ASHEBORO – Spurred by enhanced marketing efforts, a new children’s exhibit and gasoline prices that are keeping travelers closer to home, the North Carolina Zoo’s annual attendance reached its highest mark in a decade for the fiscal year ending June 30.

WASHINGTON – Busines.gov continues to expand its offerings of resources and tools to help small businesses comply with federal government regulations.

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Small Business Administration and Trump University have teamed together to develop a new free online training course – “How to Start a Business on a Shoestring Budget” – designed to help entrepreneurs understand how to take their small business ideas to market despite limited outside resources.

CHARLOTTE – The U.S. Small Business Administration announced that federal disaster loans are available to small businesses in Richmond, Scotland and 14 other counties in North Carolina affected by freezing temperatures earlier this year.

SANFORD – Continuing its steady economic rise, Sanford now ranks 45th in economic strength among nearly 600 small cities across the United States.

FAYETTEVILLE – The Cumberland County Business Council announced today the selection of Jorgenson Consulting to recruit a new president for the organization.

SANFORD – The Pantry, Inc. (NASDAQ: PTRY), the leading independently operated convenience store chain in the southeastern United States, today announced preliminary financial results for its third fiscal quarter ended June 28.

SANFORD – The Pantry, Inc. (NASDAQ: PTRY), the leading independently operated convenience store chain in the southeastern United States, today announced a correction to estimated fiscal 2008 interest expense.

FAYETTEVILLE – The U.S. Department of Labor today announced the award of a $5 million dislocated worker demonstration grant to North Carolina to be used in helping civilian workers affected by BRAC to transition from on-base jobs to careers in high-tech industry clusters.

FAYETTEVILLE – Fayetteville State University signed a Memorandum of Understanding today with the Partnership for Defense Innovation at the Defense Security and Technology Accelerator to collaborate in pursuing government grants and contracts relevant to their respective purposes.

SANFORD – Gov. Mike Easley announced that Frontier Spinning Mills will expand one of its Lee County facilities, creating 42 jobs and investing $20 million during the next three years.

ASHEBORO – FNB United Corp. (NASDAQ: FNBN), the holding company for CommunityONE Bank, N.A. and Dover Mortgage Company, reported that moderate loan growth and increased service charge fees led to solid second quarter and year-to-date profits for the periods ended June 30.

TROY – First Bancorp (NASDAQ: FBNC) has signed a definitive merger agreement with Great Pee Dee Bancorp, Inc. that provides for the merger of Great Pee Dee into First Bancorp.

CARY – Crescent Financial Corporation (Nasdaq:CRFN), parent company of Crescent State Bank, announced unaudited net income for the quarter ended June 30 of $1,448,000, reflecting a 44 percent increase over net income of $1,003,000 for the prior year quarter.

TROY – First Bancorp (NASDAQ: FBNC), the parent company of First Bank, announced net income today of $5,419,000 for the three months ended June 30, a 13 percent increase over the $4,795,000 reported for the corresponding period of 2006.

FAYETTEVILLE – The Cumberland County Business Council is seeking talented local candidates to fill the position of president.

FAYETTEVILLE – Cape Fear Valley, which recently affiliated with Cleveland Clinic for cardiac surgery, announced today that the clinic’s heart program has been ranked No. 1 in the nation for the 13th consecutive year by U.S. News & World Report magazine.

RALEIGH – After growing 3.3 percent last year, GDP growth slowed to the very slow rate of .6 percent in the first quarter, according to a quarterly business barometer from the North Carolina Bankers Association.

WINSTON-SALEM – BB&T Corporation (NYSE: BBT) reported record net income for the second quarter of 2007 totaling $458 million, or 83 cents per diluted share, compared with $429 million, or 79 cents per diluted share, earned during the second quarter of 2006.