Ferry riders pay tolls that cover less than 6 percent of operating costs for the State Ferry Division. House budget writers want to see that figure rise to 100 percent.

“In an era of declining revenues, we need to take a look at this – given what we know about their operating costs,” said Rep. Grier Martin of Raleigh, co-chairman of the House Transportation Appropriations Subcommittee.

Martin’s subcommittee this week endorsed a Senate proposal to increase the Ferry Division’s operating budget by $11.3 million next year, to a total of $43.5 million. Jim Westmoreland, a Department of Transportation deputy secretary, said the money was needed to meet increased costs while maintaining current service levels.

Along with its budget recommendations, the subcommittee proposed a measure that would have DOT develop a fee schedule “for all ferry routes in an amount necessary to cover the operating costs.” ... [MORE]

The N.C. Global TransPark is going green.



GTP officials announced today that Charlotte-based Greenfield Power will install a 250-kilowatt solar array at the 2,500-acre industrial park in Kinston. 



The system is expected to produce 325,000 kilowatt-hours of electricity per year, enough to offset the power used in GTP's 33,000 square-foot education and training facility. The project is expected to be finished by late summer.



Progress Energy will purchase all the electricity produced, as part of a state mandate for the Raleigh-based power company to adopt renewable energy.



"Affordable electrical power and the use of green energy technologies are becoming increasingly important to companies looking for a new location," said GTP executive director Darlene Waddell, in a prepared statement.

The first major tenant of the N.C. Global TransPark is moving closer to actually making products at its massive factory under construction in Kinston.

Spirit AeroSystems on Thursday received a ceremonial key to its 500,000 square-foot facility from its contractor.

The factory is scheduled to begin building fuselages for Airbus’ new A350 passenger aircraft in July with a team of about 250 workers. Hiring has already begun, officials told the Kinston Free Press.

The plant, located about 80 miles southeast of Raleigh in Lenoir County, is expected to eventually employ more than 1,000 people. The Wichita, Kan.-based company is posting some information on the plant's progress online here.

Gov. Beverly Perdue said this morning that she was not surprised that the N.C. Global TransPark in Kinston missed out as a site for a production facility for Boeing's 787 Dreamliner.

"North Carolina has not been on the short list for this facility for several months," Perdue said during a telephone news conference from China, where she is on a trade mission. It was one of the first times an N.C. official has acknowledged that Boeing was considering a site here.

But Perdue said there still are ongoing talks with Boeing about the company building other facilities in this state, Rob Christensen reports. She said plans to meet with Boeing officials within the next two weeks.

"It ain't over til it's over," she said.

On Wednesday, Boeing CEO Jim McNerney announced that the company had narrowed its choices for a second Dreamliner assembly line to Everett, Wash., and Charleston, S.C. A decision is expected within weeks.

It was the second time this decade that Boeing has passed over the Kinston business park for an assembly factory. But state officials have made clear they're committed to attracting additional aviation and aerospace companies to the park.

Boeing has blown off North Carolina, again. South Carolina still has a chance.

CEO Jim McNerney told Wall Street analysts on an earnings conference call today that the company has narrowed its choices for a second 787 Dreamliner assembly plant to Charleston, S.C., and Everett, Wash. He expects to announce a decision in the next couple of weeks.

The N.C. Global TransPark in Kinston was cited as a competitor for the new plant in a report that Washington state officials used to lobby Boeing.

The Kinston park, about 90 miles southeast of Raleigh, also was in the running for a Boeing assembly plant earlier this decade, but lost to Washington.

It's not clear whether North Carolina was a legitimate contender this time, since state and local officials have kept quiet about any efforts to lure Boeing here, despite vocal lobbying in Washington state. But Gov. Bev Perdue and others repeatedly have said they want to expand this state's aerospace and aviation industries and attract new jobs.

Also today, Boeing reported a $1.56 billion third-quarter loss, one of the biggest in its history. The loss was partly because of delays in the 787 Dreamliner program.

Washington officials are bringing in some big business guns in their efforts to convince Boeing to build a new assembly plant in that state.

On Tuesday, the day that N.C. Gov. Bev Perdue visited Kinston's Global TransPark, more than two dozen executives from Costco, Alaska Airlines and other large employers in Washington released a letter to Jim Albaugh. In the letter, they practically begged the head of Boeing's commercial aircraft unit not to abandon their state.

"We pledge our support to you and your entire company in working to ensure Washington remains the single best place for you to design, build and market commercial airplanes," they wrote.

Meanwhile, officials in North Carolina, which is reported to be a competitor for a new Boeing factory, remain mum. Unlike their vocal counterparts in Washington, Tar Heel leaders, economic development officials and others still won't even confirm that they are actively wooing Boeing.

Spirit AeroSystems' massive plant near Kinston remains on track to open in April.

Company officials on Wednesday held a briefing and walking tour of the facility under construction, reports the Kinston Free Press.

The 500,000 square-foot plant is expected to begin production next spring of fuselages for Airbus’ new A350 Xtra Wide Body passenger aircraft.

The plant, about 80 miles southeast of Raleigh, eventually will employ more than 1,000.

Spirit is the first major tenant of the N.C. Global TransPark. State officials offered a rich package of financial incentives to lure the Kansas company with the hopes it would attract other industry. That includes a $100 million grant from the Golden LEAF Foundation, the biggest in the foundation's history.