On some earlier blog I used and explained the title phrase:
Lila (LEE-lah)
anpetu (ahn-PEH-too)
waste (WASH-teh)
It is Lakota Sioux for "It is a very good day!"...and a great day Sunday was with gray skies and steady rainfall...nothing exhorbitant, mind you, but the perfect rate to maximize soaking in and minimizing run-off, the type of rain perfect for lawns, river basins, and at least some groundwater recharging. This one day won't have a long-term impact on our drought, but beggars can't be choosers, either!
A few daily precipitation records were set for December 30th in the process:
Greensboro...1.08"
Raleigh........1.92"
Charlotte......1.21"
So here we are at the last day of 2007, with everyone heading down the New Year's holiday stretch that started back at Thanksgiving for many...I have to admit I've been doing some deep cleaning and reorganizing already, which this time of year inspires me to do. Great day for it, I might add.
There is no way to segue into what I wanted to write about and share with you, so we'll just jump over the info canyon and get right to it. In the Sunday paper, there was an article written by D.G. Martin, Charlotte lawyer and host of UNC-TV's "North Carolina Bookwatch" which parlayed some updated (albeit estimated) census type info on North Carolina.
As you know, U.S. Census Bureau data comes out years after its collection, so it's nice to get a thumbnail update sketch as to what's what in The Old North State. I've pulled only some of the information, that which I found interesting if not enlightening...
(all data is 2007 or 2006 - varies)
"Just how big are we?"
State-estimated population (mid-2007):
9,061,032
(12.6 percent increase since 2000)
(U.S. growth rate: 7.2 percent.)
"The 'Big Dawg' cities"...
1. Charlotte 630,478 (2000: 540,828)
2. Raleigh 356,321 (2000: 276,093)
3. Greensboro 236,865 (2000: 223,891)
10. Asheville 72,789 (2000: 68,889)
"On auto-pilot for 2007"...
8,523,302 NC-registered automobiles
(one for almost every resident)
"Wheel of...."
13 of the Fortune 500 companies are headquartered here.
"Get a job, will ya!"...
#1 NC employer: Wal-Mart...
#2 is Duke University...
#3 is Food Lion...
"You can bank on it..."
Wachovia has the most NC bank employees
at #4 on the above employer list...
Bank of America is #6...
BB&T is #9...
"Show me the money!"
Average employee weekly wage: $718
(Federal mean wage: $1,122)
(Private industry mean wage: $711)
"Who's afraid of NC's big bad Agriculture?"
#1 commmodity: Chick-chick-chickens...
#2 is 'hogs' (close second)...
#3 is 'greenhouse/nursery' (not a close third)...
#5 is 'tobacco'...
No doubt there is serious growth still occurring all around The Tarheel State...and you really noticed it Sunday if you drove by one of the too-many recently cleared/acred developments...one could only shake his or her head at the rivers of red mud defying erosion fences and making a royal mess of roads and waterways...***sigh***...
Happy New Year, y'all!
Lila (LEE-lah)
anpetu (ahn-PEH-too)
waste (WASH-teh)
It is Lakota Sioux for "It is a very good day!"...and a great day Sunday was with gray skies and steady rainfall...nothing exhorbitant, mind you, but the perfect rate to maximize soaking in and minimizing run-off, the type of rain perfect for lawns, river basins, and at least some groundwater recharging. This one day won't have a long-term impact on our drought, but beggars can't be choosers, either!
A few daily precipitation records were set for December 30th in the process:
Greensboro...1.08"
Raleigh........1.92"
Charlotte......1.21"
So here we are at the last day of 2007, with everyone heading down the New Year's holiday stretch that started back at Thanksgiving for many...I have to admit I've been doing some deep cleaning and reorganizing already, which this time of year inspires me to do. Great day for it, I might add.
There is no way to segue into what I wanted to write about and share with you, so we'll just jump over the info canyon and get right to it. In the Sunday paper, there was an article written by D.G. Martin, Charlotte lawyer and host of UNC-TV's "North Carolina Bookwatch" which parlayed some updated (albeit estimated) census type info on North Carolina.
As you know, U.S. Census Bureau data comes out years after its collection, so it's nice to get a thumbnail update sketch as to what's what in The Old North State. I've pulled only some of the information, that which I found interesting if not enlightening...
(all data is 2007 or 2006 - varies)
"Just how big are we?"
State-estimated population (mid-2007):
9,061,032
(12.6 percent increase since 2000)
(U.S. growth rate: 7.2 percent.)
"The 'Big Dawg' cities"...
1. Charlotte 630,478 (2000: 540,828)
2. Raleigh 356,321 (2000: 276,093)
3. Greensboro 236,865 (2000: 223,891)
10. Asheville 72,789 (2000: 68,889)
"On auto-pilot for 2007"...
8,523,302 NC-registered automobiles
(one for almost every resident)
"Wheel of...."
13 of the Fortune 500 companies are headquartered here.
"Get a job, will ya!"...
#1 NC employer: Wal-Mart...
#2 is Duke University...
#3 is Food Lion...
"You can bank on it..."
Wachovia has the most NC bank employees
at #4 on the above employer list...
Bank of America is #6...
BB&T is #9...
"Show me the money!"
Average employee weekly wage: $718
(Federal mean wage: $1,122)
(Private industry mean wage: $711)
"Who's afraid of NC's big bad Agriculture?"
#1 commmodity: Chick-chick-chickens...
#2 is 'hogs' (close second)...
#3 is 'greenhouse/nursery' (not a close third)...
#5 is 'tobacco'...
No doubt there is serious growth still occurring all around The Tarheel State...and you really noticed it Sunday if you drove by one of the too-many recently cleared/acred developments...one could only shake his or her head at the rivers of red mud defying erosion fences and making a royal mess of roads and waterways...***sigh***...
Happy New Year, y'all!
4 comments:
HAPPY NEW YEAR BOB!! IT HAS BEEN A GREAT YEAR OF BLOGGING FOR YOU, KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK. LOOK FORWARD TO LOTS MORE IN 2008 !!!
HOPING FOR SOME SNOW IN 2008 AS WELL, CAN YOU WAVE YOUR MAGIC WAND ?!!
LINDA OF CHARLOTTE, NC
Why, thank you, ma'am, and I hope I don't disappoint in 2008! Surely we'll get some snow, according to my new weather gadget I just got. It's the size of a quarter. In fact, it IS a quarter. Rain on one side, snow on the other...I'd much rather have snow than ice, but we'll be riding many a marginal line for that, too.
bob
Hi Bob,
my family and i wanted to wish you a Happy New Year !! we enjoy reading your blog and hearing what you have you have to say, it has been fun this year.
Terry and Sonya of Concord, NC
Good news and bad news, Terry and Sonya...bad news is that due to my schedule and other conflicts I won't be posting another blog entry until sometime next year...good news is that will probably be tomorrow...!
Peace to all y'all,
bob
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