Bringing It Home conference encourages community business ownership

If you want to bring home the bacon, first, you’ll need to bring home the tools to succeed, say the organizers of the Bringing It Home conference. And that applies to all of us, whether you’re trying to dig your way out of personal debt or start a million-dollar business. Accordingly, this year’s conference is broadly aimed at all of us, particularly those who sometimes feel left out of the standard entrepreneurial model.

N.C. Senate bill may dissolve AdvantageW­est, Citizen-Times reports

Part of North Carolina Gov. Pat McCrory’s plans to turn the Department of Commerce into a public-private partnership that would be run like a business, Senate Bill 127 would mandate the dissolution of regional organizations like AdvantageWest and strip it of state funding. It passed a second reading in the Senate Monday night, May 13, by a 31-17 vote.a

Post-recession Buncombe still struggling­, local poverty rates surpass state and national average

After sharing 42 slides worth of charts, data and graphs, an independent economic consultant speaking to local doctors, health advocates, politicians and board members at the Feb. 22 meeting of the Buncombe County Department of Health and Human Services made a conclusion: Though the recession started five years ago, the numbers show that Buncombe County still has “a ways to go.” Highlights of the presentation, along with the full presentation, can be found in this post. (Slide image courtesy of SYNEVA Economics)