Knock on wood.

• Position: Eastern

The N.C. State Ports Authority plans to build a $60 million terminal for wood pellets at Port of Morehead City but isn't sure how to pay for it. It would prefer to get the money from Raleigh-based North Carolina Railroad Co., a private company whose sole shareholder is the state, but the railway's board nixed that in October. Nevertheless, in November the Ports Authority's board Ai approved spending up to $5 million for design, hoping to open the terminal within a year. The authority could go to the public-debt market to raise money to pay the tab but would rather the railroad pick it up. The General Assembly, which goes into session this month, could force the railroad to pay the state a dividend then give the money to the ports. The authority also wants to build a similar terminal at Port of Wilmington. Wood pellets, made of sawdust and other timber byproducts, have become increasingly popular as a source of renewable fuel in Europe. Bethesda, Md.-based Enviva LP will soon have two wood-pellet plants in the region but plans to ship most of their products to Europe from its deep-water terminal in Chesapeake, Va.

Living under the poverty level A study of the state's 39 counties with populations greater than 65,000 reveals that 10 have at least 20% of residents living below the poverty level. Half of those are in the East. COUNTY ALL CHILDREN DEEP POVERTY * Robeson 30.4% 43.0% 13.4% Wilkes 28.3 43.4 10.9 Pitt 25.4 27.7 13.8 Wayne 23.4 36.0 10.5 Surry 23.3 31.9 7.4 Caldwell 22.4 30.4 11.7 Burke 21.6 34.2 9.2 Brunswick 21.1 30.6 9.1 Durham 20.4 28.9 9.2 Nash 20.4 31.3 4.0 * People who make 50% below the poverty level Source: North Carolina Justice Center WORKING CAPITAL EASTERN Employed: 1,050,306 YTD change: 37,991 Index: 109.6 Source: Division of Employment Security, October. Figures are not seasonally adjusted. The index is the number of jobs as a percentage of the average in 2000. NASH COUNTY--Laurel, Miss.-based Sanderson Farms abandoned its longstanding effort to build a poultry-processing plant here because it believes legal battles...