Twenty-plus-year Blair-HSM employee Joe Hall shaves millimeter-wide pieces of metal off an aluminum drag brake, used in military planes. (Port City Daily photo/Johanna F. Still)
SOUTHEASTERN N.C. –– A group representing nearly 30 manufacturing companies, including a handful of the largest employers in the region, has banded together to form an official alliance.
The Cape Fear Manufacturing Sector Partnership is the first of its kind in the region and possibly the second in N.C.
Its novelty is in an industry-driven structure, as opposed to a public-private partnership or public-led organization with business participation, according to Erin Easton. Manufacturers credit Easton with spearheading the concept into reality.
May 27 North Carolina reported its 1 millionth positive test for COVID-19 on Thursday, 450 days after reporting its first. More than 13,000 North Carolinians have died due to the virus, according to the state Department of Health and Human Services. The pandemic has had a broad effect on society, including public health, the economy, education and politics. Dr. Myron Cohen, director of the .
The NC Department of Commerce website tells those filing unemployment benefits it will take 14 days to receive payment, but it is still “awaiting guidance for issuing those payments” from the federal government. (Port City Daily photo/Mark Darrough)
SOUTHEASTERN, N.C. As part of our countdown to 2021, Port City Daily is revisiting some of its biggest stories of 2020.
Coming in fifth is a breakdown on how to navigate the state’s unemployment system, published as hundreds of thousands of people were temporarily unemployed, awaiting benefits.
According to N.C. Department of Employment Security
data Monday, more than 1.38 million North Carolinians applied for benefits since March. A majority (68%) were eligible, with 935,000 claimants paid.