Where’s the best place to live in America?

Charlotte, N.C., leads Relocate-America.com’s annual ranking of the top 100 cities.
By Amy Hoak, Marketwatch.com

Apparently, there's just something about North Carolina. For the second year in a row, America's best city in which to live lies within its borders, according to Relocate-America.com's annual list.

This year, Charlotte is in the top spot, the site announced late last week. Last year's winner was Asheville, which slipped to No. 7 on this year's list.

"North Carolina is very active on our radar," said Steve Nickerson, president and CEO of HomeRoute. "It continues to get a flood of interest from all over."

HomeRoute is the real-estate firm that operates Relocate-America.com, a source of community information and real-estate resources for people who are relocating. Each year, the site ranks the top 100 places to live in the country.

Areas need to be nominated on the site in order to be eligible for the list; more than 2,000 were nominated this year, Nickerson said. Special efforts are made to prevent spamming campaigns from influencing the results, he added.

But the site's editorial team also takes into account an area's growth, its educational and employment opportunities, crime rates and housing options before granting it a spot in the top 100. Environmental highlights also play a role, with a city gaining points for good air and water quality or the strength of its recycling efforts, Nickerson said.

Home-price appreciation does get some consideration; however, it's only one piece of the analysis, Nickerson said — explaining why some struggling real-estate markets in California and Florida, for example, still made the top 100. Areas that offer a comfortable climate and economic opportunity tend to be the most sought-after communities on the site, he said.

Charlotte's diversity of housing options and home affordability were two of the reasons users nominated the city, Nickerson said. The city's strong economy, boosted largely by the banking industry, was another selling point.

Second on this year's list was San Antonio, which people praised for its cost of living, recreational opportunities and diversity, he said. Chattanooga, Tenn., came in third place, noted for its vibrant downtown and affordable home prices in the nominations.

Below are the top 10 cities on Relocate-America.com's 2008 list:

• Charlotte, N.C.
• San Antonio
• Chattanooga, Tenn.
• Greenville, S.C.
• Tulsa, Okla.
• Stevens Point, Wis.
• Asheville, N.C.
• Albuquerque, N.M.
• Huntsville, Ala.
• Seattle

Read the full list at Relocate-America.com.

The firm also plans to release a coffee-table book on the top 100 soon, Nickerson said. Proceeds will benefit American Red Cross and Habitat for Humanity, he added.

The view from the topCertainly, being ranked as the top city to live in has its benefits, mainly as a marketing tool for the area, said Tony Crumbley, vice president of research for the Charlotte Chamber of Commerce. An e-mail blast sent news of this list to thousands of residents, and the chamber actively keeps track of where Charlotte falls in many of the lists that are published.

"They are important," Crumbley said of the good rankings the city receives. But he also knows that these rankings come and go and that they're somewhat subjective; the city's appeal can change from one day to the next, depending on who is writing the list.

There weren't any significant changes in Charlotte during the past year that would account for boosting the city to the top of this particular list, he said. But the city definitely gets recognized a lot more today than it did 25 years ago, he added.

Bank of America and Wachovia have their headquarters in Charlotte, and it's also a hub for US Airways — all of which seem to have increased the visibility of the city outside its boundaries, Crumbley said. The addition of professional sports teams since the 1980s has also helped.

In recent years, Charlotte has been successful in attracting young, educated workers to relocate there, he said. Asheville, on the other hand, has become a popular choice with retirees, he added.
But cities can easily make it to the top of one list and rank poorly on another, he said. Case in point: One recent Forbes.com list ranked Charlotte as one of the country's most miserable cities, a ranking, not surprisingly, that Crumbley and others disagree with.

Forbes also ranked it as one of the best places to invest in foreclosures, in part because the real-estate market there is relatively stable.

"If they're good, you use them. If they're bad, I won't tell you you should ignore them — you look at them," he said of the lists on which Charlotte appears. But negative rankings aren't likely to end up getting used as a marketing piece for the city.

America Has a Youth Engagement Problem

By Edward Dejesus

The cry for more youth program opportunities can be heard clear across America. Each year, advocates point out the growing needs of youth and young adults and the lack of programs and services to meet those needs. I, too, am guilty. My call of foul at the 250,000 federally funded program slots for the 5.4 million out-of-school youth is a staple of my presentations to policymakers across the U.S.

“How can we expect any progress in reducing gang violence and youth unemployment, or expect to quell the dropout rate if we only have enough program slots to serve 3% of the 14-21 year old eligible population!” Many echo my outcry, and I usually continue by addressing the real crux of the problem. “We don’t have a gang problem in the United States; we have a youth opportunity problem!” I have touted this cry from boardrooms in Seattle to the hoods in South Florida, always receiving a response of thunderous applause.

Despite the strong audience affirmation, I still find myself walking away and feeling as though something is missing. Why? Many of us were part of the movement to bring positive youth development to youth workforce programs across the U.S., making sure we serve youth differently than adults, and taking into account their developmental needs, assets, and the different stages of their development. Surely there is no disputing the fact that there is a need for more programs and opportunities for young people to grow into healthy, positive adults. So, what is lacking? Where is the breakdown?

Despite our best efforts at incorporating positive youth development we forgot one thing:
incorporating youth. The sad reality is that many of our youth development and youth workforce programs struggle to get youth in the doors. Yes, I know this is a subject that we do not like to discuss. However, it is a subject that must be raised in the research and policy agenda in order to reach a viable solution. Of the millions of youth who desperately need education and workforce development in their lives, few are turning to the programs and services that can lead to better lives and opportunities. Those that do come often don’t stay.

Now I know a few of you are crying foul. However, it is my experience that those of you who cry foul are able to offer youth $300 or more every two weeks for attending. In fact, engagement has translated to money, at least for some. In this fact lies our advocacy dilemma. Advocating for more money and resources in a system that cannot engage the youth it is intended to serve is a lesson in futility.

School Accountability: What about us?
If the educational system is forced to be more accountable, so should youth development and workforce programs. Let me break it down like a fraction - No Child Left Behind is exposing the incredible achievement gap that currently exists within the United States. The National Governors Association recommendation for states to recalculate dropout rates has exposed a national travesty: 50% of African-American and Latino youth drop out of high school.

The exposure doesn’t stop there however. The Beginning Post-secondary Students Longitudinal Study reported that only 31% of students who entered community college in 1995-1996 with the intention of earning a degree or certificate had met their goal six years later. For African-American and Latino students the rate is much lower.

As if that weren’t enough of a factor, Congress is trying to rescind 65 million of WIA funds partly because of unspent funds. While there are many excuses for why funds are unspent, the reality is that many programs have no youth to spend them on. It seems that despite the weeding out of those who are not serious, along with those who constantly whine or refuse to work with adjudicated youth, or youth in the foster care system, programs still can’t get it right. Once again, the question hangs out there—why?

Why?
Perhaps the most important program element is engagement. Without effective and consistent engagement efforts, programs can never meet expected outcomes. The primary challenge youth service providers face in implementing effective engagement strategies is to stop blaming engagement difficulties on young people’s deficiencies, but instead recognize that it is the deficiencies of the programs themselves. Building a youth engagement system in much different from incorporating positive youth development principles into program design.

A youth engagement system is a commitment to a set of principles and practices sustained by policy and sufficient resources, dedicated to creating an authentic and culturally competent service delivery system where young people feel valued as stakeholders and are compelled to invest in active and meaningful participation towards mutual goals. In short, we need a youth driven workforce preparation system, not an employer driven one– time and statistics have proven that’s not working!

In order to do this, organizations need to build and strengthen the routes (and in some cases open them) for young people to be fully engaged in the decisions, opportunities and challenges affecting their communities. One of the largest miscalculations that youth employment programs make is to attempt to provide services to the at-risk populations without first developing an intimate understanding of what truly motivates and interests this special group.

In The Silent Epidemic: Perspectives on High School Dropouts, Bill Gates tells us the most reported reason why youth are dropping out of school. They are bored with education! Sounds like something we could have figured out on our own, right? Probably, however that is only part of the story. What Mr. Microsoft failed to tell us is that they are not bored with education; they are just bored with the education and job training we subject them to. Youth are literally handing us the manual to how to help them become successful, but is anyone reading the pages?
Not only is it time to realize that up until this point, the method used to increase youth engagement is not just flawed, it’s broken. If we want to make a change, it is we that must make changes, using their lead as a path to getting it right.

Edward DeJesus is one of the most sought after speakers on the issue of youth engagement and development. For the past 15 years, he has been helping organizations improve student recruitment, retention and engagement. To learn more about Ed, visit http://www.ydrf.com

Who Should Be the Next President of America?

By Eshwarya Patel

Who do you think should be the next president of America? John Edwards, Hilary Clinton, Al Gore or anyone else? May be you hear a lot of names but there is one more person who always worked on life issues, got appreciations but could never become the talk of the town like many others.

While all presidential hopefuls are busy in their own campaigns, many polls are being conducted online. These are mainly on the subject of the first choice for the current presidential race.
These polls often depict interesting results. According to a certain poll, Senator Sam Brownback got the largest support.

Well, that is not a matter of surprise. When one talks about life issues, Brownback is the strongest and the most dedicated member of the Senate. He deserves a very deep admiration for his steady and honorable hard work to protect human life from life origin to natural death.
He is one of those handful officials who can be considered to be truly ethical and a supporter of both conservatism and life. Many pro-lifers and a woman whose abortion led to Roe v. Wade are supporting him.

On the other hand, Brownback, basically, does not have real possibility of winning this nomination. According to many committed pro-lifers, pro-life subject is one of the most significant matters to think in deciding a candidate.

Brownback was a candidate who always worked, and remained behind the curtain. No pomp and show, no desire to win; only one thing that mattered to him was his duty that he did with full loyalty.

Maybe most of us do not expect him to come to other candidate’s level but, he is, no doubt, far ahead of those candidates who just give statements to win the votes, and forget the citizens and the nation afterwards.

http://www.PresidentPollsUSA.com

LATEST NEWS ON PRESIDENT POLLS

Bethlehem Steel- The Steel That Built America

By Adam Singleton

The doors to the steelworks in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania closed for the last time in 1995, bringing to an end 140 years of steel-making in the town. Although no longer in its spiritual home, Bethlehem Steel continues to produce Steel, but its major production facility is now based in Burns Harbor, Indiana. The company has had its ups and downs, has been involved in providing steel for the construction of many railroads, bridges and iconic buildings throughout America and was the forerunner in the production of the steel girders used to build skyscrapers.

The first steel produced in Bethlehem was at the Saucona Iron Company, opened in 1857. Four years later the company changed its name to the Bethlehem Iron Company and in 1863 started mass production of iron railroad rails, used in the building of the Transcontinental Railroad.
Over the next forty years contracts to supply steel were agreed with the US Navy, and by the time that Charles M. Schwab was appointed chairman in 1904 Bethlehem Steel Corporation not only had a huge plant in South Bethlehem, but ironworks in Cuba and shipyards on both US coasts.

In 1908 the company started production of wide-flange structural section steel, leading to a building revolution; those sections being used in the new phenomenon of skyscraper construction. Five years later Bethlehem Steel acquired the Fore Shipbuilding Company in Quincy, Mass. to become one of the country’s largest shipbuilders.

World War I provided Bethlehem Steel with a great opportunity to expand. At the start of the conflict the company had an annual production capacity of 1.1 million tons and employed 15,600 workers. By 1925, after supplying armor, ships, ordnance, guns and munitions for the US and Allied Forces during and immediately after the war, annual production grew to 8.5 million tons and the company’s workforce had grown to 60,000.

In the early thirties Bethlehem Steel continued to grow through acquisition, buying steel companies on the Pacific coast as well as McClintic-Marshall Corp., a major bridge and building construction company. This was the golden era for American construction and Bethlehem Steel was responsible for such landmark constructions as: the Golden Gate Bridge, U.S. Supreme Court, Rockefeller Plaza, Waldorf-Astoria and the George Washington Bridge. During World War II Bethlehem Steel shifted all its production into military hardware, employing close on 300,000 workers of which 180,000 were directly involved in ship-building. Post-war, the company returned to producing steel for US domestic projects, as well as the military, and continued to thrive. The 1960s saw steel imported to the USA reaching record levels, but Bethlehem still home-produced steel for such iconic structures as Madison Square Garden, Newport Bridge and the second Delaware Memorial Bridge.

In 1973 Bethlehem Steel reported an income of $207 million, producing record levels of 23.7 million tons of raw steel and 16.3million tons of finished steel. The company continued to thrive, but in the early 1980s imported steel was making more of an impact, which forced a radical restructure of Bethlehem Steel, resulting in a halving of the workforce over five years in the mid-80s. Consolidation followed over the next ten years and reluctantly the production facility at Bethlehem – where it all began – was shut down in 1995.

Today, Bethlehem has recovered from the loss of its steelworks and is undergoing an economic and cultural renaissance. Hotels in Bethlehem once used by those who had business at the steelworks are now re-inventing themselves as tourist and conference centers. The steel may be long gone in Bethlehem, but the entrepreneurial spirit of its citizens is alive and well.

Adam Singleton is an online, freelance journalist and keen amateur photographer from Scotland. His interests include traveling and hiking.

Finding Termites In America

By David Faulkner

Termites in America are destructive and annoying insects that we have to contend with to protect our homes and buildings. Although they appear harmless, they can destroy a wood structure in no time if left untreated. Many areas of the United States have horrible infestations and termites have caused millions of dollars in damage. Because people normally do not know they have termites until it has become a bigger problem, termite infestation can cause many buildings to sustain structure damage beyond repair. Some people believe they have white ants, when in reality, they have termites.

If you have more facts about termites, you will have a better understanding of the problem. If this problem does not catch your attention quickly, you will see damage to your home or building that may cost you more money to fix than it costs to rid your building of the termites in America.

Here you will see the four groups of termites in America:

• Dampwood Termites- This breed of termites has the largest population of termites in the United States with a length of one inch for adults. This type of termite is found on the Pacific Coast in places like Florida where they feed on the wet woods such as pilings and poles. This American termite does not tunnel in mud and have oval shaped feces.

• Subterranean Termites- This type of American termite is the most common species that finds its way to buildings and structures made of wood. If the building is in contact with soil, they find their way to the building from their underground nests. When this termite matures, it will grow wings.

• Drywood Termites- This termite infests drywood and are a bit bigger than the
Subterranean termite. These termites have wings and fly from destination to
destination.

• Powderpost Termites- This type of termite feeds on floors and furniture along with your woodwork. They are smaller than other termites and are similar to the drywood termite.

Termites in America exist everywhere, but with proper knowledge about the pest and what they look like and what they can do, people can protect themselves from an infestation before they damage your building and belonging. It comes in handy to know the winged typed and the non-winged types of termites. If you do have termites in America, you will want to contact an exterminator promptly before they do so much damage that you will need structure work as well as replacement of your belongings.

You can also find more info on Ground Termites and Termites And Ants. Termiteshelp.com is a comprehensive resource to know more about termites.

Is DNA Testing In America Today Reliable?

By Sam Ness

DNA is present in nearly every cell of not only the human body but in all living things. The DNA is stored in the nucleus, which is regarded as the brain center of the cell, and if each DNA were unraveled from its spaghetti like structure it would stand nearly as high as a man. DNA is often referred to as the molecule of heredity, as this DNA is responsible for the genetic propagation of most inherited traits.

This is why DNA testing is used so successfully in forensic identification, or identifying or exonerating persons of crimes. DNA testing has also made it possible to positively identify victims of natural disasters, which may have been impossible through any other ways. Many unsolved crimes are being reinvestigated if DNA samples are available. Often enough, a new culprit is found, and when the case goes before the courts, he or she is found guilty.

At the same time, more and more people sitting in jails are freed, because DNA evidence indicates their innocence.

Because the DNA sequences are unique to a type of species, DNA has been used to prove the genealogy of individuals and groups of people. But it doesn't stop there, due to the fact that any type of organism can be identified by examining the DNA, this technology is being used to identify endangered and protected species of wildlife, and to detect bacteria and other organisms that may pollute our air, water, soil or food. DNA testing is also used for organ transplant programs in matching donors to recipients.

The DNA issue has become one of those issues that have raised much controversy over the past few years as the technology advances, which it is doing at a rapid pace. Some people find that keeping DNA on file is an infringement of civil liberties, as it is not as simple as a mere fingerprint. DNA has that person's whole blueprint stored, such as ethnic group, hair color, family lineage etc.

DNA has proved invaluable in proving paternity cases, either before the courts or as the latest trend shows for individuals who buy a DNA do it yourself kit where they take a swab inside the cheek and send the sample away for testing. It also opened it to manipulations, with some dishonest people trying to manipulate, or cheat a DNA test with far reaching legal ramifications.

No matter how vigilant the authorities are, this is quite easily done by substituting DNA blood test sample. Law authorities are trying to implement more reliable systems constantly. This is very welcomed news especially for difficult cases of parenthood and serious crimes.

Tracing ancestral origins through DNA testing has unlocked the door to many who had come to the end of the road in assembling their family tree. DNA is being used to determine Native American or Jewish ancestry, and DNA is able to confirm paternal and maternal lineage for both males and females. The genealogy driven DNA testing has proven to be just one of the countless many areas that are now available since the secrets of DNA have begun to be unlocked.

DNA testing holds many puzzles for Sam Ness. His website DNA-Test-Secrets.com tries to aid those seeking truth.