Gallup Daily tracking finds that 20.3% of the U.S. workforce was underemployed in March — a slight uptick from the relatively flat January and February numbers.
Read the rest of the article via Underemployment Rises to 20.3% in March.
NASHVILLE – For the third consecutive month in the fiscal year that began July 1, state tax collections fell below budgeted estimates. Finance & Administration Commissioner Dave Goetz today announced that state revenue collections for October were $698.2 million, which is 1.53% below October 2008 collections. October collections reflect consumer spending in September.
“October is the 17th consecutive month in which sales tax collections have experienced negative growth,” Goetz said. “We are extremely concerned with the year-to-date negative growth in our tax collections, but we are committed to keeping the state’s budget in balance in a responsible manner during this extraordinary national economic downturn.”
“When the nation’s economy shows a strong improvement, Tennessee will likely follow, but there’s usually a good distance of time between national and state economic trends.”
On an accrual basis, October is the third month in the 2009-2010 fiscal year.
October collections were $31.7 million less than the budgeted estimate. The general fund was under collected by $24.2 million and the four other funds were under collected by $7.5 million.
Sales tax collections were $38.6 million less than the estimate for October. The October growth rate was negative 7.80 %. Year-to-date the growth rate is negative 8.47%.
Franchise and excise combined collections for October were $11.9 million, and they were $9.6 million above the budgeted estimate of $2.3 million.
Gasoline and motor fuel collections were $2.1 million more than the budgeted estimate of $71.8 million. However, the sales tax allocation to the Transportation Equity Fund was a negative $7.8 million. The net result was a shortfall in the highway fund estimate.
Tobacco tax collections for the month were over collected by $600,000, and October collections were $25.1 million.
Inheritance and Estate taxes were under collected by $4.6 million for the month.
All other taxes were under collected by a net of $800,000.
Year-to date collections for three months were $101.3 million less than the budgeted estimate. The general fund was under collected by $88.2 million and the four other funds were under collected by $13.1 million.
The budgeted revenue estimates for 2009-2010 are based on the State Funding Board’s consensus recommendation adopted by the first session of the 106th General Assembly in May of 2009, and are available on the state’s Web site at http//www.tn.gov/finance/bud/budget.html.
Permanent closures to reduce IP’s North American capacity by 2.1 million tons
MEMPHIS, Tenn. – Oct. 22, 2009 – International Paper (NYSE: IP) today announced plans to close its paper mill and associated operations in Franklin, Va., and its containerboard mills in Pineville, La., and Albany, Ore. The company also announced it would permanently shut down the previously idled No. 3 machine at its Valliant, Okla., containerboard mill. The Valliant Mill’s other two machines will continue to operate. These permanent shutdowns will reduce the company’s North American paper and board capacity by 2.1 million tons.
“We recognize these are very difficult decisions affecting our employees, their families and the communities surrounding these mills,” said Chairman and CEO John Faraci. “We have concluded that we have excess capacity in our North American paper and packaging businesses, and these decisions will better match our supply with our expected customer demand.”
Since the onset of the global recession, the decline in demand for International Paper’s uncoated freesheet in North America has accelerated, and consequently the company has decided to further reduce its uncoated freesheet capacity.
In its containerboard and coated paperboard businesses, International Paper expects demand to resume growth as the economy rebounds. However, the company’s demand is not expected to return to 2008 levels in the near future. Therefore, permanent IP capacity closures are necessary.
The closures, which will impact about 1,600 employees, will result in permanent North American capacity reductions as follows:
Since the City of Kingsport, Tennessee is buying up real estate, I have included a sample classified ad that could be used by the city. You can see a list of properties that the city owns by clicking here. Copy the following in bold, kingsport city of and paste into the Owner Name on the Real Estate Assessment Data form.
Hint: If you are serious about selling property to the city, then it would be a good idea to become a political ally first with the City of Kingsport elected leaders.
Merriam-Webster – ally
Meaning: someone associated with another to give assistance or moral support <in trying to convince his parents to send him to soccer camp, Toby had a real ally in his coach>
Synonyms abettor (also abetter), backer, confederate, supporter, sympathizer
Related Words well-wisher; accessory, accomplice, collaborationist, collaborator; adjunct, assistant, coadjutor, helper; associate, cohort, colleague, fellow, partner; buddy, chum, companion, comrade, confidant, crony, familiar, friend, intimate, mate, pal
| Will Buy Real Estate |
| We Buy Commercial and Residential Real Estate – Fast CASH!!! Any Condition. Will Pay More $$$$$$ than It Is Worth. Have Taxpayer Money to Waste Invest. Relocation $$$$$$$ is available. Call Mayor Dennis Phillips |
Famous Quotes from the Kingsport Board of Mayor and Aldermen
Mayor Dennis Phillips – ‘We need MeadowView to keep from reducing fire, police protection, and reducing trash pick-up to every two weeks.” October 21, 2008
Mayor Dennis Phillips –“We need to annex so we don’t have to raise taxes” February 5, 2008
Alderman Munsey – “We need to do the MeadowView expansion to keep from raising taxes” September 15, 2008
Alderman Munsey – Debt is neither good or bad,” June 3, 2008
Vice Mayor Mallicote – “I do not believe all of the doom and gloom about the economy”. June 3, 2008
Mayor Dennis Phillips – “If the taxpayers wanted the city to cut the spending, then we could collect garbage every other week” June 3, 2008
Mayor Dennis Phillips – “If there were no money to spend, then you would not need politicians” October, 2007
A developer comes from another state and buys the old State Theater on Broad Street in Kingsport, Tennessee. This developer (Douglas Beatty) starts work to renovate the State Theater building and finds that with the economy and his other investments that it might be better to sell his unfinished State Theater building to the City of Kingsport.
Doug Beatty, the developer has stated that he wants to get out what he has so far paid for the building and renovations which is about $450,000. He further states that the entire cost to renovate the building would be about $900,000.
It appears that Doug Beatty is well connected with Mayor Phillips, Vice Mayor Mallicote, BMA members and the Kingsport Economic Development Board recently voted to spend nearly $10,000 to fund a study to determine the economic impact of a restored theater in downtown Kingsport.
The Kingsport Times-News reports that Bob Feathers with the Kingsport Economic Development Board believes some type of investment can occur to complete the theater project — regardless of what the economic development study shows. I guess the question is, why is the city of Kingsport spending $10,000 for a study when they are going to do what they want to do to make this developer happy.
Let the private sector take care of this. The city of Kingsport has no business bailing out someone who got in over his head. I am sure that there are many folks in Kingsport would like for the city to bail them out of their current financial situation.
During the renovation process, Doug Beatty became aware of apparently paranormal occurrences inside. According to L.E.M.U.R Paranormal Investigation website, Doug Beatty met with L.E.M.U.R and permitted an investigation.
“I need to,” he said. “I want to at least get what I’ve got in it so I can satisfy the bank note.”
The theater is now appraised at $1.6 million by private professional appraisers, and at $1 million for county tax purposes.
Beatty said work is still progressing on the theater. But he doesn’t want to invest in any more big-ticket items such as $30,000 in sheet rock or new theater seats, until he’s in a better position or the city moves forward with an acquisition.
“I’ve got two restaurants that I really have to tend to and make sure that they’re able to pay their bills and stay open. That’s really distracting me financially and time-wise from the theater,” Beatty said.
“I really want to get it done, but I’m at a point right now, because the economy has taken so long to come back, that I’m not sure how much more I can plow ahead without putting myself at risk. I want to make sure that I’m acting responsibly and cautiously as it relates to all the development we’re doing downtown,” he said.
Feathers said he believes some type of investment can occur to complete the theater project — regardless of what the economic development study shows.
“I sincerely doubt it will be dropped altogether. But you never know,” Feathers said. “Economies could drive something different from our perspective and what we’re trying to do from an economic development perspective.
“But from a priority standpoint, this is a very important component to what we see as a good fit for the community.”
The owner of the State Theater is DB3 Development Company, LLC and is North Carolina company. DB3 Development Company, LLC is listed as a FOREIGN company according to the Tennessee Secretary of State. Below is from the State of Tennessee website
Name | I.D. Number |
DB3 DEVELOPMENT COMPANY, LLC | 0533682 |
| Business Type*: | LIMITED LIABILITY COMPANY |
| Profit/Nonprofit: | FOR PROFIT |
| Status*: | ACTIVE |
| Date of Formation/Qualification: | 11/07/2006 |
| Domestic/Foreign: | FOREIGN |
| Place of Incorporation/Organization: | NC |
| Duration: | PERPETUAL |
| FYC(Fiscal Year Closing) Month: | DECEMBER |
| Principal Office: | |
| Address Line 1: | 11346 TOOLE CREEK RD |
| Address Line 2: | |
| City: | ABINGDON |
| State: | VA |
| Zip: | 242108626 |
| Other than USA: | |
| Registered Agent: | |
| Name: | DOUGLAS BEATTY |
| Address Line 1: | 501B E. MAIN ST. |
| Address Line 2: | |
| City: | KINGSPORT |
| State: | TN |
| Zip: | 376600000 |
According to Sullivan County, DB3 Development Co LLC also owns property at 227-229-23 Sullivan St. It appears that there is construction work occurring at this location and the 2008 Sullivan County property taxes are not paid.
Let your Kingsport Board of Mayor and Alderman know your concerns about bailing out one of their pals. Keep in mind the money spent to buy the State Theater will be your tax dollars.
email Kingsport BMA
Elected officials have made it difficult for those resorts that receive federal bailout money. I wonder if there are any plans to rename the Kingsport, Tennessee MeadowView Resort and Convention Center?
A perfect storm of a terrible economy, tight credit and oversupply of hotel rooms has slammed the lodging industry into an epic slump, industry operators meeting in Memphis were told Wednesday.
The thunder that only made conditions worse was when elected officials demonized business travel after some companies that received federal bailout money took lavish trips, hotel and travel business leaders said.
Since then, some hospitality companies have “literally changed the name of their property to take ‘resort’ out of the property name,
Read more via Do not disturb, lodging industry asks during Memphis meeting : Business News : Memphis Commercial Appeal.
And The Winner Is….
Virginia reclaims the title of America’s Top State for Business this year, squeezing past last year’s Top State, Texas, by a nose—just four points. Texas is still a business powerhouse—the Lone Star State still has the top Economy in the nation despite the falling price of oil, and its Transportation and Infrastructure remain second to none. But Virginia, always a solid performer across the board, managed just enough improvement in the right areas—like Economy (7 vs. 17 last year)–to regain the title it won in 2007.
Team Madison County, a regional economic development initiative led by the Jackson Area Chamber of Commerce, the Jackson Energy Authority, the city of Jackson, Madison County and the Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development lands over 400 new jobs in West Tennessee.
If report cards were assigned to industry recruitment efforts, Jackson’s Team Madison County would receive an A+, along with the notation “works well with others.” Working together is what Team Madison County is all about. Team Approach Draws Businesses to Madison County
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Tennessee Economic and Community Development Commissioner Matt Kisber today congratulated the board of directors and senior leadership of Carlisle Companies of Charlotte, North Carolina on the company’s decision to locate a new manufacturing facility in Jackson, Tenn. The facility will be operated by Carlisle Tire and Wheel, a subsidiary of Carlisle Companies and will manufacture tires, inner tubes and wheels for a variety of vehicles used in the agricultural, all-terrain vehicle, golf, industrial, lawn/garden and trailer markets. The project represents a multi-million dollar investment by Carlisle Tire and Wheel and is expected to create approximately 440 new jobs. The acquisition of the new facility is subject to confirmatory due diligence and is expected to close in late September.
“The people of Tennessee are very grateful to Carlisle Tire and Wheel for the company’s investment in the Jackson community and their confidence in the workers of West Tennessee,” said Commissioner Kisber. “The close collaboration between the state of Tennessee and Team Madison County is yielding results and I’m convinced we’ll continue to see additional investment in the region.”
Continue reading “Multi-Million Dollar Capital Investment to Create Over 400 New Jobs in West TN” »
| I wonder why there are no East Tennessee companies getting grants? Could it be that they are smarter or is there another reason that Governor Bredesen is ignoring East Tennessee? |
10 companies awarded grants, training 1365 employees:
NASHVILLE – Governor Phil Bredesen and Tennessee Department of Labor & Workforce Development Commissioner James Neeley have recently awarded $926,508 in recovery training grants to 10 companies across the state. These grants, which are funded by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, will provide training to 1365 employees.
“Recovery Act training focuses on core skill improvements such as leadership, product technical training, computer skills, and new equipment training,” said Bredesen. “These training grants help the employer strengthen their position, which we hope will minimize the impact on employees until the economy improves.”
The maximum grant amount a for-profit company can receive is $100,000 with a required 25 percent minimum match. The program began on April 1, 2009, and will run though June 30, 2010. This is not a pilot program and will not be renewed after the Recovery Act funding has been expended.
The Tennessee Economic Recovery Training Grant is funded by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act and administered by the Workforce Development division within the Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development, the Local Workforce Investment Area, and the local Career Center.
Below is a list of the 10 companies awarded recovery training grants.
| Company | Employees Trained | Grant $ | Location |
| 1. AO Smith Water Products Co | 20 | $85,000 | Ashland City |
| 2. American Healthways Services | 275 | $94,000 | Franklin |
| 3. Robert Bosch LLC | 171 | $100,000 | Clarksville |
| 4. J-Dak, Inc. | 50 | $100,000 | Springfield |
| 5. Linatex Corp. of America | 76 | $78,000 | Gallatin |
| 6. Trane | 259 | $100,000 | Clarksville |
| 7. La-Z-Boy | 90 | $100,000 | Dayton |
| 8. Perma-Pipe Inc. | 143 | $93,000 | Lebanon |
| 9. MetoKote Corporation | 14 | $100,000 | Lebanon |
| 267 | $72,000 | Nashville |
It was announced on July 6, 2009 that Apple Computer will build a $1 billion data center in Maiden, NC. North Carolina had recently changed its tax law to lure Apple and guided Apple in its site selection areas.
Maiden’s population is around 3,439 and is located in Catawba County, NC and is south of Hickory, NC and is in the Hickory-Lenoir MSA area.
What is amazing about this deal is that the Catawba County Economic Development Corporation went after the data center business. They marketed the area as a data center area and even had their own website promoting their data center sites. www.datacentersites.com. They were able to provide the details that a data center would need and offered many locations.
Lenoir, NC, was able get a $600 million Google data center that opened last year that will employ over 200 people.
The area was once known for furniture making, an industry that has taken a hit because of low-wage competition from overseas. I am very familiar with the Lenoir-Hickory area and have seen the reduction in furniture making and the effect that it had on the local economy. I have seen the major impact that it had on retail stores as they closed their doors. Now I see a renewed retail environment with new retail stores opening up. See link, Google, Lenoir try to adapt to one another
In June, 2009, Ethan Allen, a furniture maker announced that it would add 302 new jobs to its existing 540 employees that it has in Maiden, NC.
Both Apple and Google will pay much higher wages and this should have a impact on the local economy and the house price appreciation rank for Hickory-Lenoir-Morganton, NC is 35 in the nation while Kingsport MSA area is 44.
I might add that Apple and Google did not wait for a Higher Education Center to be built and local people have gone back to school on their own to get the education in hopes to land a job at Google or Apple.
This is great news for North Carolina, but what have our Tennessee elected officials done to spur economic development in East Tennessee? North Carolina and Virginia are both going after the data center business and have incentives to attract data center projects.
MAIDEN – Weeks of speculation ended Monday as Apple Inc. announced plans to build its new $1 billion East Coast data center here.
The California-based technology giant will build the 500,000-square-foot facility at the 183-acre WestStar Mission Critical Business Park off Startown Road near its intersection with U.S. 321.
The data center will employ at least 50 people in full-time information technology positions.
Mike Foulkes, Apple’s director of state and local government affairs, said the company will fill those positions with local people if possible.
Gov. Beverly Perdue’s office has estimated the data center could generate another 250 jobs for people providing services to the plant and more than 3,000 related jobs for the region surrounding the site.
Grading on the project could begin in August, with construction completed and the first employees hired in late 2010.
