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.
Companies and economic developers in the Piedmont Triad Metropolitan Area are diversifying their economy through international trade. In so doing, the area has become the state's most important export center and ranks 37th nationwide.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
The State Health Plan Purchasing Alliance (SHPPA) applies the old idea of the food co-op to health insurance. By banding together, small businesses (in this case, two to forty-nine employees) hope to save money on health insurance.
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.
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.
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.
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.