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Axios Raleigh
North Carolina's wealthiest residents once again topped by Jim Goodnight
James Goodnight, co-founder and CEO of the Cary data analytics firm SAS, remains North Carolina's wealthiest resident, according to Forbes' recently released list of the world's billionaires. The big picture: Most of North Carolina's richest business leaders saw their fortunes grow in the past year, including Goodnight, 81, whose wealth rose 36.5% to $10.1 billion last year, according to Forbes. Goodnight has used his fortune to benefit his alma mater, N.C. State, start Cary Academy and bankroll real estate projects across the region. The billionaire could have a huge liquidity event in 2025 — if SAS ends up listing its shares...
Carolina Hurricanes owner Tom Dundon is very serious about Raleigh's MLB bid
Tom Dundon, the Carolina Hurricanes owner, contemplated relocating the hockey team when he first bought a controlling stake in 2018, according to an in-depth profile in the Sports Business Journal. Why it matters: Six years later, Dundon has never been more committed to the City of Oaks. He signed a 20-year lease at PNC Arena, invested large sums in redeveloping the area around the arena and — most ambitiously — is attempting to bring a Major League Baseball team to the city. What they're saying: "In probably his first year and a half, we might have had two conversations about, 'Are...
Direct flights from Raleigh
Raleigh-Durham International Airport is rapidly growing, with an expansion of Terminal 2 underway plus plans for more gates for planes and more parking for passengers.State of play: Sixteen carriers operate more than 350 daily flights through RDU, including a growing number of international options.For vacation planning purposes and beyond, here are all the current nonstop destinations you can fly to from RDU.Of note: These flight details came from both the airport and the airlines themselves.DomesticAkron/Canton, OhioAirport: Akron-Canton Airport (CAK)Airline: BreezeEstimated flight duration: 1 hour 34 minutesAlbany/Schenectady/Troy, N.Y. (beginning May 10, 2024)Airport: Albany International Airport (ALB)Airline: AveloEstimated flight duration: 1 hour 45 minutesAtlanta,...
Here's what's happening across the Triangle, from dinosaur bones to beer fests
Here's what's happening this weekend around the Triangle, from a dinosaur bones exhibit to beer festivals. 🍺 Brewgaloo, downtown Raleigh's annual craft beer festival featuring more than 100 breweries, returns to Fayetteville Street on Friday and Saturday.🌿 Downtown Wake Forest will have its annual HerbFest, with vendors selling organic herbs, Friday through Sunday.🦖 The N.C. Museum of Natural Sciences opens its newest exhibit "Dueling Dinosaurs" on Saturday, which shows how scientists uncovered the fossils of a tyrannosaur and triceratops. 🎨 Cary's arts and crafts festival Spring Daze returns to Bond Park on Saturday, showcasing 170 artists and live entertainment. 🎶 The N.C. Museum of Art hosts its Music at the Museum Festival, featuring Tift Merritt, Kooley High and others. 🎤 The N.C. Division of Parks and Recreation will hold Poetry in the Park on Saturday at Eno River State Park in Durham. 🚒 Raleigh's Sanderford Road Community Center will hold a free Touch-a-Truck event for children Saturday.
The number of visitors in Downtown Raleigh grew sharply in the past year
Data: University of Toronto; Note: Downtown defined as the central location with the highest concentration of employment in each metro area; Chart: Alice Feng/AxiosDowntown Raleigh has seen a welcome bump in foot traffic in the past year, according to new cell phone tracking data from the University of Toronto. Why it matters: Raleigh's downtown area has struggled to recover to prepandemic foot traffic levels due, in part, to remote work trends emptying out offices. Driving the news: The new cell phone data shows that foot traffic in March 2024 was up 19.9% compared to March 2023. That was the 13th-largest...
The UNC System could bring back SAT or ACT requirements for certain students
The UNC system looks likely to raise its minimum requirements for admissions at the state's 17 public universities — and allow individual campuses to bring back standardized testing requirements.Why it matters: Since the pandemic, the UNC system — which includes campuses like UNC-Chapel Hill and N.C. State — had stopped mandating students submit standardized test scores as part of their applications.Around 64% of applicants to UNC system schools did not submit an ACT or SAT score in 2022, according to system data.Driving the news: A UNC Board of Governors committee, however, last week approved a proposal that would require standardized...
Gov. Cooper's budget proposal asks for public school funding and state worker raises
Gov. Roy Cooper released his proposals for the state budget on Wednesday, calling for a big investment in public schools and a moratorium on private school vouchers. Driving the news: Cooper's unveiled the $34.5 billion plan at the start of the N.C. General Assembly's short session, in which the Republican-controlled legislature could pass a bill adjusting the state's spending. Reality check: Cooper's proposal is just that — a proposal. With Republicans having a veto-proof majority in both chambers of the N.C. General Assembly, they can pass a budget without his involvement. Republicans have previously expressed interest in adding raises for state...
A UNC Health plane crashed at RDU Wednesday, temporarily shutting down air traffic
A UNC Health medical plane crashed at Raleigh-Durham International Airport Wednesday morning, shutting down air traffic and leaving two injured. The latest: UNC Health confirmed on Wednesday that the plane was carrying Paul Chelminski, an internal medicine physician at UNC. Chelminski was returning from Wilmington, where he had given a lecture at Novant Health New Hanover Regional Medical Center. Both Chelminski and Art Johnson, the pilot, were injured in the crash. Chelminski was transported to UNC Hospitals in Chapel Hill and was discharged later in the afternoon. Johnson was taken to Duke University Hospital in Durham, and remains there in fair condition, a UNC Health spokesperson said on Thursday. UNC said they are "optimistic" he will make a full recovery. UNC Health said it is pausing its air operations, which include two other planes, and is working with federal investigators to analyze the crash. A preliminary report from the Federal Aviation Administration said the crash was caused by a failed landing, ABC11 reported. Editor's note: This is a breaking story. Please check back for updates.
Spirit-free cocktail bar Umbrella Dry Bar will close its downtown Raleigh space
Umbrella Dry Bar is closing its space in downtown Raleigh just months after opening, its founder Meg Paradise shared on social media. Why it matters: The non-alcoholic cocktail bar, which opened on New Year's Eve in the former Garland restaurant space, was the first bar of its kind to open in the area, looking to tap into a growing movement of people seeking to pull back on their alcohol consumption.Driving the news: Paradise said in a video shared on Instagram on Tuesday that Umbrella Dry Bar is not renewing its lease at 14 W. Martin St. and will close on Friday. Instead, she said, the concept will be pivoting to a pop-up model. What they're saying: "We will continue to look for our forever home, and as we do that you'll continue to be able to find us around Raleigh doing pop-ups and events," she said. "This is just a little bit of a pause as we find what we really need to be a sustainable model," she added.
North Carolina's future wind and solar power capacity could be influenced by state's carbon plan
Data: Climate Central; Note: Includes both utility-scale and small-scale solar generation; Map: Axios VisualsNorth Carolina generated 12,085 gigawatt-hours of electricity from solar power and 519 GWh from wind power in 2023 — up about 1.6% combined from 2022.Why it matters: Solar and wind power are producing a comparatively small but growing share of America's overall energy supply.The big picture: Solar installations generated nearly 240,000 gigawatt-hours (GWh) of electricity across the U.S. in 2023, per an analysis from Climate Central, a climate research nonprofit.That's up 8X compared to 2014, the group says.Wind generation hit about 425,000 GWh last year — double that...
Here are the highest ranked Triangle public high schools, according to U.S> News
Raleigh Charter High School is the Triangle's top school in U.S. News & World Report's latest national ranking of public high schools. The big picture: Five schools in the Triangle area were among the top 500 public schools nationally, up from two in last year's ranking. The list includes traditional public schools, charter schools and magnet schools. The 10 highest-ranking schools in the Triangle region were: Raleigh Charter High, No. 4 in North Carolina and No. 156 in the U.S. Woods Charter School in Chapel Hill, No. 5 in N.C. and No. 244 in the U.S. Wake STEM Early College...
Here's what the N.C. General Assembly could vote on during its short session
The N.C. General Assembly returns Wednesday for its short session, where it could take up several bills ahead of elections this fall. The big picture: After a busy legislative session in 2023 — which included big decisions on expanding Medicaid, abortion restrictions, changes to education laws and other key issues — Republican leaders say they are aiming to wrap up the short session quickly. The GOP still holds a veto-proof majority after Charlotte Rep. Tricia Cotham changed her party affiliation from Democrat to Republican last year. Here are some issues that could get brought up during the short session. Expanding school vouchers:...
Raleigh shoppers prefer Walmart, Harris Teeter over Costco, Target
Data: Chain Store Guide; Note: Stores under the same brand name have been combined, e.g. Walmart and Walmart Supercenter; Chart: Axios VisualsWalmart and Harris Teeter remain the most popular grocery stores in the Raleigh metro area — but Food Lion, Costco and Publix all gained market share during the last year, according to sales data. Why it matters: Grocery store operators have invested heavily in the Triangle in recent years, hoping to capture market share in a fast-growing, relatively high-income region that's full of transplants with less loyalty to North Carolina brands.Between the lines: Grocers like Publix, Wegmans and Aldi have...
VinFast, an EV maker building a North Carolina plant, struggles to sell its cars
VinFast, the Vietnamese electric vehicle maker building a factory in North Carolina, is struggling to sell its cars, an investigation by the financial news site Hunterbrook Media discovered. Why it matters: VinFast has pledged to become North Carolina's first major automobile manufacturer, potentially adding 7,500 jobs in Chatham County. But it will need to sell its cars to reach its goals. State and local governments have pledged more than $1.2 billion in incentives if VinFast meets hiring and investment goals.Zoom in: The investigative report comes as construction on VinFast's North Carolina plant slowed due to permitting issues — though the...
Two new taprooms have opened in the Triangle: Atomic Clock and Ponysaurus' Raleigh brewery
Two more breweries have opened across the Triangle this month. The latest: The popular Durham brewery Ponysaurus opened an outpost at the Raleigh Iron Works development in early April. In addition to an extensive list of house-made brews, the brewery's Raleigh location serves wood-fired pizzas, sandwiches and wings. Also opening this past week was Atomic Clock Brewing Co. in downtown Durham. Run by the brother-and-sister team of Brian (formerly of Town Brewing in Charlotte) and Colleen Quinn, Atomic Clock is at 501 Washington St., next to Plum.Expect several IPAs, a pilsner, an amber and a sour beer on the brewery's inaugural tap list, which is set to expand. The bar at Atomic Clock Brewing in downtown Durham. Photo: Zachery Eanes/Axios
North Carolina wages in the Triangle and Charlotte far outpace rest of the state
North Carolina's highest-paying jobs are concentrated around the twin economic engines of the Research Triangle and Charlotte, according to data compiled by the state's Commerce Department. Why it matters: The growing divergence of paychecks in N.C.'s cities versus rural areas highlights our state's growing rural and urban divide. State of...
Governor's contest includes differing opinions on economic incentives
For more than 20 years, North Carolina has wielded its incentives program to grow its economy and lure corporate expansions to the state — from large-scale manufacturers such as Toyota to tech companies like Apple. But this year's gubernatorial election will be a contest between candidates with differing views...
13 happenings in Raleigh and Durham this weekend
There's plenty to do this weekend across the Triangle, from Earth Day celebrations to live music and good eating. 🪕 Head out to the 'Cuegrass Festival — an annual music-and-barbecue celebration put on by The Pit that returns to Raleigh's Fayetteville Street on Saturday. 🥙 Eat and dance at Raleigh's annual Lebanese Festival on Saturday and Sunday. 🎵 Support your local record shop on Saturday's Record Store Day, featuring special releases and events. 🌎 Celebrate Earth Day early at Apex's EarthFest on Saturday. 🌳 Or check out Raleigh Arbor Day in Dix Park on Friday, ForestFest in downtown Wake Forest...
North Carolina's public universities could disband DEI offices under new policy
The UNC system moved Wednesday to repeal and replace the current diversity and inclusion policy on public university campuses throughout the state. Why it matters: The decision could lead to the elimination of diversity offices across the system — similar to a move made by the University of Florida earlier this year, the Associated Press reports. Driving the news: The UNC system's Committee on University Governance approved the change without discussion at a meeting in Winston-Salem on Wednesday. The full board, which is nominated by the Republican-controlled state Senate and state House of Representatives, could approve the decision in May. Zoom...
Carolina Hurricanes return to Stanley Cup playoffs as betting favorites
Playoff hockey returns to Raleigh this weekend, when the Carolina Hurricanes host the New York Islanders in the first round.Why it matters: Under owner Tom Dundon and coach Rod Brind'Amour, the Canes have transformed into a perennial playoff contender — making it to the postseason for six consecutive seasons.Yes, but: While the team has gotten close, it has not yet made it back to the Stanley Cup Finals since its 2006 championship win.Between the lines: The Canes are the only men's major league team in North Carolina to ever win a championship.Driving the news: The team finished second in the...
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