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Toyota factory ready to start deliveries

Toyota’s $13.9 billion battery factory near Liberty will start shipping product in April, company CFO Yoichi Miyazaki said Wednesday as he and other executives reported on Toyota’s third-quarter earnings. The factory “has finished preparations for production,” Miyazaki said, making an announcement somewhat overshadowed by another move Toyota unveiled during as...

By Ray Gronberg

February 6, 2025

A bacon, egg and cheese to go, please

When I go home to Los Angeles, one of the very first things I do is go to In-N-Out for a burger. When I vacationed in New York City last summer, a visit to a bagel shop was high on the agenda. When in Rome, as they say. Soon enough,...

By Ray Gronberg

February 6, 2025

Herding senators

Judging from Tuesday morning, it’s easier to herd cats than to herd senators. Every biennium, legislative staff have to refresh the official portrait of each House and Senate member. This task is underway, and in key points throughout the capitol, there are posters urging the elected to cooperate by presenting...

By Ray Gronberg

February 5, 2025

More bad luck for Henderson County

Sen. Tim Moffitt, R-Henderson, reports that his county’s already hurricane-battered agriculture sector took another blow on Jan. 31 when Apple Wedge Packers & Cider burned down. Henderson County is the center of apple production in North Carolina, accounting for about 85% of the state’s crop, County Extension Director Terry Kelley...

By Ray Gronberg

February 5, 2025

Another Helene relief bill in the works

House members are preparing what would become the fourth hurricane-relief bill legislators have considered since Hurricane Helene laid waste to western North Carolina last Sept. 27. House Bill 47 would move another $500 million into the state’s Hurricane Helene Disaster Recovery Fund, the account legislators use to stockpile aid money...

By Ray Gronberg

February 5, 2025

Stein’s hurricane request

Gov. Josh Stein asked legislators to release $1.1 billion from the state’s reserves to fund an assortment of hurricane-relief efforts in western North Carolina through the summer. Stein said the state faces “dire and immediate” recovery needs that can’t wait on larger flows of federal aid to begin arriving. “We...

By Ray Gronberg

February 4, 2025

NC Chamber staying neutral in tariff battle

The NC Chamber isn’t joining its national counterpart in condemning the federal government’s prospective deployment of new tariffs against Canada, Mexico and China. “Like the rest of the country, our membership includes varying perspectives on tariffs,” NC Chamber President Gary Salamido said Monday. “One thing is certain though. People are...

By Ray Gronberg

February 4, 2025

Trade war with Canada

The weekend’s other big news, of course, was President Trump’s declaration of economic warfare against Canada and Mexico. Trump invoked the Carter-era International Emergency Economic Powers Act to slap 25% tariffs on most products from the two neighboring counties that will go into effect on Tuesday. His order singled out...

By Ray Gronberg

February 3, 2025

Hurricane relief

The N.C. Office of Recovery and Resiliency needs $217 million more from the General Assembly to finish the job of rebuilding homes Down East damaged or destroyed by Hurricanes Matthew and Florence, its boss says. Testifying before a joint House-Senate oversight panel on Thursday, former Rep. Pryor Gibson said an...

By Ray Gronberg

February 3, 2025

Stein aides warn of federal-aid tangles out west

Thursday’s hearing also gave the oversight subcommittee, the senators on it especially, its first chance to hear from Gov. Josh Stein’s point people on western North Carolina’s recovery from Hurricane Helene. Gubernatorial adviser Jonathan Krebs and Commerce Department Deputy Secretary Stephanie McGarrah emphasized that the administration intends to do things...

By Ray Gronberg

February 3, 2025

Tragedy at Reagan National

Like many of you, I’m interested to see what investigators ultimately determine as the cause of Wednesday night’s mid-air collision between an American Airlines commuter jet and a U.S. Army Blackhawk helicopter in Washington, D.C. There are some resources I’d commend to your attention. The complexities of the airspace around...

By Ray Gronberg

February 3, 2025

Hurricane recovery update

Gov. Josh Stein’s Helene-recovery team spent much of a Wednesday hearing with a House oversight committee trying to manage expectations about how much and how quickly western North Carolina can bounce back from last fall’s storm. Given an almost $60 billion need, and only about $15.7 billion currently likely to...

By Ray Gronberg

January 30, 2025

A trade war warning

The board chair of a Canadian car-parts maker that has four facilities in North Carolina has issued a dire warning about the impact of a potential U.S.-Canada trade war. If “10% or 25% or, in my opinion, almost anything in the way of tariffs is imposed on auto parts crossing...

By Ray Gronberg

January 30, 2025

Jet maker expanding Asheville factory

Recruiters used a $5.8 million incentive package to convince RTX subsidiary Pratt & Whitney to expand its jet-engine parts factory in Buncombe County. The company’s pledged to add 325 jobs and invest $285 million in the project, which Gov. Josh Stein’s office calls “a significant vote of confidence in western...

By Ray Gronberg

January 29, 2025

Cars, exotic and otherwise

Car dealer and race team owner Rick Hendrick has agreed via an auction to pay $3.7 million for the first 2025 Chevrolet Corvette ZR-1 that GM’s made available for sale. The proceeds are going to the American Red Cross, while the car (and its 1,064-horsepower engine) will become part of...

By Ray Gronberg

January 28, 2025