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Weekly unemployment up in NC

New state unemployment insurance claims in North Carolina climbed by 7.45% last week to 3,483 for the week that ended May 6, the U.S. Labor Department reported Thursday.

New claims were up from a revised 3,244 for the week that ended April 29.

By comparison, the COVID-19 pandemic low has been 1,848 claims for the week that ended Jan. 1, 2022.

The state was 16th in the nation in the number of unemployment filings, up two spots from last week.

With no COVID-19 pandemic UI programs available for North Carolinians since Sept. 4, 2021, the claim totals represent new regular state unemployment-benefit claims.

Labor listed 17,267 North Carolinians drawing regular state benefits as of April 29, compared with a revised 18,676 the previous week.

Richard Craver

Affiliate buys Clemmons commercial site

An affiliate of Winston-Salem nonprofit Miracles in Sight has spent $1.5 million to purchase a commercial building in Clemmons, according to a Forsyth County Register of Deeds filing Thursday.

The 3.65-acre property at 4740 and 4750 Commercial Park Court contains a combined 32,400 square feet of space. The property is adjacent to Bee Safe Storage off Interstate 40.

The buyer is MIS Commercial Park LLC. The seller is PTX Commercial PLC of Clemmons.

Miracles in Sight is one of the world's largest eye banks, providing high-quality tissue for corneal transplants.

Richard Craver

Guerrilla RF reports 1st-quarter loss

Guerrilla RF Inc. reported Wednesday a larger year-over-year quarterly loss - at just more than $4 million - for the first quarter.

The loss was $1.87 million for the first quarter of 2022.

The Greensboro wireless semiconductor company had an earnings loss of 62 cents, compared with a loss of 34 cents a year ago.

The company had a 16.4% decline in revenue to $3.23 million. Operating expenses rose 33.1% to $5.49 million.

The company has 70 local employees and 75 overall.

Its main focus is providing monolithic microwave integrated circuits for the automotive, 5G infrastructure and cellular booster markets.

Richard Craver

Event features NC Commerce secretary

Machelle Baker Sanders, the state's Commerce Department secretary, will be the keynote speaker for Greater Winston-Salem Inc.'s State of the Economy presentation on June 14.

The annual event will take place from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Benton Convention Center.

Mark Owens, the chamber's president and chief executive, will speak on the Forsyth County economy at the event.

For more information, go to www.winstonsalem.com.

Richard Craver

Environmental groups sue Shell

Shell is putting residents' health at risk by persistently violating air quality standards at its massive new petrochemical refinery in western Pennsylvania, an environmental group alleged in a lawsuit Thursday.

The "cracker" plant, located along the Ohio River about 30 miles (48 kilometers) outside Pittsburgh, opened in November and uses ethane from a vast shale gas reservoir underneath Pennsylvania and surrounding states to makes polyethylene, a plastic used in everything from consumer and food packaging to tires.

A federal lawsuit filed by the Clean Air Council alleges that operator Shell Chemical Appalachia LLC - a subsidiary of British oil and gas giant Shell plc - is violating state and federal limits on smog, as well as emissions limits in its state-approved operating plan.

Clean Air Council members who live near the plant are "concerned about the impact of the plant's illegal pollution on their health and the health of their families," the suit said, noting that smog can worsen respiratory conditions such as bronchitis and asthma. The plaintiffs asked a judge to order Shell to bring the plant into compliance, and impose civil penalties of up to $140,000 per day.

Shell spokesperson Curtis Smith said the company had no comment on the suit.

The Associated Press