Commentator, Actor, and Financial Genius Ben Stein to speak in Raleigh

The News & Observer announced today that Ben Stein, the actor, comedian, financial commentator, is coming to Raleigh to speak at the Greater Raleigh Chamber of Commerce meeting on Sept. 16. This event will be held at the new convention center in downtown that is set to have its grand opening ceremonies on Sept. 5-6.

Stein will speak on "Business, Economics and America," according to a news release from the chamber.

The event should be very good and very informative. Stein, who is known for his "deadpan humor" is very blunt and to the point with his business and economic commentating.

The event starts at 5:30 p.m. at the convention center and admission is $85 per person.

At the same event, the Chamber will highlight its accomplishments for the past year, recognize its leadership and present the A.E.Finley Distinguished Service Award.

Tickets are available at www.raleighchamber.org.

Gas at 3 month low; How low can it go?

Did you hear the good news? Gas prices are down to the lowest level in 3 months. GAS PRICES ARE DOWN TO THE LOWEST LEVEL IN 3 MONTHS!!!

The average price U.S. consumers paid for a gallon of gas hit a three month low as the cost dropped 7.1 cents last week to $3.81. Yes, this is still $1.04 a gallon higher compared to a year ago, but it is moving in the right direction, primarily due to the lifting of the Executive Order by President Bush to drill off the coast.

This has caused a $33 drop in crude prices that we should expect to continue to fall over the coming weeks. According to the Energy Information Administration (EIA), every $1 price drop in crude oil results in a 2.4 cents off the price for a gallon of gasoline. If this is truly the case, then gasoline should fall about 79 cents from its peak according to the EIA. Of course, the national price has only fallen 30 cents, but common sense would dictate that the prices will decline slower then they rise due to unforeseen circumstances.

In the EIA's survey, the highest price for gas was on the West Coast at $4.06 a gallon, down 8.3 cents last week. This is the only region to remain above $4 a gallon with San Francisco having the highest big city price at $4.18, down 7.9 cents.

According to AAA Automobile Club, the average price in North Carolina has dropped dramatically over the past month from a high of $4.006 a gallon to $3.879 this month. Of course, this time last year, the price in North Carolina was $2.82 a gallon.

Schools Results-A mixed Result

The News & Observer reported that North Carolina schools have shown improvement with state testing performance. The article announces that there are more public schools meeting the state testing standards, "but it's uncertain whether the improvement is due to better teaching or to a change in how schools are evaluated."

Released results show that 82 percent of schools met the state's goal during the past academic year on the state's ABCs of Public Education program. An increase from 71.9 percent the previous year.

Due to this gain, many teachers in these schools will qualify for bonuses, even though the Board of Education decided to cut the size of bonuses to be paid by as much as 30 percent.

Other positive news released today include a higher graduation rate to 70 percent, up from 69.5 percent.

The negative in this report may be more telling as to the true nature of education in North Carolina. Apparently, only 39 percent of schools in North Carolina met the standard under the federal No Child Left Behind program, down from 45 percent the prior year and could drop even further this fall when the results from the reading tests are factored.

By the way, both the state and federal programs utilize the same tests, but the results are evaluated differently. For more information about the ways these test scores are evaluated, please refer to the article linked.

Most districts in the Triangle saw gains in the percentage of schools meeting state expectations.

In Orange County and Chapel Hill-Carrboro, every school met the state's goal of improvement.

Johnston County saw 90 percent of schools meeting expectations, up from 79 percent.

Durham County was up to 70 percent, up from 50 percent the previous year.

In Wake County, there was a slight drop in the percentage of schools meeting state requirements, dropping a percentage point from 85 percent to 84 percent. These figures could change as Knightdale Elementary School's results are being reviewed amid questions of irregularities of testing there.

Downtown Manager wants Empire off Downtown Deal

Once again, Raleigh's city manager is requesting that Empire Properties be removed as the developer for the Lafayette project. Russell Allen, city manager, is asking the City Council to reopen bidding for the development on a half-acre, city-owned site bordering Salisbury, Lenoir and South streets. If the council agrees with Allen, this will end the deal between the city and Empire Properties for the project, known as the Lafayette.

Last month, Allen asked that bidding for the site be reopened because Empire Proprieties had yet to get financing for the deal. The council ruled against the city manager by extending the deadline to Nov. 1 for Empire to find the money needed.

That extension included a provision where Empire Properties would share the cost to widen Salisbury Street, work that is being done as part of the Lafayette deal. Greg Hatem, CEO of Empire Properties has refused to sign the extensions under these terms, stating that he should pay for his portion of the street project once he purchases the land. Empire's share of the road widening would be approximately $50,000. He currently has the option to purchase the Lafayette property from the city for $1.44 million.

Hatem, like many developers has found it difficult of late to raise money for large projects considering the economy and the credit crunch. The developer has suggested that he may scale back the project, which is originally designed to be a 22-story tower with condominiums, retail and a hotel.