Dart to Julyís unemployment numbers, which showed a slight rise in Rowan and 38 other counties. Rowanís rate edged up to 11.8 percent, two-tenths of a percent higher than in June.
As expected, the numbers reported Friday reflected government job losses, mainly in education, but private sector job creation continues to be anemic. Statewide unemployment, reported a few days ago, rose to 10.1 percent in July, up from 9.9 percent in June.
Unfortunately, few signs of improvement are on the horizon, economists say as they continue to debate whether weíve slipped back into a recession. ěWe are not seeing significant growth of any kind,î Michael Walden, an economist at N.C. State University, told the Greensboro News & Record.

Dart to an epidemic of pilfered pooches. Reports of stolen dogs have surged across the country, according to a recent article in USA Today. For the first seven months of 2011, reports of stolen dogs rose 49 percent, according to the American Kennel Club. About 224 were snatched, compared with 150 in the same period last year. In 2008, 71 thefts were recorded by the AKCís database of customer and media reports. That rose to 162 in 2009 and 255 in 2010. The increase may be linked to the same factors driving thefts of copper and other marketable commodities. Thieves are motivated by ěmoney and economics,î according to an AKC spokesperson. Small breeds such as Yorkies and Pomeranians are frequent targets. To thwart would-be dognappers, pet owners are advised to never leave an animal unattended outside a store or restaurant, and consider having your pet microchipped, which can help identify a stolen dog and increase the chances of a return to the rightful owner.

Laurels to a significant drop in smoking among African-American youth. The American Journal of Public Health reports a steep falloff in tobacco use among young blacks from the 1970s to the mid-1990s. Unfortunately, the decrease wasnít as sharp among white youth. According to researchers from Penn State and Rutgers universities, ěBy the early 1990s, white students were more than four times more likely to have reported smoking cigarettes within the previous 30 days than their African American counterparts.î The journal report surmises the decrease primarily due to increased cigarette prices, although other factors were involved, including parental attitude, religious ties, anti-smoking campaigns and higher rates of poverty.