December 13, 2015

There were 3 posts published on December 13, 2015 (this is page 1 of 1).

Brewery shutdown runs head-on into bad policy – The Fayetteville Observer

Wonderful takedown of Sen. Phil Berger by the Fayetteville Observer’s Tim Miller. Now that Berger’s district faces massive layoffs, will the good Senator find any value in those unemployment benefits he so cheerfully gutted?

But where did this new Berger come from? Where was his deep concern when he was chasing the film industry out of Wilmington and the rest of the state? Where was his concern when we exported thousands of television and motion picture jobs to surrounding states, most notably Georgia, which boosted its film tax incentives just as Berger was killing ours? Just two years ago, North Carolina was Hollywood East. Now, Atlanta owns that title.

And do you suppose Berger might be a little worried about what his constituents will face when they’re laid off? He should be. All those families whose votes he counts on will bedumped into the unemployment system that he also gutted. They’ll be getting some of the smallest, shortest-duration unemployment checks in the country and won’t be eligible for long-term benefits. Berger and his colleagues slashed all of those benefits, suggesting they only inspired laziness. Sorry, folks, but it was the right thing to do for the state. So get out there and hustle for those jobs — which, unfortunately, may not even exist.

Source: Brewery shutdown runs head-on into bad policy – The Fayetteville Observer

Energy law change sours Facebook on NC

The market is speaking. Are our Republican state legislators listening?

Changing attitudes toward renewable energy in state government are apparently prompting Facebook to unfriend North Carolina.

An official with the California-based social media company told a reporter at the COP21 climate summit in a Paris suburb recently that Facebook would probably not expand further in the state because of ebbing support in state government for clean energy.

“We are only considering states with strong policies and a determination to produce renewable energy,” said Bill Weihl, head of sustainability at the company. He was quoted by Justin Catanoso in a story that appeared in slightly different forms in Triad Business Journal and The News and Observer of Raleigh.

Source: Energy law change sours Facebook on NC

Smog So Thick, Beijing Comes to a Standstill

Beijing calls a code red Tuesday for the very first time, finally admitting for once that its smog has gotten too dangerous to breathe.

BEIJING — Residents across this city awoke to an environmental state of emergency on Tuesday as poisonous air quality prompted the government to close schools, force motorists off the road and shut down factories.

The government, which for the first time declared a “red alert” over air pollution late Monday, even broadcast what sounded like bombing raid alerts in the subways — warnings telling people to take precautions with their health. Yet even with those extraordinary measures, the toxic air grew worse, shrouding this capital city of more than 20 million in a soupy, metallic haze.

Source: Smog So Thick, Beijing Comes to a Standstill