State Unveils Economic Development Plan

Ted M. Natt Jr., staff writer

State officials are touting a new jobs plan as a 10-year road map for North Carolina’s economic development efforts.

Pat Corso, who served on the board that came up with the plan, said he just hopes rural counties are not lost in the shuffle as the state moves the job recruiting and marketing functions of the state Department of Commerce into a new private economic development agency called the Economic Development Partnership of North Carolina.

“Most of the stuff in this plan is 30,000-foot stuff,” said Corso, executive director of Moore County Partners in Progress. “The meat has to be put on the bones. Fortunately, most of the key points are broad enough and engaging enough to be actionable.”

The plan was unveiled last month by Gov. Pat McCrory after six months of study by the N.C. Economic Development Board, and is the first of its kind in about a decade.

McCrory has called the plan a “very clear, upfront assessment of our state’s strengths and weaknesses.” More here.