,600 so I suspect that from a purely politically strategic point of view, it doesn’t make any sense, but from a fundraising point of view, it does make sense,” he said. Read full story

Gottabemobile.com
Students in Jennifer Snodgrass’s music theory classes are learning more than the dynamics of composition. They are exploring ways technology can enhance their learning, and in the process helping develop ways other students and instructors can use technology to teach the nuances of music theory.

Snodgrass is an assistant professor in the Mariam Cannon Hayes School of Music at Appalachian State University. She has received $39,823 from Microsoft Research & External Programs to explore the use and efficiency of Tablet PCs in the music classroom. Read full story