Residents of North Carolina are being urged to get ready for hurricane season which officially begins next week. Forecasters and other officials are using this week to highlight some of things you can do to prepare for the big storms. Jeff Orrock is a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Raleigh. He says a busy forecast means its time to get supplies like food, water, medicine and batteries purchased and organized.

Biotech giant Syngenta will be expanding it's footprint in Research Triangle Park.  Company officials announced they will be spending 71 million dollars to build a lab and greenhouse facility to do crop research next to their present building in RTP.  Syngenta spokesman Steven Goldsmith says the greenhouse will also be green. 

  Wake Forest University officials are reacting to a report that aired yesterday on The Today Show. In the story, former student Maggie Hurt claims the school mishandled a sexual assault investigation in 2009. 

When Father Andrew O'Connor started his Goods of Conscience project several years ago, he had no idea that Cameron Diaz and Julia Roberts would end up wearing his clothes. O'Connor, a parish priest in the Bronx, designs casual, upscale clothing made from cotton hand-woven by Mayan workers in Guatemala. Seamstresses in the Bronx put the pieces together. The project raises money for the weavers, seamstresses and the parish, and could serve as a model for other communities across the country. Father O'Connor talks with host Frank Stasio before delivering the baccalaureate sermon to Elon University’s graduating class.

  A historical fishing pier reopens Saturday in Nags Head after Hurricane Isabel destroyed it nearly eight years ago. Jennette's Pier was absorbed by the state Aquariums soon after the storm leveled it in 2003. The General Assembly approved an $25 million reconstruction in the 2009 budget. Aquariums director David Griffin says the new structure hardly resembles its old self. He says it now stands higher above sea level than most piers.

David Griffin: "We've elevated this

Gordon Zacharias has been writing songs and playing under the name Fan Modine for more than 15 years. He was happily at work on a new album in New York City when 9/11 changed everything. No longer feeling at home in the Big Apple, Zacharias decamped to Chapel Hill, NC, where the music scene embraced him.

A bill that opponents of abortion rights have pushed for years is moving through the state legislature. House Bill 854, known as the "Woman's Right to Know Act," would mandate counseling, a waiting period, and an ultrasound before a woman could receive an abortion. Supporters of the bill say the measure would give women more information to make an informed choice. But opponents say the measure is designed to intimidate women.

The government continues to roll out new details from the 2010 Census.  Figures released yesterday show North Carolina residents are getting older.

The median age of North Carolinians is 37-point-4 years. Ten years ago – the median age was 35. Bob Coats is the liaison between the Governor’s Office and the Census Bureau.  He explains one of several possible reasons for the age increase.

Officials gathered in Raleigh today to christen a new Capitol Area Transit operations and maintenance facility. The facility is needed to accommodate a rise in demand on the city's bus fleet.

Andrew High is from congressman David Price's office. He says the money for the maintenance facility came from federal funds. High says it will help with more people using public transportation.