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CAROLINA COVERAGE includes Jim's reporting about events in North and South Carolina that appeared on Reuters or in local papers. Not include is Carolina energy reporting, which has its own page. Duke Energy Carolinas seeks approval for $2 bln debt North Carolina working on $2.3 bln port funding plan CenterPoint leading candidate as NC port developer Freightliner SC plant gets 2,000 truck UPS order
Canadian hay arrives for North Carolina farmers Seven college students die in beach house fire Univ. of S.Carolina taps Lehman as lead underwriter North Carolina regulators back subprime changes
And more, dating back to January 2007. At the bottom of the page, some 2003 reporting about Central Jersey that appeared in the Star-Ledger. 11:04 26Aug2008 RTRS-SCANA asks South Carolina for $85 mln tax-free debt By Jim Brumm
WILMINGTON, North Carolina, Aug 26 (Reuters) -Two SCANA Corp <SCG.N> subsidiaries are asking South Carolina state regulators for permission to borrow $85 million in tax-free debt.
The debt would be via industrial revenue bonds issued by the South Carolina Jobs-Economic Development Authority and would have maximum maturities of 40 years, according to filings by SCANA units made Friday with the Public Service Commission of South Carolina.
SCANA's South Carolina Generating Co is seeking permission to issue $40 million of debt on or before Dec. 23 to pay part of the cost of scrubbers being installed at the William Electric Generating Station near Charleston, South Carolina.
Scrubbers scheduled to begin operation at the 650-megawatt coal-fired plant next year are expected to cost more than $170 million, according to SCANA's website.
Another $9 million is being spent on a coal offloading and conveyance facility at the plant, which began commercial operation in 1973. The facility would allow more imports of low-sulfur coal.
SCANA's South Carolina Electric & Gas utility unit asked for permission to borrow $35 million to help pay for scrubbers at its largest power plant, the 700-megawatt Wateree Electric Generating Station in Eastover, South Carolina, southeast of the state capitol of Columbia.
The scrubbers are expected to cost $200 million by the time they go into operation next year. Wateree began commercial operation in 1970.
The state has yet to fix a date to consider the requests.
(Editing by Michael Connor in Miami and Dan Grebler in New York)
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Tuesday, 26 August 2008 11:04:22RTRS [nN26334841] {EN}ENDS Gaffney Freightliner to build 2,000 UPS trucks,
some hybrids, some natural gas
By Jim Brumm/Special to the Independent-Mail
Thursday, May 15, 2008
ANDERSON — There will be a lot of big, brown UPS trucks coming off the Freightliner Custom Chassis Corp. lines in Gaffney over the next year, some 2,000, according to Director of Sales and Marketing Jonathan Randall.
Included in the order is 200 hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs), an order United Parcel Service called “the largest commercial order of such trucks by any company.” There will also be 300 compressed natural gas (CNG) vehicles and about 1,500 conventional diesel UPS delivery vans, Randal told the Anderson Independent-Mail.
He said the work on the conventional diesel trucks will start before the end of the month, adding work on the 200 HEV trucks will continue into next year.
UPS and Freightliner officials declined to discuss the value of the order, a fact noted by the online news service MarketWatch, which got a Stuttgart, Germany-based official of Freightliner’s parent company to say the manufacturer’s suggested retail price is more than $100,000 each. That would bring the MSRP for the total deal for the alternative fuel trucks to more than $50 million, the Daimler spokesperson said.
MarketWatch noted that large fleet deals in the automotive industry typically include deep discounts.
In a separate statement, Daimler Truck North America’s Freightliner Custom Chassis division said it has more than 160 hybrids in service since 2004, when it became the first manufacturer to introduce the fuel sippers into fleet operations. This includes 25 delivered to UPS in May 2007.
Daimler said the hybrid-electric power train achieves a 40 percent improvement in fuel economy and a 90 percent reduction in emissions compared to the non-hybrid version.
UPS said the 200 trucks are expected to save 176,000 gallons of fuel annually and reduce CO2 emissions by 1,786 metric tons each year. This is the equivalent of removing almost 100 conventional UPS trucks from the road for a year, it added.
UPS said the 300 CNG vehicles will be deployed later this year.
Freightliner SC plant gets 2,000 truck UPS order
Thu May 15, 2008 5:21pm EDT
By Jim Brumm
WILMINGTON, N.C., May 15 (Reuters) - A large order for trucks, including hybrid electric vehicles, by United Parcel Service Inc (UPS.N: Quote, Profile, Research) will mean steady work for the Freightliner Custom Chassis Corp plant in Gaffney, South Carolina, over the next eight or nine months, a company spokesman said.
It is not clear, though, whether the order for 2,000 delivery vans, including 200 hybrid electric vehicles and 300 vehicles running on compressed natural gas, will lead to new hiring at the plant, said Jonathan Randall, director of sales and marketing for Freightliner, the U.S. truck unit of German carmaker Daimler AG (DAIGn.DE: Quote, Profile, Research).
Randall said on Wednesday night that 1,500 trucks in the order would have conventional diesel engines. Work on the conventional diesels will start before the end of the month, he said.
In contrast, the Daimler division's plant 90 miles to the northeast, in Cleveland, North Carolina, is expected to lay off about 1,500 workers in early June when operations are reduced to one shift a day from two shifts, the company said in April.
Randall did not have any information on the North Carolina plant.
In a statement released last month, Freightliner said the layoffs could be canceled if the market recovers enough by June to support two shifts at the plant.
The Portland, Oregon-based company laid off about 1,200 workers in the spring of 2007 when it went to two shifts from three.
Officials of both companies declined to discuss the value of UPS's Freightliner order.
Daimler Truck North America says the hybrid-electric engines achieve a 400 percent improvement in fuel economy and a 90 percent reduction in emissions compared with non-hybrid versions.
UPS said the 200 hybrid electric trucks are expected to save 176,000 gallons of fuel a year and reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 1,786 metric tons each year.
That is equivalent to taking almost 100 conventional UPS trucks off the roads for a year, it said.
UPS said the new order of 500 fuel-efficient vans means its alternative fuel fleet, already the largest such fleet in the United States, will grow 30 percent to 2,218 vehicles. (Editing by Michael Christie and Andre Grenon) CenterPoint leading candidate as NC port developer 11:53 08Apr2008 RTRS-North Carolina working on $2.3 bln port funding plan
By Jim Brumm
WILMINGTON, N.C., April 7 (Reuters) - North Carolina is moving ahead with plans for a $2.3 billion, deep-water port near the mouth of the Cape Fear River and officials expect to have a funding strategy in place by year's end.
Seeking to tap expected growing East Coast trade flows, the North Carolina Ports Authority's efforts this year have been focused on consultant CH2M Hill's recommendation that a public private partnership is the best approach to developing the North Carolina International Terminal.
Such a strategy fits with industry investment practices, would be the most expedient, and meets tests for return on investment, according to a presentation to the authority's board released last week.
CH2M projected international trade doubling by 2020, with the market for container shipping growing even faster and creating increased demand for East Coast port capacity.
"Major ports along the East Coast are reaching capacity and have limited ability to add new area to existing facilities," the CH2M Hill report said.
CH2M Hill, which is also the engineering consultant for Florida's Port of Jacksonville, said the North Carolina authority's 600 undeveloped acres on the Cape Fear River was "one of the only locations along the East Coast suitable for development of a new deep-water terminal."
The North Carolina authority said it plans to begin construction in 2014 on the tract it purchased two years ago. The site is about 15 miles downstream from the authority's Port of Wilmington, which is being expanded at a cost of $190 million.
Located north of the Brunswick County community of Southport, the port would be between Progress Energy Inc's 1,875-megawatt Brunswick Nuclear Plant and the Military Ocean Terminal Sunny Point, the largest U.S. ammunition port and the Army's primary East Coast deep-water port.
CH2M Hill put the cost of the port itself at $1.38 billion to $1.58 billion, compared with the preliminary estimate of $1 billion to $1.5 billion it had cited for the past two years.
For the first time, the analysis outlined other costs related to development of the port -- such as road and railroad improvements, permitting, and channel deepening -- which raised the estimated total to $2.28 billion to $2.48 billion.
The authority expects to have its financing strategy completed by the end of the year, according to Bill Bennett, the authority's vice president for port planning.
(Writing by Michael Connor in Miami; Editing by Leslie Adler)
((michael.connor@reuters.com; +1 305 810 2688; Reuters Messaging: michael.connor.reuters.com@reuters.net)) Keywords: NORTHCAROLINA PORTS/
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Tuesday, 08 April 2008 11:53:39RTRS [nN07286666] {EN}ENDS 15:51 16Jan2008 RTRS-INTERVIEW-NC ports agency to launch deals after rating
By Jim Brumm
WILMINGTON, N.C. Jan 16 (Reuters) - An initial "A3" rating from Moody's Investors Service clears the way for $215 million of capital spending by the North Carolina State Ports Authority through 2015, according to the authority's finance chief.
Calling Moody's action "a great initial rating," the authority's chief financial officer, Jeff Strader, told Reuters the agency's opinion "will allow us to restructure existing debt to reduce costs and move forward with expansion plans."
Moody's, in a report issued in late December, said the North Carolina authority that owns and operates deepwater ports in Wilmington and Morehead City, as well as two inland terminals, had bright prospects despite recent dips in cargo volumes tied to a falloff in home building.
"The authority is positioned for future growth," Moody's said, with capacity for more cargo and connections to railroads and interstate highways.
The leading Wall Street rating agency, which issued its rating on $35.7 million of port facility bonds the authority issued in 2006 to purchase 600 acres near the mouth of Cape Fear River, also pointed out that the authority owned "land suitable for terminal development."
In interviews held over the last two weeks, Strader said efforts were already under way to refinance a $30.8 million credit line used to purchase four container cranes with a subordinated crane lease. The cranes were put into operation last April as part of a $143 million expansion of the Wilmington port.
Also planned is renegotiation of the port facilities bonds as a junior lien, Strader said in a November presentation to rating agencies. When sold, the bonds were backed by a Banc of America Securities LLC letter of credit.
The chief financial officer expects the authority's initial bond sale under its new rating will be $36.7 million of senior lien bonds, saying this will come no earlier than next summer.
His presentation projected spending of $194.5 million to expand and improve existing facilities over the next seven years after capital outlays of $19.1 million in fiscal 2008, which ends June 30.
The authority plans to fund this effort with the sale of $121.6 million of senior lien bonds through 2015, starting with a $37.3 million sale in fiscal 2010.
The spending projection does not include funds for the North Carolina International Port, a deep-water container port the authority plans for the land near the river mouth, some 15 miles closer to the Atlantic Ocean than the port in Wilmington.
The tract is located on the west side of the Cape Fear River near the largest U.S. ammunition port and the U.S. Army's primary East Coast deep-water port.
Moody's said the ports authority expects to finance the $1 billion to $1.5 billion cost of the new port over the next decade "with private equity and possibly special purpose facilities bonds."
Noting a 55 percent increase in cargo tonnage between fiscal 2003 and fiscal 2006, Moody's said the authority's revenues provided sound coverage of senior lien bonds despite the 5.4 percent cargo decline in fiscal 2007.
"Our expectation is that 2008 levels will remain nearly flat at best," the agency said.
(Additional reporting by Michael Connor in Miami. Editing by Richard Satran)
((michael.connor@reuters.com; +1 305 810 2688; Reuters Messaging: michael.connor.reuters.com@reuters.net)) Keywords: NORTHCAROLINA PORTS/
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Wednesday, 16 January 2008 15:51:31RTRS [nN16620209] {EN}ENDS
Canadian hay arrives for North Carolina farmers
Mon Dec 31, 2007 5:52pm EST
By Jim Brumm
WILMINGTON, North Carolina (Reuters) - Canadian hay began arriving in North Carolina on Monday to help farmers feed cattle and horses in the drought-stricken state, the broker who arranged the shipment said.
The shipment was the first of 36 truckloads purchased by the state's agriculture department from farms near Perth, Ontario, about 50 miles southwest of Ottawa, said Don Westbrook, the owner of Mid-Atlantic Hay Co.
Announcing the purchase on December 20, the N.C. Department of Agriculture said it was the initial buy under a $3.5 million program to provide emergency supplies livestock owners can tap to prevent the forced sale of horses and cattle.
The U.S. Southeast is in the midst of one of the worst droughts on record, prompting water-use restrictions and forcing the governors of Georgia, Florida and Alabama to work on a water-sharing agreement.
North Carolina farmers have lost roughly half of the state's normal hay crop, according to a study by Dr. Ed Estes of North Carolina State University.
In estimates prepared for the state, he valued the hay loss at $91 million and the total loss of North Carolina crops due to the draught at $382 million.
Using an economic impact multiplier of about 1.5 for agriculture production, Estes estimated the lost crops cost the state's economy $573 million in 2007.
As a result, hay prices have skyrocketed and some owners have been forced to give up their horses to animal rescue agencies.
The Canadian hay will be resold to farmers at six locations across the state in the first two weeks of January and the revenue will be used to buy more hay, the department said.
Agriculture Department spokesman Brian Long said it was uncertain how much hay would be bought.
"There's no real target," he said, adding the department would "keep going as long as (the farmers) scarf it up."
Livestock owners who import their own hay from out of state will be reimbursed up to $500 per truck load for shipping costs, the department said.
(Editing by Jim Loney, editing by Richard Chang) 15:51 16Jan2008 RTRS- Smoking possible cause of deadly US house fire
Fri Nov 2, 2007 8:11pm EDT
By Jim Brumm
WILMINGTON, N.C., Nov 2 (Reuters) - Smoking could have caused a beach house fire that killed seven college students, a preliminary report by the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation said on Friday.
The fire started on Sunday on the back deck of the beach home where 13 South Carolina college students were enjoying the last good beach weather of the season, according to the bureau's report released by the town of Ocean Isle Beach, North Carolina.
The investigation "could not rule out improperly discarded smoking materials" as a cause, it said.
The two-story home, built one story off the ground to reduce the possibility of storm damage, was owned by the family of one of the students.
Fire alarms in the beach house were activated, " according to survivors and witnesses, said the report. A final report will be issued in several weeks.
The small town of Ocean Isle Beach is located on a seven-mile (11 km) long barrier beach on the southern end of North Carolina's Atlantic shore, about 30 miles (48 km) north of the resort community of Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.
Seven college students die in beach house fire
Sun Oct 28, 2007 7:11pm EDT
By Jim Brumm
WILMINGTON, North Carolina (Reuters) - Seven South Carolina college students were killed and six were injured on Sunday when a fire swept through a beach home in a U.S. resort community, officials said.
Police in Ocean Isle Beach, North Carolina, received an emergency call at 7:01 a.m. EDT, the town said in a statement. When rescue services got there two minutes later, the house was completely engulfed in flames, according to the statement.
University of South Carolina officials said they believed the six injured and six of the dead were students at the university.
The seventh dead student was from Clemson University, Vice President for Student Affairs Dennis Pruitt told a news conference.
Pruitt said the university was helping North Carolina officials identify the dead.
Ocean Isle Beach has about 425 year-around residents, according to its Web site. It is located on a seven-mile-long (11-km-long) barrier beach on the southern end of North Carolina's Atlantic shore, about 30 miles north of the resort community of Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.
The injured were treated and released at Brunswick Community Hospital, hospital spokeswoman Amy Meyers said.
13:04 22Oct2007
RTRS-Univ. of S.Carolina taps Lehman as lead underwriter
By Jim Brumm
WILMINGTON, North Carolina, Oct 22 (Reuters) - The University of South Carolina tapped Lehman Brothers Inc to be its lead underwriter for municipal bond deals for at least the next three years, according to a school Web site.
Effective last Friday, the contract between the school and Lehman is for three years but may be extended for additional terms, not to exceed a total of five years, according to the solicitation the university posted in early August.
The Columbia, South Caorlina-based university estimates Lehman will generate $1 million of fees over the next five years as a result of its selection, Assistant Director of Purchasing Bruce Breedlove said.
In the solicitation, the school sought a lead underwriter for the marketing and sale of anticipated debt financings. It specified that the selected firm would help develop a long-term financial plan designed to increase market exposure of the university's debt offerings, minimize underwriting and debt service costs, and incorporate industry best practices for the university.
The university expects to implement strategies that incorporate these objectives within the next 12 months, according to the solicitation.
With more than 40,000 students on eight campuses, the university had about $286 million of debt outstanding as of June 30, according to a published report.
((Reporting by Jim Brumm, editing by Tom Hals; Reuters Messaging: michael.connor.reuters.com@reuters.net; email: michael.connor@reuters.com; Tel: 305 810 2688)) Keywords: SOUTHCAROLINA BOND/UNDERWRITER
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Monday, 22 October 2007 13:04:54RTRS [nN22456969] {EN}ENDS 13:13 17Jul2007
North Carolina plans $300 mln September bond sale
By Jim Brumm
WILMINGTON, N.C., July 17 (Reuters) - North Carolina plans to market $300 million of so-called GARVEE bonds backed by federal transportation aid in mid-to-late September, according to a spokeswoman for the state treasurer.
The underwriters for the planned offering, the first under a $900 million authorization, will be Banc of America Securities, UBS Securities, Wachovia Securities, RBC Dain Rauscher, State Treasurer Communications Director Sara Lang said.
GARVEEs, or Grant Anticipation Revenue Vehicles, are bonds backed by promised federal transportation aid. North Carolina's General Assembly in 2005 authorized the sale of up to $900 million of GARVEEs, subject to approval by a panel made up of the governor and other elected officials.
North Carolina's first GARVEE bond sale was approved by a four-to-two vote of the panel last week, according to the governor's deputy press secretary, Seth Effron.
The state Department of Transportation has not determined a schedule for seeking approval of the remaining $600 million of GARVEE bonds between now and 2012, spokesman Christian Brill said.
The same panel, known as the Council of State, unanimously agreed at a meeting last week to ask legislators to limit approval of state-financed debt to no more than $384 million each year over the next 10 years.
((Reporting by Jim Brumm, editing by Leslie Adler; Reuters Messaging: michael.connor.reuters.com@reuters.net; e-mail: michael.connor@reuters.com; Tel: +1 305 810 2688)) Keywords: NORTHCAROLINA BONDS/
Tuesday, 17 July 2007 13:13:35RTRS [nN17223128] {C}ENDS
16:02 29Jun2007 RTRS
North Carolina legislators OK temporary budget plan
By Jim Brumm
WILMINGTON, North Carolina, June 29 (Reuters) - The North Carolina State Senate approved on Friday a resolution that gives the state General Assembly another month to negotiate a budget for the next two years.
The stopgap spending plan was adopted earlier by the House after the two bodies failed to reach an agreement on taxes. Gov. Michael Easley has received the continuing resolution, according to Deputy Press Secretary Seth Effron.
Easley in late February proposed a 12.6 percent increase in state spending over the next two years to be funded in part by $1.62 billion of new debt, projecting total fiscal 2008 spending of $40.7 billion. Spending in fiscal 2007 ending on Saturday was budgeted at $36.8 billion.
Less than half the spending comes from the state's general fund -- some $20.1 billion in fiscal 2008, up from $18.9 billion in fiscal 2007.
To fund the increase, the governor proposed continuation of temporary income taxes and sales taxes adopted in 2001 and already extended at least twice.
These taxes generate revenues of about $300 million a year and have proved to be the major sticking point in budget negotiations.
The House adopted Easley's budget with minor increases in proposed spending.
The Senate, however, voted to end the temporary taxes: a quarter-penny sales tax and a quarter-percentage-point tax on the incomes of high earners.
Negotiations between the two legislative bodies resulted in a tentative agreement to end the temporary income tax and make the sales tax permanent. This is reflected in the continuing resolution, which extends the sales tax for one month.
As the negotiations proceeded this week, the Senate moved to cut other taxes, giving initial approval on Thursday to a proposal to phase out the sales tax on energy paid by manufacturers and farmers. All others would continue to pay the 2.83 percent tax.
Initial estimates by General Assembly staff put the cost of this plan at $19 million in 2008 and $220 million a year when the phase-out is completed in five years.
The changes are part of a bill scheduled for a second vote in the Senate on Tuesday which would mandate that the state's electric utilities -- subsidiaries of Duke Energy Corp and Progress Energy Inc -- get 12.5 percent of their power from renewable sources by 2021.
((Reporting by Jim Brumm, editing by James Dalgleish; Reuters Messaging: michael.connor.reuters.com@reuters.net; email: michael.connor@reuters.com; Tel: 305 810 2688)) Keywords: NORTHCAROLINA BUDGET/
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Friday, 29 June 2007 16:02:08RTRS [nN29381267] {EN}ENDS 16:32 21Mar2007
North Carolina regulators back subprime changes
By Jim Brumm
WILMINGTON, N.C., March 21 (Reuters) - North Carolina regulators support proposed laws meant to curb subprime-mortgage abuses while relying on residential lenders to reform many of their practices, a state banking official said on Wednesday.
Deputy Commissioner of Banks Mark Pearce said the woes of subprime lenders, which have rattled financial markets, have not limited mortgages for qualified borrowers in North Carolina.
While the stresses of the mortgage market have "affected lenders and some investors" in the state, Pearce said, they have had "no impact on the availability (of mortgages) for qualified people."
In North Carolina, where the share of delinquent loans among subprime credits topped the U.S. average during 2006's last quarter, the regulatory focus is on making adjustments that will allow the market to continue to thrive, Pearce said in a telephone interview.
While "some have suggested a government" rescue, the state commissioner of banks has not taken steps in that direction. Instead, lenders have been encouraged "to take care of the mess they've made to avoid (further) legislation," Pearce said.
He said North Carolina has joined 28 other states in helping the Conference of State Bank Supervisors and the American Association of Residential Mortgage Regulators create a national clearing house for licensed mortgage originators and a database to track bad loan originators.
The state banking commission is supporting two bills in the General Assembly, now meeting in Raleigh, Pearce said.
One is meant to stop mortgage brokers and lenders from originating loans in North Carolina without proof from borrowers to back up income claims in their mortgage applications, Pearce said.
Loans without proof of an applicant's income were a source of fraud, and the practice prompted the drafting of the Residential Mortgage Fraud Act now pending in the House Judiciary II Committee, he said.
Work has also started on legislation requiring the name of the mortgage broker to appear on the deed of trust for each home purchased, Pearce said. That bill was passed out of the House Financial Instruments Committee on Tuesday, he said.
Based on the efforts of the House Foreclosures Study Committee, formed by the General Assembly last year, the bill makes the entire process more transparent, Pearce said.
(For more on the subprime mortgage crisis, see [ID:nN16195443])
((Writing by Michael Connor; Editing by Dan Grebler; Reuters Messaging: michael.connor.reuters.com@reuters.net; e-mail: michael.connor@reuters.com; Tel: +1 305 810 2688)) Keywords: SUBPRIME NORTHCAROLINA/
Wednesday, 21 March 2007 16:32:56RTRS [nN21302922] {C}ENDS
16:56 27Feb2007
N.C. lawmakers consider budget with $1.62 bln debt
By Jim Brumm
WILMINGTON, N.C., Feb 27 (Reuters) - The North Carolina House and Senate Appropriations Committees met on Tuesday to consider Gov. Michael Easley's budget proposal, which would raise state spending by 12.6 percent over the next two years.
The spending would be funded in part by $1.62 billion of new debt.
Easley's budget calls for total spending of $40.7 billion in fiscal 2008 and $41.4 billion in 2009, compared with the $36.8 billion the legislature approved last year for fiscal 2007, which ends June 30.
Less than half that spending would come from the state's general fund.
The budget would reduce general fund appropriations by cutting capital spending to $64 million in 2008, from $206 million this year; and eliminating it entirely in fiscal 2009.
To fund capital spending over the next five years, the governor wants legislators to approve $209.4 million in special financing and seek voter approval of $1.41 billion in general obligation bonds in November. His budget also includes the continuation of temporary income taxes and sales taxes the General Assembly had voted to end as of June 30.
Citing a proposed 7.8 percent increase, to $11.6 billion, in spending for public schools, community colleges and universities, the governor's office said this is "the nation's most ambitious budget for public education."
In his letter forwarding the budget to the General Assembly, the Democratic governor said it includes a 5 percent average pay increase for public school teachers.
Under North Carolina's biennial budget process, legislators will now consider the two-year budget, "passing it by July 1, the beginning of the fiscal year, if we're lucky," according to Easley's Deputy Press Secretary Seth Effron. He said the legislature was scheduled to meet in May 2008 for a "short session" to consider proposed changes in the second year of the budget.
Easley's budget plan estimates 2007 general fund revenues -- taxes supplemented by various fees and the highway trust fund -- at $18.9 billion. The plan would result in an $825 million surplus and projected growth of 8.9 percent over the biennium, to $19.6 billion in 2008 and $20.6 billion the following year. Those projections are based on proposed tax cuts of $90 million per year.
Those cuts, if approved by legislators, would eliminate the income tax completely for more than 545,000 low-income individuals and families and slash income taxes in half for an additional 629,000, the governor said in his budget letter. He also proposed increased expense allowances for small businesses and deductions related to higher education tuition costs.
((Reporting by Jim Brumm, Editing by Dan Grebler; Reuters Messaging: karen.pierog.reuters.com@reuters.net; e-mail: karen.pierog@reuters.com; +1-312-408-8647; fax +1-312-983-7252)) Tuesday, 27 February 2007 16:56:36RTRS [nN27305001] {C}ENDS Honda to build new jet in North Carolina
Fri Feb 9, 2007 5:08pm ET
WILMINGTON, North Carolina, Feb 9 (Reuters) - Honda Aircraft Co. Inc. will build its new light jet, the HondaJet, at Piedmont Triad International Airport in Greensboro, North Carolina, Gov. Michael Easley's office said on Friday.
The Honda Motor Co. Ltd. (7267.T: Quote, NEWS , Research) subsidiary will invest up to $100 million over the next five years to build an aircraft manufacturing plant and expand the Greensboro operation it established in August to oversee production, certification, sales and service of the aircraft, Easley said.
He described the HondaJet as a lightweight private business jet with unique construction that makes it more fuel-efficient and less costly to operate than similar aircraft on the market. Honda said it planned to begin delivery of the aircraft in 2010.
North Carolina agreed to give Honda Aircraft up to $6.68 million in tax benefits over the next 12 years. The company employs 50 workers at its Greensboro headquarters and plans to add 283 more to design and build the plane, at an average annual salary of around $70,000 a year, which is almost double the local average, the governor said.
12:35 08Jan2007
RTRS-INTERVIEW-N. Carolina ports to seek debt ratings
By Jim Brumm
WILMINGTON, N.C., Jan 8 (Reuters) - The North Carolina State Ports Authority will soon seek its own municipal debt ratings for the first time as part of a campaign to finance $1 billion or more of capital spending over the next decade.
Jeff Strader, the authority's chief financial officer, said in an interview he expected this spring to make presentations to Wall Street ratings analysts and that the authority expected investment grade ratings for the debt it plans to issue.
Strader said securing underlying debt ratings was the next step in a long-term plan to expand North Carolina's two ports and develop a world-class, deep-water container port over the next decade.
The authority is already spending $143 million to expand the Port of Wilmington's yearly container-handling capacity to over 400,000 TEUs, or 20-foot equivalent units, from 250,000, according to authority Chief Executive Officer Thomas Eagar.
Four Chinese-built, 100-foot gauge container cranes were scheduled to be delivered in mid-February to the port and be in operation six weeks later, said ports authority spokeswoman Susan Clizbe.
Besides general merchandise in containers, Wilmington's major imports are lumber, chemicals cement and coal. Wood pulp, wood chips, food and chemicals top its exports.
At the Port of Morehead City, some 90 miles northeast of Wilmington, the authority has completed preliminary studies for a new terminal on Radio Island, Eager told a local trade group in late November. The plan for Morehead City is to seek a joint venture partner to develop the facility, Eagar said.
Morehead City, the embarkation point for U.S. Marines stationed at Camp Lejeune, exports phosphate and military equipment, while its leading imports include scrap metal, sulfur products, rubber and forest products.
Strader said North Carolina needed more port capacity, pointing to forecasts of a 1.5 million to 2 million TEU shortfall in U.S. mid-Atlantic port capacity by 2015.
Strader said this anticipated demand is why he believes the tax-free bond market will provide funding for the North Carolina International Port the authority wants to build on 600 acres the authority recently acquired.
Plans for the port located 12 miles downriver from Wilmington call for spending more than $1 billion over the next decade, Strader said.
Strader said the authority has gone to the bond market in the past backing debt with bank letters of credit that rely on the ratings of the banks and, as of Nov. 30, had $40.5 million of bonds and $19 million of notes outstanding.
But the authority now needs to move beyond the $10 million limit on bank letters of credit, according to Strader.
Strader did not detail the possible structure, size and timing of any muni issues, explaining that is part of the authority's revised 10-year funding projection which will be presented for board approval in February or March.
((Writing by Michael Connor, editing by Gary Crosse; Reuters Messaging: michael.connor.reuters.com@reuters.net; e-mail: michael.connor@reuters.com; +1-305-810-2688)) Keywords: NORTHCAROLINA PORTS/
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Monday, 08 January 2007 12:35:58RTRS [nN08375719] {EN}ENDS Sayerville OKs pact with power converter
Borough would reap $12.8M over 30 years
Wednesday, June 25, 2003
BY JIM BRUMM
For the Star-Ledger
The Sayreville Borough Council approved a financial agreement with a power transmission company that is proposing construction of an electricity converter station on an abandoned industrial site owned by the municipality.
Under the agreement, Neptune RTS, a Maine-based partnership, will pay Sayreville more than $418,000 per year for 30 years if it goes ahead with plans to build a power converter station on the 12-acre site. The borough plans to buy the land from the Sayreville Economic & Redevelopment Agency, which owns the 86 acres that made up the former Sayre & Fisher brick manufacturing site that gave the borough its name.
The payment, which will be in lieu of taxes, is set by state law, Economic & Redevelopment Agency Executive Director Randy Corman told the council before Monday night's vote. The law says the payment will be 2 percent of a project's cost, which is projected to be $20.9 million, he said.
Pending changes in state law governing redevelopment projects spurred borough officials to schedule a vote on the agreement Monday night, Borough Attorney Stacey Adams said when asked about the urgency of voting now. She pointed out this had been fully explained at the council's agenda meeting a week earlier.
Legislation that has already cleared the state Senate would force Sayreville to share 5 percent of the annual payment with Middlesex County, she said.
The project still needs the approval of the Sayreville Planning Board, Neptune RTS Chief Operating Officer Paul Rich said after the vote. The company will be meeting with the redevelopment agency tomorrow to prepare an application for the board's July meeting, he said.
Rich said the company hopes to start construction during the first half of 2004 on a facility capable of shipping 600 megawatts of electricity to Long Island via a cable under New York Harbor. That is roughly the amount of power Staten Island consumes on an average day.
With an expected construction time of 18 months, beginning work in the first or second quarter of next year would allow deliveries of electricity to begin by early 2006, Rich explained.
The station in Sayreville would convert the alternating current flowing through New Jersey's electric transmission lines to direct current for more efficient transmission via the undersea cable. In Long Island, the power would be converted back to alternating current for transmission across the island.
Copyright 2003 NJ.com. All Rights Reserved.
Sayreville pinch hits for Perth Amboy in stadium lineup
Friday, June 27, 2003
BY JIM BRUMM
For the Star-Ledger
The Sayreville Economic and Redevelopment Agency authorized its professionals last night to begin negotiations with developers on a $250 million proposal to build a minor league baseball stadium, ice hockey arena, hotel and retail mall along the Raritan River.
The project, called Arenum by the Bay at Sayreville, would utilize more than 100 acres of the former National Lead Industries site on both sides of Route 35. Put together by Monmouth County developer Peter English, the project was originally proposed for the former ASARCO site on the Arthur Kill in Perth Amboy.
Asked about the earlier proposal, English told the redevelopment agency "the problem is there's not enough land (available at the ASARCO site) to meet our needs.
"We are not asking for Sayreville to provide any money for this project," English pointed out, adding its location along Route 35 near the Garden State Parkway and Route 9 means there would be "no detrimental traffic effect" on the borough.
English is vice president of project development at Global Redevelopment Corp., a Newark-based company formed to carry out the Arenum by the Bay project.
Noting that negotiations continue for the borough's purchase of the National Lead tract, which also includes roughly 300 acres west of the Parkway, Mayor Kennedy O'Brien urged the redevelopment agency to begin formal negotiations with Global.
Sayreville has been ordered to post a $32 million bond before it takes over the tract, which is still owned by NL Industries, the current name of the company that once manufactured paint at the site.
Global Chief Executive Officer John Meo said the company expects to spend "about a quarter billion" dollars to acquire and clean up the land and build Arenum by the Bay.
English said Global expects Arenum by the Bay to be completed about two years after ground is broken. Initially the baseball stadium would seat 5,500, he said, adding it "can grow to 7,000." The ice arena is expected to seat 8,500.
Before listening to Global's presentation, the redevelopment agency continued negotiations with Neptune RTS, which has proposed a 600-megawatt power conversion plant on another former industrial site. Monday night, the borough council approved a financial agreement with Neptune RTS calling for payments of more than $418,000 a year for 30 years if the plant is built.
The power conversion plant will feed electricity into a 67-mile cable proposed by Neptune RTS to carry electricity under Raritan Bay, New York Harbor and the Atlantic Ocean to Hempstead Bay on Long Island's south shore, where the cable would go ashore to deliver the power to the Long Island Power Authority.
Attorney Raymond Siberine, who represented Neptune RTS last night, said the redevelopment agency is expected to consider a resolution approving the project at its July 10 meeting, adding this would allow the Sayreville Planning Board to begin consideration of the plan in September. Old Bridge rejects 2.9% hike in rents, approves cable pact
Tuesday, July 15, 2003
BY JIM BRUMM
For the Star-Ledger
The Old Bridge Township Council rejected a 2.9 percent rent increase in its rent-control ordinance and approved an agreement with Cablevision during its meeting last night.
The council's rejection of the increase recommended by the township's Fair Rent Committee means rents under Old Bridge's rent-control ordinance will increase by 2 percent, township attorney William S. Ruggierio said.
Ruggierio also asked the council to approve an agreement reached with Cablevision, explaining this was necessary to avoid having terms set by an administrative law judge at the Board of Public Utilities in Newark.
The agreement continues the franchise fee now received by the township, consisting of 2 percent of Cablevision's Old Bridge revenues, he said. It also provides for fiber- optic lines to allow broadcasts from Old Bridge High School's west campus and the municipal complex, new equipment for the township station, and continues providing two public access channels in Old Bridge.
Ruggierio said the deal extends Cablevision's franchise for eight years from the time the agreement is approved by the BPU, noting this compares to the five years the council sought and the 15 years Cablevision originally sought.
The council also heard about plans to raise $2 million for a new YMCA.
Councilman Dennis Maher introduced Rick Robins of Jerold Panas, Linzy & Partners, the firm chosen by the Red Bank YMCA to raise funds for a planned community center.
Robins said the YMCA "hopes to raise $2 million by the end of the year, maybe a little more" to fund the project. He explained this was based on a feasibility study showing the potential of raising $1.5 million to $2 million, adding that in his previous 12 projects the goal had been exceeded by an average of 20 percent.
There will be a public kickoff of the fund-raising project on Sept. 23, Robins said.
The council also approved the purchase of the hammer-shaped 35-acre tract that makes up the former Nike missile site. The site is west of Route 9 off Jake Brown Road and adjoins the Runyon Watershed. The purchase is subject to final approval of bonds to cover the $250,000 cost. The bonds were approved on first reading, but need a second reading.
Copyright 2003 NJ.com. All Rights Reserved.
Highland Park increases taxes
by $82 for average homeowner
Wednesday, July 23, 2003
BY JIM BRUMM
For the Star-Ledger
The average Highland Park homeowner will pay $82 more in taxes this year to fund municipal operations under the budget approved last night by the borough council.
Amending the 2003 budget introduced in March to reflect $400,000 in extraordinary state aid and $29,000 in spending cuts, the council voted during a special meeting to raise $6.72 million in taxes to fund $11.26 million in spending. This is in addition to school taxes of $15.13 million approved by voters in April.
Introducing the "thoughtful and lean" budget, Mayor Meryl Frank declined to give the expected tax rate, saying only the budget would increase taxes 4.81 percent or "about $82 per year for the average homeowner."
The result will be a municipal tax of nearly $1,790 on a home assessed at the borough average of $137,000. That compares to the $4,043 the same homeowner will be paying in school taxes, an increase of $165 from last year.
Borough Administrator Richard Kunze cited health benefits, snow removal, mandated apartment garbage collection, payments for accrued sick and vacation time and the lack of an increase in state aid as the key factors leading to the municipal tax increase.
Besides the state aid announced last night, other factors helping to hold down taxes were grants and expected fines -- including $3,600 expected to be collected under the "Click-it or Ticket 2003" campaign to encourage seat belt use.
Pointing out that grant awards have more than doubled over the past four years, Council President Elsie Foster-Dublin said in a statement, "We are working hard to bring more money into the community, and it is paying off."
After passing the budget with no objections and very little public comment, the council introduced a proposal to establish a Business Improvement District that would include the borough's main street.
Franks said a public hearing and final vote on the district will probably be held on Aug. 5.
Copyright 2003 NJ.com. All Rights Reserved.
Auditors will review fire penalty fund in South Brunswick
Thursday, August 07, 2003
BY JIM BRUMM
For the Star-Ledger
South Brunswick's outside auditors, Ernst & Young, will conduct a full audit of the Fire Prevention Penalty Fund maintained by the township's fire marshal, Mayor Frank Gambatese told reporters following Tuesday night's township council meeting.
The council members supported the mayor's call for an audit during the meeting.
Among the things to be determined by the audit, Township Manager Barbara Sacks said, is the amount of fines and penalties collected by the fire marshal. Under state law, these monies are to be held in trust in the penalty fund.
Such collections have ranged from $25,000 to $50,000 a year over the past few years, she said.
The formal audit was triggered by Fire Marshal Robert J. Davidson's reluctance to provide data on the trust fund to the township council and the commissioners responsible for managing the township's three volunteer fire departments, Sacks said. Both are interested because the penalty fund is supposed to be used to help finance operations of the township's Fire Safety Bureau and the fire departments, with the actual disbursements determined by state laws controlling these funds.
Noting that those laws call for audits by the state's Department of Community Affairs, Sacks said part of the problem in South Brunswick was the lack of DCA audits in recent years, adding she and two fire commissioners had requested such audits since the beginning of the year.
Calling for the full audit, Gambatese cited a report on Davidson's spending from the trust fund in 2001, 2002 and the first three months of 2003 prepared by fire commissioner Charles Hoens, which was presented to the township council on July 15; and the fire marshal's response, presented at a July 30 special meeting of the Joint Uniform Fire Code Enforcement Board.
The board, made up of selected commissioners from all three South Brunswick fire districts, is chaired by Hoens, who posted a notice of the special meeting on July 16.
Basing his report on the township's computer ledger sheets and corresponding vouchers and related bills, Hoens questioned less than $2,000 of spending during the period, but said "the absence of an approved budget with oversight is a major defect" in the period studied.
Copyright 2003 NJ.com. All Rights Reserved.
Leaders in Woodbridge review '04 budget plan
Thursday, August 21, 2003
BY JIM BRUMM
For the Star-Ledger
Members of the Woodbridge Township Council raised few questions last night as they began a line-by-line review of Mayor Frank Pelzman's $80.9 million fiscal 2004 budget proposal.
Pelzman formally introduced the budget at the first of two council workshops, pointing out that as difficult as last year was financially, this year was going to be worse because of $1.4 million in contractual salary increases and additional insurance costs of $2.5 million.
The hand-picked successor to Gov. James E. McGreevey, Pelzman cited the township's continued growth despite the poor economy, noting such new ratables as a new Hampton Inn and a Galyan's sporting goods store that will open this fall.
Confirming Woodbridge's Aa3 rating last week, the debt rating agency Moody's Investors Service said it expects the township to realize at least $1.9 million in new property tax revenue from these and other new projects, adding that there will be more coming on line in fiscal 2005.
While the confirmation removed Woodbridge from Moody's Watchlist, the agency said the outlook for the township is negative. Although early results from fiscal 2003 show a $1.2 million increase in the township's current fund balance to $6.1 million, this was "due to a significant amount of one-time sources" that included $3 million for a land sale, $3 million from the deferral of school taxes for six months, $500,000 from the sale of pension obligation bonds and $700,000 in extraordinary state aid, Moody's said.
Councilman Vincent Martino of the 3rd Ward, the Republican mayoral candidate, also had few questions as half of the township departments presented their budget proposals at the sparsely attended meeting, which was taped for later airing on TV35, Woodbridge's cable TV outlet.
A second workshop meeting will begin at 6 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 28. A public hearing will be held at 7:30 p.m. Sept. 2.
Releasing its confirmation of Woodbridge's rating, Moody's said that if 2004 revenues are raised as proposed, the budget "should restore structural stability to township financial operations, due primarily to an 11.8 percent property tax rate increase." That increase is expected to result in an $80 tax increase for the average homeowner.
Copyright 2003 NJ.com. All Rights Reserved.
4 architects will vie to design new school
Thursday, September 11, 2003
BY JIM BRUMM
For the Star-Ledger
The four architects chosen to compete for a contract to design a new high school in Perth Amboy were introduced to the city and its school system yesterday in a daylong process that ended with a public meeting.
Describing Perth Amboy's effort as "the most important (architectural) competition being run at this time in the United States," school board adviser Ralph Lerner said the visit was the beginning of a conversation between the city and the architects.
The conversation will continue when the four architects return in two months with models and drawings of the high school they would like to design, project director Ellen Shoshkes said. Those proposals will be on display at the high school for a month to give residents "a once in a lifetime opportunity to get involved" in the design process.
The four architects -- Gabriel Feld of Cambridge, Mass.; John Ronan of Chicago; Sudhir S. Jambhekar of New York and Thom Mayne of Santa Monica, Calif. -- were selected by a panel composed of four internationally recognized architects, school board President Austin Gumbs and Perth Amboy Mayor Joseph Vas.
Shoshkes said the jury is expected to select an architect in late December or early January, adding the most optimistic timetable for completion of the new school would be early in 2007.
The competition to select an architect makes Perth Amboy "unique" among the communities now building schools in New Jersey, Superintendent John Rodecker said, explaining the city had to get the permission of the state to conduct the competition.
He said state permission also was needed to proceed with a school designed to educate 3,000 students. The present high school, completed in 1972, was designed for 1,600 students but is used by about 2,000 students, Rodecker said.
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