With North Carolina’s business climate a hot topic in the governor’s race, there is a new survey that gives the state so-so grades for its climate for small businesses.

The survey was conducted by Thumbtack.com of San Francisco in partnership with the Kauffman Foundation. It interviewed 6,000 small-business owners across the country. Unlike groups that have an agenda, like the Tax Foundation, an anti-tax group, Thumbtack says it’s not aligned with any particular cause.

The survey found that North Carolina ranked 26th in overall small-business friendliness with Thumbtack giving it a grade of C plus. North Carolina was ranked 27th in the ease of starting a small business, giving a grade of C. It was graded 10th in the cost of hiring a new employee, giving it a grade of A minus. It was ranked 31st in regulatory friendliness, giving it a record a grade of C minus. It was ranked 27th in friendless of health and safety regulations or grade C. It was ranked 38th in friendliness of employment, labor and hiring regulations or a grade of D.

North Carolina was ranked 34th in friendliness of tax code for a grade of D plus, 33rd in friendliness of licensing regulations or C minus, 25th in friendliness of environmental regulations or C plus, 25th in zoning regulations or C plus, 38th in publicity of training programs or a D; 25th in publicity of networking programs or a C plus, 27th in current economic health of small business, 25th in change in revenue over the past 12 months, and 22nd in forecast of small business’s future economic health.

In regional rankings, Texas is first while North Carolina is next to last ahead of only Florida.

Hagan touts Obama speech

North Carolina Sen. Kay Hagan plugged the president’s economic speech Friday, saying his proposals “are key to an economy built to last.” Hagan, a Democrat, said Obama’s economic proposal has the government investing in education, research, student loans and other programs that will position the country to compete globally in a knowledge economy.

“We have got to invest in our best scientists, our best researchers, our best entrepreneurs, so they are the ones that can innovate right here in America,” Hagan said in a teleconference arranged by the re-election campaign of President Barack Obama. She appeared with Brent Colburn, the Obama campaign’s communications director.

She said the country needs to build infrastructure such as roads and bridges that can create jobs now. She said Republican candidate Mitt Romney’s emphasis on tax cuts was a return to the policies of President George W. Bush.

“We can’t give billionaires another tax break at the expense of the middle class,” Hagan said. “But that is how Mitt Romney would hold us back. We can’t afford to give the policies of the past decade another try. It would push us back to another recession instead of pushing us toward a recovery.’’

“What Mitt Romney is selling didn’t work then and it’s not going to work now,” Hagan said.

Burr hosts golf fundraiser

Sen. Richard Burr will hold a golfing fundraiser on Monday in Florida for his leadership political action committee.

Burr has scheduled a golf event at the Robert Trent Jones Golf Club that will benefit The Next Century Fund, his leadership PAC that he uses to help other candidates. The cost of attending the event ranges from $1,000 to $2,500. That’s according to the Sunlight Foundation, which tracks fund raising in Washington.

Burr is also planning another event for his leadership PAC Sept. 21-23 at Primland Resort Meadows in Dan, Va., which is a golf, hunting and fishing weekend. That is a $2,000 per person and $3,000 per PAC event.

UNC launches website

Political junkies have a new fix with the UNC School of Journalism’s launching earlier this month of a mobile-specific website, WhichWayNC.com. Touted as an exploration of “the emerging trend of two-way communication” and new technology in journalism, the site aims to take an in-depth look at the state’s politics.

It’s part of the school’s Reese Digital News Project, which launched reesenews.org in November 2010 with funding from a $4.1 million estate gift. Student journalists are encouraged to try new ways of reporting through innovative technology, according to the project.

“WhichWayNC is filling a void in the conversation,” Sarah Glen, team captain for the project, said in a news release. “We are crafting stories that encourage engagement among users.”

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