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NC movie industry in jeopardy?

Submitted by Dedrick Russell on Tuesday, April 2nd, 6:29 pm

GASTONIA, NC (WBTV)- People from the movie industry are hoping new NC Governor Pat McCrory is nice to the movie industry. Right now we are told incentives in place to lure those businesses to the state last until 2015, but there is uncertainty if the plan will last.

"Nobody is saying it's going away," New Day Dream Films Founder Richard Clark, Jr. said. "But people need that outright commitment to commit coming here."

The film industry has been good to NC. It has poured millions of dollars into the state's economy. Clark hopes McCrory sees the special tax cuts to the industry as a boost and not a burden.

"Sometimes when you have economic issues," Clark said. "You see a tax break - getting rid of a tax break is an immediate solution, instead of looking at the revenue at what that brings to the state."

McCrory is keeping film crews in the dark about his intentions.

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Red flags that will trigger an IRS audit

Submitted by WBTV Web Staff

Tuesday, April 2nd, 2013, 10:52am

Red flags that will trigger an IRS audit

CHARLOTTE, NC (WBTV)- The Internal Revenue Service has released a list of audit targets this year.

"They look for the trends that might trigger them to review your return closely than other returns," said Najam Usmani with Jackson Hewitt Tax Service.

The odds of getting audited are low.

"About 1.1 percent of the returns were audited in the last few years but if you are the 1.1% you want to be prepared," said Usmani.

Some factors can increase the likelihood of such unwanted scrutiny:

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It's a jungle out there: Job hunting in the digital age

Submitted by WBTV Web Staff

Tuesday, April 2nd, 2013, 10:27am

It's a jungle out there: Job hunting in the digital age

CHARLOTTE, NC (WBTV)- The economy is rebounding and hiring is picking up again, according to the BBB.

If you are looking for a new job, for your first job, or for a summer internship, the BBB has advice to help you get hired without getting scammed.

Job hunting has gone high-tech. Gone are the days of seeing an ad in the help wanted section of the newspaper and mailing your resume to the company.

Now, jobs are listed online on major websites like Monster.com (BBB Grade A+), Careerbuilder.com (BBB Grade B+), or on highly-specialized industry job boards.

Jobs are also posted on thousands of other sites online that may or may not be reputable.

Companies have automated the application and screening processes so much so that your resume may not be seen by a human, at all. Online job searching tools and automated application processes greatly increase the number of people who apply for available positions.

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Report says common jobs pay poorly

Submitted by Melissa Hankins

Monday, April 1st, 2013, 5:28pm

CHARLOTTE, NC (WBTV)- For most people, just finding a job is a challenge in this economy. Now a new report from The Department of Labor shows an even bigger problem.

The most common jobs just aren't paying well, with workers in seven of the ten largest occupations earning far less than the nation's average annual pay of about $45,000.

There are 4.3 million people working in retail sales, making it the most common job out there. But the position only pays about $25,000 a year.

Other popular professions include secretaries, customer service reps, and food industry workers - they all earn far less than the average.

President Obama has been pushing to raise the federal minimum wage to $9 an hour in an effort to slow the gap.

The debate over whether to do so has been getting heated, with some worrying about the small business owners who would have to pay for the increase in their workers' pay.

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Proposed $34 million bill to secure NC schools

Submitted by Sarah Batista

Friday, March 29th, 2013, 6:52pm

Proposed $34 million bill to secure NC schools

CHARLOTTE, NC (WBTV)- State legislators are working hard to prevent another tragedy such as the one in Newtown, Connecticut in December.

A gunman killed 26 people, including 20 children at Sandy Hook Elementary School.

Now, there's a bill in the North Carolina House that would provide more officers and counselors at schools across the state.

"House bill 452 is the nation's most comprehensive response to not only Newtown but to the issues of campus safety that have been there for quite some time," said Representative Rick Glazier, a democrat.

The bill would spend $34 million over the next two years on emergency planning, crisis response and security training.

A breakdown of costs include $20 million to place more school resource officers in elementary and middle schools, $10 million to hire additional school psychologists, guidance counselors and social workers, and $4 million to install panic alarm systems in every school.

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Government oversight, regulation: How free are you really?

Submitted by WBTV Web Staff

Friday, March 29th, 2013, 6:07pm

Government oversight, regulation: How free are you really?

CHARLOTTE, NC (WBTV)- In the land of the free, you might expect freedoms to be pretty similar state-to-state.

But a new study from the Mercatus Center at George Mason University is raising some eyebrows. It ranked the states based on freedom.

One thing we noticed right away: the study says people in South Carolina have significantly more freedom than people in North Carolina.

According to the study, that's because there is less government oversight and regulation in South Carolina.

The study measured freedom in three categories: fiscal policy (or, how government spends your money), regulations on citizens, and personal freedom.

How did it define personal freedom?

Dr. Michael Bitzer, political scientist at Catawba College, said the study looked at things like motorcycle helmet laws, marijuana criminalization, marriage laws and the like.

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