North Carolina Extension and Community Association (NCECA) held its 89th Annual State Council meeting in Concord recently where the theme was “Celebrating the Seasons of Change”. Over 250 members from across the state attended this exciting event w…
Month: December 2009
Consumer Reports finds packaged products that are full of air
Did you ever wonder why some packaged products in the grocery store have so much empty space in them? Consumer Reports’ recent investigation turned up several products with packages that are as much as half empty. Those include One A Day Men’s 50 +…
Berries or no berries, that is the question
There are at least four species of holly, both evergreen and deciduous, that are native to Chatham County and others that do well here, especially several Chinese varieties and some hybrids. Despite their extensive use as a foundation plant, Japanese h…
Chatham County farmer named farmer of the year
At the recent Carolina Farm Stewardship Association’s annual Sustainable Agriculture Conference held Dec. 4-6 in Black Mountain, Chatham County farmer Doug Jones of Piedmont Biofarm was named Farmer of the Year from nominees submitted from both North a…
Controlling eleagnus
Two kinds of eleagnus are a problem in the Southeast – Eleagnus pungens ( Silverberry, is an evergreen, thorny eleagnus) and Eleagnus umbellata (Autumn Olive, is a deciduous, less thorny eleagnus). They are quite prevalent in the woods this time of the…
Consumer Reports finds that new cell phone models adapting to reflect users’ lifestyles
Consumer Reports latest tests of 69 cell phones found that models are evolving to offer more sophisticated capabilities to meet consumers’ more diverse needs and lifestyles. According to a recent Consumer Reports National Research Center survey of mo…
Consumer Reports finds that cell-phone service providers among lower-rated services
Consumer Reports most recent annual cell-phone service survey of more than 50,000 readers found that only 54 percent of respondents were completely or very satisfied with their cell-phone service. Despite “smarter phones,” more flexible plans, and …
Consumer Reports identifies six holiday shopping gotchas to avoid
With budgets tightening this year and credit tight for many consumers, shoppers have probably tried to keep holiday shopping under control. But even the most carefully built holiday budget can crumble if you fall for the tricks grinchy companies use to…
Consumer Reports’ Tightwad Tod shares key dates for getting gifts on time
With the winter holidays looming, retailers and delivery services are urging consumers to act fairly soon if they want their packages to arrive in time for Hannukah (Dec. 11) and Christmas (Dec. 25). To give you a heads up, we scoured the deadlines of …