Governor Hunt established the Economic Development Task Force of the North Carolina International Commission to foster high tech exchanges with other countries. The state's first target is exchange with Israel.
Sports are a large part of the state's economy. Professional football and basketball competes with minor league and college teams for fans' dollars. Now economic developers are seeking to bring professional baseball and hockey to Greensboro and Raleigh.
When Governor James B. Hunt, Jr. established the N.C. Film Office by executive order in 1980, director Bill Arnold had no operating budget. Now the state ranks No. 2 nationwide in filmmaking, with nearly $4 billion spent by filmmakers.
Pass & Seymour/Legrand, the North American arm of Legrand, Limoges, France, has chosen to invest in a Greensboro facility for the manufacture of electric wiring devices.
Although ranked No. 2 nationwide in the filmmaking industry, the N.C. Film Council, an advisory group, feels the film office should broaden its scope to include things like cable channel production, imaging technology, and post-production activities.
K mart is embroiled in a controversy wherein union officials allege that fourteen workers were fired for their union activity. Workers participated in a sit-down strike at the K mart Greater Greensboro Open golf tournament to protest the firings.
High Point's Robert J. Brown directs his company, B & C Associates, in advising some of the country's largest companies on race relations. Brown is a former principal adviser to President Nixon on minority issues.
Jane Smith Patterson, advisor to the governor for policy, budget, and technology, is at the forefront of many high-tech initiatives, including the North Carolina Information Highway.
People in New Hanover and Brunswick Counties have mixed feelings about their area's development. Tourism brings not only needed funds for growth, but also such problems as commercialism, big construction, and loss of quiet, family beaches.
Paul M. Wiles, CEO of Carolina Medicorp, Inc. and Forsyth Memorial, the state's second largest hospital, oversees his group's transition from health care facility to managed care provider.
RJ Reynolds Tobacco International Inc. purchased another plant in the former Soviet Union, bringing to five the number of cigarette manufacturing plants owned by the company here. RJR's international division is far outselling the domestic division.
RJ Reynolds, Winston-Salem-based tobacco manufacturer, has opened its fourth manufacturing plant in two years in the former Soviet Union. RJ Reynolds Tobacco International sold 34 billion more cigarettes than RJR's domestic division last year.
The School of Filmmaking at the N.C. School of the Arts in Winston-Salem is building a \"filmmaking village\"\" that will house the school and also serve as a site for student films. It is the only facility of its kind anywhere.