The Good News Report

[elrodvt]

@ScottCLT, thanks for the tip on MicroCenter. I can spend hours in those places. Usually without buying anything cause I get mad at predatory markup on those urgent needs - like a cable. Have you been to one and do they do reasonable pricing or go for the throat on connectors & cables like BB?

Ever been to Akihabara district in Tokyo? Most amazing place: from 50's vacuum tubes to '22 Pi pieces it's all there and very cut throat with negotiable pricing. Used to get lost there for hours on end! 

[go_vertical]

I haven't been to the Atlanta area location in quite a few years but I do know they are known for having very competitive pricing in-store.  I believe they will often have a better price for a particular item on the shelf in comparison to even their own website.  They really want people to shop in person, partly because they know many people will end up buying more than the one thing they would have purchased online.  That's actually why so many people will make the drive to wherever they need to since just perusing the aisles is a sight to behold for tech-minded people.    Not sure if they do price matching though.

[KJHburg]

projected employment growth in NC by occupation 

[KJHburg]

Fastest growing companies in the Charlotte region according to INC Magazine.  WeCall is the fastest growing company in NC as well. 

https://www.inc.com/inc5000/2023

from the Biz Journal article  https://www.bizjournals.com/charlotte/news/2023/08/15/local-companies-2023-inc-5000-fastest-growing.html

51 area companies on the list. 

• No. 27: WeCall Media, Charlotte — 10,933%
• No. 52: Opkalla, Charlotte — 7,931%
• No. 379: Hoodsly, Denver — 1,536%
• No. 432: Zapps Wholesale, Shelby — 1,343%
• No. 457: ISI Elite Training, Charlotte — 1,263%
• No. 485: PetScreening, Mooresville — 1,205%
• No. 511: Croixstone Consulting, Charlotte — 1,149%
• No. 532: Pursuit Search Group, Matthews — 1,097%
• No. 760: Dualboot Partners, Charlotte — 777%
• No. 833: VRG Components, Indian Trail — 712%
• No. 993: Filters Delivered, Charlotte — 596%
• No. 1,022: MedShift, Charlotte — 580%
• No. 1,080: Recovery For Athletes, Charlotte — 549%
• No. 1,183: Go Healthcare Staffing, Charlotte — 501%
• No. 1,281: Oxit, Charlotte — 459%
• No. 1,519: MedChat, Charlotte — 378%
• No. 1,557: Creative Talent Endeavors, Charlotte — 368%
• No. 1,558: Bravo Team, Mooresville — 368%
• No. 1,602: SKY HVAC, Charlotte — 353%
• No. 1,629: Hylaine, Charlotte — 345%
• No. 1,832: Capstone Cos., Charlotte — 306%
• No. 1,911: Contractor Growth Network, Charlotte — 293%
• No. 1,978: Aruza, Charlotte — 283%
• No. 2,020: Nych Brands, Charlotte — 277%
• No. 2,031: MigWay, Pineville — 276%
• No. 2,085: Second Skin Audio, Charlotte — 269%
• No. 2,127: Elevate Digital, Cornelius — 264%
• No. 2,143: Zentra, Indian Trail — 262%
• No. 2,639: AIT, Cornelius — 205%
• No. 2,661: RockBox Fitness, Huntersville — 202%
• No. 2,997: TUSK Partners, Charlotte — 173%
• No. 3,051: PRESPRO Homes, Harrisburg — 170%
• No. 3,162: XenTegra, Huntersville — 163%
• No. 3,415: Crosslake, Charlotte — 146%
• No. 3,515: Ekos, Charlotte — 141%
• No. 3,542: NJR Construction, Gastonia — 139%
• No. 3,764: DCE Solar, Cornelius —126%
• No. 3,823: Renu Energy Solutions, Charlotte — 123%
• No. 4,018: Better Path Homes, Charlotte — 115%
• No. 4,058: Team Automotive Group, Charlotte — 112%
• No. 4,089: Summit Leadership Partners, Charlotte — 111%
• No. 4,309: Force Management, Charlotte — 101%
• No. 4,353: The InStore Group, Charlotte — 99%
• No. 4,420: Flores & Associates, Charlotte — 96%
• No. 4,557: Prochant, Charlotte — 91%
• No. 4,581: Society Awards, Charlotte — 90%
• No. 4,618: TEGUAR, Charlotte — 88%
• No. 4,628: Done Right Merchandising, Mooresville — 88%
• No. 4,845: Burn Boot Camp, Cornelius — 79%
• No. 4,846: Scott Brown Media Group, Charlotte — 79%
• No. 4,898: Network Essentials, Charlotte — 77%

 

[KJHburg]

NC tourism numbers are out for 2022.  NC had an another record year for tourism.   Strong resurgence noted in urban counties of the state in 2022. 

Top tourism spending counties Mecklenburg by a long shot, then Wake, Buncombe, Dare. Guilford, Brunswick, New Hanover, Durham and Forsyth and Moore county being #10. 

https://www.commerce.nc.gov/news/press-releases/2023/08/18/north-carolina-brought-record-visitor-spending-2022#:~:text=Wake ranked second with %243.0,31 percent)%2C Forsyth (%24988

Tourism revenues by county

https://partners.visitnc.com/contents/sdownload/73488/file/2022+County+Level+Visitor+Expenditures+by+Total+Expenditures.pdf

[go_vertical]

Hopefully with numbers like these we'll finally see the InterContinental get going.

[Crucial_Infra]

This is old news but I rewatched the video last night and I see we’ve grown some palm trees in Charlotte! https://www.cnbc.com/video/2023/07/11/americas-top-states-for-business-2023-is-north-carolina.html

[kermit]

Ground was broken this week on the Siemens Mobility inter-city rail car production facility in Lexington. The facility is expected to open next year.

https://railway-news.com/siemens-mobility-breaks-ground-on-manufacturing-facility-in-north-carolina/

 

[rancenc]

Looks like NC is in competition with OH for a new aviation manufacturing facility.

https://www.yahoo.com/news/joby-aviation-narrows-down-ohio-160605691.html

[JRCLT]

1 hour ago, rancenc said:

Looks like NC is in competition with OH for a new aviation manufacturing facility.

https://www.yahoo.com/news/joby-aviation-narrows-down-ohio-160605691.html

Uh-oh sounds like a repeat of history like the wright brothers if they come to NC… tested in NC but from Ohio? Lol

[TCLT]

13 hours ago, rancenc said:

Looks like NC is in competition with OH for a new aviation manufacturing facility.

https://www.yahoo.com/news/joby-aviation-narrows-down-ohio-160605691.html

They could just wait for Boom to go bust and then keep their facility warm until they do the same. There’s no viable commercial markets for 50 seat supersonic airliners or 4 passenger glorified helicopters.

[J-Rob]

Doesn't Boom already have customers? I know that doesn't mean they will be successful, but I thought United and American already agreed to purchase planes. 

https://boomsupersonic.com/partners

[TCLT]

1 hour ago, J-Rob said:

Doesn't Boom already have customers? I know that doesn't mean they will be successful, but I thought United and American already agreed to purchase planes. 

https://boomsupersonic.com/partners

They put undisclosed deposits down to secure purchase options. There’s no binding agreement to purchase planes. It was probably a couple dozen million at most and was likely considered a marketing cost. They got a ton of positive media coverage for the couple weeks after they announced it. Boom doesn’t even have a final production design. I’m very confident their planes are never flying for American or United. 

[gman430]

5 hours ago, TCLT said:

They could just wait for Boom to go bust and then keep their facility warm until they do the same. There’s no viable commercial markets for 50 seat supersonic airliners or 4 passenger glorified helicopters.

Facts. Just another waste of taypayer dollars. Can’t fix stupid in this country. At least the federal deficit is low. 

Edited August 29, 2023 by gman430

[jthomas]

8 hours ago, gman430 said:

Facts. Just another waste of taypayer dollars. Can’t fix stupid in this country. At least the federal deficit is low. 

Just curious - what government expenditures would you consider not to be a "waste of taxpayer dollars"? It's not that I'm necessarily arguing for the Boom incentives. It's just that whenever I hear that phrase, I rarely hear an alternate proposal for what the "wasted" tax dollars should be doing instead.

[TCLT]

34 minutes ago, jthomas said:

Just curious - what government expenditures would you consider not to be a "waste of taxpayer dollars"? It's not that I'm necessarily arguing for the Boom incentives. It's just that whenever I hear that phrase, I rarely hear an alternate proposal for what the "wasted" tax dollars should be doing instead.

I know that wasn't directed at me, and it was likely rhetorical given the poster you were responding to. But if we want the government to push forward technology that could make supersonic transport viable, then things like NASA's X59 research aircraft is where (more) money should go. For state economic development dollars, maybe direct them to transit projects that have a proven track record of providing a public good and increasing the tax base. If policy makers want to insist on subsidizing private companies in the aviation industry, then things like the existing fuel tax exemption are more useful to the state's economy and tax dollars could be used to support and expand businesses like North State Aviation and HAECO (right next door to Boom) which are already here and operating and providing quality jobs.

I'm completely against the public money committed to Boom though. Boom is a startup with no history of technical success, no history delivering a product to market, no experience with advance manufacturing, and no established supply chains or manufacturing partners. They're not even HQ'ed in NC and the majority of their jobs (and the highest paying ones) aren't going to people in this state. Boom is trying to bring a supersonic airliner to market with economics that would make it viable for airlines and emissions that wouldn't see it banned in places like the EU. The company was founded in a time of 0% interest rates when investors were eager to throw money at any and every moonshot idea. Yes, Boom has talented people involved. And I'll give them the benefit of the doubt that they intend to succeed, and the endeavor isn't just a vehicle for siphoning funds from investors to the execs. But they're trying to do something established players with the technical and regulatory experience, financial strength, and economies of scale necessary either can't do or deem unprofitable to do. I hope they pull it off, but we should not be handing over tax dollars to subsidize what is in all likelihood a fool's errand.

Edited August 29, 2023 by TCLT

[elrodvt]

Right, if we're going to help certain companies get started, we should prioritize those planning to solve the big problems our average citizens face (insulate homes for less?). Surely NOT technology moon shots. This was an obvious high risk low value proposition to anyone with technology experience. Especially in aviation. It likely had more to do with what county it's in and who represents it than any public good. I have 0 evidence of that, and am not a babbling conspiricy nut, but the precept is so nutty I'd bet $ an objective other than the public good has to have been the driver. 

Edited August 29, 2023 by elrodvt

[KJHburg]

this is good news the Dukes Mayo Classic game will stick around for a few more years to 2028 at least.

""Sauer Brands Inc.’s Duke’s Mayo brand is extending its sponsorship of season-opening and season-ending college football games through at least 2028, executives from the company and the Charlotte Sports Foundation told CBJ. The agreement was disclosed during this weekend’s South Carolina-North Carolina football game at BofA Stadium, known as the Duke’s Mayo Classic.

Duke’s Mayo became the title sponsor of the sports foundation’s annual opening weekend game and the December bowl game in 2020. That six-year agreement ends in 2025.""

It is very good for tourism on  a weekend many leave town for the beach and mountains.  Case in point my college roommate came down from Raleigh via Amtrak and stayed uptown at the Courtyard by Marriott.  Ate uptown and attended the game.  Even though he went with me at ECU he went to grad school at Carolina and now supports them in the major sports LOL.  

The attendance was 68,723 which is almost sold out which is fantastic. 

https://www.bizjournals.com/charlotte/news/2023/09/03/dukes-mayo-classic-bowl-college-football-sauer.html

[kayman]

4 hours ago, KJHburg said:

this is good news the Dukes Mayo Classic game will stick around for a few more years to 2028 at least.

""Sauer Brands Inc.’s Duke’s Mayo brand is extending its sponsorship of season-opening and season-ending college football games through at least 2028, executives from the company and the Charlotte Sports Foundation told CBJ. The agreement was disclosed during this weekend’s South Carolina-North Carolina football game at BofA Stadium, known as the Duke’s Mayo Classic.

Duke’s Mayo became the title sponsor of the sports foundation’s annual opening weekend game and the December bowl game in 2020. That six-year agreement ends in 2025.""

It is very good for tourism on  a weekend many leave town for the beach and mountains.  Case in point my college roommate came down from Raleigh via Amtrak and stayed uptown at the Courtyard by Marriott.  Ate uptown and attended the game.  Even though he went with me at ECU he went to grad school at Carolina and now supports them in the major sports LOL.  

The attendance was 68,723 which is almost sold out which is fantastic. 

https://www.bizjournals.com/charlotte/news/2023/09/03/dukes-mayo-classic-bowl-college-football-sauer.html

It totally makes sense for the game to have been so huge in attendance. This year's game was in the most logical location of the football rivalry of the two Carolinas flagship schools. Also the ACC, now HQ'd here there should be more neutral site football games. Hopefully, the city will be host city for future ACC regional basketball tourneys. 

[elrodvt]

That is good news but I hope the ACC even exists in 3 years. It's terrible what's going on in order to maximize football revenue right now. 

[carolinaboy]

16 hours ago, elrodvt said:

That is good news but I hope the ACC even exists in 3 years. It's terrible what's going on in order to maximize football revenue right now. 

The ACC will exist.....but a few marquee football programs will bail. But that's OK, the ACC has Stanford and Cal and SMU now (read Bay Area market, DFW market). Powerhouses I tell ya.

[Blue_Devil]

1 hour ago, carolinaboy said:

The ACC will exist.....but a few marquee football programs will bail. But that's OK, the ACC has Stanford and Cal and SMU now (read Bay Area market, DFW market). Powerhouses I tell ya.

The powerhouses are going to have trouble bailing soon, and who knows what all this looks like in 5 years when it’s more reasonable for FSU to bail. Clemson isn’t going to get a SEC offer anytime soon after the last 2 seasons

[CLT2014]

I wonder if the ACC has leverage to renegotiate their TV contract with ESPN ahead of 2036 to provide more favorable payouts. If college football increasingly converges towards the Big 10 and SEC dominating... the networks start to lose more and more leverage as the Big 10 and SEC know they have duopoly products. The conferences will easily be able to play the multiple sports networks off each other to get the biggest contract for themselves.

Thus if the ACC were to implode, the networks suffer too in the long run.... a college sports landscape resulting in LESS  conferences in a world with MORE networks / streaming partners than ever shifts all the favorability to the remaining strong conferences. The Big 10 and SEC could be marching towards the type of leverage the NFL has to negotiate TV contracts and play CBS, Fox, ESPN, NBC, Amazon/Prime, Peacock, AppleTV, YouTube TV, et.. off of each other. The ACC should work with ESPN for something more favorable for the long term viability of the conference so ESPN has something to renew / keep on the air in 2036. 

Edited September 5, 2023 by CLT2014

[KJHburg]

Charlotte is one of the few metros still with strong in migration.  Many are slowing down and some are turning negative or no growth. 

Real-Time Migration Data—30 Migration Winners and Losers (jbrec.com)

[Professor]

14 hours ago, KJHburg said:

Charlotte is one of the few metros still with strong in migration.  Many are slowing down and some are turning negative or no growth. 

Real-Time Migration Data—30 Migration Winners and Losers (jbrec.com)

Are these properly processed immigrants or all?