Over at the Seventh Sense Ken Ashford points to a press release from an anti-abortion group that equates Krispy Kreme's giveaway on inauguration day to supporting abortion. You'll have to read it to believe it. As Ken says, these people do a good job of mocking themselves without any help from the rest of the world so I'll resist.
One of the adjustments you have to make when you move to North Carolina is dealing with a ballot that seems like it's 100 pages long when you vote. I mean we vote for positions that are appointed in most other states, and to think that we citizens actually know who every joker on the ballot is is just plain ludicrous.
Today I received a press release from Senator Burr's office announcing that North Carolina had received $52,303,004 from the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development's Neighborhood Stabilization Program. According to the release "North Carolina may use this grant to assist individuals in purchasing foreclosed homes, acquiring and rehabilitating abandoned homes, establishing land banks for foreclosed homes, demolition of blighted properties, or redevelopment of vacant or demolished structures. All NSP funds are required to benefit individuals or families at or below 120 percent of area median income (AMI) and at least 25 percent must be targeted at those living below 50 percent of AMI. Funds awarded under this grant must be used within 18 months."
Yes, yes it's cold outside. We're all whining about it and the weather folks keep droning on about it, but when you think about it we could be a lot worse off. Don't believe me? Well, in MinneSOta it's so cold that if you spray hot water into the air it instantly crystalizes. Here's the video proof…now quit your whining.
I just received my daily email news update from the Winston-Salem Journal and their lead headline is the crash of a Charlotte-bound US Airways flight into the Hudson River in New York. Not to make light of that story, which hopefully will find that no one was seriously injured since early reports seem to indicate that the plane seemed to stay atop the water until rescue boats could get to it, but it's what's under the headline and the accompanying photo that was kind of jarring. It's this sentence: "Also, Midfielder Michael Lahoud of Wake Forest went as the No. 9 pick, to Club Deportivo Chivas USA, based outside Los Angeles." That's followed by the link to the "Full Story" which is the airplane crash story. (Click on the picture to the left to see what it looked like).
This is kind of cool: I just read a press release about a new business-to-business magazine being launched by Hispanic Marketing Consultants here in Winston-Salem and targeted to Hispanic store owners and at the bottom I see that a buddy of mine is their contact for buying ad space. Danny Gelatt is a good guy and we've mixed it up on the tennis courts over the last couple of years. Here's the scoop on Abasto:
The idea for Abasto magazine came from entrepreneur Dan Calhoun, principal of Hispanic Marketing Consultants. "Our company has worked with a lot of Hispanic business owners who work very hard and have been successful. But we found that there was a knowledge gap for them, one that prohibited them to grow their businesses into greater profitability. First and foremost, our job is to give them the essentials of best business practices that they can apply to their companies.
"But we also paid attention to the fact that many manufacturers and distributors of Hispanic foods have not had a way to communicate efficiently to this large and growing Hispanic population of business owners," Calhoun continues. "These groups have been virtually untapped — and now this magazine becomes the platform to connect. It's a perfect way to accelerate sales to this significant audience."
For more information, contact Francisco Camara at editor@abasto.us or 877.817.3674. To discuss advertising opportunities, contact Danny Gelatt at dannyg@abasto.us or 877.817.3674.
Back when the real estate bubble was in full swing I had some pretty strong feelings about the real estate business, in particular the idea that realtors were getting paid a 3% commission when they had to do next to nothing because the houses were literally selling themselves. Of course I ticked off some friends (and strangers) in the real estate business, but even if we disagreed about the merits of the payment structure we did agree that when times got tough a lot of the realtors would disappear because it's tough to make a living when you're getting paid 3% of nothing.
BB&T's new CEO has been elected to the board of the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond. From the announcement:
BB&T Corporation (NYSE: BBT) today said that Chief Executive Officer Kelly S. King has been elected to serve on the nine-member board of directors of the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond.
King was elected to a three-year term as a "Class A director" by the stockholding member banks of the Fifth Federal Reserve District, which is served by the Richmond Fed.
"This is certainly an honor, but also an important responsibility, particularly during these difficult times," said King, who succeeded John Allison as chief executive officer on Jan. 1. "Monetary policy is critically important. As a representative of BB&T, I'm looking forward to doing whatever I can to contribute to a meaningful dialogue around the economic issues facing us."
Krispy Kreme announced that they are giving away doughnuts next Tuesday. What was that day again? Oh yeah, some dude's officially starting his new job. From the press release:
"Krispy Kreme is taking the inaugural festivities nationwide," said Ron Rupocinski, executive chef for Krispy Kreme. "We're inviting our fans in cities across the country, including Washington, D.C., to commemorate this historic day with a favorite American treat."
The Inauguration Day promotional offer is good for one doughnut of choice per customer on Jan. 20. No purchase is necessary. To find a participating store near you, visit http://www.krispykreme.com/storelocator.html.
Republican US Senator, and Winston-Salem home boy, Richard Burr has a blog. He started it on New Years Eve and he's posted consistently since then. Since things are just getting started for the year in Washington he hasn't really had anything exciting to post about, but once the inauguration is over next Tuesday I think things will heat up and I hope that Sen. Burr gives us some of his viewpoints without the filter of the press or a ghost/staff writer.
Befuddled 