What recession? Raleigh, Durham top Forbes list

Posted: Mar. 27 9:46 a.m.
Updated: Mar. 27 10:02 a.m.

Raleigh, N.C. — The recession could be a lot worse for people in the Triangle than it is, according to Forbes magazine.

In its annual Best Places for Business and Careers rankings, Forbes said no metro area in the U.S. can compare to Raleigh. It was the third year in a row that Raleigh topped the list.

Durham was ranked No. 3 on the Forbes list – Fort Collins, Colo., was second – and Greenville finished second behind Sioux Falls, S.D., on the list of best small metro areas.

The magazine cited the Triangle's strong job growth – both past and projected – low business costs and highly educated work force.

The region's unemployment rate jumped to 7.9 percent in January, losing 12.200 jobs, and IBM laid off several hundred workers in Research Triangle Park on Thursday.

Forbes said the number of jobless will likely continue to grow this year after five years of 4 percent annual job growth. The employment picture is expected to brighten in 2010 and 2011, however, and Moody's Economy.com projects a three-year annual employment gain of 1.4 percent, which would be the 15th-best in the country.

"Raleigh is holding up better than any other place in North Carolina," Matthew Martin, an economist at the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond, Va., told the magazine.

North Carolina placed six metros among the top 20 on Forbes' list. Asheville finished sixth, Wilmington was 13th, Winston-Salem was 18th and Charlotte was 19th.

http://www.wral.com/business/story/4826038/

M1 Platoon & Subject 2 Change

We are proud to announce that Subject 2 Change is the official apparel provider for the Hip Hop group, M1 Platoon.

They currently have a mixtape titled "We not them Pt. 1" . Give it a listen and check them out at http://www.myspace.com/m1platoon

Here are some flicks with M1 Platoon's manager, Joanna Hernandez, Recording Superstar, Carlitta Durand, and the Group in action.

Duke historian John Hope Franklin dies

Duke historian John Hope Franklin dies at 94

By Jane Stancill - Staff Writer
Originally Published: Wed, Mar. 25, 2009 02:42PM at Newsobserver.Com

John Hope Franklin, the revered historian who chronicled the South and gave definition to the African-American experience, died this morning at age of 94.

Franklin, the James B. Duke professor of history emeritus at Duke University, died this morning at Duke Hospital, said Ddavid Jarmul, a spokesman for Duke University.

Franklin was considered one of the most influential historians of the 20th century. His book "From Slavery to Freedom," first published in 1947, was a seminal work on African-American history and has sold 3.5 million copies.

His scholarship helped ensure that no American history book could be complete without the story of African-Americans, and that America had to confront the reality of slavery and segregation in its past.

He was at the forefront of some of the biggest turning points in the nation's civil rights history. In 1953, he helped NAACP lawyers with research for the landmark Brown vs. Board of Education school desegregation case. In 1965, he joined a group of historians who marched with Dr. Martin Luther King from Selma to Montgomery. Five decades after his masterpiece was published, he was appointed by President Bill Clinton in 1997 to lead a national intiative on race.

"He writes history and he is history," said Henry Louis Gates Jr., Harvard professor and an authority on African and African-American history, in an interview earlier this year in which he referred to Franklin as his "intellectual godfather."

"He is the prince of black academics and the print of contemporary American historians," Gates said.

Though Franklin earned a PhD from Harvard and eventually more than 100 honorary degrees, his celebrated life was peppered with racial discrimination and the subtle humiliation of segregation.

At 12, he rushed to help a blind white woman cross the street in Tulsa, until she commanded him to take his "filthy hands off her" after realizing he was black. As a college student, he gave a $20 dollar bill to a streetcar worker and asked for change, prompting the man to hurl a racial slur and count out $19.85 in dimes and nickels. As a young scholar, Franklin toiled on his research at the state archives in Raleigh, where he was confined to a tiny room across from the whites-only research room.

Franklin would not be deterred.

"I hardly needed to seek a way to confront American racial injustice," he wrote in his 2005 memoir "Mirror to America." "My ambition was sufficient to guarantee that confrontation."

How to Pack a Wrinkle-Free Suitcase

How to Pack a Wrinkle-Free Suitcase

It seems the older we get, the more we realize how the wisdom of Ms. Badu when she sang: "Pack light." Literally. Since she didn't give us a step-by-step on how do it, we're stepping in to advise you on how to pack a wrinkle-free suitcase. Besides rolling and inserting your socks and underwear into your kicks, see below for some tips on folding your jacket and pants for travel…

HOW TO FOLD YOUR JACKET
1. Pop your collar. Fold the jacket sleeve in your shoulder.

2. Fold out edges to meet the middle.

3. Fold jacket in half at the center seams.

4. Fold jacket in half so the bottom meets the collar.

HOW TO FOLD YOUR TROUSERS

1. Fold up inner pocket lining away from the front.
2. Fold top at a 45 degree angle towards the front. Then take the bottom and fold upward to the break at the knee.
3. Fold in half.

Courtesy of Complex

Apparel from the First Quarter of the Year

Here are new pictures of apparel and descriptions of the items from some our awesome customers.

• DURHAM BASKETBALL - Jerseys for the Durham Parks & Recreation Adult Basketball league

• NCCU MARCHING SOUND MACHINE: Jorim Reid, Director of Bands at NCCU ordered these shirts for the Sound Machine's 5th consecutive invite to the Honda "Battle of the Bands" in Atlanta, GA.

• NU RHO CHAPTER OF SIGMA GAMMA RHO SORORITY, INC.: These are shirts the chapter ordered for their chapter anniversary at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte

• DURHAM ASSOCIATION OF EDUCATORS: Donald Barringer, President of DAE, ordered these nice tote bags for the members of the associations’ annual conference.

• ZETA SIGMA CHAPTER OF KAPPA KAPPA PSI NATIONAL HONORARY BAND FRATERNITY & EPSILON LAMBDA CHAPTER OF TAU BETA SIGMA NATIONAL HONORARY BAND SORORITY: Shauna Biles contracted us to create a design and apparel to commemorate the 2 chapters 35th year Anniversary.

• BALLS & DOLLS FLAG FOOTBALL TEAM: Mary Beth Wofford reached out to us to make some apparel for her flag football team. She came to us with a concept and we came up with these little diddies.

• NEAL MIDDLE SCHOOL "BATTLE OF THE BOOKS 2009": Valencia Church ordered these nice polos for her students at Neal Middle's Annual Battle of the Books event.

• UNC SCHOOL OF DENTISTRY: Annbec DeShield, DDS and her classmates from the Senior Class were looking for a fund raiser to support their Mission trip to Moldavia. We suggested some apparel to be sold to the undergraduates and other dental school students. From that idea, we designed these shirts.

• UNITED BALLERS ASSOCIATION: Tamara Thompson, team mother to the Durham based AAU team and long time customer came to us with their team logo and we came up with these shirts with individual name and numbers.

• VOTE KELLI YORK VICE PRESIDENT OF NSSLHA: Ms. York contacted us to produce apparel for her campaign. We suggested one color print with different color shirts to give the shirts a fresh look.

• ELECT AYESHA WHITE FOR NSSHLA PRESIDENT: Ayesha also contacted us to produce the apparel for her camp. We used the same "one color, different shirt" concept with her as well.

• BULL CITY BRED LADIES: This is from our "Bull City Bred" line that will be sold locally and on the web.

• DUKE SCHOOL OF MEDICINE: Jeanine Holland contacted us to produce totes and t-shirts for Duke School of Medicine's potential students.

• NCCU Health Educators: Tanya Bass came to us for this 2 color glitter AIDS DIVA.

Tau Psi Brother, Roderick Heath, Featured in Essence Magazine

http://www.essence.com/news_entertainment/news/articles/kitchen_confessions_roderick_heath

Kitchen Confessions: Roderick Heath

by: Charreah Jackson

View photos of Roderick in the kitchen »

A successful brother who knows his way around the kitchen is a great catch indeed (pun totally intended). ESSENCE.com is excited to feature men who love to cook. This week's chef is a southern gent who doesn't mind sharing his secret to the perfect bbq sauce.

Name: Roderick Heath
Occupation: Fatherhood Coordinator
Age: 28
Hometown: Monroe, North Carolina

ESSENCE.COM: What do you love most about cooking?
HEATH: I love to cook because it's my way of showing my love for family and friends. Nothing makes me happier than to see family members fighting for that last bite or empty dishes after the meal. My grandmother showed me that cooking warms the heart and brings African-American families together with laughter, memories and lots of smacking and finger licking (laughs). Plus, being a male cook will teach my future kids that cooking is not only a woman's job, because real men do cook. One of my biggest memories is when my grandmother would bake cakes—I couldn't wait to lick sweet cake batter off the spoons of the blender.

ESSENCE.COM: How did you learn to cook?
HEATH: As a young boy my grandmother would always ask me to open can goods for her. Then it went from opening can goods to rolling pie crusts, adding spices to dishes, and setting the right oven temperatures. So I began to watch her cook family meals for a household of 17 people every day.

ESSENCE.COM: What's your best cooking tip?
HEATH: Never walk away from your stove. Always stir and season your food while it's cooking. This keeps the food from burning, and you will also have food that is well blended. I love to use Mrs. Dash and black pepper. I'm not a fan of salt.

ESSENCE.COM: And what's your signature dish?
HEATH: Definitely my barbeque chicken, greens, stuffed chicken breast in gravy, pinto beans, bake macaroni and butter milk corn bread.

Heath's Signature Barbeque Sauce Recipe

Barbeque sauce of your choice
½ tbs of Absolute Vodka (If you drink)
3 teaspoons of sugar
3 teaspoons of maple syrup
1 teaspoon of brown sugar

Season 8 to 10 legs of chicken the night before in black pepper, lemon pepper seasoning, Mrs. Dash. Then refrigerate. Mix above ingredients to make special sauce and marinade, before chicken before cooking.

Heath's Buttermilk Cornbread

1/4 pound butter
2/3 cup white sugar
2 eggs
1 cup buttermilk
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup cornmeal
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt

DIRECTIONS

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease an 8-inch square pan.
Melt butter in large skillet. Remove from heat and stir in sugar. Quickly add eggs and beat until well blended. Combine buttermilk with baking soda and stir into mixture in pan. Stir in cornmeal, flour, and salt until well blended and few lumps remain. Pour batter into the prepared pan.

Bake in the preheated oven for 30 to 40 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Heath's Stuffed Chicken Breast

Six boneless chicken breast
One box of prepared Stove Top stuffing or stuffing of choice
Chicken gravy of choice

Take boneless chicken breast and boil for about 20 minutes. Then, cut a pocket into each piece of chicken. Use box of prepared Stove Top stuffing or stuffing of choice and stuff the chicken. Bake for about 20 minutes before adding the chicken gravy of choice. Let the chicken cook for about 20 more minutes at 350.

INGREDIENTS

• 8 ounce uncooked elbow macaroni
• 2 cup shredded sharp Cheddar cheese
• 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 3 cup milk
• 1/4 cup butter
• 2 1/2 tablespoon all-purpose flower
• 2 tablespoon butter
• 1/2 cup bread crumbs
• 1 item pinch paprika

PREPARATION

•    Cook macaroni according to the package directions. Drain.
•    In a saucepan, melt butter or margarine over medium heat. Stir in enough flour to make a roux. Add milk to roux slowly, stirring constantly. Stir in cheeses, and cook over low heat until cheese is melted and the sauce is a little thick. Put macaroni in large casserole dish, and pour sauce over macaroni. Stir well.
•    Melt butter or margarine in a skillet over medium heat. Add breadcrumbs and brown. Spread over the macaroni and cheese to cover. Sprinkle with a little paprika.
•    Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 30 minutes. Serve.

0 Serving/s

--
Mr. Jamie L. Patterson, M.S.
Subject 2 Change Customs
www.ShopSubject2Change.com
919-237-1545
Jamie@ShopSubject2Change.com

**Change your shirt. Change your mind. Change the world.**

TRUE SCHOOL RADIO & Cuzzin B w/ Foreign Exchange & J*Davey

9th Wonder is BACK for a brand new edition of TRUE SCHOOL RADIO & DJ Cuzzin B in concert w/ Foreign Exchange & J*Davey. Press Release TRUE SCHOOL MARCH MADNESS IS BACK!!! (L.A., MIAMI & VEGAS). DETAILS COMING SOON!!! True School Radio THIS FRIDAY!!! Fresh outta Charlotte from CIAA weekend, 9th,  Santillian, Cuzzin B & the rest of the True School Family is back for another LIVE show this Friday from 7pm - midnight EST on 104.5 fm Fayetteville NC. If you aren't in the NC area, be sure to log onto www.trueschoolcorp.com/events.php, for a live video feed of all the action.   True School Radio   Experience TRUE SCHOOL RADIO each & every Friday night from 7pm to 12am on www.trueschoolcorp.com/events.php.  Join 9th Wonder and Santillian The Five Foot Phenomenon as they  invade the airwaves for 5 hours, bringing you the very best of the era from Candy Girl to Let Me Ride. Call in & request YOUR jam at 910-222-1045. Keep it locked for 9th and Santillian's signature commentary, prizes, celebrity interviews & live mixes by DJ Cuzzin B!!!!!!   TRUE SCHOOL RADIO every Friday from 7pm to 12am EST on Soul 104.5 FM, Fayetteville with a LIVE VIDEO feed at www.trueschoolcorp.com/events.php     DJ Cuzzin B in concert w/ The Foreign Exchange & J*Davey !!! If you're in the DC area this Friday, head over to Black Cat to catch True School's very own DJ Cuzzin B rocking with the Foreign Exchange & J*Davey