UNC-TV Reports

Medicago:

2011-06-30T14:56:00.002-04:00

For sixty years scientists have used chicken eggs to make flu vaccines. The process is reliable but slow and expensive. North Carolina is home to a new biotech facility that will soon be making vaccines not with eggs, but tobacco leaves. The $42 million dollar processing plant will allow the government to respond more quickly to flu pandemics.

North Carolina knows something about growing tobacco. According to the N.C. Department of Agriculture, as of 2009 tobacco was still the number one cash crop with more than 4,100 pounds produced and an economic impact of more than $7billion. The tobacco industry has historically been important for agribusiness but it’s also true that cigarettes made from tobacco have well known health risks. New cigarette labels recently approved by the Food and Drug Administration will carry warnings such as “Cigarettes cause cancer,” and “Smoking can kill you.” According to data from the NC Division of Public Health, the number of deaths attributable to tobacco in North Carolina would equal about two fully loaded passenger aircraft crashing each week with no survivors.

What’s ironic is the same tobacco leaves that make cigarettes have a very promising and healthy biotech future. Scientists have figured out that the hardy, fast growing, porous plant is ideal for making vaccines. Tobacco is ideal because it’s cheap to grow and can yield large amounts of vaccine in a matter of weeks instead of several months under the egg method. The emergence of the H1N1 flu strain in 2009 after the flu vaccine supply had already been produced highlighted the flaws of egg vaccine production.

Medicago, a Canadian biotech company, is teaming up with DARPA, Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, part of the U.S. Department of Defense to develop the new tobacco based vaccine system. DARPA conducts research to protect soldiers from infectious diseases and is also concerned about the government’s ability to react quickly to a bioterrorist attac

For several years vaccine companies have tried a variety of techniques in harvesting vaccines in everything from caterpillars to dog kidney cells. Unlike animal parts, which might contain pathogens harmful to humans, plants have distinct advantages. Tobacco made vaccine is about a quarter of the cost of traditional egg vaccines and three times as fast to produce.

First, scientists engineer bacteria to carry the latest flu markers and wash them over the tobacco plants. The bacteria dump the DNA into the plant’s cells, which follow it’s instructions to churn out the flu protein. Technicians then grind up the leaves to extract the protein. Injected into a person, the protein works like any vaccine, training the body to attack the flu virus.

You could say tobacco is turning a new leaf in North Carolina, giving tobacco new life in our state—with very promising health benefits.

NC International Agriculture Opportunity

2011-05-25T12:42:00.004-04:00

It’s all about relationships- even in agriculture.

The North Carolina Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services wants buyers in China to pick Tar Heel products. To help build relationships with international buyers, North Carolina is spending $15,000 to open its own trade office in Beijing. It seems you have to be there if you want to push your products.

Paul Chang is North Carolina’s Chief Agriculture Representative in China. He says building relationships makes North Carolina more proactive.

It means a lot of travel time for NC Agriculture Commissioner Steve Troxler. Buyers he says, expect to see him. Troxler adds that Chinese culture puts a lot of value on his position and the fact he would take the time to come personally to China instead of sending someone to represent him.

Even the formality of business cards is important. North Carolina farmers who recently went on a trade mission to China had special cards made up and learned how to hold and present the cards properly when they were introduced.

It makes sense when you think about it. When I need any kind of service, I call who I know. And I call who I trust. Relationships count. You can’t put a monetary value on them, but we know they matter.

Peter Thornton, Assistant Director for International Marketing wants exporters to call on North Carolina for all their agriculture products. Thornton spends a lot of time building relationships with farmers at home too. Sometimes he must convince them how much value their products really hold and why they too should pursue relationships abroad.

Consider these numbers from the NC Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services web site for a better take on the value of North Carolina agriculture to some of the state’s most impoverished counties.

*More Information from the NC AG web site:
North Carolina improves to 11th in the United States in terms of exporting. The total value of NC Agriculture Exports, not including lumber exports, exceeded $2.8 billion in 2009. Agricultural exports help boost farm prices and income, while supporting about 35,907 jobs both on the farm and off the farm in food processing, storage, and transportation.

Source: Economic Research Service, United States Department of Agriculture
http://www.ers.usda.gov/Data/StateExports/
Note: USDA Information above does not include forestry exports.

What may surprise you is that right now North Carolina exports most goods to Japan. But with China’s expected growth, the push is on to nurture and grow relationships in one of the world’s fastest growing countries with the idea of helping farm counties here at home in North Carolina.

Source: Wiser Trade Data Base
Based on HS Codes 01-53

Opportunities to Fly:

2011-05-23T13:13:00.000-04:00

I laughed when Lindsey Crisp said, “We can’t all cut each others lawns.” But there’s a lot of truth to what the President and CEO of Carver Machine Works jokes about. While the service industry is important, it’s economically critical to have companies that make something. Unfortunately, some of North Carolina’s 85 rural communities’ largest employers are the areas’ schools systems and local hospitals.

Crisps’ company does make a lot of components. And they’re an important employer in rural Beaufort County. Carver used to depend on repairing pulp and paper machinery. But as that industry shrinks, Carver employees have found a way to survive in todays evolve or die economy.

Today, aerospace components account for 25 per cent of the company’s business. Three years ago that number was zero. Military contracts are key, Crisp explains as he shares a recent photo. Like a proud papa, he shows pictures of a large metal looking piece of military defense equipment called an Aerostat made at this small business. Precise fusion welding certification called NADCAP or National Aerospace and Defense Contractors Accreditation Program helped Carver find its way into the US Defense industry.

Military contracts and military jobs are an important part of the state’s economy.

According to the North Carolina Department of Commerce:

+8 percent of total state employment is either directly employed by the military or Coast Guard, or have jobs that are supported by military installations in North Carolina.

+Military growth is expected to increase North Carolina’s Gross

Domestic Product by $2.9 billion by the year 2013. And some 49 Thousand additional jobs are expected by that same year due to increased military activity.

You may not recognize the impact in your community, at least at first. I must admit I’ve drived by Carver thousands of times and never knew what was happening behind those metal walls. Little did I know the small company had evolved from a family business to a company making parts for big name companies like Raytheon and Spirit Aerosystems.

During a recent visit, employees shared that they’re proud what they’re doing can save American lives. The piece of equipment they recently finished is going to Afghanistan. In return, some North Carolina employees are learning the defense industry can save American manufacturing jobs.

PASSIONATE ABOUT CUSTOMERS

2011-05-23T13:09:00.001-04:00

PASSIONATE ABOUT CUSTOMERS

You can say I’ve traveled the roads less traveled over the past 3 years. I’m visiting the most rural, most economically challenged counties in North Carolina. The one thing I notice about the small business owners I interview is their passion. Sure it’s the all important profit that ultimately determines whether they will make it, but it’s their drive that stands out the most.

Bob Hege owner of Meadows Mills Grist Mills in North Wilkesboro is passionate about customer service. Under his direction, company reps log every sale, every piece of equipment. And when sales representatives recognize the customer hasn’t called in a while to reorder, a company representative will call and find out why.

Customer service is critical to Steve and wife Sandy Forest of the Brushy Mountain Bee Farm too. And business is booming. Help lines and internet assistance help users select products. The Forests have learned if customers are successful in setting up their bee hives- the company will be successful too. To quote an overused movie line... “Help me… help you.”

These passionate business owners understand if they care about your business, you will care about their company.

Foothills Connect

2011-04-27T11:44:00.001-04:00

Tim Will retired from a career as a telecommunications systems analyst when he moved to Rutherfordton, NC at age 58. It was the film, The Last of the Mohicans that inspired him. Captivated by the unspoiled beauty, he left Miami and headed to the Appalachian Mountains.

He was surprised to learn that due to its rural nature, more that 85% of Rutherford County had no access to high speed Internet. Working with Foothills Connect Business and Technology Center, and the help of a $1.5 million grant, he wired the county with broadband and started connecting farmers to restaurants and individual consumers in the area with a specially designed online Farmers Fresh Market. For his efforts, Will was awarded the Purpose Prize, which recognizes people who use the “second chapter” of their lives to benefit others in innovative ways.

Will is very passionate about what he does. He’s convinced it’s not big factories that are going to revive this economically challenged part of the state, but small businesses called farms. While Rutherford County may lack in jobs, it has plenty of farmland. Six thousand families own between 5 and 20 acres of land and Will sees that land as the county’s richest resource.

The idea behind the Farmers Fresh Market system is to provide fresh, locally grown food to consumers while allowing farmers to see larger profit margins. The system reduces administration time for farmers and streamlines the transportation process. Foothills provides pick-up and delivery on a local route, enabling them to move more produce to more locations than individual growers could manage by themselves.

Will’s epiphany on how to reinvent the food distribution system was quite serendipitous. When he moved to Rutherford County he learned that his cousin was a chef 70 miles away in Charlotte. When they met up Will told him he thought it was strange that there was so much vacant farmland where he lived but nobody farming it. His cousin complained about how hard it was to get fresh food. Typically 90 percent of all the food takes two weeks to get through the system. It was that conversation that made Will realize there was supply and demand, but there needed to be a better system to connect buyers and sellers. He was able to recruit a roster of restaurants willing to add local produce to their menu and he persuaded farmers to grow unfamiliar items like Shitake mushrooms and heirloom tomatoes. Within two years he had 70 farmers enrolled.

When it comes to the industrialized farm system in the U.S., Will doesn’t have many positive things to say. He believes it’s wasteful and inefficient. He says what’s been developed since World War II is a hierarchical and petro-chemically dependent food system that is extremely vulnerable especially as gas prices continue to rise.

Will could have moved to Rutherford County and just sat back and enjoyed his retirement. Instead he looked around, saw a need and got to work. Another four million dollar grant is allowing him to spread the Foothills Connect model to Rockingham, Stokes Caswell, Guilford and Forsyth counties.

SCOTLAND COUNTY INNOVATION:

2011-04-26T11:24:00.001-04:00

What HELP?
Do you know what programs are available to help displaced workers or small businesses survive this difficult economy?

Here are a few NC Rising has highlighted.

GATE Program:

GATE stands for: Growing America Through Entrepreneurship.
North Carolina is one of four states participating in this program for displaced workers in the state’s 85 rural communities. The US Department of Labor is picking up the tab on the program expected to end later this year, 2011. The idea is to help laid off workers become their own boss. GATE counselors help participants develop business plans and then coach these would be entrepreneurs through the challenging stages of opening or expanding a business. Along with the advice, some microenterprise loans are available.

The program is offered at the Small Business Centers at eight different NC Community Colleges: Isothermal, Lenoir, Randolph, Richmond, Robeson, Rockingham, Surry, Western Piedmont. Virtual sites are also available with counselors providing help by phone.

1-888-962-4283
www.ncprojectgate.org

CAP Program:

CAP stands for Capital Access Loans.

The idea behind this federal program to is to help existing or start up businesses that might not typically qualify-- get loans and in turn, grow the state’s economy.
Businesses with fewer than 500 employees are eligible to borrow up to 5 Million Dollars.Businesses pay an extra fee to the fund to help cover these higher risk loans.

North Carolina was the first state to offer one of these loans. A Lincolnton logging company took advantage of the opportunity to expand their business. North Carolina will be able to loan up to 800 Million Dollars thanks to this program. The North Carolina Rural Center is in charge of administering the loans over the next two years.

Here’s a list from the Rural Center’s web site of the banks who are participating so far:

Anson Bank & Trust

Bank of Stanly

BB&T

Cabarrus Bank and Trust

Carolina Trust Bank

Citizens South Bank

Community Bank of Rowan

East Carolina Bank

First Citizens Bank

First National Bank of Shelby

Forest Commercial Bank
Great State Bank

KeySource Commercial Bank

Lumbee Guaranty Bank

Macon Bank

Mountain Biz Capital

N.C. Minority Support Center

North State Bank

Randolph Bank & Trust

Select Bank & Trust

SoundBank

Southern Community Bank & Trust

The Little Bank

Contact the NC Rural Center for more information:
(919) 250-4314
www.ncruralcenter.org

Certified Entrepreneurial Communities

2011-04-12T12:10:00.001-04:00

In Western North Carolina the rate of entrepreneurial startups is higher than the state average. In 2007 Advantage West, a regional economic development agency, created the Certified Entrepreneurial Community (CEC) program. After mentoring individual entrepreneurs, Advantage West wanted a program that would help entire communities foster a climate of entrepreneurism. CEC developed the first program of its kind in the country to certify communities as “entrepreneur ready”.

Haywood County was the first to receive the designation in 2008. Haywood has a long history of recognizing the value of entrepreneurship. In 1985 the county developed the first small business incubator in North Carolina. Haywood Community College was the first in the country to implement a REAL program, Rural Entrepreneurship through Action Learning, which provides hands-on entrepreneurship education. The school was also the first community in the state to create a two-year entrepreneurial degree program.

Youth engagement is an integral part of the CEC program. Advantage West along with Western Carolina University, Appalachian State University and local technology company , DigitalChalk created a collegiate competition, Juicy Ideas, to encourage the innovative talents of young people and retain them in the region. The program has since become a national competition supported by Google.

The CEC certificate guarantees that a community has the resources in place to support entrepreneurship. The five step certification process includes:

· Assurance that the community is committed to the process
· Assessment of the community’s current entrepreneurial landscape
· Creation of a comprehensive strategy for entrepreneurial growth
· Commitment of the community’s entrepreneurial resources
· Identification and nurturing of the community’s most promising entrepreneurial talents

The certification process typically takes 18 months to two years. The application is reviewed by a committee made up of leaders from the U.S. Small Business Administration, the N.C. Small Business and Technology Development Council, Banking and Finance Executive, Venture Capitalist, as well as two entrepreneurial companies and Advantage West Board Directors.

Since the program began six Western North Carolina counties, along with the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, have become CEC certified communities. To learn more about the program visit http://www.awcec.com/.

Blue Ridge Food Ventures

2011-04-04T10:10:00.001-04:00

At Blue Ridge Food Ventures no one is going to tell you starting your own business is easy. In fact, Executive Director Mary Lou Surgi warns every budding entrepreneur who comes through her door not to quit their day job. She knows plenty of people have family recipes which everyone loves and raves about, but turning Grandma’s chocolate cake into bonafide business is no easy task. Surgi isn’t a dream killer, just a realist and part of Blue Ridge’s mission is to help people with product development and ultimately a strategy to sell products successfully.

Blue Ridge is located on the Asheville-Buncombe Technical Community College campus. People will drive several hours to take advantage of the 11,000 square foot industrial kitchen. Clients come from as far away as Charlotte, South Carolina and Virginia. Each month about 20-30 people rent the space for an hourly fee. The facility is open 24 hours a day, seven days a week, turning out a variety of products, everything from organic sauerkraut to bamboo pickles.

Along with the commercial kitchen, Blue Ridge now has a natural products manufacturing facility that allows individuals to grind herb and plant materials to make herbal extracts. It’s part of an effort to develop the natural products industry in Western North Carolina and attract new businesses to the area.

Since Blue Ridge opened, six additional shared-use kitchens have been created across North Carolina. Here is where you can find them:

Anson Community Kitchen
ansonkitchen.org
Wadesboro
(704) 272-5457
A 900-square-foot, commercial-quality kitchen for caterers, farmers, and food entrepreneurs, the kitchen is located at South Piedmont Community College’s Lockhart-Taylor Center.

Eastern Carolina Food Ventures Incubator Kitchen
jamessprunt.edu/kitchen.html
Warsaw
(910) 293-2001
This venture is a collaboration between James Sprunt Community College and Duplin and Pender counties.

Madison Farms Value-Added Center
madisonfarms.org
Marshall
(828) 649-2411
Operated by the Madison County Cooperative Extension Office, the center provides local growers a place to wash, sort, process, and package produce on a large scale.

Piedmont Food and Agricultural Processing Center
orangecountyfarms.org
Hillsborough
A joint effort by Alamance, Chatham, Durham, and Orange counties.

Rockingham Community Kitchen
rockinghamkitchen.org
Madison and Wentworth
(336) 342-7853
This food incubator is run by the Rockingham County Cooperative Extension, with the county’s Business and Technology Center providing training and consultin.

Stecoah Valley Cultural Arts Center Kitchen
stecoahvalleycenter.com
Robbinsville
(828) 479-1466
Part of a multipurpose community center in Robbinsville, this renovated former school cafeteria is now home to caterers, cooks, and classes.

To learn more about Blue Ridge Food Ventures visit:

www.blueridgefoodventures.org

How Ethanol is Made

2011-03-01T12:58:00.008-05:00

Dry mill production of ethanol is composed of eight steps.

1. Milling The feedstock (usually corn, but can be a variety of other materials, including milo, wheat, sugar cane, beets, etc.) is passed through a hammer mill, which pulverizes it into fine particles, called meal.

2. Liquefaction The meal is mixed with water and an enzyme called alpha-amylase, which helps break down the meal further, into individual molecules. It is then passed through cook tanks, where the starch molecules from the meal are liquefied from the actions of the enzyme and from heat. The cook temperature usually ranges from 250° F to 300° F. The liquefied meal is now called "mash", and is held at around 200° F, which reduces bacterial buildup while the mash is in holding.

3. Saccharification The mash from the cook tanks is then cooled, and a second enzyme called gluco-amylase is added. This enzyme breaks down the starches in the mash into simpler molecules of sugars. The type of sugar created from this process is called dextrose.

4. Fermentations Yeast is now added to the mash to ferment the sugars. Fermentation breaks down the sugar molecules into ethanol, a liquid, and carbon dioxide, a gas. When the fermentation process is complete, the "mash" is now referred to as "beer." It is stored in a beer well before transfer to the next stage.

5. Distillation The beer is about 10% alcohol by volume, and is not completely liquid. It also contains all the solids from the original feedstock (corn, milo, etc.) and from the added yeast. It is pumped from the beer well into a multi-column distillation system, which removes the alcohol from the beer by distillation. Basically, distillation utilizes the differences in the evaporating points of ethanol and water. This causes the gas to condense back to liquid form, and contains a much higher percentage of ethanol than the original beer. This liquid condensate is then passed to the next distillation column in the series, where the process is repeated. By the time the product reaches the final distillation column, it is 96% ethanol, or 190 proof. The residue from distillation, called stillage, is pumped from the bottom of these distillation columns to the co-product processing area. (See 8, below.)

6. Dehydration The 190 proof ethanol is then passed through a molecular sieve, which removes remaining water that was not eliminated in distillation. Following dehydration, the ethanol is 200 proof and is referred to as anhydrous ethanol, which means "ethanol without water".

7. Denaturation The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms (The ATF), requires any alcohol used for fuel be denatured, or un-drinkable. To render the ethanol unfit for human consumption, 2-5% gasoline is added to the ethanol.

8. Co-Product Processing There are two main co-products created during the ethanol production process. The first is carbon dioxide. During fermentation, as the yeast "eat" the sugar, they not only create ethanol, but they also release large amounts of carbon dioxide gas. This gas can be captured, purified, compressed, and sold. It is used primarily in the food processing industry for carbonated beverages, and also for use in the flash-freezing of meat.

The stillage (the solids that remain after distillation) is sent through a centrifuge to remove excess liquid. This works much like the spin cycle of your washing machine. The liquid that is separated out is sent back into the process, and the remaining solids are referred to as "distillers grains". Wet distillers grains (WDG) are transferred directly from the centrifuge to a wet cake pad, where they are transferred primarily to local feedlots and dairies for use as a cattle ration. While the shelf life of this product is rather limited, several companies are marketing preservatives proven to significantly extend the product.

Hoke Community Forest | NC RISING Reporter's Notes

2011-02-08T16:22:00.001-05:00

While this is the first project of its kind in North Carolina, community forestry as been used successfully in the past in developing countries to engage local residents in planning, management and stewardship activities on public forestlands and natural areas. These collaborative efforts have helped improve forest management, reduce environmental stewardship costs and generate economic benefits for communities.

The Conservation Fund believes an integrated approach to environmental protection and economic development will help alleviate some of the issues Hoke County is facing.

In addition to protecting forestland in the area, the community forest and associated projects will:

· Reduce Military Base Encroachment: Located only one mile from Fort Bragg, the Hoke Community Forest will ensure this area remains undeveloped.

· Endangered Species Restoration: Restoring the longleaf pine system to the site will expand the red-cockaded woodpecker habitat in the area.

· Recreation Opportunities: Trails for walking, bike riding and horseback riding. Camp sites, fishing and canoe access points and environmental education stations.

· Sustainable Rural Economic Development: A long-term management plan will include sustainable timber harvesting, pine straw raking, meat goat production, bee propagation and eco-tourism opportunities, providing much needed revenue streams to the county.

· Water Quality Protection: A forested parcel will greatly reduce the amount of polluted storm water that reaches Rockfish Creek, which runs through the site.

· Promotion of Alternative Energy Sources: Two abandoned landfill sites located near the community forest may provide the possibility of tapping the landfills’ methane as an alternative energy source.

· Conservation-Based Affordable Housing: The Conservation Fund is working with its partners to develop an affordable housing project on adjoining southern parcels of the property. This will provide much needed affordable housing for residents and military personnel as well as ensure that larger forested areas are protected and remain contiguous.

Learn more about the Conservation Fund and Hoke Community Forest.

-Christine Rogers, Producer

Duplin Winery | NC RISING Reporter's Notes

2011-02-08T16:02:00.001-05:00

When most people think of wine, they think Cabernet or Chardonnay, and they likely think of wine country in Napa Valley, California or Burgundy, France. Muscadine wines from Rose Hill, North Carolina probably don’t make the top of the list in familiarity, but if Duplin Winery has its way, that will soon change.

Admittedly, I was one of those people who didn’t know much about North Carolina’s history of winemaking. I was surprised to learn that at one time, early in United States history, North Carolina was the largest grape grower and wine maker in the country. The Civil War and prohibition ended that dominance, but here we are one hundred years later and what was old is new again and Duplin Winery is leading the way as the largest winery in the south. .

The Scuppernong grape, a variety of muscadine grape, is the official state fruit for North Carolina. It was the first grape ever actively cultivated in the United States, named for the Scuppernong River which runs from Washington County to the Albemarle Sound. The oldest vine in America is the Mother vine on the Outer Banks believed to be over 400 years old. Duplin produced the Mother Vine Wine, the first wine produced in over 100 years from the ancient vine.

Another interesting fact about the Scuppernong is it was one of Thomas Jefferson’s favorites. He planted some of the vines at his Monticello home. I’m told our forefathers enjoyed sweet wines—and let me just say if you aren’t familiar with muscadine wines they are sweet.

The reintroduction of grape growing, and in particular wine making, was not universally embraced by those in eastern North Carolina. Back in the 1970’s when the Fussell family started Duplin Winery the locals called it the “Factory of Liquid Sin”. There’s a lot of irony in this story for me because when you meet founder David Fussell, Senior you quickly discover that he is obviously a man of deep faith. He told me he prayed about what to do and he says he kept at it, despite facing bankruptcy and foreclosure, because he says a voice told him,” Someday you’re going to help a lot of people.” Well, if you consider the number of jobs he’s providing and the number of farmers and families who depend on the winery for their livelihood, that prediction held true.

What he foresees now is even more jobs thanks to the research that suggests possible health benefits from the anti-oxidants found in wine. He believes nutraceuticals made from the seeds and skins of the muscadine have great potential. When 60 Minutes did a story about the possible health benefits of red wine the wine market exploded. The Fussell’s admit they benefitted greatly from the so called “French Paradox”. How is it that a population that eats a high fatty diet actually enjoys low blood pressure and low cholesterol levels? C’est le vin! It’s the wine of course. Well, at least that’s the theory.

Like any successful entrepreneur, Mr. Fussell is never satisfied. He’s always thinking about what he can do next. And he has plans and projects that he hopes will translate into more jobs and more tourism dollars for Duplin County. He is a man of boundless energy, ideas and great stories. He makes analogies between his vineyards and life. A young vineyard he says is “like a young child that requires a great deal of care but prepares it for a lifetime.” Or he’ll tell you grapes are good crops to grow because they teach you a lot about life. “Every year you have to prune them and I’ve found out during life the Lord has to prune us too cause we’ll pick up bad habits.”

As travelers from the north head down I-95 the Fussell’s hope they will be intrigued enough to stop in for a tour and a tasting. Eventually when he builds his hotel and spa he hopes they might stick around for healthy cooking classes and maybe even a massage. When David Fussell looks at his wine glass it’s definitely half full.

-Christine Rogers, Producer

Clean Burn Fuels | NC RISING Reporter's Notes

2011-01-12T13:57:00.000-05:00

From a distance it’s hard to tell what the maze of smokestacks and spinning drums are in Raeford. As you get closer the smell emanating in the air is a giveaway that what’s cooking here smells a lot like alcohol and in fact that’s exactly what it is—just not the kind you want to drink. Clean Burl Fuels is North Carolina’s first ethanol plant. Ethanol, also known as ethyl alcohol is the same chemical compound found in many alcoholic beverages, but the kind produced at Clean Burn is a flammable, colorless, odorless renewable alternative fuel.

The processing for ethanol is essentially the same as what is done for alcoholic beverages, but because alcoholic beverages will be consumed by people, the overall processing is more sterile and additional filtering is carried out to purify the ethanol. This additional purification can add up to $0.50 per gallon to the cost of producing drinking alcohol versus fuel alcohol. Ethanol is processed just to point that it can be used as a fuel; therefore, ethanol is cheaper to produce than drinking alcohol.

Fuel ethanol is also denatured with a substance that will make it either toxic or taste bad to prevent people from drinking it. Denaturing the ethanol relieves ethanol producers from heavy excise taxes that most states or localities place on alcoholic beverages, including pure ethanol.

Pure 100% ethanol is not generally used as motor fuel. It is usually blended with unleaded gasoline which decreases the fuel’s cost and increases the fuel’s octane rating. Any amount can be blended but the most comment blends are E10 and E85. Any vehicle sold in the U.S. can run on E10. E85 is used in flexible fuel vehicles.

The majority of ethanol in the U.S. is produced from corn although sugarcane, sugar beets, sweet potatoes and wheat are other crops that can be liquefied, fermented and distilled to produce ethanol. Besides its use as motor fuel, ethanol is a popular solvent and antifreeze. It can be found in perfumes, paint, pharmaceuticals and antibacterial hand sanitizers.

Clean Burn Fuels worked with the North Carolina Department of Commerce to find the right location for its plant. It was recommended that the company choose an economically depressed area of the state. Four locations were considered but with its abundance of water, power and easy rail access Clean Burn Fuels eventually settled on Hoke County. The $100 million plant can produce 60 million gallons of ethanol per year. As demand increases Clean Burn says the site will eventually allow them to double their output. The hope is the plant will create more jobs and more market opportunities for area growers.

Click here to learn more about ethanol (North Carolina State University and NC A&T State University report).

Teaching Entrepreneurship | NC RISING Reporter's Notes

2011-01-12T13:55:00.001-05:00

I have to admit I’d never to given a lot of thought to what it takes to be an entrepreneur. Sure, like you, I’ve had what I consider a few good ideas…. But I’m not sure what to do with them.

Students in western North Carolina are learning skills that can help them launch their own entrepreneurial dreams. The program is called NC REAL. Real Entrepreneurship through Action Learning. It’s a curriculum that helps students learn how to start a school based business and perhaps learn what it takes to operate their own business one day.

The Communities in the Schools program is the driving force for this real life education project. Caldwell County students are writing business plans, developing budgets and marketing ideas even writing jingles.

Here are a few examples from their website of what they consider the success stories:

South Caldwell High School – Lori Baswell, Site Director
Year 1 (2009-2010) – Created a product to sell at school. Students made Mini Clipboards holding Post-It note pads and sold them to students and people throughout the community. During the year, students worked together to develop a business plan, learned about perennial flowers, and planted a flower bed at school that will be maintained by the CIS students.
The South Caldwell High School CIS Class showcased their Mini Clipboards at the Chamber of Commerce’s Business Showcase at the Broyhill Civic Center, April 21, 2010.

Year 2 (2010-2011) – Students will continue to make and sell Mini Clipboards, but will add holiday and seasonal designs this year. They have also added a newly designed Mini Clipboard with a magnet that students can hang in their lockers. The CIS class will continue to maintain the flower bed at the school, and will add additional flowers and mulch this year.
CIS students at South Caldwell are also participating in a Service Learning Project in their community. Students made posters and flyers for the Women’s Shelter Home “Love should not Hurt” fundraising event scheduled September 9 in Caldwell County.

West Caldwell High School - Rebecca Baker, Site Director
Year 1 (2009-2010) – Created a “Warriors of Rescue” Service Club. The motto of the service club is “CIS - Care, Identify, Serve”. The CIS Class at West Caldwell bought “Warrior’s Pride” wrist bands and sold them to students and the community for $1.00 each. The Warriors of Rescue Club raised $600. The money was used for service projects including money given to help pay for a West Caldwell student’s funeral, money given to a West Caldwell teacher whose husband is battling cancer, and money given to a teacher whose son has leukemia. The school’s local business partner, Anything Office, helped order the wrist bands and local community mentors helped sell.

Year 2 (2010-2011) – Students will continue the “Warriors of Rescue” Service Club. Students are working now to determine if they will continue to sell wrist bands or another item.

Hudson Middle School – Cherry Moss, Site Director
Year1 (2009-2010) & Year 2 (2010-2011) – Purchased Hudson Middle School Hornets “Remember” dog tags and re-sold to students and the community. The CIS class raised $1000 to create an outdoor café for teachers to use. The café is being built in memory of a 6th grade teacher and baseball coach, Mr. Mengay, who died of cancer. The students, with the help of community volunteers, planted flowers, put in a bench and tables. CIS students will continue the project this year and will add more flowers and a mural.

Cherry Moss uses REAL activities throughout the year and students have the opportunity to earn, and loose, “REAL” money. Students take the REAL money and use it to shop periodically in the CIS Class Store. CIS students enjoy learning about entrepreneurship and financial literacy while having fun and helping others.

Oak Hill Elementary: Mentors and students developed a food service business called “Sub Hub”. The class gave a lot of attention to business plan, budget and marketing development. They arranged for uniforms, had menus, a slogan, and an advertising jingle.

According to the NC Real website, more than 12 thousand people have been trained under the NC REAL program with 2.5 jobs created per venture.

The idea is that these skills can and should be taught just like any other subject. The students aren’t getting rich. But they are learning valuable lessons that may pay off one day for them and reap economic benefits for the local community. At least they’ll know what to do when a good idea comes to mind.

-Elizabeth Wilder, Producer

Bent Creek Institute | NC RISING Reporter's Notes

2011-01-06T15:38:00.000-05:00

When you think about germs—you usually think about the “bugs” that make us sick. At the Bent Creek Institute germs are all about seeds—as in “germination”. The Medicinal Plant Germplasm Repository is a special place. It’s the only one of its kind in North America. Asheville is a natural choice—pun intended—because of the richness of western North Carolina’s flora. Certainly Native Americans like the Cherokee have had a long standing appreciation of what Mother Nature offers. Many native plants have been used for centuries to treat a variety of maladies, everything from colds to menopausal hot flashes.

The Germplasm serves as a place to conserve native plant species but it’s not just a library. Bent Creek Institute (BCI) identifies and provides research grade botanical samples and extracts to researchers around the world. BCI is also helping entrepreneurs in new product development. The three major economic development and job creation goals of Bent Creek include:

· Catalyzing new natural product and botanical medicine businesses
· Producing new intellectual property leading to alternative crops and business innovation
· Attracting new business investment and company location to Western North Carolina

Unlocking the secrets of North Carolina’s biodiversity has the potential for use in alternative and complementary medical treatment of human disease. It also has the potential to tap into the growing $200 billion dollar natural products industry. For farmers it could mean new crops to grow. For entrepreneurs it could mean business and manufacturing opportunities and the creation of new jobs.

--Christine Rogers, Producer

NC WWII Experience: Scott and Brenda on the Making of

2010-12-07T16:37:00.002-05:00

Tonight at 8:00, sixty-nine years after the attack on Pearl Harbor and three years after the beginning of production, UNC-TV premieres North Carolina's WW II Experience. Be sure to catch the documentary's first-hand accounts from North Carolinians about their experience of the Second World War.

For a peek into the making of the documentary, click below on Frank Stasio of WUNC's "The State of Things" and D. G. Martin of WCHL's "Who's Talking." Both talked with producer Brenda Hughes and director Scott Davis about the making of the UNC-TV special production.

Scott and Brenda on Frank Stasio's "The State of Things"

Scott and Brenda on D. G. Martin's "Who's Talking"

NC WWII Experience: Eleanor Kennedy--Gold Star

2010-12-03T14:04:00.039-05:00

During the war, families hung stars in their windows on banners called "sons in service" flags. A blue star meant that a family had a son or husband in the service. A gold star represented a family that had lost a loved one in the war.

A vintage "sons in service" flag, courtesy of the Clare Crane Collection (AFC/2001/001/1754), Artifact (AR03), Veterans History Project, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress.

One of our interviewees, Eleanor Kennedy, remembered the stars in the windows of her Greensboro neighbors: "I do, mainly because my own future mother-in-law had a blue star, two blue stars, and later a blue star and a gold star."

Her future husband, Saul, lost his brother, Edward, who was killed during his first bombing mission in Europe. Upon learning of Edward's death, Saul was flown home to Greensboro from the European theater.

Saul and Edward together in Italy, 1945.

Kennedy recalled, "He had no idea what--how depressed his mother was. And when he got home, he was just almost put into a depression himself because of her condition. She, she just basically couldn't function. I mean, she really had--they didn't use the term then, but, looking back now, I know she really had a clinical depression. And there were no antidepressants at that time. And she, she just, she just kind of fell apart. It was terrible... Everybody was trying to do everything to keep her going, keep her happy. So that's why we didn't get married for two more--two-and-a-half more years."

Maude Kennedy, Saul and Edward's mother, April, 1944.

Kennedy's husband kept all the letters she wrote to him while he was in the war. He also saved the Western Union telegram informing the family of their son's death, a stark reminder of one family's quiet and immense sacrifice.

Eleanor Kennedy at the Women's College of NC, now UNC-Greensboro.

NC WWII Experience Capers

2010-12-03T14:02:00.008-05:00

Here are a couple humorous moments from two of our interviewees. Falls Price wonders what to do with two German prisoners who had surrendered to him when his commanding officer tells him to take no prisoners. And Virginia Russel describes her visit to what she thought was a clean show in London during the war.

NC WWII Experience: The Alda Womack Story

2010-11-30T09:54:00.022-05:00

Everything seemed perfectly natural when associate producer Lisa Waldo pre-interviewed Alda Womack on the phone. The phone conversation was lively and cordial, and Lisa was won over by her caller's personality. They scheduled a formal interview at Womack's home in Cliffside, where Ms. Womack worked for the Hanes plant during WWII making towels for the Army and Navy.

Weeks later when the crew arrived at Ms. Womack's home for the interview, they were greeted by a delightful woman who had made home-baked pastries and coffee for them.

You can imagine Lisa's surprise when, during a follow-up phone conversation, Ms. Womack confessed that she was sure that her initial phone conversation with Lisa was a prank--which of course explains the warm Southern reception and the delightful pastries.

Alda Womack greets her guests.

What I love in these photographs is the obvious warmheartedness of Alda Womack. (And of course her apron--they just don't seem to make them like that anymore.) It's not as if Womack hadn't encountered things that might make one a cynic. Many of her loved ones lost sons and brothers in the war, and her oldest brother, terribly mistreated in a Japanese prisoner of war camp, never fully recovered from his war experience.

But in her interview, Alda spoke of the warmth of the Cliffside mill town where she lived with her husband and children. When producer Brenda Hughes asked if Womack or anyone ever felt frightened during the war years, Womack replied, "Well, I don't think so, because if they had been afraid...they would have locked their doors. Nobody in Cliffside locked their doors.... If we went off or anything, we left our doors unlocked, wherever we went.... So it just seemed like everybody looked after everybody else. I mean, if you needed somebody, all you had to do was step to the next-door house; that was just the friendliness of the town."

Brenda Hughes and Alda Womack and pie.

So here's to Alda Womack, who so embodies the spirit of congeniality that she welcomed a crew of perfect strangers into her home with grace and conviviality.

Slice of heaven. (All photos by Annelies Gentile)

NC WWII Experience: Jim Hunter

2010-11-29T14:10:00.011-05:00

For three weeks in the spring of 2008, a UNC-TV crew travelled the length and breadth of the state, interviewing 27 North Carolina veterans and civilians to bring North Carolina’s World War II Experience to the screen. The work was intense, and the emotional content of the interviews left their mark. Brenda Hughes, the documentary’s producer, writes about how one of the veteran’s stories has stayed with her:

"In spite of three documentaries about World War II, I’m still amazed at the spirit and resilience of this generation. One case in point: Jim Hunter. Jim was the last interview of our first full day of shooting – a day that had taken our crew from RDU to Raleigh, Chapel Hill and finally, Charlotte. While everything had gone well that day, by the time we got to Jim, it was late afternoon, and dinner and bed probably sounded pretty good to everyone. But when Jim welcomed us into his beautiful, comfortable home, it was easy to forget the long day.

"Jim was a Marine in the Pacific, where he was wounded in the Battle of Peliliu. Like most veterans of World War II, he was quick to point out that he was no hero and just did what everyone else did. As he recounted his experiences – the training, the battle, getting wounded and his eventual evacuation - Jim often chuckled about it. There was no depression, resentment, whining – just a part of his life that he lived and then, moved on. At the end of that interview, some of us enjoyed his company so much that instead of heading back to the hotel – tired as we were - we opted to stay at Jim’s house where he threw open his pantry and refrigerator and shared with us anything we could find. As we sat at his elegant 12-seat dining room table and dined on Dominos, Jim entertained us late into the night."

Jim Hunter with crew members Brenda Hughes, Annelies Gentile, and Karen Pearce.

You might wonder how the war affected a man as expansive as Hunter. Brenda asked him just that question. Hunter answered with characteristic humor and candor.

Jim Hunter in uniform.

The Charlotte Observer reported Hunter's injury, October 18, 1944.

Hunter's Navy Cross award letter.

NC WWII Experience: The Crew

2010-11-19T17:11:00.046-05:00

Not only is this the story of North Carolina during World War II, it’s the story of a North Carolina road trip, as the UNC-TV crew hit the road over a three-week period in the spring of 2008 to interview 27 North Carolina veterans and home front civilians. So just sit right back and you’ll hear a tale, a tale of a…

Well actually, wait a minute, before that trip even began, there was a truckload of work to do before the crew could even think about hitting the road. The first step was to establish a basic timeline for events in North Carolina and events worldwide from 1939 to 1945, the collective findings of which were captured on two giant rolls of butcher paper:

Photograph by Adam Gori

Brenda Hughes, Scott Davis, and Lisa Waldo set aside several months to draft a treatment, which was then reviewed by a panel of academics and local military experts. As Lisa Waldo described it, “Researching, writing, meeting, honing story ideas, considering interviewees…this occurred simultaneously over the course of about a year.”

Associate Producer, Lisa Waldo.

Once the treatment was finalized, it was time to find interviewees with the help of local historians, local museums, libraries, Veterans Affairs, and word of mouth. On top of that, the crew mined national, state, and local archives, newspaper microform, oral history collections, photo galleries, boxes of memorabilia, attended veterans events….

You get the picture; it all added up to a lot of legwork and a lot of material before the interviews even began.

An initial list of hundreds of veterans was compiled, which had to be winnowed down to just a couple dozen. These were hard choices, and the producers had to consider each story's relevance to the state as well as judge whether enough context could be provided in the time allotted to tell the story.

Director Scott Davis doing "legwork" in Edit Room 9 (Photograph by Adam Gori)

Finally, after pre-interviewing people on the phone, 27 interviewees were selected. Three weeks of shooting were selected--one week for the coast, one week for the Piedmont, and one for the mountains. To save time and resources, the crew managed a pretty grueling schedule, conducting two interviews per day, which translated to--wake up and travel to the first location, set up lights, sound, etc., conduct interview, strike set, grab lunch, travel to second location, repeat step one, find a hotel room, get ready for tomorrow. All in all, 18 towns were visited, several gallons of coffee were imbibed, and much rubber met the road. One out-of-state participant even flew to Raleigh to be interviewed.

In retrospect, perhaps it is apt to think of this project as a labor of love. There was so much labor that just went in to finding the veterans featured in the documentary. And when speaking with the crew about their experience, it is clear how much respect, love, and admiration they have for the people they interviewed for the documentary.

Director Scott Davis and Producer Brenda Hughes with interviewee Marie Colton of Asheville (center) (Photograph by Annelies Gentile)

NC WWII Experience: Billy Sutton

2010-11-15T12:37:00.027-05:00

As a young soldier, Billy Sutton got the kind of assignment that we just don't associate with World War II. He patrolled Wilmington's beaches on horseback, keeping watch against German sabotage, which at the time was regarded as a serious threat. While interviewing Sutton, producer Brenda Hughes got a wonderful surprise and insight into her own father's role during the war. She wrote:

"Billy Sutton served in the Coast Guard during World War II, patrolling -- often on horseback -- up and down the North Carolina coastline, prepared to face everything from saboteurs to German invaders. But during my interview with him, it was his comments about another branch of service, the Merchant Marines, that really hit home.

"My dad served in the Merchant Marines, but never talked about it, and I never asked. By the time I became interested in the war, he had died, leaving behind parts of his uniform stuffed in drawers.

"Dad had wanted to be a pilot and had flown small planes, but the military rejected him because of high blood pressure. Instead, he was drafted into the Merchant Marines, about which I knew absolutely nothing until talking with Billy Sutton. Out of the blue, Sutton started talking about his admiration for the Merchant Marines and how hard they had it -- patrolling our coasts offshore and never knowing what kind of threat they might encounter with German U boats potentially nearby.

"I was stunned -- we were supposed to be talking about the Coast Guard, after all -- but so grateful. Because of that interview, I gained a new respect for my dad's service and gratitude to Billy Sutton for helping me realize the importance of what he did."

German submarines were a real threat off the coast of North Carolina, sinking scores of ships off the Hatteras coastline; it was a constant reminder of the enemy, and the fires glowing at night on the water kept everyone on edge. Sutton spoke about the frequency of torpedoed ships:

One of Sutton’s most vivid memories was watching an American plane go down into the Atlantic:

Billy Sutton prepares for his interview with crew member Karen Pearce.

Billy Sutton in Coast Guard uniform.

NC WWII Experience: Carolina Maneuvers

2010-11-08T13:33:00.023-05:00

So…where to begin this WWII blog? Starting when the war began seems logical. And naturally, Pearl Harbor marks a clear point of reference for most Americans. But to our surprise, we learned that in North Carolina the army was already practicing for war months before the surprise attack on Pearl Harbor. Hundreds of thousands of troops, tanks, and military aircraft were carrying out large-scale war maneuvers called the “Carolina Maneuvers,” measuring the preparedness of US forces for real combat.

The Carolina Maneuvers were a full-out effort by the

military to assess its combat capabilities. Military leaders were painfully aware that the

needed to modernize its military tactics or it wouldn’t stand a chance against the German war machine. President Roosevelt himself worried that the modern and seasoned German army would slaughter the poorly trained American soldiers in combat. The army leadership wanted at all costs to avoid the overly high casualties of WWI. They wanted to measure the army’s strengths and weaknesses, and they wanted to identify ineffective commanders and relieve them of command before they wasted American lives on the real battlefield.

So during October and November of 1941, the Carolina Maneuvers saw more than half a million troops as well as artillery, tanks, and aircraft maneuvering in Rockingham, Cheraw, Hamlet, and Monroe, and just across the state border in South Carolina. During the maneuvers, thousands of flour-sack bombs were dropped from war planes, as were live parachute troops onto mock battlefields. And tanks and big guns roamed the roads and countryside. At one point, a line of more than 2,500 military vehicles stretched a distanced of 425 miles through the Carolinas.

One of our interviewees, Charlotte native and WWII Navy veteran Chuck Paty, traveled to Monroe, NC, with his father and was witness to these events at the age of 17.

The maneuvers ended in late November, 1941. General Lesley McNair held a press conference, declaring that American boys could fight effectively, but warned that losses would be “unduly heavy” at the present level of training. Four days later the Japanese bombed Pear Harbor.

Here's Chuck Paty's picture of "General Patton" conferring with field officers during the Carolina Maneuvers. Is it Patton? You make the call!

And here are some more Carolina Maneuvers pictures taken by Paty in Monroe, North Carolina.

Click here to view the first NC WWII Experience post.

Perquimans County | NC RISING Reporter's Notes

2010-11-01T13:24:00.000-04:00

Think BIG. Common wisdom says big is always better. So it was surprising when I heard that rural communities should think small when it comes to economic development. A representative from the North Carolina Community Foundation explained how small gifts of philanthropy add up.

A group of Jaycees collected $2000 to pay for sewing lessons for economically disadvantaged women in Perquimans County. It’s a simple, relatively inexpensive idea. The women can take what they learn and make handiwork items like rag dolls that will be sold in the gift shop at the Newbold White House. New skills for a small investment.

It’s these kinds of investments that show we all can make a difference. Some create change by giving; some by learning something new that will allow them to one day give back. The idea is to find some way you can create change that will help improve life in your hometown.

Sure it would be nice to have Bill Gates bank account and fortune to share, but don’t think you don’t have something to offer. As Site Manager for the Newbold White House Glenda Maynard recognizes her gift is setting up new programs like a weekly farmer’s market.

Big or small, as members of a community, we should all find some way we can contribute our ideas, our energy, and our money.

Gaia Herbs | NC RISING Reporter's Notes

2010-11-01T13:02:00.000-04:00

Even if you don’t know much about herbal products, chances are if you like to eat you’ve probably already experienced a few. Many of the common herbs used in cooking such as dill, parsley, and ginger have been used for the treatment of health conditions. Dill is purported to reduce gaseousness and colic in children, parsley has a mild diuretic action and ginger may reduce nausea. While they are made from natural substances, herbal products are the forerunners of synthetic prescription drugs. Nearly 25 percent of all medications are derived directly or indirectly from naturally occurring chemicals from plants, bacteria fungi, or marine organisms. Some of the more common medicinal herbs include:

American Ginseng

Primary uses: Athletic performance, blood sugar, stress reduction

Black Cohosh

Primary uses: Symptoms of menopause

Bloodroot

Primary uses: Mouthwash, antibiotic for animals

Echinacea

Primary uses: Colds

Ginkgo

Primary uses: Dementia, circulation, wounds

Goldenseal

Primary uses: Respiratory, intestinal, immune system

Skullcap

Primary uses: Anxiety, insomnia

Wild Indigo

Primary uses: Antiseptic, respiratory, infections

Wild Yam

Primary uses: Menopause symptoms

Source: North Carolina Consortium on Natural Medicines

As more people seek natural treatment alternatives to many existing prescription drug treatments, the medicinal herb industry believes it is poised for further growth and that could be good news for North Carolina farmers who want to diversify production with specialty and niche crops. That being said, becoming successful at it takes time. The medicinal herb industry is different from the more traditional crops grown in North Carolina. Jackie Greenfield, Vice President of Global Sourcing and Sustainability at Gaia Herbs says it can sometimes take three to five years to bring a farmer on board that can meet strict growing standards and packaging guidelines. The North Carolina Medicinal Herbs for Commerce Project tries to help state farmers with information and resources to explore the economic feasibility of medicinal herb production. The project is part of the NC Specialty Crops Program, a cooperative program between the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences at NC State University and the Marketing Division of the NC Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services.

North Carolina's World War II Experience

2010-10-28T15:14:00.016-04:00

On Dec. 7, UNC-TV will broadcast North Carolina’s World War II Experience, a two-hour original documentary exploring the important role that North Carolina played during World War II. Based on 25 interviews with North Carolina veterans and civilians and illustrated with archival photos and footage, it is the story of how our state and its people served America and fought to preserve freedom in the world.

Primarily a state of farming families, North Carolina was just emerging from the Great Depression when events half a world away called the state to action. North Carolina farmland and wilderness soon found themselves “conscripted” and molded into some of the nation’s largest military bases, ultimately leading the nation in numbers of camps, bases, and airfields.

Wilmington spawned a massive shipyard, and the state’s industries coalesced around the war effort. By 1942, North Carolina was playing a leading role in producing a fighting force capable of winning on two fronts against the world’s most highly trained and seasoned combat forces.

Over the next few months, this blog will explore what the experience of World War II was like for North Carolinians and our state. Though many are gone now, this documentary will stand as a testament to their heroism, sacrifice, and service.

NCAB Senatorial Debates | October 21, 2010 | UNC-TV

2010-10-21T20:14:00.009-04:00

Tonight's North Carolina Association of Broadcasters 2010 Senate Debate marked the third, and final debate among U.S. Senate candidates Richard Burr (R-NC) and his Democratic opponent Elaine Marshall. Hosted from UNC-TV's Research Triangle studios and moderated by PBS Newshour's Judy Woodruff, the hour-long event was full of spirited exchanges between the two Tar Heel politicians. Below we share some of the highlights (in the form of easy-to-re-tweet tweets including candidate Twitter handles):

"I hear deep concerns that the American dream is not available/is fading away"
-@elaine4nc @unctv #unctvelection

"The only problem today is that govt stands in the way."
-@burrforsenate @unctv #unctvelection

re: govt spending: "Senator Burr has been a free-spender, creating a part of these problems." -@elaine4nc @unctv #unctvelection

re: govt spending: "America has got to live within its means just like average Americans. I am a responsible administrator." -@elaine4nc @unctv #unctvelection

re: govt spending "We're mortgaging our childrens' future away"
-@burrforsenate @unctv #unctvelection

re: deficit: raise taxes or cut entitlements: "Its a combination of setting a goal in this country of how much we can spend in this country."
-@burrforsenate @unctv #unctvelection

re: deficit: raise taxes or cut entitlements: "The question is not how we do it, it's whether we have the backbone to do it. I am in favor of cutting back to 2007 levels"
-@burrforsenate @unctv #unctvelection

re: deficit: raise taxes or cut entitlement "I believe billionaires need to pay their fair share."
-@elaine4nc @unctv #unctvelection

re: TARP: "While a few may have benefited, a lot have not."
-@elaine4nc @unctv #unctvelection

re: TARP: "I don't believe there's anyone too big to fail if they run a bad business."
-@burrforsenate @unctv #unctvelection

"If you're talking about closing the gap bt rich and poor, we need jobs."
-@elaine4nc @unctv #unctvelection

re: Health Care Reform: "I can't see anything in the bill that takes care of cost containment."
-@elaine4nc @unctv #unctvelection

re: Health Care Reform: "I've read this bill...IMO it cannot be fixed. Therefore it must be replaced."
-@burrforsenate @unctv #unctvelection

re: Troop Withdrawls: "It's not as much as what Gen Petraeus says, It's about whether I have a sense we can succeed."
-@burrforsenate @unctv #unctvelection

re: Troop withdrawals: "We've got to see an end to the war. We've got to have a finish line."
- @elaine4nc @unctv #unctvelection

re: Iraq: "We have to have hope...that they make the right decision...I don't think the right decision is to cozy up to Iran."
-@burrforsenate @unctv #unctvelection

Re: #DADT: "I don't believe [being gay] is a matter of choice."
-@elaine4nc @unctv #unctvelection

Re: #DADT: "DADT needs to be repealed."
-@elaine4nc @unctv #unctvelection

Re: #DADT: "I'm not sure whether any of us know whether [being gay] is a choice."
-@burrforsenate @unctv #unctvelection

"DADT has worked. Personally I don't see a reason to reverse it."
-@burrforsenate @unctv #unctvelection

Re: Whether gay=genetic: "I'm not sure there's been conclusive evidence of what the result is."
-@burrforsenate @unctv #unctvelection

"obviously Mr. Burr thinks [being gay] is a choice... that is wrong-headed."
-@elaine4nc @unctv #unctvelection

Re: immigration: "I don't think they should tinker with the 14th Amendment."
-@burrforsenate @unctv #unctvelection

"I could work with Lindsey Graham." -@elaine4nc @unctv #unctvelection

"I could work with Lindsey Graham too. -@burrforsenate @unctv #unctvelection

"There are big differences bt Sec. Marshall and myself...I'm confident that if we have great participation, NC will win." @burrforsenate WATCH DEBATES NOW @unctv #unctvelection

"It is time we get America going again...I seek your vote to be Senator for the citizens of NC." -@elaine4nc @unctv #unctvelection

Click here for more exclusive election 2010 information from UNC-TV.

"Keep Trying" (NC RISING in Martin County)

2010-10-15T12:32:00.002-04:00

by Elizabeth Wilder

Keep Trying….

They might not have it all figured out, but Martin County leaders haven’t given up. They’re willing to try a lot of different ideas when it comes to economic development.

But they admit it’s challenging. The county, according to the latest census numbers, is losing residents. And nearly one in four who live here, live in poverty. What do you do? You keep trying….

The old Rose’s Store in Williamston has been converted into the NC TeleCenter. It offers classrooms, meeting space and public internet. But above all it’s a business incubator – a place where small business owners can set up shop for subsidized rent. It also offers a bit of a dilemma for economic developers who don’t want to compete with commercial real estate.

Wood products company Domtar recognized they too had a choice to make. Either evolve or shut down. The company is shifting its fine paper making business to make fluff pulp used in diapers and feminine hygiene products. They only employ a fraction of the workers they used to, but they’re holding on when competitors have shut their doors.

Area leaders are looking toward tourism and boardwalks along the Roanoke River to bring in more visitors. They’re wondering -if you build it- will the come? And they’re continuing to count on horse shows and rodeos at the Senator Bob Martin Eastern Agricultural Center to ride out an unpredictable economy. It’s a bumpy ride.

But, they’re trying.

Martin County business leaders are trying to bank on what made the county successful in the past: land, water and trees to secure the future and help one of North Carolina’s poorest counties survive. They’re trying.

YANCEY HOUSE | Recipes | NC Rising

2010-09-27T18:45:00.001-04:00

Yancey House Restaurant & Gallery

NC Best Dish Menu 2010

House-Smoked Rainbow Trout Bruschetta

serves 4

This playful beginning to your dinner allows
guests to play with their food and build their own bruschetta.
Stages of Preparation:

Smoked rainbow trout

Sliced ciabatti brushed with garlic infused olive oil and toasted.

Grilled fennel & red onion

Fresh dill or fennel sprigs and lime wedges for garnish

Smoked Trout. Marinate 2- 6 oz. skin-on trout fillets in 1 TB. coarsely chopped capers, 2 green onions finely chopped, 1 TB. horseradish and 3 TB. fresh lime juice in a medium bowl. Season with salt and pepper, and gently toss to combine. Marinate for 20 minutes.

Place 1/3 – 1/2 cup hickory chips that have been soaked in water for 1 hour in bottom of stove-top smoker. Heat smoker over medium high heat until chips begin to smoke. Insert drip pan and rack. Spray rack with nonstick spray. Drain trout and place on rack. Ladle drained marinade on top of trout. Reduce heat to low, cover smoker, and smoke over low heat for 10 minutes or until temperature reaches 140. Remove from heat and let trout absorb smoke 5 minutes. Remove from pan.

Grilled Fennel & Red Onion Salad. Slice 1 red onion in thin wedges and 1 fennel bulb in thin slices. Toss with a little olive oil, red wine vinegar, salt, and pepper. Grill. Remove and rough chop. Add freshly chopped chives. Set aside.

Ciabatti with Goat Cheese & Fresh Dill. Brush 12 slices of ciabatti or small Italian bread slices with olive oil and garlic. Bake at 350 degrees until the bread just begins to color. The bread should still be a little soft. While bread is toasting, mix together 1/4 - 1/3 lb. fresh goat cheese with 1-2 TB. chopped fresh dill.

Plating. Place 3 oz. portion of trout and 1/4 cup fennel-onion salad on each plate. Spread goat cheese on ciabatti, allowing 3 slices per person. Top with fresh dill. Serve with wedge of lime.

Yancey House Restaurant & Gallery

NC Best Dish Menu 2010

Panzanella

serves 4 - 6

Panzanella brings all the flavors of the summer garden
into one delectable dish

Stages of Preparation:
Toasted Bread

Balsamic Vinegar Reduction

Salad

Vinaigrette

Toasted Bread. In bowl, toss together 3-4 cups ¾ to 1 inch cubed herb Italian bread with a little olive oil infused with garlic. Pour onto baking pan and bake at 400 degrees until toasted, tossing occasionally.

Balsamic Vinegar Reduction. Pour 1 cup decent balsamic vinegar (no caramel coloring or additives) in a non-reactive saucepan. Bring to simmer, then lower heat and slowly reduce vinegar to 1/2 cup until slightly syrupy (it will thicken more as it cools). Don’t rush the process. Cool. Store in squeeze bottle.

Salad. In large bowl, combine: 1-2 cucumbers, halved lengthwise, seeded, and sliced, 1 yellow bell pepper, medium diced or julienned, 1 red or orange bell pepper, medium diced or julienned, 1 1/2 pints mixed heirloom tomatoes, sliced in chunks or halved, 1 red onion, sliced in thin wedges, 2-4 cups fresh basil leaves, chopped or left whole if leaves are small (no stems). Set aside

Vinaigrette. In food processor, combine 2 cloves mixed garlic, 1 TB. fresh Italian parsley, 1 tsp. dried oregano, 1 TB. dusseldorf mustard, 1/3 c. Champagne vinegar, 1/2 tsp. salt, 3/4 tsp. freshly ground black pepper. Process. While processor is running, slowly pour in 1 cup olive oil, processing until mixture is emulsified.

Plating. Add toasted bread to salad and gently toss. Add vinaigrette and toss. On a flat plate, place mound of salad. Squeeze a thin circle of balsamic reduction around outside edge of plate. Garnish with crumbled feta cheese.

YANCEY HOUSE | NC Rising Reporter’s Notes: Christine Rogers

2010-09-27T18:35:00.001-04:00

Let me make a full disclosure. I am a foodie. I love to cook and I love to eat. You can imagine my excitement on getting the opportunity to visit a restaurant that was recognized two years in a row with an NC Best Dish award for casual dining. The Yancey House Restaurant likes to say it is “casual”, but there is nothing "casual" about the food, it is first class. Yes, the dining room is casually elegant and it does feel a bit like you’re going over to friends to eat, but once you sample the food you quickly discover every item on the menu is given careful consideration by the chef. Yancey House is committed to fresh locally grown food. Co-owner Lucindy Willis has a garden just outside her kitchen. It’s filled with the vegetables and herbs that make her food so flavorful. She has established relationships with local farmers that also provide her with fresh homegrown produce and cheese.

Running a restaurant is hard work. Spend a few hours in a busy, hot kitchen and you have a new appreciation of how difficult it can be, but it’s also quite obvious that Mike and Lucindy love what they do. Their passion is apparent in how lovingly they prepare the food and how they treat their customers. They have a deep appreciation of Caswell County’s rich history and they are working hard to preserve it. Mike is a wealth of information. If you ever visit be sure to have him stop by your table to tell you about Bartlett Yancey and the Yancey House property. Mike may have a few ghost stories he’ll share as well.

When you’re there don’t forget to check out the beautiful word work in the house. Thomas Day, a freed black, built the cabinets and the banisters. Mike likes to call Day a “magician” when it came to wood. He could make one piece of wood bend and twist up stairs without the need of a joint. Day had the first furniture factory in North Carolina and is often credited with starting the furniture business in the state. Quite impressive when you consider he did this in the segregated south before the Civil War. Mike can tell you lots of interesting stories about Thomas Day.

Lucindy and Mike believe it’s that kind of rich history that makes Caswell County a treasure in need of preservation. That’s why they started the Yancey Preservation Trust. It’s not just about historically significant structures like their restaurant. They also want to support and promote art in Caswell County through education, an art guild and a community enclave to provide artists with a pace to create and display their work and to teach classes.

In 2003, a team from the NC Department of Commerce interviewed local leaders from the community. The 21st Century Committee partnered with the county to develop a plan to ensure economic and educational growth. After determining that Caswell County had the “potential to become an attractive location for tourism,” and that "the county is ideally situated geographically to Research Triangle Park and Piedmont Triad," the committee came up with a list of suggestions to improve Caswell’s growth and development:

·Promote the agricultural potential while preserving the agricultural heritage of the county

·Increase funding for education programs

·Encourage the formation of a nonprofit corporation for the promotion of new ventures

Lucindy and Mike took the committee’s report to heart when they opened their restaurant. They compliment each other nicely in the kitchen. Lucindy loves to make sauces and soups and elaborate dishes; Mike is the comfort food guy who makes killer desserts. His sweet potato pudding with Jack Daniels sauce is not to be missed. He also makes homemade ice cream. Lucky for me when I visited peaches were in season and I had a chance to sample his peach ice cream. Delightful.

NC Rising Reporter’s Notes: Elizabeth Wilder

2010-09-03T13:40:00.002-04:00

It’s certainly not about fortune or fame.

So why report on rural economic development?

My reason is very simple and it has nothing to do with grants or my determination to be a journalist. I live in one of the poorest regions of the state. I care about small communities like mine struggling to survive. I feel physically ill when I take my kids to school and wonder what will happen to the students in their classes. Will they graduate? Do their parents have a job and can they afford school supplies or a snack since most of the children are on free and reduced lunch?

I grew up in Raleigh where a trip down east meant a vacation to Atlantic Beach. I still love digging my toes in the sand, but I have a new appreciation for the roads less traveled in this great state of ours. I want to introduce you to the farmers trying new technology and the push to grow biotech business. I want to show you the communities in the western part of North Carolina who no longer chase smoke stacks waiting for industry to change or fix everything. Watch North Carolina Rising to meet entrepreneurs who refuse to give up. Meet the visionaries and small business owners who believe they can make a difference and preserve their small town way of life. We’ll share community struggles and ideas that might work where you live. See how regions in the state are trying to work together to promote their assets and how much they have to overcome to create some type of niche market to jump start their economy. This series is about possibilities.

Who would ever guess that an herb grown in Bertie County would provide a majority of the world’s supply of a chemical critical for the cosmetic industry? Our first segment looks at the history of Avoca Farms, Inc. and its link to the tobacco industry. RJ Reynolds built the extraction plant in the 1960’s as a research facility to experiment with the flavors in cigarettes. Today, the plant extraction business serves clients all over the world. See what this growing industry could mean for Merry Hill and surrounding communities and how it represents North Carolina’s changing agriculture industry.

Thanks for watching and the privilege to share these stories that often go untold with a state-wide audience.

Elizabeth Wilder

Click here to learn more about North Carolina Rising.

North Carolina Citizens and Politicians Address the Gulf of Mexico Oil Spill

2010-06-21T12:01:00.005-04:00

The recent Gulf of Mexico oil spill has made the topic of offshore drilling North Carolina a very timely topic. And, in the aftermath of this tragedy in the Gulf, the majority of North Carolinians continue to support drilling for oil and natural gas off of our own coast.

A poll conducted by Elon University from April 19-22 found that nearly two-thirds of our state’s residents support offshore drilling. This poll was conducted amid the Deepwater Horizon rig explosion on April 20, 2010 that triggered a spill now considered the largest in U.S. history.

While the severity of the Gulf spill may not have been well known at the time the Elon data was taken, a similar poll conducted by the Civitas Institute of North Carolina from May 20-23 found that, 56% of North Carolina voters remain in favor of offshore drilling. Comparing these results to a previous poll, the Civitas Institute found that only 12% of Tar Heel voters’ opinions changed to oppose offshore drilling after the April 20 accident.

These sentiments appear in contrast with national opinion on the issue. According to a new Washington Post-ABC News poll, a quarter of Americans support offshore drilling in the wake of the BP oil spill. Most Americans now want fewer offshore wells (31 percent) or the amount kept at current levels (41 percent).

As American voters voice an increased opposition to oil exploration, midterm candidates are voicing their thoughts about the prospect of offshore oil exploration and drilling.

In post-Gulf spill interviews with UNC-TV’s North Carolina Now, when asked about their views on oil drilling off the North Carolina coast, both Democratic U.S. Senate candidates Elaine Marshall and Cal Cunningham—vying in tomorrow’s runoff for the right to challenge Republican Sen. Richard Burr in the November 2010 midterm election—voiced their opposition to the prospect.

“I don’t think [offshore drilling] is right for North Carolina. What we may have off of our coast is only a very small part of what would help us with our foreign oil dependence,” Cal Cunningham told North Carolina Now’s Shannon Vickery in April. “Where I think we need to focus our resources and our attention are on renewable and alternative sources of energy. That’s where the federal government should play the biggest role in investing in tomorrow. We’re doing very innovative work; we have some great ideas right here in North Carolina. North Carolina should be a leader in the green energy revolution that should take place in this country: wind, solar, biomass, biofuel.”

Click here to view the full North Carolina Now interview with Cal Cunningham.

Elaine Marshall told North Carolina Now in April, “I am not a fan of offshore drilling. What happened in the Gulf last week, we don’t know what is out there. We don’t know how extensive any reserves might be. North Carolina is clearly a hurricane zone; we stick out in the Atlantic the most, and we’re, you know, facing there. But what happened in the Gulf just in the last week had nothing to do with weather, so human error, or other problems like that, are still an issue. If it becomes inevitable that we do have drilling there, if it is out of the state’s hands, the state really needs to drive a very, very hard bargain. We need to get the best we can out of the revenues for using resources that are very, very close to us and drive even a harder bargain on what happens if something goes wrong. And I’m not talking about just clean-up money, I’m talking about the impact on a lot of our industries; the fishing industry, the food and fiber industry that is located near the coast, the tourism industry…it’s arguably our number one industry: motels, hotels, restaurants, gift shops, seasonal employment for students. All of those kinds of things will be impacted, so we need to drive a very, very hard bargain. But, foremost, above all of it, we need to all conserve, we need to all be thinking about our legacy, our footprint, our consumption, and renewable sources of energy.”

Click here to view the full North Carolina Now interview with Elaine Marshall.

As a member of the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, Sen. Richard Burr had an opportunity to question Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar as he testified in a recent hearing about specific safety measures needed for energy development on the outer continental shelf. From Burr’s blog, he said that, “some of the world’s brightest minds have come together to stop this leak and clean it up.”

In addition, as the Raleigh News and Observer reported Burr joined with fellow Senator Kay Hagan (D-NC) in a letter sent to the Secretary of Homeland Security, Janet Napolitano, Coast Guard Commandant Adm. Thad Allen and Secretary of Commerce Gary Locke, asking them to help Atlantic seaboard states to fully prepare in the event oil from the Gulf spill hits North Carolina's coastal regions. The Senator further said in his blog, “In this letter, we asked the Department of Homeland Security to immediately coordinate with all state emergency preparedness agencies along the Atlantic Coast and to provide full information about how best to prepare for managing an oil spill. We’ve also asked the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to begin developing and disseminating official, science-based predictions about the long-term direction of the oil spill and chemical dispersants. I understand your concerns, and I’m committed to doing everything that I can to protect North Carolina’s coast. Meanwhile, I remain focused on stopping the leak, getting the mess cleaned up and finding out what exactly went wrong so that we can make the necessary changes to protect us from encountering another situation like this one.”

In terms of “necessary changes” to protect from oil spills, The Washington Post report revealed that most Americans perceive poor federal regulation was at fault in the gulf spill with “[a]bout 63 percent [pointing] a finger at inadequate enforcement of regulations, and 55 percent [seeing] an overall weak regulatory structure. Even more, 73 percent, blame BP and its drilling partners for the accident. And the same number are calling the spill a major environmental disaster…. About half of the poll respondents, 49 percent, now see the gulf spill as part of a broader problem with such drilling. Support for drilling in general has slipped from 64 percent last August to 52 percent now.”

Click here to view Rob Holliday's recent North Carolina Now story on how the Gulf of Mexico oil spill could impact North Carolina's coast.

UNC-TV Reports: Just in Time for Earth Day, Durham Hosts Environmental Discussions

2010-04-10T13:21:00.010-04:00

As the world celebrates the 40th anniversary of Earth Day this month, this week Durham, NC, has been front and center in hosting various debates over the environmental issues of climate change and uses of alternative energy.

The dialogue began on Thursday night, as former Vice President Al Gore spoke on the state of the environment to a sold-out crowd during the 2010 spring Duke Environment and Society Lecture from Duke University’s Page Auditorium. Gore’s credentials on the topic include the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize for his advocacy of environmental causes and his Academy Awards for An Inconvenient Truth, a documentary on Gore’s much-publicized campaign against global warming.

Following a glowing introduction by Dean Bill Chamedeis of the Nicholas School of the Environment at Duke University, and Democratic state Senator Dan Blue, Gore launched into a nearly 60-minute call-to-action. “The real solution is you,” Gore said. “You are capable of making a tremendous difference.”

While most of the 1,200+ audience (including local Democratic politicians, Nicholas School students, and even local boy-turned “american idol” Clay Aiken) seemed to agree with Gore’s argument that the fight against climate change was a moral imperative, others were not as supportive of Gore's message.

Of them, a small contingent of protesters gathered outside the auditorium, a few leaning against trees on the quad to voice their belief that research on climate change is inconclusive and incomplete. "I despise what Al Gore is doing. He is enriching himself at the expense of poor people," Hans Mentha, of the group NCFreedom, told a handful of reporters as he raised an American flag in one hand and a sign reading “Liar” and “Fraud” in the other.

In his speech, Gore addressed Mentha’s opposition and that of others. “Boy, what a relief that would be if the scientists were wrong!” Gore exclaimed. “The science is as solid as the science ever gets…what part of unequivocal do we not understand?”

Members of the media were allowed to take pictures and record video and audio of only the first five minutes of Gore's talk at the Page Auditorium on Duke University's West Campus. In that five minutes, the former VP matched wisdom with wit, regaling a bit on his political misfortunes. “I am Al Gore and I used to be the next president of the United States,” joked Gore, who unsuccessfully made a bid for the White House in 2000. “I don’t think that’s very funny. Maybe someday I’ll fully appreciate that line.”

Once the crowd was firmly in hand, Gore spent the remainder of the hour expounding on a variety of environmental issues and possible solutions, from Gore’s highly-skeptical mention of the complex carbon-capture sequestration, to the simple step of preserving forests. “Some scientists are stumped for a solution to pull carbon from our atmosphere,” said Gore. “We have that technology…it’s called a tree.”

The former technology, carbon-capture sequestration, was also addressed one day later and a couple of miles down the road during the world premiere of Dirty Business: Clean Coal and the Battle for Our Energy Future as part of Durham’s own Full Frame Film Festival. From the same folks who brought us PBS’s FRONTLINE: Hot Politics, examining the politics of the U.S. government’s failure to act on climate change, this 90-minute documentary attempts to demystify the coal lobby’s promotion of “clean coal” and introduces innovators who are experimenting with renewable energy sources such as wind and solar power.

In the film Rolling Stone reporter Jeff Goodell travels from the coalmines of West Virginia to the coal plants of China, to answer the question, “can coal ever really be clean?” In the process, Dirty Business investigates the coal lobby's $40 million dollar campaign that the technology to make coal "clean" already exists via carbon capture and storage, introducing Dr. Julio Friedmann, director of the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory’s Carbon Management program, an expert on the technology called "carbon capture and sequestration," or CCS. This technology is designed to filter out, or capture, the carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from coal-fired power plants. The idea is that once it’s captured, this CO2 gets compressed to a supercritical liquid state and injected, or sequestered, deep (sometimes around 2 miles deep) into porous sedimentary rock formations where it can be stored indefinitely, theoretically. “If we do this, we’re basically done,” says Friedmann. “We can have our carbon and eat it too.”

But Goodell remains skeptical. “[This technology] is a diet pill for the climate change problem.” He points to the scientifically inconclusive, but scarily coincidental changes to one Canadian family’s property following nearby underground carbon storage as well as the troubling repercussions of coal toxicity in the air no matter where the resulting carbon is stored (as seen by the in the damaged health of newborns in China, where a new coal plant goes up every week).

The film paints a picture (that Al Gore hinted to the night before) that a technology like carbon capture, which would allow us to consume as we always have, is not currently in full commercial operation anywhere in the world, and experts say that may not happen for 15 years or more, and even then may not be economically viable.

Unfortunately, many of the alternative energy stories from Dirty Business—from citizens fighting to build a solar power plant instead of a new coal plant in Nevada to a Kansas cowboy saving his cattle ranch with wind power to innovators making a southern Rust Belt factory so energy efficient that it will steal jobs back from China—are also innovations slow to catch on throughout the rest of the country, especially in Washington D.C.

After the film, Dirty Business filmmakers Peter Bull and Justin Weinstein answered questions and shared their concerns.

And so, from the Bull City and beyond we are still debating, deliberating, and searching for answers to an uncertain environmental future--even after 40 years of Earth Days.**

*Durham's Full Frame Documentary Film Festival runs April 8-11, 2010.

**Don't miss the UNC-TV premiere of Earth Days: American Experience, Monday, April 19, at 9 PM.

Part 3: UNC-TV in Haiti: Touchdown

2010-02-05T15:19:00.007-05:00

Before landing at Port au Prince Airport in Haiti we had to circle around the coast three times before landing.

Outside the window I saw at least four other planes flying alongside ours, they were also on a holding pattern. Along the coast, countless ships were heading to Haiti or docked just outside the port. Waiting to land is not unusual and is one of the hurdles the US Air Force has had to face in this operation. I go into this in more detail in my first Blog entry, but essentially it comes down to the issue of space. There is only one runway at Port au Prince Airport. And imagine several other countries and dozens of NGO (Non Governmental Organizations) are also on the ground or trying to get in.

We finally touched down after about 30 minutes of circling the airport. Once on the ground, the crew moved quickly into action, unloading the equipment and supplies.
The airport was a frenzy of activity. There were planes, armed personnel, relief workers and military and non military vehicles zig zagging all over the runway.Refugees sat in rows under tents to avoid the blazing sun, they watched on patiently as they waited for their turn to get on a plane. The small terminal has been destroyed there was no other place to wait but outside.

About a half mile from the airport, I could see what they call "Tent City," a makeshift city made up of thousands of military and medical personnel. It's where 3,000 members of the US Army's 82nd Airborne Brigade from Fort Bragg are stationed.

I was told there was a possibility we would be taking refugees back to the United States. Videographer Mike O'Connell and I went around looking for US officials on the ground. Each area was designated to a different country and there was quite a bit of commotion and confusion. We finally found some officials with ICE (US Immigration and Customs Enforcement).

They informed us that we were taking 45 orphans back to the US!!!

Some had lost their parents in the quake others were already in line to be adopted. After halting the process for a while, the Haitian government has agreed to resume allowing the children to be taken to the US.

The children range in age, some are babies others are teenagers. They sat on a small white school bus on the runway ready to be taken to our aircraft. I asked ICE Supervisory Special Agent Mathew King about the state of mind of these children.

He said excited but exhausted. He said some of them are already in line to go to adoptive families all over the US.

Agent King says, "A lot of eager parents are excited to get their hands on their new babies!"

Many have been waiting for years but the quake expedited the process.

He says there are 1,000 children on the list. About half have been flown to the US since the quake.

About an hour later the children are dropped off near the aircraft. There are a lot of US and Haitian officials milling around, double checking paperwork, trying to keep the children calm.

We tried to speak to some of the children. Most did not speak English and they seemed overwhelmed with what was happening to them.

Lots of people, lots of activity--and in front of them a huge US Air Force cargo plane which will transport them to a foreign land. Lots to take in.

One scene especially caught our eye as they got the children ready to board.

An ICE official holding a sleeping baby in his arm. Like a loving father he rocked and caressed her.

It turns out he is Mackay Spears, the Supervisor for the US ICE Haitian Relief Team!

I joked with him, "It does not look like she wants to let go of you!"

I asked, "What is it like holding her?"

He says , "It's an incredible feeling that you know you are helping folks out! They are getting a new future. She can turn out to be someone that goes to Stanford and finds a cure for cancer. We are helping people that can not help themselves."

You could see on all of the US officials faces they were thinking the same way! But I wanted to know, what about the children who can not get out? Ones who may be injured and are only an official paper and plane ride away from getting to safety?

He answers "That is a tough nut to crack!!! You can only help so many. You help those you can."

With that the children were escorted on to the plane and buckled up. Some were accompanied by missionaries and at least one adoptive parent from Florida.

While we were conducting interviews the crew had reconfigured the inside of the aircraft from a cargo carrier into a passenger plane. But the inside still looked a bit intimidating. The children gazed at all the equipment and gadgets on board.

Next to me I found my first pocket of smile. She was a little girl, about 4 years old, dressed in her Sunday best. She had nothing with her but the clothes on her back.

I thought about her history. Was she coming from an orphanage or was she one who lost her parents in the quake? It's not clear what her specific situation is. Does she realize that she is leaving her homeland and does she know where she is going?

She did not speak English. But in a situation like this you don't need words to communicate. Her smile was all I needed to know. She was excited to be where she was and go wherever we were going.

Part 2: UNC-TV in Haiti: Timeline

2010-02-04T13:39:00.017-05:00

In this informative timeline of UNC-TV's travels to Haiti, get a unique perspective on the North Carolina military operation to provide support to the Haitian people as well as unique perspectives on the ground.

Monday, Feb 1st

12:30 pm - Our contact at Pope Air Force base says there is a flight leaving for Haiti at 7 am on Tuesday and we must be on base no later than 2:30 am. After about a week and a half of being on stand by, Mike O'Connell and I were already packed and ready for the trip.

8:00 pm - Check in to hotel near Pope Air Force Base in Fayetteville, in hopes of getting a little rest before 2:15 am departure for the base.

Tuesday, Feb 2nd

2:00 am - Mike and I strategize over a cup of coffee in the lobby of the hotel.

2:30 am - Bright eyed and ready to work we arrive on base , check in with passports and ID's and follow PR representative towards air field with a detour to his office.

3:00 am - PR representative walks out and said there is a slight change of plans! We are told there are some mechanical problems and the flight is delayed. New crew call 8 am -- flight at noon. I am learning there are lots of variables to deal with in this and all other missions!!!!

3:15 am - Back at the hotel!

4:15 am - Right when I fall asleep for the first time I get a call saying get back to base in 15 minutes!

4:30 am - It's raining and bitter cold on base as we head to the waiting dock--called green ramp, with our gear and bags. I brought a pillow and blanket - great call!!!! This is the room where anyone on the flight has to check in and complete final preparations for the flight. The aircraft is a five minute walk. Inside we sign papers, have our ID and passport reviewed, and get instructions.

Also waiting for the flight are four high ranking members of the US Army's 95th Civil Affairs Brigade. Their mission: to assess and implement plans to rebuild Haiti. Captain Eleanor Brandy offers me a more technical description "assessing, coordinating and synchronizing the efforts of the US military, the Haitian government, and NGO's (non governmental organizations) to get Haiti back on its feet."

This means evaluating infrastructure- that includes items such as roads, water, schools and heath care. These men and women will be also be among those who make recommendations to other organizations on what needs to be done; what contractors need to be hired and making sure efforts are not duplicated. Captain Brandy says the main goal is to get the country self sustainable and not reliant on military, non profit or any other aid.

Captain Brandy would not estimate how long it will take the country to rebuild. But consider this--police, education, health care, roads, government and military--they all have to rebuild from ground zero--not only physically but also emotionally.

There is another important job ahead for this team. They are also responsible for educating the ground troops about Haiti and better preparing them how to communicate with citizens. I was given a booklet and map of Haiti published by the Marine Corps Intelligence Activity to be handed out to troops on the ground. I am prohibited from showing specific pictures or information but the booklet does contain a wealth of information on the country's history, culture, languages and religions. There are also translations for commonly used words as well as customs such as greetings, eating and more .

Captain Brady had this to say about the role of the US armed forces in Haiti: " We are a pebble in the pond and what we do will have an impact for a long time. We have to make sure the country can sustain itself with out outside aid on all levels".

The group will stay around 90 days, leaving families and loved ones in the US. While en route to Haiti group members share pictures and stories.

Around 7 am - we walk to our plane, a C-130. For the next 15-30 minutes 22,000 pounds of pallets - essentially taped boxes of food and milk - yes milk, are loaded on to the plane along with luggage and other equipment.

The plane is cold and there is not a lot of wiggle room. There are only about 15 of us on the plane, this includes the Captain, crew members and Ravens (see prior post on Ravens). The supplies take up the rest of the room. Getting to the bathroom in the back of the plane takes coordination, lots of stepping and climbing over things. The bathroom is a fold down bowl, with a plastic curtain to protect privacy and two thin handles to hold on to while the aircraft was in flight.

Around 10 am - we stop at McDill Air Force Base in Orlando, Florida to refuel. Refuel? We just left! It turns out the equipment and supplies causes the plane to use fuel rapidly--plus the crew has to plan for the possibility of not landing immediately at Port au Prince.

I did not sleep at all on the plane. There was a lot to take in, incredible people to talk to and well, a C-130 is nosy- very noisy!!! Not even the ear plugs the crew handed out helped. Others slept here and there.

As we approached Haiti you could see half a dozen other planes with the same destination plus countless ships ready to dock. Needless to say we were not first and had to circle around - making abrupt twists and turns - three times before finally landing .

As we were getting ready to land, I watched the highly experienced and trained members of the Civil Affairs Brigade making preparations. They have all been deployed to dozens of countries and countless of missions. I could not help but see worry and fear as they looked out the window. One officer who was especially jovial and friendly during the flight became somber and quiet. I asked what was on his mind.

He said, "Do you know where you are going? Do you know what is going on down there? Do you know what its like to fight for survival? Fight your friends and family for water and food?"

He continued, "Do you know what 230,000 dead people smells like? There is nothing to smile about here!"

I find out later there are small pockets of smile, but the despair continues.

Part 1: Waiting for a Way to Haiti

2010-02-03T15:26:00.005-05:00

Eszter Vajda and Mike O'Connell recently traveled to Haiti to report on the ongoing relief efforts and connections to people and organizations from our state. These stories will be featured on North Carolina Now over the coming weeks, focusing on the preparation, trip and mission of the US Air Force and military. Pope Air Force Base is featured prominently in the coverage, as well as the work of military personnel from Fort Bragg. You may also be interested in visiting Eszter's blog, which has pictures from her trip, as well as her thoughts and reflections.

Videographer Mike O'Connell and I have been waiting for a flight to Haiti from Pope Air Force Base in North Carolina for a few days now. Flights have been "projected" or planned over the past few days, only to be canceled within hours of scheduled take off. As a result, we are on standby. But it was a far different scene immediately after the devastating quake rocked the tiny nation on January 12th when flights were going out continuously.

The delay is understandable, seeing that two weeks after the quake the mission has changed for the military men and women stationed in North Carolina.Instead of air deliveries or quick landings to unload food, water, equipment and military personnel from neighboring Fort Bragg, the United States is now focusing on moving supplies by sea, many from Charleston, SC.

But initially, Pope Air Force Base and Fort Bragg were among the first to assist in Operation Unified Response. As of today (weeks after the quake) 174 flights, 3,079.9 short tons of cargo and 3,412 passengers have been delivered to Haiti from Pope Air Force.

In the next few weeks we hope to tell you the stories of the men and women at Pope Air Force Base. The 'worker bees' if you will, the people who fueled the planes, loaded them with supplies, protected the people on board and much more.

Major Eric Horst is the "top cop" on base. He is also the man in charge of a highly specialized unit of men and women called Ravens. Ravens specialize in security on aircrafts. He says immediately following the quake over 3,000 Fort Bragg soldiers were mobilized, deployed and flown to Haiti. He dismissed claims by some media outlets that the US armed forces was slow to react in getting supplies or personnel to the ground. He said the men and women at the 43rd Airlift Wing preformed an extraordinary task. Major Horst points out there are lots of variables to consider. First, the US only has a partitioned space at the airport in Port-au-Prince. Other countries and NGO's, or non governmental agencies also use not only the landing field but also air space. In fact, some flights from Pope had to circle for hours before air traffic eased up and allowed them to land. Some planes had to revert and refuel. Then there was the question of what should come first the supplies or personnel. Certainly, thousands of pounds of food and water can be delivered on the ground but who would distribute it all? Getting people there is sometimes harder than the supplies.

We also spoke to Master Sgt. Denise Knoll- a Raven. She's been to Haiti five times in the past week and a half and says the flights have been pretty smooth but the risks were high. Sgt. Knoll says she has been involved in bringing those displaced by the earthquake to the United States. There was concern that desperation would lead some Haitians to force themselves on a plane. Another factor is that many of the refugees have never been on a plane. The language barrier was a challenge and just the sheer intensity of what just happened also played a part. For many Haitians--lives and livelihoods destroyed--family and friends are now gone. And a nation that has been though decades of despair again faces a tragedy.

So Ravens are on planes to use what they say is "verbal judo" to defuse what could have turned out to be heated situations. Sgt. Knoll says she never had to use force but acknowledged she had to step in a few times when things got suspicious on the planes heading out of Haiti. I also asked what she witnessed on the ground and what were some of her most memorable scenes. She first arrived 24 hours after the quake at midnight. Sgt. Knoll says there was a calmness in the air--sort of the calm after the storm. She remembers seeing destruction all around her but the most profound were the refugees they were tasked to bring back to the US.

Most were parents holding their babies. A man or woman with their child, with no word on where their spouse was or even if they were alive. There were others on the plane but for this one soldier these are the memories now seared in her mind.

One More Adventure

2009-12-08T17:34:00.006-05:00

The past 8 days in Switzerland and Germany have been meaningful ones for many of the 35 people from New Bern and other parts of North Carolina taking part in this trip. New Bern natives have gotten a chance to see where their ancestors came from; stronger bonds have been built between the people of Bern, Switzerland and the people of the city named in their honor. On top of all that, these New Bernians have gotten their tri-centennial celebration off-and-running in grand style.

One of the many purposes of this trip has been to formally invite the people of Bern to New Bern's 300th celebration. From early indications, it looks like several dozen and possibly more than 100 Swiss plan to visit New Bern as the city holds the main events to celebrate its 300th birthday in September.

In addition to getting to know the Swiss people and see the exhibit dedicated to Bern and its daughter city, this trip has given the group a chance to get to know Switzerland itself--what an introduction it has been! Between tasting true Emmental cheese, climbing 10-thousand feet in the Alps and seeing structures that date back to the first century, this has been an incredible experience for just about everyone involved.

It's winding down today with a tour of Mainz (pronounced Mine-tz, rhymes with 'pints' of milk, etc...). Mainz, which is situated along the Rhine River, is just outside of Frankfurt. We took a tour of the city this morning, which included a stop at the Gutenberg Museum. If you came of age in the 1980s, it's not hard to conceive of the Gutenberg Museum as a shrine to that silver screen stalwart Steve Gutenberg. But Mahoney's badge and Newton Crosby's lab equipment are not part of this museum (or any venue, are they?). This Gutenberg Museum is dedicated to Johannes Gutenberg, a Mainz native who printed about 180 bibles in German in the 1400s.

Printing in those days was an arduous task to say the least. Gutenberg had to fashion his letters by melting metal and arrange them after they'd dried to press the ink on to paper. The parchment paper required to print an entire Bible required hundreds of animal skins.

The group also toured Mainz' Cathedral, which, surprisingly, only sustained window damage during World War II.

Tomorrow, the journey back to North Carolina begins for this group--I think we'll all appreciate it that much more. After hearing what the group who left this area for New Bern 300 years went through crossing the Atlantic (nearly half died in transit), it's hard to complain about delays, cancellations and cramped seats in coach...

Vines and Turrets

2009-12-08T17:12:00.007-05:00

For most of the trip (with the exception of the Alps and Emmental regions of Switzerland), our group has been sticking to the major multi-lane highways. Monday, the bus with 35 folks from New Bern and other North Carolina towns inside ventured on to some two-lane roads.

It turned out to be a great change in pace. Through the windows of the bus, we were able to see the region where many German Reisling wines get their start. There are dozens of vineyards along the Mosel River between Trier and Koblenz and they're impressive landscapes. The terrain where the grapes grow is incredibly mountainous--even still, the crops are growing at all sorts of elevations and even on the sides of mountains.

Many of us marveled at the contraptions some of the farmers use to get to their grapes: scooter-like devices that operate on tracks and climb the mountainsides at super-steep angles. Have you ever seen the stair assist machines, that follow a track to take a person up a set of stairs? That's what these farmers use, times 200.

After a stop in the quaint village of Cochen for lunch, it was back in the bus to continue on to Koblenz. The Mosel and Rhine Rivers come together in Koblenz, and the waterway is a busy one. Several barges passed through during the stop. Looking at the Rhine River got many folks in the group thinking about the paths their ancestors followed. There's a good chance the settlers from Germany's Palatine region--who were part of the first New Bern Settlement--began their journey on the Rhine River.

Vineyards dominated the first part of the trip along the Mosel, but grapes aren't as much of the scenery following the Rhine River. That's not to say there's nothing to look at--quite the opposite. We passed five or six different castles on our trip to Mainz. It's an incredible experience to see a structure the size of a castle looking down over the valley.

The German city of Mainz (rhymes with pints) is a suburb of Frankurt. The Hyatt here will be our last hotel stop--that's a good thing! Loading and unloading a suitcase, backpack, camera bag, tripod case and hard camera case every other day or so gets old!

Das Autobahn

2009-12-07T17:36:00.007-05:00

I'll explain the title in just a minute (I know, the term Autobahn demands speed and immediacy, but there's some ancient history that needs to be addressed first!)

This is day 7 (including the travel day) of the European adventure and the group is starting it off in Germany's oldest city, Trier, which is in western Germany, close to the border with Luxembourg. It's plenty exciting to see cathedrals that trace their roots to the 11 and 1200s in places like Strasbourg and Speyer, but when those church cornerstones were being laid, Trier was already a well-developed city.

Historians date Trier's inception to 17 B.C. It was once the epicenter of the Roman Empire and several relics from those days remain here in 2009, including imperial baths, a fortress known as the Porta Nigra and an amphitheater commissioned by Emperor Constantin the Great. Trier is situated along the banks of the Mosel River and its hillsides are covered with large vineyards--this region of Germany is important in the wine industry.

Now, to the Autobahn...

Sunday afternoon included a large block of free time for members of the group. I took advantage of the hours off by making plans to shoot some video for another project we're working on at UNC-TV. We've been discussing putting together a documentary about the Bechtler family, a father and son who minted millions of dollars of gold coins in the NC Mountains in the 1800s. Their coins are credited with helping connect the southeast U.S. with some of its first currency. The Bechtlers came to the U.S. from Pforzheim, Germany, a 3-hour drive from Trier. Armed with the chance to gather some cool elements for this project, I rented a Volkswagen Rabbit, borrowed a GPS and hit the trail.

As a little boy, I had this impression of the Autobahn as a flat, 10-lane highway with minimal traffic, essentially a road designed for the specific purpose of going fast.
In later years, I learned the Autobahn was a series of high-speed, multi-lane roads used to connect German cities, much like our interstate system in the U.S. Infact, many sections of the highways have speed limits. But plenty of others do not--and that's where the adrenaline kicks in.

It's a pretty awe-inspiring thing to be tooling along and have a line of three cars absolutely blow your doors off in the left lane with no punishment once so over. As you would expect, there are dozens of cars driving by at incredible speeds, but the exhilaration is ephemeral. There are indeed miles-long sections of wild, wild west traffic laws, but invariably they end with a speed limit sign popping up (usually 130 km/h down to 100, down to 80).

There's a scene from "Ferris Buehler's Day Off" that pretty much sums up how it is. Remember the part where Mr. Rooney's running to get Sloane Peterson (Ferris' girlfriend) out of class? He's in a sprint, then stops to cross in front of a classroom door, then sprints again, stops again--the sequence repeats all the way down the hall. Nonetheless, it's still a unique opportunity to have the freedom to go however fast you want. Did I take advantage? You bet, but with a tempered enthusiasm.

The Autobahn is marked on both sides with signs that are, for my money, more effective that any speed limit sign. Along the shoulder every few miles are signs with a mother and daughter (or similar combination) holding up a picture of a father/husband and urging would-be speed demons to keep it under control. It's an effective message.

Connections in Deutschland

2009-12-07T16:24:00.007-05:00

Since it was Christopher de Graffendreid and the Swiss government who led the first group to settle in New Bern, Switzerland is credited with creating the North Carolina colony in 1710. But historians say at least half of the original settlers to reach the shores of the Neuse and Trent rivers 300 years ago were German.

The first few days of this trip were dedicated to discovering the personality and culture of Switzerland and learning about the connections between the Swiss capital city of Bern and the North Carolina community named in its honor. But Germany's links to New Bern are strong, too, and a tour the region where many of New Bern's first settlers came from is part of this this excursion.

The section of Germany where those settlers began their journey is known as the Palatine region and covers part of western Germany, including the cities of Koblenz, Speyer and Trier. Historians say many of the people who lived in the Palatine region in the early 1700s were Protestant and fled Germany when the country's rulers took a hard-line Catholic stance. The Palatines left Germany on the Rhine River and eventually made it to England, where they had been offered sanctuary. With thousands of Palatines making the journey to England, Queen Anne and her people were feeling overwhelmed. They asked potential expedition leaders to take a group of Palatines with them to the New World. Christopher de Graffenreid took them up on their request.

As part of the travel through this section of Germany, the group from New Bern is taking brief tours of the towns of Speyer and Worms (pronounced with a 'v,' you probably guessed). Both towns, and many other across Europe, feature beautiful cathedrals, some of which date back to the 1200 and 1300s and beyond. The town of Worms is significant in the creation of Protestant faiths. Historians say it was in Worms in 1521 that Martin Luther was called before the Imperial Diet and refused to recant his pro-church reform teachings.

Soon after the bus pulled out of Worms, wind turbines began to dot the German landscape in several spots. I was expecting a lively discussion about whether they were detrimental to the landscape, a pipe dream, a global necessity, etc., but it didn't happen. Most folks seemed to marvel at the sight of the spinning contraptions.

The destination on this day is Trier, one of the oldest cities in Germany. Car buff that I am, I've been checking out vehicles left and right. I've gotten used to the fact that a Mercedes Benz, status symbol in the U.S., is a workhorse in its native Germany. It's not un-common to find cars all over Europe in service as taxis and police cars.

But I wasn't prepared for what I saw just outside of Trier. A nice 3 series BMW pulled up alongside the bus, festooned with signs that read "Fahrschule." I knew "schule" meant school and quickly learned (and partially surmised by the ubiquitous signage) that Farhschule meant "Driving School." Yep, that icon of achievement in the U.S., the BMW that so many strive for, is a Driver's Ed vehicle in Germany, the country where it's made. Perception: changed.

O Tannenbaum, O Tannenbaum

2009-12-05T18:33:00.015-05:00

We wrapped up our stay in Switzerland Friday morning. We spent 3 full days in Bern and really got to know some of the people in New Bern's mother city really well. The Mayor's top assistant met our bus at the hotel and briefly got on board to say "Auf Wiedersehen." She also told us she's coming to New Bern in 2010 to celebrate the tri-centennial, along with a host of other Swiss. That's been one of the really neat experiences of this trip. After working at WCTI-Ch. 12 in New Bern for several years, I got a sense of the ties many folks in New Bern feel toward Switzerland, but it's really a two-way street. There are at least a couple of dozen people from Bern and other nearby locales who plan to come to the shores of the Trent & Neuse for the tri-centennial, including members of an Alphorn Jazz Band. I haven't heard the music yet, but I'm imagining Duke Ellington joining in a Ricolla commercial.

We headed North out of Bern and soon crossed into France. Going over the border brought a first for me--the first time I'd ever RETURNED to a country in Europe. It was neat to be in France and have memories of my first visit, a mere 8 months ago. Nelson McDaniel, the group's tour guide and organizer, took us on a much-appreciated detour to Strasbourg, France. Some of New Bern's original planners spent time in Strasbourg centuries ago.

The city has a beautiful cathedral, which dominates the skyline and is made of a distinct pink stone. Its construction dates back to pre-1100 and, like Notre Dame in France and many other European cathedrals, features hundreds of intricate figures and symbols carved into the archway over the main entrances and biblical allegories throughout.

It's been very interesting to see how Europe celebrates Christmas. So far, every city we've visited has had a Christmas Market, or Weinhactsmarkt in Deutsche. They're very well attended events and celebrate the season in a way that isn't often seen in America. There are dozens of vendors selling everything from ornaments to Chaud Vin/Gloe Vein (Hot Wine). Even in Strasbourg, France a vendor had Confederate Flag/Rebel belt buckles for sale. Wow. The decorations for the season all over town are elaborate. One street has Baccarat crystal chandeliers hanging over head, the focus of legions of digital cameras.

After a marvelous afternoon in Strasbourg, we crossed the Rhine and headed into Germany. Passing between European Union member nations is often as effortless as going from North Carolina into Virginia or any of our neighboring states. There's a checkpoint to slow down for, but there's no vigorous search most of the time. Even when we left Switzerland, which has remained out of the EU, the passage into France was no big deal.

We're spending Friday night in Heidelberg, Germany, which is where Christopher de Graffenreid, New Bern's founder, did much of his schooling. It's also home to one of the more lively Christmas Market's around, some locals say. The daytime Christmas Market visit in Strasbourg was cool, but for my money (in Euros, of course) the night versions are better. There's a giant Christmas pyramid (the windmill-like contraption "Cousin Eddie" breaks in "Christmas Vacation.") Dozens of vendors are also on hand, there's music in the air and even St. Nick holds court.

6 Euros get you a pic with Santa Claus and here in Germany, there's definitely no age restriction. Several groups of rowdy young dudes got their mugs made with old Kris Kringle, who seemed to give the same smile regardless of who was around him.

In short, you can think of a Christmas Market as a State or County Fair with a total Christmas theme. You might even spot a few belt buckles thrown in here and there...

Mother Nature's Majesty

2009-12-03T18:26:00.015-05:00

Every now and then, you come across something in our world that's so beautiful, it brings tears to your eyes and exhilaration to your heart. Many of us on this journey from New Bern to the original Bern in Switzerland had such an experience today.

About an hour's drive from Bern is Mt. Schilthorn, part of the spectacular set of Swiss Alps that surround the nation's capital. It takes four different cable cars to get to the peak of Mt. Schilthorn, but the view from the top is absolutely breathtaking--at 10,000 feet, I mean that in both the literal and figurative senses!

All week, we've been a little on edge that clouds, fog, rain or snow would greet us on our journey to the summit. Mother Nature couldn't have smiled on us any more than she did. We were blessed with absolute meteorological perfection Thursday--sunshine and crystal clear skies. There's nothing like the pressure of documenting a place so beautiful--it was a major source of stress for me to get the colors right in the video and make sure the shots were well composed, in focus, etc. Thankfully everything turned out well. The ski season hasn't fully cranked up yet, but there were a few folks out, including a little boy with a pacifier in his mouth and two ski poles in his hands!

The beautiful weather continued when we returned to Bern, allowing many of us to get some much-needed pictures of the city, which is striking up close, but even more vibrant from far away.

Tonight was the grand opening of the Bern-New Bern exhibit at the Bern Historical Museum. The Swiss here in Bern have really put a lot into this exhibit (as have a group of people from New Bern), which has taken about four years to organize, research and construct. Nearly 300 people came to the grand opening and reception and toured the exhibit, which chronicles 11 stages in New Bern's history--everything from Christopher de Graffenreid's life in Bern and decision to go overseas to the birth of Pepsi Cola to present-day New Bern.

The exhibit's opening coincides with New Bern's tricentennial and it's been getting quite a bit of attention in the Swiss press. New Bern Mayor Tom Bayliss was on the front page of one of Bern's daily newspapers talking about the exhibit, tri-centennial and mother-daughter relationship between these two towns. Several other members of the delegation were interviewed by Swiss television and radio reporters and a still photographer was also on hand to capture the occasion.

We pull out of Bern bright and early tomorrow, for a brief stop in Strasbourg, France. Then it's on to Heidelberg, Germany, where Christopher de Graffenreid attended school, to visit a Christmas Market. It's been really neat to see how Europe gets in the holiday spirit!

Cheese, Castles and Good Cheer

2009-12-02T17:53:00.015-05:00

Oh, how much better it is to sit before a computer when you've had some sleep! I was on hour 37 or so when I put last night's post together. After an 10 hours in an airplane and another 14 settling in and touring Bern, Switzerland, fatigue was in full effect last night!

UNC-TV was awarded some grant funding to document a very special journey: more than 30 people with ties to New Bern are coming to Bern, Switzerland to see the city they evolved from, take in its culture and really get to know it's people. While the trip is an official visit from the city of New Bern, everyone involved is paying for their own travel expenses. Both "old" Bern and New Bern leaders realize their two cities have a special relationship that dates back to 1710, when New Bern was founded. They're hoping 2010 will be the year more people learn about the relationship and want to get to know more about the two cities involved. New Bern's planning a tri-centennial celebration and Bern's opening an exhibit that focuses on its American counterpart, both opportunities to really dig deeper into a centuries-old connection.

Day 2 of our journey was a delicious one! We spent the morning in the Emmental region, which is about 30 minutes outside of Bern. Emmental is a rural area and some of New Bern's original settlers came from this area. It's home to beautiful rolling hills, but cheese is what really puts the region on the map. We toured a working dairy and saw how cheese was made centuries ago and the more modern processes of today. Emmental cheese is one of Switzerland's best-known and even though we in America may haven't heard much of about it, we've tasted it (or at least a derivative of it)--Swiss Cheese!

The holes in Swiss Cheese are such a signature that cheese makers here have studied how to introduce the proper mix of good bacteria and carbonation to create the cavities. We got a wealth of tasty information to say the least and brought our tour to a scrumptious conclusion--a fondue lunch! When I first saw the itinerary of our trip, this was one of the first items that jumped out. Back in March, I traveled with a group of Chapel Hill Middle and High School students to France and Belgium and turned down a chance to get fondue in a restaurant. Soon after I saw it delivered to another group that had ordered it and regretted my decision for the rest of the trip. It was wonderful to finally dip a bread-bearing fork into that melting cheese and chew away!

Christopher de Graffenreid led the group that settled New Bern in 1710. After we left the dairy, we traveled to the place he left when he ventured west 300 years ago, the village of Worb. Christopher de Graffenreid's family was a noble one in Swiss society and lived in a castle in Worb. We toured it this afternoon and walked up the same sets of spiral stairs New Bern's founder did centuries ago. The old Worb castle dates back to 1050!

We also took a trip inside the new Worb castle, which de Graffenreid built when he returned from New Bern in the 1700s. The gentleman who owns the new castle now, a man named Charles Von Graffenried (The de Graffenried name is commonly known as Von Graffenried in German). Charles Von Graffenried is not a direct descendant of New Bern's settler, although they do descend from the same larger, Swiss family. Von Graffenried's grand-daughters have attended Camp Seafarer in nearby Pamlico County.

It's been special to see the excitement with which the people of Bern are greeting our group. The president of the Swiss American Society has hosted us, as has Bern's Mayor and dozens of other Bernese folks have come to shake our hands and share stories. We get a chance to meet the American Ambassador to Switzerland tomorrow.

I'm once again operating as a one-man-band on this trip, meaning I shoot all of the video that goes with the stories AND report them. Bern has posed some serious photographic challenges, to say the least--and Mother Nature is to blame. The sun does not truly come up until nearly 8am and it's down by 5pm--a very short span. As a result, my ace-in-the-hole free time to shoot video is covered in darkness! I've gotten some great pictures, but it's been in several different increments.

We're off to Mt. Schilthorn in the Alps tomorrow and a ride in a cable car, then the grand opening of the Bern-New Bern exhibit. It ought to be another exciting day in Switzerland's capital city!

Out with the New, In with the Old--for now

2009-12-01T16:27:00.009-05:00

2010 is going to be an exciting year for North Carolina's second oldest town. New Bern will begin celebrating its 300th birthday in the coming weeks.

3 centuries is downright ancient in comparison with many American cities, but New Bern's name sake had already been around for 500 years when the new colonial outpost was established in 1710. Bern, Switzerland was founded in 1191--24 years before the Magna Carta was written! There are some powerful connections in this mother city-daughter city relationship and UNC-TV has made the journey with a delegation from New Bern to document them.

Christopher de Graffenreid led a group of Swiss and Germans to settle a colony in eastern North Carolina in 1710 and named the new settlement New Bern, in honor of the Swiss capital. The two towns have some cool similarities. Both are situated on peninsulas--Bern on the River Aare and New Bern at the junction of the Neuse and Trent Rivers. We arrived in Bern to find a dusting of snow on the ground, which only added to Bern's beauty.

"Old" Bern and New Bern have both adopted a bear as their official town symbol (Bern is German for bear). The animals look similar in both locales and they turn up everywhere--on clocks, license plates, buildings, flags on rooftops.

Bern is home to about 130-thousand people and features a city center that is world- renowned. The Clock Tower is one of Bern's icons and each hour it draws crowds of people who want to see all of its moving pieces in action.

The relationship between the mother and daughter cities has been building over the past few years. New Bernians have come to Switzerland and vice versa. But the upcoming tri-centennial is bringing Berns old & new together like never before. To celebrate the 300th anniversary, the history museum in Bern is putting on a 6 month-long exhibition, "300 Years New Bern." The members of our group, including Mayor Tom Bayliss, are here to join the Swiss in the exhibit's grand opening. We got a sneak preview tonight.

The exhibit features dioramas, maps, and photographs from 11 significant moments in New Bern's 300 years--everything from de Graffenried's capture and release to the Civil War to the invention of Pepsi Cola. The photos show visitors to Bern beautiful scenes from their daughter city, places like Tryon Palace and Union Point Park.

We've gotten an incredibly warm reception from the Swiss here in Bern. The city's leaders hope this new exhibit opens Bern's people to the story of the American town that shares so much with their city. The exhibit is already getting quite a bit of Swiss media attention.

Over the next week, we'll be learning extensively about New Bern's roots in Switzerland and Germany. Tomorrow we're touring Old Worb castle, where Christopher de Graffenreid once lived. Visits to several cities in the Palatine region of Germany are also on the itinerary, places many of the first New Bern settlers called home. It's an exciting itinerary and I look forward to sharing the discoveries that will come along for the ride.

Eszter Vajda: Updates from India: New Delhi honored in National Geographic Traveler Magazine: "50 Places of a Lifetime."

2009-10-23T12:31:00.004-04:00

Observations from a reporter visiting family in Gargaon, India outside the capital.

The Minister of State for External Affairs, Shashi Tharoor, describes India's capital city as "a symbol of a country on the move, the urban flagship of a better tomorrow."

Tharoor's comments are part of National Geographic Traveler Magazine's write up on New Delhi.

Tharoor says Delhi is a "fast forward capital".

No doubt New Delhi is on the move with a booming economy, bustling businesses sector, bountiful new restaurants and glitzy night clubs.

But while the slick contemporary new buildings are a symbol of the country's fast forward movement, it's evident India's culture is still steeped in tradition that is thousands of years old.

India is a land of celebrations!

October is a particularly festive time culminating in a grand celebration called Diwali or the Festival of Lights on October 17th. This is a very important season for Hindus. But if you are in India, it's hard not to get caught up in the glamor of the activities that lead to a massive party with fireworks that light up the entire city. Over the past few days I have attended several events filled with music, traditional dances, story telling, and lots of sweets and and nick knacks for sale. Signs on store windows read "Diwali sale!". Schools and homes are also decorated with festive lights, much like Christmas for Christians. For Hindus, this is a time of worship, fasting, gift giving and visiting family and friends.

In India, even when the calendar does not say it's a holiday, religion, tradition and cultural pride are prominent among the people.

That means any chance to celebrate with beautiful colorful costumes, flavorful regional foods, and more. Indians have several types of holidays. Some are regional celebrations of the local harvest. Others are national holidays like Independence Day on January 26th--or remembering Mahatma Gandhi's birthday on October second. But most frequently they are religious.

According to the Indian census, the vast majority of the population is Hindu, the other two major religions are Islam and Christianity.

"A balancing act" for a new generation

I had a chance to visit a software company that employs a new breed of enthusiastic,
talented and driven Indians. They are mostly in their 20's or 30's sporting trendy western clothes. At this company, the majority are female some are married. You can tell they are married by the various jewelry or red dot(bindi)on their forehead. They work in a modest setting - not in one of the high rises but at a smaller building in bare cubicles on computers. Some have a Hindu God displayed as their screen savers, others have small religious statues on their desks. Members of the senior staff say most of the employees are driven by the vision of wealth.
With the influx of material goods, many want to live the life of the up and coming middle class. Others are working for self fulfillment.

I spoke to Bhawna Aggarwal, a 24 year old Hindu woman who says her parents would prefer she get married and have children instead of working at a company. I asked how she manages the intense demands of a career as a computer engineer along with the pressures from her parents. Aggarwal says its a balancing act. She leaves the house wearing western clothes but at home she puts on a sari (traditional Indian dress). I asked her if she wants to get married and have children. She says not for a few years, her first priority now is to advance at the company. Aggarwal admits later on she must get married and have children, or else be ostracized by her family. As for the religious celebrations, she says, "Tradition is the thread that has kept generations of her family connected. "

From my perspective

In the 60 + years since their independence from the British (1947), Indians have been able to propel themselves onto the global arena and become major players. But driving around the city you can see that not everything or everyone is caught up in the cascade. The contrasts between the "old" and "new" are crystal clear. And its seems like, at least for now, tradition and religion also stand still in time.

Incidentally, National Geographic Traveler Magazine "50 Places of a Lifetime “ also names the historical city Faterhpur Sikri, near the Taj Mahal on its list. The Taj was on the magazine's first list in 1999. While I visited the two places during my first trip in 2006, I will not have the opportunity during this visit.

Eszter Vajda: Updates from India: "Election Day Observations" From a Reporter Visiting Family in India

2009-10-13T15:21:00.007-04:00

I had a unique opportunity to visit a polling site in the state of Haryana on Tuesday to see how votes are cast. Two other states went to the polls to elect representatives to state legislatures. This one was located at a community center in Gurgaon, about fifteen miles outside of the capital New Delhi.

What struck me first was the lack of campaigning on election day itself. All last week candidate's supporters roamed the streets blasting campaign messages with loud speakers, while others passed out leaflets. TV news outlets ran stories of heavily attended rallies, but not on election day. Representatives from the country's political parties set up “informational booths” outside the polling sites but that was it. There was little of the fanfare I am used to seeing in the U.S. after years of election coverage. I soon found out campaigning is banned 48 hours leading up to election day! Also, stores, schools and businesses are closed in the states where elections are held. There is also no alcohol sold or served the day before or on election day.

Surprisingly, I was allowed inside the polling area despite the heavy presence of police and close scrutiny of proper identification.

Inside a familiar view, voters check in--given ballots--and votes are cast behind cloth covered booths. Once they finish, a voters' pointing finger is marked with purple ink- indicating they had voted.

Also, yours truly was interviewed by a Hindi national newspaper about my observations of the voting process. Unfortunately, it's not published in English.

Eszter Vajda: Updates from India: "Observations from my third trip to the Asian nation"

2009-10-07T12:03:00.005-04:00

Please note: These thoughts are on a few targeted cities in the second largest country in the world (population 1.13 billion compared to China's 1.33 billion). India is also still considered a developing country, with many living in severe poverty. These are humble observations from a reporter visiting family.

The world's largest democracy in India continues to emerge as an economic powerhouse. Despite global recession - there are few signs of a slowdown in major metropolitan cities like New Delhi, Gurgon and Mumbai. Construction of new buildings ready to house Fortune 1000 multi-national businesses and its new employees are everywhere.

Since my last visit in January of 2008, there have been remarkable advances in infrastructure, including a new metro system being built around New Delhi, many more paved roads and a new highway system. During my first visit in 2006, many questioned whether government was going to be able to keep up with the influx of knowledge-based industries - but it seems they are making a concerted effort that has led to real results.

Some of the growth caters to a growing 30-something middle class with more money to spend than their parents. Mushrooming in and around the city are malls packed with people and places like Pizza Hut and TGI Friday's.

But wait don't be fooled! Indian food is also next door!

India's economy is expected to grow over six percent this year after three straight years of over nine percent growth. Their push to be energy independent is impressive. More on this later.

But India was also caught up in the economic storm that swept the world. Three government stimulus packages, an influx of new dynamic goods and confidence in the country's future may partially be why the country is still growing. The Government has also implemented new taxes, relying more on the increased demand on services to fill their coffers.

An important note: In the shadow of incredible growth are the shacks, cows, and people living in severe poverty. It's not unusual to see little children living alone malnourished on the streets and most still make less than $1 a day.

While Indians may have discovered water on the moon – not everyone has an adequate water supply. I've asked whether the government is still stuck in its old habit of corruption? I have yet to get a straight answer.

One of my biggest observations: India is still hungry to advance! When I first came in 2006 I wasn't sure this boom would last or bust. As a Hungarian – I saw my country propel itself after the fall of communism, but it soon leveled out, dipped and is now holding on--fighting like true Hungarians to maintain a world stage.

Indians see the West as the best but...

But while at first everyone was peaking --now Indians (and others) are piercing their eyes at the Red Dragon-- China -- as the main competition -- not the United States. What does this mean for the world? More on this and the country's push to be energy efficient on my next post.

Background :

My first trip to India was as a reporter in 2006. I was part of a North Carolina delegation made up of leaders from all sectors - government , business, education and general policy gurus . The 10-day trip was part of a series called Learning From.... The goal of these and other trips is to see what other emerging nations are doing to catapult their country to new heights. The group has also visited Singapore (UNC-TV - Photographer Keith Blatz and I also accompanied the group). I am married to an Indian whose family owns businesses in New Delhi.

For more information on the Learning From series please visit:
Trip to India (2006).

And for more on my trips abroad, check out my
Trip to Singapore (2008).

4th Festivities still on in Edgecombe County

2009-07-04T16:35:00.002-04:00

The most challenging economic challenges in 80 years may have changed the way Americans are living, but in Edgecombe County, anyway, they're not bringing change to the way America's birthday is celebrated. On my drive home the other day, I heard a story on NPR about the struggles in Lowell, Mass. to put on a fireworks display. As I recall, the city was able to still plan fireworks, but only after some private contributions came in.

The people of Edgecombe County may have experienced rising unemployment and other struggles because of this recession, but on Saturday night, they'll still experience the crackles and booms and cascades of colors from the sky the way they always do. Edgecombe typically has two large fireworks shows for the 4th of July: one in Tarboro, the county seat and another in Macclesfield, a small community in the southeastern part of the county.
About 200 folks usually turn out for the fireworks display in Macclesfield and this year, they shouldn't expect to see any major cutbacks, town leaders say. The show in Macclesfield is financed with private donations and enough of them have come in this year to still put on a good show.

The fireworks display in Tarboro is a larger affair, with a crowd of about 3000 filling the parking lot at Tarboro High School and the Parkhill Mall to take in the Independence Day extravaganza. The city of Tarboro is paying about $3500 less for fireworks this year, but fireworks organizers say the quality of the show will be even better. Last year, Tarboro paid about $10,000 for its fireworks display, but the city changed pyrotechnics providers and got a better deal--$6500. The new fireworks facilitators have promised a show in Tarboro that will surpass the previous years' offerings.

Hard times have certainly been a part of life in Edgecombe County, but thankfully, as painful as these economic struggles have been, the party will go on Saturday night. And, at least for a day, there will be something for everyone to celebrate.

Patchwork Nation: More Job Losses in Edgecombe County

2009-07-01T15:13:00.005-04:00

Last week was a tough one for the people of Edgecombe County, about 80 minutes east of Raleigh. Friday, June 26th was the last day of operations for the Barcalounger factory in Rocky Mount. Barcalounger has made several types of reclining furniture in the Rocky Mount facility since it opened in 1964. At its peak in the 1970s and 80s, the factory employed nearly 500 people. As it closes down here in 2009, there are about 140 people on the payroll. The employees say they knew something was coming. They knew they were filling fewer orders and the impact that could have.

Barcalounger has built a reputation based on quality. All of its pieces are hand-made with a strict attention to detail. The company says in good economic times, many consumers are willing to pay extra for the quality of hand-made Barcalounger. Now that times are tighter and wallets lighter, consumers are going with price over production quality. The company will still make Barcalounger products at a facility in Virginia. Barcalounger says North Carolina made every effort to keep the jobs in Edgecombe County, but the state's neighbor to the north made a better offer.

Many of the roughly 140 employees who are being laid off as part of this move are older; many of them have worked at the Barcalounger plant for decades. Roy Edgerton, the facilities manager, is one of them. He started at Barcalounger in 1964 and has been there ever since. When the heavy rains from Hurricane Floyd force the Tar River over its banks in September 1999, Roy and his son-in-law arrived at the factory by boat. They floated over the fence and were able to salvage several computers before they were destroyed. Even with significant flood damage, Roy and his co-workers were able to get the plant up and running again in 3 weeks!

Even though Roy's losing the job he's held since Lyndon Johnson's administration, in many ways, he considers himself fortunate. He's old enough to draw Social Security benefits. He worries about many of his younger co-workers who are caught in a terrible position: too young for social security, but not young enough to appeal to other employers. The workers from Barcalounger enter a competitive employment environment. Edgecombe County's unemployment rate has dropped about 1-1/2 percent this spring, but it still stood at 15.3 percent in April.

Manufacturing job losses still account for much of Edgecombe County's unemployment challenges, but some of the county's largest employers are doing relatively well. QVC has a major distribution center in Edgecombe County and Sara Lee has a facility also. So far, both have been able to fight through this downturn without big job cuts. The county itself is also a large employer. Since Edgecombe never experienced the boom many other counties did, it's not having to make painful budget cuts this year.

So many of the people I've spoken with have mentioned the heart-and-soul of Edgecombe County's workforce. This is a group of people who have been through hard times before but also have a determination to work hard and a deep loyalty to anyone who gives them the chance.

UNC-TV Reports Fans Get a First Look at New Photos....Eszter Vajda and Kelly McCullen of Legislative Week In Review.

2009-05-11T15:03:00.006-04:00

Eszter Vajda and Kelly McCullen of Legislative Week In Review.

This UNC-TV public affairs series provides comprehensive coverage of the most important issues before the North Carolina's State House and Senate as co-hosts Eszter Vajda and Kelly McCullen go inside legislative committee rooms and into General Assembly hallways to get the latest information on matters that matter to you.

Watch Legislative Week in Review, Fridays, at 10 PM, with encore presentations on Sundays, at 1 PM.

Merci Beaucoup

2009-05-06T23:24:00.020-04:00

by Rob Holliday,
North Carolina Now Correspondent

For the first time in nearly two months, my work isn't involving the terms 'Smith Middle School,' or 'Europe' (the blog not withstanding, of course) and it's taking a lot of getting used to.

First and foremost, thanks so much for posting comments on the blog. I'm sorry if it's been a frustrating process at times, but I appreciate all the responses. From the get-go, it was my hope that the blog would help share the experiences of a group of middle and high school students and teachers from Chapel Hill and, perhaps more importantly, be a place where students/teachers/families could share their thoughts. It's very exciting to read some of the posts and hear how much of an impact the trip has made on so many folks.

The five-part series we did on the European excursion wrapped up on Monday, May 4, 2009. All of the stories can now be seen online. Visit here and click on "Europe" episodes 1-5 to watch .

With the obvious exception of the World War II footage (which given the unimaginable circumstances taking place is incredibly well-shot), all the material in the stories is in high definition. It's my hope to have the pieces available to watch online in HD also before too long. I'll add that link once it's up.

Altogether, the stories account for 45 minutes of total content. In the coming weeks and months, we'll be re-working what's already been shot and edited and adding some new content to do a full Globewatch program. I'm expecting it to hit the airwaves in the late summer-early fall.

Shooting 14 discs of material and forming the hours of footage and interviews into (hopefully) cohesive, compelling and informative stories has definitely been one of my greatest challenges, but it brought more rewards than I can count.

Whether it was carrying the tripod all over Paris, holding an umbrella over the camera in Bastogne or tolerating interviews on buses, staircases and clandestinely in front of the Louvre, the students and teachers from Smith Middle School totally made me part of the group and I appreciate that so very much.

Thanks again for a truly life-changing experience!

Back to the land of free refills and 110-volt electricity

2009-04-11T23:16:00.004-04:00

by Rob Holliday,
North Carolina Now Correspondent

The cab driver who dropped me off Sunday said I'd have no problem catching a ride to the airport--he was telling the truth. The driver probably noticed all the bags first, but nonetheless, I was in a cab and on to Heathrow within 2 minutes. Almost all London cabs are the same shape and size which makes them even easier to hail. Like so many other folks I've encountered, my cab driver was very interested in President Obama and our trip to the airport was full of questions about #44. I had feared getting all the equipment through check-in and security in London, but it was a very pain-free process. The 'queues' in the Delta terminal were short and fast-moving and none of my bags were overweight! Thanks to lots of fancy arranging, I only had to pay $200 extra for having a third bag. With heavier bags that would've been $400-$600 extra--not fun. I didn't realize it when I looked at my ticket, but I got a seat in the 'screaming kids section.' Behind, to the right and to the very far right: toddlers, none of them happy to be in this flying machine for 8 hours. Thankfully James Bond's 'Quantum of Solace' and the loud chase scenes and gunfire were able to drown out much of the wailing from the 2-and-under set. I've never considered New York as being particularly close to home, but seeing the Empire State Building from the air, it felt like my backyard. Several other Americans sitting around me--including my seat-mate from Charlotte, as it turns out--seemed to feel the same way. My first stop after clearing customs at JFK--a fountain drink with ice cubes! The flight to Raleigh seemed like an eye-blink after the journey across the pond--a good thing for someone who's been up going on 20 hours. As wonderful as it was to see every piece of luggage come off the conveyor belt un-scathed, scooping up my 3 year-old daughter was off-the-charts. This journey has been life changing. It's my sincere hope that the stories we'll soon air on UNC-TV will showcase these European experiences in a way that truly represents how enriching and empowering they have been. Now that I've done dozens of interviews, shot 14 70-minute discs' worth of material, and safely returned with six figures' worth of video production equipment, I need a new challenge. Telling these stories in a compelling way will more than fill that void.

A Taste of Home Arrives

2009-04-11T22:53:00.006-04:00

by Rob Holliday,
North Carolina Now Correspondent

My visit to London will just miss a major event on the world stage: the G-20 summit on the global economic crisis. But that's not to say I'll leave town without any idea it's getting ready to take place. The newspapers, radio and television are abuzz about the arrival of the new American President Tuesday night. Everywhere I've gone in Europe, I've been asked about Barack Obama, a man who this part of the world is very excited about, even if they can't pronounce his name correctly. The newscaster on London's 106.2 FM "President Bear-ick (as in what soldiers sleep in) O-buh-muh. It's been a neat experience to be an American in a foreign nation when the President arrives, especially when he's attracting so much attention. One of the places the Obamas will no doubt be visiting I went to check out promptly at 11:30--Buckingham Palace. It's March 31st, the last day of the season for every-other-day changing of the Palace guard. Tomorrow, April 1st, the changing of the guard will be daily. The event draws huge crowds. The ceremony is filled with pomp and circumstance, but also some surprising departures--I was not expecting to hear the Palace Guard Band playing 'Livin' la Vida Loca'--I guess they realize it's entertainment first and foremost. After Buckingham Palace, I strolled to Westminster and Parliament Square for 'Fish-n-chips' in a pub. The fish was cod, I think, and bad as all that oil and frying was for me, it was mighty tasty. I've loved buses since I was 5 and part of the reason why was the toy London double decker bus I had about that time. London has moved on to newer, more square, double decker buses for the most part, but on the #9 and #15 routes, there are still several of the old, iconic buses in operation. I was thrilled beyond belief at the chance to run and jump on to the back of one, grab the pole and take a ride. Being a five year-old again, I of course went to the upper level, sat in the front seat, and asked the driver to take my picture when we reached the end of the line. The driver told me the older buses are making a comeback in London and that the new Mayor has asked bus companies to come up with a retro double decker bus design that has the safety features/amenities of their modern-day replacements. My trip to London wouldn't be complete without a run across the Tower Bridge. Circling the base of the Eiffel Tower in running shoes was a special moment and so was crossing the Thames. I noticed a set of bright lights in a nearby building as I crossed and thought 'someone must be getting ready to do a live shot from there.' Sure enough, hours later when I turn on the TV: 'Good evening, I'm Katie Couric, reporting from London.' The run back to the hotel included trips past the London Eye, Big Ben and Parliament, Buckingham Palace and Hyde Park. I had another great British meal--chicken pot pie--with my good friend and fellow Appalachian State Alum Julia Roberson--who now lives in London. It's been great to catch up with friends and wonderful to see so many new things and take in so many new experiences, but after two weeks, it's time to head back home. Thankfully I never had to un-pack the camera gear, so this departure ought to be easier.

Road Trip!

2009-04-11T22:01:00.004-04:00

by Rob Holliday,
North Carolina Now Correspondent

As I've written before, I'm a car junkie. Soon after I decided to take a couple of days to check out London and the U.K., I also started looking in to renting a car. Not only would it be a great way to see some sights outside of London, but the experience of driving on the left side of the road from the right side of the car would be super-cool. I rented a Chevrolet Matiz (0-for-2 on the European name plates) for about 25 pounds a day from Enterprise, including almost full insurance coverage. Getting in the passenger side, starting the car and backing out of the parking space was an experience I'll never forget. Several folks I'd spoken with said driving on the left side was much more difficult than it seemed. Thankfully, that wasn't my experience. It definitely takes some coordination to steer with the right hand and shift gears with the left (the pedals are in the same spots, thank goodness). The hardest thing about the British driving experience for me was on interstate (or motorway). Everything is reversed and that includes which lane is used for passing. All day, it was strange to get in the left lane to get out of the way of traffic barreling down on me. It's also a challenge to ignore your instincts--both walking and driving--to look to the right first and then to the left. The 25 pounds I spent to rent the car were the wisest investment of the entire excursion. With unlimited mileage, I was able to drive to Windsor Castle and on another hour and change to steal a glance at Stonehenge. Over and over again, I've been struck by the age of Europe and how it's made my home country seem so new in comparison. Windsor Castle has been home to the Royal Family since William the Conqueror's day more than 900 years ago! Walking inside the castle walls and thinking of the hundreds of monarchs who've called them home was another in a long line of incredible experiences during these European travels. The state apartments in the castle are off-limits to any photography, but it's still very impressive to see the battle armor and weaponry, immaculately-decorated ceilings and walls and St. George's Hall, where the Queen sometimes hosts official visitors at a table that seats 150 people. Stonehenge was equally impressive and thanks to my GPS (now with a battery charger!) I made it there problem-free. Just when you think you've seen something really, really old at Windsor Castle, you get an all-new concept of what old is. Many archaeologists estimate Stonehenge's beginnings to have happened in about 3000 B.C. Truly wrapping my mind around the fact that something I was standing 20 feet away from has stood for five thousand years was a challenge at first. Self-guided audio tours about both Windsor Castle and Stonehenge were super helpful. You can see Stonehenge from the road free-of-charge, but it was worth the 6 pounds to get a little closer and get the audio tour. The drive back to London was about 2 hours and took me right past the Glaxo Smith Kline world headquarters near Heathrow Airport. London requires motorists driving in certain parts of the city Monday-Friday to pay a congestion charge of about 8 pounds. It's enforced with license plate recognition technology and closed circuit cameras (which are everywhere it seems) and I wasn't about to risk the 60 pound penalty for not paying. I've had much better dining experiences today. Thai food near Piccadilly Circus (very similar to Times Square) was perfect.

Au Revoir

2009-03-31T20:25:00.006-04:00

On the Road With Rob Holliday, UNC-TV Correspondent
This 11-day experience in Europe has been life-changing in one way or another for just about everyone in our group. These students have seen another part of the world and witnessed how it's both different and--also very similar--to the section of the globe they call home. They've built relationships that cross potentially formidable language and culture barriers; they've walked the beaches and battlefields where their grandfathers and great grandfathers fought for freedom more than 60 years ago. Many of the students say the experience has changed the way they look at their grandfathers. They learned that the loving, hugging, quick-with-a-joke grandpas were once young men who entered the fields of battle and put their lives at risk to save our world. Most of us were on a train from Liege to Bruxelles (I still love the European spelling) by 5:50am, which was really 4:50am--we got the joy of springing forward twice, once at home and once in Europe. I'd love to tell you how the flights home were and what it was like to return home, but I can't. While the group is flying from Brussels to Atlanta, then on to Raleigh, I (and my entourage of plastic and electronics on wheels) am taking high-speed rail to London for a few days of 'holiday' at my own expense--and well worth every penny. The journey to the U.K. was anything but restful and relaxing! For pretty much the first time since we left, I found myself at Bruxeles Midi Train Station entirely alone with 5 pieces of luggage. Throughout the trip the students, their teachers or other folks would help carry this or pull that--now it's entirely up to me. Thankfully the doorways were wide at the station and I made it down to the EuroStar tracks easily. But then the challenges began. I had to check 2 bags in one section of the terminal, rush to an ATM in another, go back through security and then on through immigration. I had about an hour between when I arrived at the train station and my train left and I needed every minute. I learned the hard way that you have to have a 'landing card' filled out before you can pass through immigration to the U.K. Oops. I had to jump out of the 'queue,' a much cooler way to say line, fill out the card, then back in the queue with about 10 minutes to spare before my train left. After a series of questions about the nature of my visit, etc., I was on to the platform. Does the escalator work? Of course not. I had to use the working escalator to get myself, the tripod case, the camera case and my backpack on to the platform. I arrived on the platform at Car 20--I needed to get to Car 4 in about 60 seconds or the train would leave without me. Just in case I needed reminding, every person I ran past said 'you better run, the train's going to leave.' I'm sprinting with all these bags and trying to control the tripod on the cart (think pushing a bicycle by the seat and not the handle bars). The thing almost went on the tracks. Finally I made it to Car 4 with seconds to spare and, looking like I just completed a triathlon, was on my way. Going through the Chunnel was cool, but the best part was re-emerging above ground, looking around and seeing cars driving on the left side of the road. Despite the stress at the station, high-speed rail is a great way to travel--I look forward to the day it's an easy option in the U.S. I dropped my bags at the hotel, then rode the Tube to check-out this incredible city. The Tube/Underground is extremely well marked and easy to navigate. Having been a Chicagoan for 4 years, I'm incredibly partial to the CTA, but for my money, the Tube is the most logical mass transit system this side of Lake Michigan. After a stop at the Tower Bridge, it was back on to the tube to check out Big Ben. Whether it was from movies, TV shows or books, I'd always had the impression that the Tower Bridge and Big Ben were only a few blocks apart. Wrong. They're separated by 4-5 miles--a stout walk, to say the least. Big Ben, Parliament, Westminster Abbey and the River Thames were all incredible to see in person. I was running on 2 hours of sleep when I saw them, but the feeling of seeing something in real life for the first time can be overpowering. But then it all wore off and I had to take a nap. I'd like to say I had an incredible meal for dinner, but both breakfast and dinner were disappointingly bland. In both cases, it was as if someone had taken a syringe and sucked any taste from the food. Yuck.

A Free Day

2009-03-31T20:11:00.006-04:00

On the Road With Rob Holliday, UNC-TV Correspondent
This is our last full day in Europe and it's a chance for the students to spend an entire day with their host families. For many of them, that means trips to do some shopping, even in exotic places like Amsterdam and Masstrict in the Netherlands. For me, it was a chance to accomplish one of my biggest goals for the trip to Europe. In February, I did a story about the green economy in North Carolina and mentioned wind power extensively. Unfortunately, we didn't really have much good wind turbine video. We had blades spinning all right, but not the towering structures that are now etched in many viewers' minds when they think wind energy. That won't be the case anymore. I spotted a huge wind farm on our way into Liege and went to shoot video of the towering turbines doing their thing. From our flight into France, we've seen dozens of wind farms in Europe. I also shot video of a cool connection between North Carolina and Europe. DelHaize, a popular grocery store chain in Belgium, is the parent company of NC's own Food Lion stores. It was cool to walk around and see a familiar logo. Unfortunately, I didn't get a chance to use my MVP card for grins and giggles. I joined one of our chaperones, Megan Webb and her host family on a trip to the corner of Belgium where the Netherlands and Germany meet. It was really cool to visit Holland and Germany, even if only briefly. Aachen, Germany is absolutely filled with wind farms, which worked perfectly for my mission. I was headed back toward Liege when I experienced a moment of true terror. There's nothing like the sinking feeling that comes when you're somewhere in either Belgium or Germany and your GPS dings 'low battery.' The prospect of using my French-English dictionary to get back was a frightening one. Thankfully, I made it to the autoroute before the battery died and switched the GPS off until I got back to Liege. Phew. For our last night, we all gathered for a dinner at the school--students, host families, teachers, just about anyone associated with the program. The Belgian students put on performances, then joined their American friends on stage. In just a few days, these students have been able to immerse themselves in a completely different culture and language and thrive, making new friends and memories simultaneously. This will be another in a line of short nights and with an added bonus--a second 'spring forward.' We turned our clocks ahead in 'the States' in early March and tonight we get a chance to do it again. Our train leaves at 5:50am--ouch!

A More Eastern Front of World War II

2009-03-31T19:52:00.005-04:00

On the Road With Rob Holliday, UNC-TV Correspondent
The rain returned for our next-to-last day in Liege--and even some sleet. With the Belgian students in class, we headed to the northeast corner of Belgium, very close to the Dutch and German borders, to see Fort Battice. This is the place where the Belgians hunkered down as the Germans moved across their land during World War II and it is mightily fortified. Our tour guide took us deep down in the fort, through a maze of hallways and back up again. Students sometimes have a tendency to wander (I sure did when I was younger), but a labyrinth hundreds of feet below the surface kept everybody in close form behind our tour guide. Our second stop, Henri Chapelle, began with chilly temperatures and sleet. Henri Chapelle is a cemetery where thousands of American soldiers are buried. Like the American cemetery, it is a very moving experience to walk through it. I was worried the sleet would really limit our ability to properly take it in, but thankfully the solid precipitation--and even the liquid variety--went away quickly. The students had an incredible tour guide, who was able to point out what the markers on each grave meant and even showed us a place where three brothers were buried together. Back in Liege, about 40 minutes away, the students spent the afternoon at school, visiting with the Belgian students. I put down the camera for a few minutes to play a little basketball. The game was fun, but with chatting students sharing the court with energized hoopsters, it was mighty crowded at times. The students went home with their families and I joined some of the chaperones and other teachers for a night out. It was at this meal that I finally understood the root of my fatigue. It takes a LONG time to eat a meal in France and Belgium. On several occasions this week, a meal that began at 7:30-8:00 rolled right along until 11pm. The food and conversation were wonderful, but late nights can add up!

Sharing culture through song...and spaghetti

2009-03-31T19:28:00.011-04:00

On the Road With Rob Holliday, UNC-TV Correspondent

The students have returned home as I write this, but I'm still on European soil, so I'll finish things off before I cross the Atlantic tomorrow. Even though Thursday was the 8th day of our trip, it was the first day that brought any significant rainfall. For a guy that has to haul around expensive electronic equipment, that is a GOOD thing! This was a joint trip with both American and Belgian students involved, enough to require a double decker coach bus. Bus nerd that I am, I thought that was particularly cool. Our first stop was to Bastogne, a city near the Belgian-German border which was critical in World War II. We toured the memorial and two museums dedicated to Bastogne and the Battle of the Bulge and learned how vital the Americans' stand in the area was in forcing the Germans to retreat. When we got back to Liege, I went to Hertz to pick up my rental car. Whether it's food or anything else on this trip, I've sort of been operating under the 'let's do this, because it's not possible back home' mantra. I had the same approach for a rental car. How about a Citroen? What about a cool Puegeot or even a Renault? Maybe they're not the venerable nameplates of Mercedes and BMW, but you don't see to many C-3's or Clio's out on I-40. So what do I find as I check into the Hertz--an Opel Astra. A cool name, but it's essentially a re-badged Saturn. Oh, well. It did have a diesel engine and a speedometer in Kilometers, so all's not lost. I wanted to include some of the students' host family experiences in my documentary, so I went to two homes where American students were spending the week. I thought 'no problem, I've got a GPS' (thanks, Dave Huppert for the loan of your cool device). When I plugged in the address on several occasions: 'no match found.' Not cool. I was able to eventually get to the first home with some directions I'd scribbled down from Google maps but with long names and signs attached to the sides of buildings instead of signs, it was hard to see whether I was on the right street. The father of one of the host families was able to help me resolve my GPS woes and I was on my way. The students at both homes were having great times with their host families--and finding ways to make connections even without the benefit of fluency in the other's language. They were playing music together, sharing photos and, of course, jumping all over Facebook. I was pleasantly surprised with the number of English-language songs on Belgian radio. It was an experience unlike any other to cruise down Rue de l'Egalite and in-and-out of roundabout intersections to 'Sweet Home Alabama.'

GDP and Godiva

2009-03-27T21:24:00.005-04:00

On the Road With Rob Holliday, UNC-TV Correspondent

Mass Transit is a very viable option in Europe and we've taken full advantage of it. The Metro got us around in Paris and today we're journeying into Bruxelles on the train (the European spelling looks cooler for some reason) and we'll use the rails to get just about everywhere today. Before I left, I invested $34 in a folding luggage cart to pull the camera equipment around. That cart earned every penny--and much, much more--today as we criss-crossed central Brussels. While the students learned about the day-to-day workings of the EU, I was interviewing some of it's officers to find out more about how the organization began, what role it plays in today's society, and how much GDP is exchanged between the EU and the US, among other things. We met our Belgian friends in the afternoon for Hot Chocolate and we definitely needed it. I opted against a hot mug, figuring I'm in Belgium for crying out loud, I must get a waffle at all costs. File this one in the 'so good it's gotta be photographed' category. With fork in one hand and the camera in the other, I shot a few seconds of video of myself pouring my chocolate syrup on the waffle. I also talked my way into a few shots of the chocolate making inside the Brussels Godiva shop across from the Grand Palace. Hopefully it will be as scrumptious on TV as it was in person. After we left Paris, the weather turned south and today was no exception. Even though they've been in a foreign nation, speaking an unfamiliar language, most of these 8th graders haven't shown any outward signs of homesickness. In case there were some longing-for-home feelings, the students had a chance to work through them today. They did a video conference with their classmates back in Chapel Hill and had some really neat 'hi Mom!' exchanges along with a lot of good questions about what they've been learning. Thankfully UNC-TV photographer extraordinaire Pete Bell was on-hand to shoot video of the Chapel Hill side. It will be really cool to edit both parts of the world together. Our Belgian friends joined us for some additional sightseeing in Belgium and the trip back home to Liege. Even in the middle of discussing the global economic recession, there were still requests for Elmo. There's nothing quite like discussing stimulus packages and credit default swaps in the voice of a small, red monster. Elmo hopes the Mr. Ben Bernanke and Mr. Tim Geithner have this thing figured out. Elmo's glad Elmo pulled out of that CDO back in July when the getting was good.

On the Road With Rob Holliday, UNC-TV Correspondent

Day 7 of the journey brought a return to the classroom at Saint Benoit-Saint Servais School in Liege. It's a much larger facility than what the students are used to back home at Smith Middle in Chapel Hill. They're are about 1000 students here, ranging in age from 6th-12th grades. My camera and I popped in to two english classes and a math class. The latter was particularly interesting. All six of the American students who were in class with their 'pen pals,' or host students, were called on at one time or another. While they all knew exactly what was happening with the fraction reductions and algebraic equations, it was a challenge to express it in French. With a little help from the instructor, they were able to get the correct answers across in the language of choice. We also visited some classes where Belgian students are learning English. The Belgians loved having Americans in class to speak their language with--many of them had written stories and questions to ask. Fully 25% of them were about Barack Obama, with the Jonas Brothers a distant second. It's very exciting to see the students work with each other on perfecting their less dominant language; the Americans are practicing lots of French and vice versa. Recess-lunch was a major shift from back home. The students have about an hour and 15 minutes to grab lunch and some exercise. Several of the boys took on the Belgians in basketball and faced a surprisingly strong challenge. We spent the afternoon touring the city of Liege, which is similar in size to Raleigh. One of the coolest things we visited (and did we ever make every step count) was a set of 374 consecutive stairs up a hillside. Walking all of them with a video camera was not exactly a picnic, but the view from the top was marvelous. Tomorrow brings one of the major focal points of our trip--a visit to Brussels and the European Union.

Busing to Belgium

2009-03-27T20:36:00.004-04:00

On the Road With Rob Holliday, UNC-TV Correspondent

We began day 6 of our European Excursion in Bayuex, a town in the Normandy region of France where gratitude to Americans still runs pretty deep. Allied forces helped free the people of this region from German control in World War II and 65 years later, American flags fly all over town and even in the entrance to our hotel. We spent most of the day on the bus, which proved to be a good chance to get some rest. After several long days on our feet touring Paris and the D-Day sites, it was good to let the tire treads do the work for a day. It also gave me a chance to do a few interviews with some of the students for the documentary I'm here working on. It's often hard to catch up with folks when we're running from place to place. Chris Relton, our tour guide from ACIS, pointed out several World War I battle sites in northern France, a perfect segue to the creation of the European Union. The EU is a major study focus of the trip for the students and driving through areas where 2 major wars were fought really seemed to help make the case for why the EU was formed in the 1950s--to prevent European conflict first and foremost. The sizes of everything in Europe--from cars to portion sizes-- have been of great interest to me and also many of the students. Many of us have noticed not only the shortage of Suburbans and surplus of SMART cars, but also much smaller portions on our plates. Making do with less has been a good thing for sure. I made a tactical error as we pulled into Liege, Belgium, where the students will spend the week with Belgian host families. I made a comment about Hannibal Lecter of 'Silence of the Lambs' fame, the mere mention of whom seemed to frighten one of the teachers in our group. My solution? Elmo. With a 3 year-old little girl, I frequently impersonate the furry red creature with a propensity for speaking in the 3rd person and making buckets of money. It was all over from that point. Every 30 seconds or so, it was "Mr. Holliday, Rob, do Elmo!" The students were a mix of nerves and excitement as they met their host families, many of whom brought large welcome signs and pictures.

A change in scenery and mindset

2009-03-26T20:11:00.008-04:00

On the Road With Rob Holliday, UNC-TV Correspondent

After a short night, we were off to points west early Sunday morning. For the first time (our flight in to Paris not withstanding) we saw some of the European countryside. The green landscapes that appeared so vibrant from the plane were still brilliant as the kilometers rolled by on the 'motorway.' I've noticed quickly that you can get Coke, Coke 'Light,' and Pepsi in Europe, but if you want Mountain Dew, forget it. If you want a fountain drink with ice, tough luck. Thirsty and just want a quick sip from a water fountain, ain't happenin' most places. My need for caffeine as we made a pit stop along the way was filled with Coke in a plastic bottle, but man would a Dew with ice cubes have hit the spot. We stopped in a surprisingly cool place for lunch--a town by the name of Bayeux which dates back to about 1000-1100 A.D. It's filled with all sorts of neat architecture and cobblestone streets and a hotel-restaurant where both the World War II military figures (Eisenhower) and the actors who played them (John Wayne and Tom Hanks) once stayed. The 8th grade students have been studying World War II closely this year so they're up on their history, but our tour guide, Chris Relton, gave us a good refresher. Thankfully I had completed my paperwork with the American Monuments and Battlefields Commission, so my camera and I were able to get in to the American Cemetery in Normandy. I was not prepared for how much the visit to the memorials would get in to me. As soon as I saw the waves of the English Channel crashing on to Omaha Beach, I lost it. My mind was filled with images of the thousands of Soldiers, Marines and Sailors who arrived there nearly 65 years ago and the unimaginable sacrifices they made. It was one of the most moving experiences I've had--I don't think I've had a moment when I've been more proud to be an American. The weather, once again, was incredibly cooperative. As I was shooting video in the cemetery, the sun broke through the clouds to create vibrant colors. In a moment of great serendipity, I came across volunteers from Les Fleurs de Memoire, a group that lays flowers on the graves of American soldiers. When I met them, they were laying flowers at the grave of US Army SSgt James Wyatt from North Carolina. After we left the cemetery, we made our way to Omaha Beach. Several of the students brought bottles to bring sand with the back to North Carolina; others decided to leave a piece of themselves in the sand, writing messages about our troops and World War II in the sand. I was intent on getting close up shots of the waves coming to shore--and got a little too much tunnel vision. By the time I looked up, the tide had come in and I, along with a group of about a dozen students and chaparones were stranded on an island. A walk through the English channel in late March is a chilly one! We had a chance to also tour Pont du Hoc, an area that overlooks Omaha Beach and saw very heavy fighting during D-Day. It remains to this day as it was in 1944, complete with dozens of 10'-10'-8' craters and abandoned German shelters. Pont du Hoc allows visitors to experience battle in a way few other things can. We spent the night back in Bayeux, but not in the same place where Ike and Hanks crashed--the Novotel was nice, but sans lots of pictures of famous folks. I met with Germaine and Francois DuFour, who grew up in Normandy and still live there. Germaine's family's home was taken over by the Germans and used as a command post--all while her mother was secretly working with the Allies. She and her husband have a tie to NC--their son, Jacques, owns French Connections--a store in Pittsboro. It was a chore to light an interview, arrange furniture and microphones on my own, but thankfully I had some time to work with. Hearing the DuFours' stories was well worth all the tangling with stands, cords and 110-220 volt adaptors. After five days of all-day touring, we're tired, but still having a great time. Tomorrow it's on to a new country--and a chance to make many new friends.

Surrendering my passport...willingly

2009-03-26T19:33:00.010-04:00

On the Road With Rob Holliday, UNC-TV Correspondent

From sun-up to well after the moon was out, this was a day dedicated to Paris' best-known structure. I love to take a run in the morning--usually 3 miles or so--and especially love to simultaneously burn calories and take in the sights of a new place. My goal before I left Paris was to run to the Eiffel Tower and back. Thanks to Google maps, I learned that would involve a reasonable 6-mile jaunt. I was prepared to feel some fatigue from the energy expended from all those steps, but much more exhausting was the effort to figure out where in the world I was going. For the first time ever, I ran with a map and it really bailed me out several occasions--like when Boulevard de Montparnasse suddenly veered to the right with little to no warning. I ran 6 miles, sure, but my mind felt as if it had completed a list of differential equations when I returned. This was our busiest day in Paris by a long shot. After breakfast, we metro'd it over to the Louvre. As expected, my camera was contraband at the art palace, but Chris Relton, our tour guide, did an outstanding job pleading my case. Our group of about 30 broke into smaller groups to tour the facility. One of them had the good fortune of being locked inside when a security gate closed--they got out pretty quickly without much explanation, but no worse for wear. I had about an hour to check things out and spent at least a third of that time navigating. I can usually figure out a map pretty easily, but foreign languages and fast-ticking time make my mind a mush. Thankfully I did find the Mona Lisa--that was an 'at all costs'-sort of mission. After hearing everyone tell me 'oh, it's SO small!!,' I fully expected daVinci to have put his masterpiece on an 8x10. It's actually much bigger than that. Art critic I'm not, but I'd say it's pretty average in size. I think it's considered small because it's surrounded by floor-to-ceiling masterpieces from other artists. After we left the Louvre, we transited (by foot and train this time) over to the River Seine for a cruise. We got underway at the foot of the Eiffel Tower and cruised to Notre Dame and back. The weather was absolutely spectacular every day we were in Paris--50s and bright sun. For a guy that bought a new rain coat and planned to have to constantly wipe the camera lens of raindrops, that was a beautiful thing. The students were champing at the bit to exchange euros for souvenirs, so they went to the Latin Quarter (named for its universities, not ethnicity I've learned). In the TV biz, we often try to shoot 'stand-ups,' the portions of stories where a reporter speaks directly to the camera and says 'police say the man was wearing clothes when he crossed the street, but by the time he stole his neighbor's riding lawnmower and reached this corner, he had on nothing but the Busch Light in his hand.' Thanks to Smith Middle's Technology teacher, Kevin Harvey, who's accompanying us on our trip, I was able to shoot a few stand-ups to tie all my stories together--thankfully none of them involved nude jaunts on a John Deere. By nightfall, it was time to rise to the highest point of our visit (totally planned and obnoxious cheesi-ness), the top of the Eiffel Tower. That brings me to the title--about 3000 words in. How's that for getting to the point? To get permission to shoot video of the students touring the Tour d'Eiffel, I had to exchange my passport for a media badge. Oh, the things we go through to get the 'money' shot sometimes. The trip to the top comes in shifts. You ride an elevator about 30% of the way to the top, then transfer to another lift to get to the top. We had a few folks afraid of heights among us, but thanks to night skies and a lot of people in the elevator, they were shielded from the scariest parts of the journey. The view from the top was out-of-this-world. I've ventured to the top of the Sears Tower (I will NEVER refer to it by it's new name, whatever that is), the World Trade Center, The John Hancock Center and the Empire State Building and the Eiffel Tower's views rival them all--if not surpass them altogether. Since the Eiffel Tower is so much taller than anything else in Paris, you can see so much more since there aren't many other skyscrapers to potentially block the view. Needless to say, LOTS of flashbulbs were flickering. We traversed back to our hotel after midnight (go ahead, sing some Eric Clapton to yourself) with a sense of great satisfaction. Thanks to great tour guides and a lot of stamina, we experienced Paris to the fullest. The students had a chance to try their French in real-life theater and totally soak in a new culture in a beautiful place. Oh yeah, I got my passport back.

Paris from Notre Dame to Moulin Rouge

2009-03-24T18:59:00.005-04:00

Rob Holliday, UNC-TV Correspondent

I don't think I stirred once. After a long day of travel, I woke up incredibly refreshed and ready to check out more of Paris. Today's plans put us on a bus with a professional tour guide, longtime Parisian Julian Brown. Our bus travels took us through Paris to Les Invalides, a golden-domed structure that is home to the tomb of Napoleon Bonaparte. It's also another place where TV cameras take on the same role as Louis XVI during the French Revolution. C'est la vie. Our coach took us all across Paris for a quick peek at the Eiffel Tower and River Seine and an extended stay at Notre Dame Cathedral. It's an incredible place. From the flying buttresses that support it structurally to the statues that represent its story symbolically, Notre Dame is magnificent. The intricacies of the statues, which represent the stories of Original Sin and the pull between heaven and the underworld, among other things, is amazing. Just about all of us had a crepe for lunch--everything from the chocolate Nutella to an egg, ham and cheese variety. My crepe was so good I had to have my picture taken as I ate it. Seriously. After lunch, we stumbled on to a really neat piece of Paris flavor--a street performer playing an accordion. Needless to say, he had plenty of Euros in his cup from all the swept-away Americans walking by. The rest of the afternoon gave us a chance to make a choice. Half the group toured the Musee d'Orsay, where the masterpieces of Monet and VanGogh are on display, among others. The others of us went to Paris' highest point, Montmarte and the Sacre Couer Catholic Church. The views were absolutely spectacular from up high. Sacre Couer was another example of something many of us who are making our first visit to Europe notice time and again--the age of so many structures. To tour a place that was built in the 1200s is quite an experience. We made our way back to our hotel via Moulin Rouge. We didn't go inside, but it was kinda of cool to see the famous venue on the outside. We feel like we've seen so much of Paris already--but some of the most thrilling experiences are yet to come!

Bienvenue!

2009-03-24T18:28:00.010-04:00

Rob Holliday, UNC-TV Correspondent

This title is one of the first few words of Francais I picked up once we touched down in Paris. There's nothing to make you feel confident in your mediocre Spanish speaking abilities like a visit to France. We checked into the Marriott Rive Gauche (French for Marriott hotel on the left bank of the River Seine) about 11am. By the time we hit the streets for sightseeing, we'd been up for about 23 hours (give or take a few cat naps on the plane). As hard as staying up that long was, it was a huge help with adjusting to a time zone that's five hours ahead of ours and fighting jet lag. Our first visit was to a Paris Metro station, which we took to the Champs Elysses, Paris' equivalent of New York's 5th Avenue, Chicago's Michigan Avenue and Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills. The students were thrilled to set foot on this famous piece of pavement (well, it's cobble stone, if you want to be truly accurate). At any rate, they've been learning the words to a French song about Champs Elysses, which the sang joyfully as they walked toward the Arc de Triomphe. Most of us had baguettes (french bread sandwiches) for lunch and spent about two hours on the Champs Elysses taking in the mile of fine store fronts and the most famous arch this side of St. Louis. My camera and I were thrilled to lay a lens on such a famous structure--I wish I could say Paris police were equally excited to see us. I've learned you have to go through all sorts of channels to shoot video of certain places in Paris--even public, outdoor spaces--like the Arc de Triomphe, the Invalides Palace and the Louvre. This is unheard of most places and super frustrating, but thankfully there's a great lens on the camera to shoot from a distance. I spent extra time to shoot some more video on the Champs Elysses--including a movie poster for "Marley and Moi." The plan was to ride the Metro back, but with time running out and the prospect of a confusing rail map in a foreign language ahead of me, I opted for a cab ride. Not a whole lot of conversation in that Citroen. We went for dinner as a group at a nearby restaurant. Most of us had chicken and some other vegetables--more authentic cuisine comes tomorrow. The students are really enjoying the chance to not only take in new sites they've seen in movies and books but also the opportunity to truly use the French they've been studying so hard. I've relied on these 8th graders countless times for translation help! Many of us were barely able to keep our eyes open at dinner--falling asleep tonight will not be a challenge.
--Rob Holliday

The Trip Across the Pond

2009-03-24T16:37:00.014-04:00

Notes from the Road, Rob Holliday, UNC-TV Correspondent

The past few days have brought all sorts of firsts--a visit to European soil, a dollars-to-euros currency exchange and the use of 220-volt electricity--so why not add another new endeavor: my first blog post! I'm traveling with a group of nearly 30 students and teachers from Smith Middle School in Chapel Hill as they tour Europe and study its connections to the US and North Carolina. The trip is made possible by a lot of hard work on the part of the students and their teachers and an incredibly generous "Getting to Know Europe" grant from the European Union. We left RDU on Wednesday, 3/18 at about noon--an exciting occasion for the traveling party, and a somewhat stressful one for me. Getting two cameras, six batteries, two battery chargers, 3 microphones, a tripod, a light kit, an external hard drive, a laptop computer, two dozen discs and tapes and two weeks' worth of clothes through security and on to an airplane is quite an endeavor! The camera bag JUST BARELY fit as my carry-on luggage--paper thin gap between the bag and the storage bin. We connected to our flight to Paris through Atlanta, the perfect place, for many of us, to have our first encounter with the Euro. The exchange rate wasn't great, but our group wanted to have the correct currency in pocket when we reached our destination. At about 7pm, we left Atlanta for the 8-hour journey to Paris. The Boeing 767 provided comfortable travel, but the trip certainly felt like every bit of 8 hours. We flew through light into darkness, then back into light as we entered European skies. We were greeted by beautiful green landscapes, green power in the form of several wind farms and the Eiffel Tower from the air. We arrived at Charles de Gaulle airport at about 9:30am local time, about 19 hours after leaving Raleigh-Durham. But one of the worst welcomes for weary travelers passed us by, thankfully. Even with our huge group, EVERY piece of luggage was spinning around on the carousel when we arrived. Nothing beats having the cameras AND the batteries to power them. Now it's on to Paris!

--Rob Holliday

UNC-TV "News & Views" Blog Partners With The News and Observer's "Under The Dome"

2009-02-05T15:40:00.000-05:00

The News and Observer's blog, Under the Dome, is a premier online source for the latest in North Carolina politics and government.

This blog is maintained by the N&O's Ryan Teague Beckwith with the help of reporters Barb Barrett, Lynn Bonner, Rob Christensen, Dan Kane, Ben Niolet, Jane Stancill and Mark Johnson.

Click here or check the UNC-TV News & Views Blog Interactive Links (in the right-hand menu) anytime for direct access to Under the Dome's latest information about state and federal government, political advocacy and upcoming elections.

Gov. Beverly Perdue and UNC-TV's Eszter Vajda

2009-02-02T12:17:00.001-05:00

North Carolina Governor Beverly Perdue (l.) joins UNC-TV's Eszter Vajda for another informative interview. Photo by Pete Bell.

Click here for more from UNC-TV's weeknightly television newsmagazine, North Carolina Now.

NC Now Newsmaker Interview With Former First Lady Mary Easley

2009-02-02T11:51:00.002-05:00

Check out the following behind the scenes images of UNC-TV's North Carolina Now interview with former North Carolina first lady Mary Easley:

UNC-TV Videographer Alan Brown and crew prepare to speak with Mary Easley.

UNC-TV interviews former first lady Mary Easley for North Carolina Now.

To view this interview in full, simply click here.

Legislative Week In Review - Premiere!

2009-01-28T11:30:00.000-05:00

Fridays at 10 PM, get comprehensive coverage of the most important issues before the North Carolina's State House and Senate as co-hosts Eszter Vajda and Kelly McCullen go inside legislative committee rooms and into General Assembly hallways to get the latest information on matters that matter to you. Legislative Week in Review returns Friday, January 30, at 10 PM.

A Conversation With the Next North Carolina Governor: Bev Perdue

2008-12-18T19:43:00.001-05:00

"I'm being told that on my watch, very soon, all of the circumstances surrounding the de-facto moratorium may come to closure and that very likely very quickly I will be Governor when several very quick, in a row, executions are scheduled by the court system of NC."

Governor Elect Bev Perdue

During an Interview with UNC-TV

December 2008

Current Lieutenant Governor and soon to be Governor Bev Perdue sat down with me for about twenty minutes to talk about issues facing the state.

No doubt she is faced with a tough challenge - state revenues are down and the state is experiencing a budget shortfall that could go as high as $3 billion. Among the solutions? A tax hike on tobacco is not off the table and state departments can expect to keep Gov. Mike Easley's proposed 5% cut on all state agencies through next year.

As for the troubles among some state departments and agencies, namely Mental Health, Probation and Transportation? You can expect the Governor to visit these locations personally in order to re-evaluate programs and personnel.

We also talked about unions. Big money poured into North Carolina during the past election from national unions, and Perdue, among many others, were on the receiving end. Just recently Smithfield Packing Co. voted to unionize, and pending federal legislation (supported by president-elect Obama) could make it easier for companies to unionize. So is collective bargaining on the horizon? Perdue says she does not support the notion. But there is still the legislature -- state and federal -- to consider. So, we shall see!

As for the Death Penalty -- you read the quote. Sounds like the de-facto moratorium on executions may be no more in 2009. This is a long and complicated issue that I will cover on a later post.

We also spoke about her strong ties with the legislature. How will relationships with key leaders (Sen. Pres. Marc Basnight and Majority Leader Sen. Tony Rand) change? Or will it remain 'business as usual'? Plus what does Perdue want as her legacy? And much more.

Perdue seems energized and ready to take on the task -- the question is does she realize how big the task ahead really will be?

To watch the entire interview with the state's incoming governor, tune in to UNC-TV Dec 26, at 7:30 PM. There will be another showing during UNC-TV's inauguration coverage. I'll keep you posted.

Happy Holidays!!!

Eszter Vajda, UNC-TV

Battleground in North Carolina

2008-11-03T09:56:00.000-05:00

It was a busy weekend for politics in North Carolina. Early voting ended on Saturday, with more than two-and-a-half million people casting votes. Candidates and their surrogates made last pitches to voters. Comedian Chris Rock and singer Billy Bragg made the case for Barack Obama -- but the most high-profile appearance this weekend was Sarah Palin in Raleigh. The Republican vice presidential candidate has motivated women from both parties to get involved this year. Dave DeWitt reports.

Listen Now.

Voting on the Economy

2008-11-03T09:49:00.000-05:00

The economic situation in our northern neighbor and battleground state of Virginia is influencing voters. NBR's Darren Gersh looks at how the state has changed since 2004.

Prepping For Problems

2008-11-03T09:46:00.001-05:00

With a rush of early voters going to the polls, state officials are preparing for a strong voter turnout and lawyers are amassing in battleground states in case problems occur. Click here to read more.

Tavis Smiley: Please Drive Up

2008-11-03T09:42:00.000-05:00

Early voting has begun in many states and California is offering a new way to cast a ballot. See how it works in one of many submissions to the PBS Video Your Vote project.

And see the videos that have been submitted by voters across America.

State Officials, Attorneys Prep for Possible Voting Problems

2008-10-30T14:39:00.000-04:00

With a rush of early voters going to the polls, state officials are preparing for a strong voter turnout and lawyers are amassing in battleground states in case problems occur. Legal experts weigh the situation.

Click here to learn more.

Looking for Excitement in Politics!

2008-10-30T14:37:00.001-04:00

User "RichDebate" thinks the perfect candidate is someone who can get voters excited. What will it take to win yours?

Let's Get Political!

2008-10-30T14:35:00.001-04:00

Access, analyze, act! Take this quiz from PBS Teachers and find out how engaged you are with political and social issues.

Voter Registration...It's Not Too Late.

2008-10-28T14:21:00.000-04:00

Voter Registration...It's Not Too Late.
You can't vote if you aren't registered, and the deadline to register in North Carolina is 25 days prior to election day. However, Individuals who miss the registration deadline, if qualified, may register in person and then vote at a one-stop voting site in the person’s county of residence during the one-stop absentee voting period, which begins the third Thursday before an election and goes through the last Saturday before an election.

action='http://www.vote411.org/pollingplace.php' method='post'>
Find Your Polling Place:

With a Week to Go, Candidates Make Final Pitches to Voters

2008-10-28T14:01:00.000-04:00

With a Week to Go, Candidates Make Final Pitches to Voters

With Election Day nearing, Sens. Barack Obama and John McCain are racing around the nation's battleground states in a final attempt to shore up voter support. Political analysts discuss closing campaign strategies.

Click here to read the transcript.

2008-10-28T13:23:00.000-04:00

Check out UNC-TV's November Election 2008 programming lineup:

FRONTLINE The War Briefing
Tuesday, October 28, at 9 PM
Get an insider’s look at the real foreign policy choices facing the next president of the United States.

FRONTLINE The Choice 2008
Monday, November 3, at 9 PM
In the final days of the race to the White House, FRONTLINE presents an uncompromising exploration of presidential candidates Senators John McCain and Barack Obama in dual biographies.

UNC-TV/PBS Newshour Election Night Coverage
Beginning Tuesday, November 4, at 6 PM
Join Jim Lehrer and the NewsHour team along with UNC-TV’s political specialists Eszter Vajda and Kelly McCullen for comprehensive results from around North Carolina and the nation with election night coverage from North Carolina Now and The Newshour with Jim Lehrer.

22 Days to go. Do you know who you are voting for ?

2008-10-13T13:22:00.000-04:00

Every election season UNC-TV invites the candidates for Governor, the other nine members of the Council of State (Lt. Governor, Treasurer etc), as well as candidates for the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate to participate in unedited interviews on issues important to North Carolina voters. These candidates are also invited to take part in our Candidate's Speak Project - where they have 90 seconds of unedited air time to talk about issues they think are important in this election. This list includes the states two highest courts.

At this point, Kelly McCullen and I have finished all the one on one interviews with those who accepted our invitation.

Yes! There is more to this election than the presidential race! Some of you may be in for a shock when you hit the polls this fall. All 120 seats in the State House of Representatives and 50 in the Senate are up for grabs.

Council of State spots such as Lt. Governor, State Auditor, Commissioner of Insurance, Treasurer, Superintendent of Public Instruction, Attorney General, etc are also up for consideration. You will also have to make a decision on some Judicial positions such as the N.C. Supreme Court and the Court of Appeals.

These are men and women who will be charged with setting and making decisions on some pretty serious policies and laws that effect each and everyone of you.

Do you know who they are ?

UNC-TV Election Specials, Tomorrow Night, Beginning at 8 PM!

2008-10-13T13:18:00.000-04:00

North Carolina's Choice: The Governor

Tuesday, October 14, at 8 PM

UNC-TV presents back-to-back candidate profiles beginning at 8 PM with a closer look at the North Carolina gubernatorial race in this UNC-TV-produced documentary providing an uncompromising look at the issues and perspectives of the party candidates.

North Carolina's Choice: U.S. Senator

Tuesday, October 14, at 8:30 PM

UNC-TV presents back-to-back candidate profiles beginning at 8 PM with a closer look at the U.S. Senatorial race in this UNC-TV-produced documentary providing an uncompromising look at the issues and perspectives of the party candidates.

FRONTLINE's The Choice 2008

Tuesday, October 14, at 9 PM

Election analyses continue, at 9 PM, when FRONTLINE's The Choice 2008 takes an uncompromising look at the issues

Summarizing the GOP Convention

2008-09-05T01:35:00.000-04:00

It simple terms - the GOP National Convention started with a whimper and with no confirmed schedule because Hurricane Gustav refused to be predictable.

It ends with delegates feeling mighty enthused about their presidential ticket.

In between, North Carolina's delegates can't get enough of Alaska Governor Sarah Palin. They like and support Sen. John McCain, but they volunteered more comments about Mrs. Palin without prompting in the form of my questions.

Here's what the NC delegation says to expect now that the conventions are behind us and "real" campaign season can start.

Wrap the Gavel and Return to NC!!!!

2008-09-05T01:08:00.000-04:00

The GOP National Convention is over and all those thousands of delegates are returning home to hit the campaign trail or help a candidate who must hit the campaign trail very hard over the next two months.

I do have one comment about watching the convention speeches. To me, Sarah Palin's speech in person bore little reflection to how her presentation showed on television. In the arena, the governor is about three inches tall from my vantage point and the speakers are designed so the people sitting where the hockey rink resides can hear her best. In the Xcel Energy Center, it was all about location, location, location if you were to see all the emotion and nuances of the performance.

On the other hand, I was working in the press office when Sen. John McCain began his acceptance speech. The convention hosts set up a large room with the best Internet connection I've ever used in my life. That office had plenty of flat screen TV's with the audio turned up. The senator, to me again, was very deliberate in his approach - a strategy that may come across flat to critics. I walked to the convention floor - the midway concession area where you can see the stage if no one's blocking your view - and Sen. McCain seemed very warm and sincere with how he was speaking. This is in the same audio conditions and location where I observed Gov. Palin's speech.

It was interesting to note, as an observer, the difference the TV set can have in enhancing one person's emotional presentation while possibly cheating an earnest-sounding person of that same emotional nuance. Then again, these are political speeches on which hours have been dedicated to making them "right."

So, is "the tube" cheating a speaker with a weeks-in-the-making national speech or is it holding such a performance to an honest accounting? I guess it depends on who's reading that telePrompTer.

The Buzz in the Air.....

2008-09-04T18:19:00.000-04:00

Labor Day was supposed to kick off the Republican National Convention with much fanfare but Hurricane Gustav deflated the party balloons for about 48 hours. Every delegate I asked concerning the convention's somber beginning first told me they wanted the Gulf States' resident to be okay and get the emergency relief they'll need to clean up.

Well, by Wednesday the atmosphere was 170 degrees in the opposite direction. The Palin acceptance speech pushed the enthusiasm a full 180-degrees especially given the press coverage last night's events generated. Some the NC delegates have been saying the excitement has been building.....I "turned" (TV Speak) a web-only story for UNC-TV on how the delegates are feeling heading into the big John McCain acceptance speech Thursday night in primetime (don't forget to watch it on UNC-TV)

Sarah Palin Captures the Stage....

2008-09-04T18:13:00.000-04:00

If you had your television on Governor Sarah Palin's acceptance speech last night, you had a better view of the Alaska governor than we did. But, our seats were as good as any other TV crew inside the Xcel Energy Center. Our view was clear and unobstructed, but it was evident you were watching a small person standing in the middle of an arena designed for hockey. Also, the audio didn't sound so clear given you had an arena full of GOP supporters cheering their heads off. But, the TV probably didn't convey the sense of electricity coming from the convention floor. I imagine it was the same in Denver for Sen. Barack Obama's speech and Sen. Hillary Clinton's address to the Democratic National Convention. Regardless of your political leaning, you feel the electricity when you're in such settings.

In fact, I covered Governor Sarah Palin's effect on the NC Delegation that nominated her Wednesday night in St. Paul. Watch below for that story that aired on UNC-TV's "North Carolina Now" on Thursday night.

Oops, I left the black graphics screen on my story...those are designed for the producers of NC Now so they know the people I've interviewed and the length of the story. You get a glimpse behind the scenes by clicking "play."

By the way, mega-thanks to producer Galen Black! This new digital technology can make your stomach turn!

Walking Downtown While Everyone Else Marches

2008-09-03T13:37:00.000-04:00

I wrote in an earlier entry that we walked through a protest march to get to the convention on Labor Day. I reviewed some of the video and put together a video piece that's part story and part montage of that walk. And, in full disclosure, it marks a debut for me editing and posting video stories to the UNC-TV websites - a neat development in this world of digital video.