News

UNC Health Care board members say they're not interested in selling Rex Hospital to WakeMed.

Last week, officials at WakeMed sent a letter to U-N-C President Tom Ross offering to buy Rex Hospital for 750 million dollars. That's about three times what UNC paid to buy Rex 11 years ago. Yesterday afternoon, board members for UNC Health Care sent Ross a resolution saying a committee will study the financial implications of selling the Raleigh hospital. But the resolution says Rex is an integral part of UNC's teaching and business infrastructure. 

Raleigh will host a benefit concert for tornado victims. The city hopes to raise money to give to charities, including the Salvation Army and the Inter-Faith Food Shuttle.  

The “Rise Up Raleigh concert” will include 11 bands and take place at the Downtown Raleigh Amphitheater - just 200 yards north of a spot where one of the tornadoes touched down.

The Hi Mount neighborhood just north of downtown Raleigh is being considered for addition to the National Register of Historic Places. Officials say the post-war community was planned in the late 1930s with construction finished by 1954. Martha Hobbs is a preservation planner with the city. She says the recognition could be a boost for the area. 

Rick Wagoner is the new Chair of the Board of Trustees at Duke University. Wagoner is the former CEO at General Motors. 

It was a little more than 2 years ago that Wagoner resigned as CEO at GM after being asked to do so by the White House. During his 13 years in charge of the company, it lost about $85 billion.

The YWCA of the Greater Triangle’s Racial Justice Initiative aims to empower women and eliminate racism through dialogue, action and advocacy. Luckily, the ambitious goals are being taken on by a team that includes two women who have been challenging people to address racism head-on for many years. Crystal Hayes and Julia Dawson met in college where they began their advocacy work in favor of racial justice. In the beginning, Hayes, an African-American woman from New York, rejected the idea of a friendship with Dawson, a white Southerner who is about 10 years her junior. Eventually, their shared passion for bringing an end to racism brought them together – first as partners in activism, then as pals.

  This week, Garner native Scotty McCreery will perform in the final three of the American Idol tv show. The newly-minted 17 year old star was welcomed home over the weekend with a made-for-tv celebration. 

A new study from Duke University explains the source of salinity in well water on the Outer Banks. Professor Avner Vengosh directed the study. He says salinity levels are rising in wells on the Outer Banks. 

Avner Vengosh: "But our study shows the salinity is not derived from sea water intrusion as some had feared before, but its rather from flow of natural occurring ground water originated from fossil sea water."

The state Department of Transportation has released a survey that identifies a need for improving bicycle and pedestrian safety. Nearly three quarters of respondents said they don't feel safe biking through their communities on a daily basis. That number was about 50 percent for pedestrians. The survey identified a lack of bicycle lanes and sidewalks as the top safety issue. But DOT spokeswoman Julia Merchant says there also needs to be a mutual respect among drivers, bicyclists and pedestrians.

Tanger Factory Outlet Centers is spending the month of May celebrating its 30th Anniversary and its success as a top builder of outlet malls. Shareholders met today in New York for their annual meeting. 

 What better way to celebrate than by ringing the closing bell at the New York Stock Exchange. Steven Tanger rang the bell yesterday.  He’s President and C-E-O of Greensboro-based Tanger Factory Outlet Centers.  

  The Town of Garner is getting ready to welcome home "American Idol" finalist Scotty McCreery. Jeremy Loeb reports.

 The 17-year-old baritone advanced to the "Final 3" of the television show "American Idol" last night. McCreery has been wowing audiences with his mature, deep-voiced renditions of country classics. Mayor Ronnie Williams called the singer's success the biggest thing that's ever happened to Garner.