Leoneda Inge

Thousands of jobless North Carolinians have been waiting for several weeks to get their first unemployment check.  State officials say they hope to have that back-log under control this month.

Assistant Commerce Secretary Dale Folwell heads the employment agency responsible for making sure the unemployed get their checks.

“Anytime there’s one case in our backlog, that’s one too many," said Folwell.

For ten years, North Carolina attorneys have had access to a daily list of unemployed workers who are scheduled for appeal hearings.   Most of these people had their unemployment claims denied and are appealing the decision. 

But last week, the Division of Employment Security said it would no longer provide a daily list of these hearings.  A Durham attorney is fighting back and has filed a lawsuit against the Department of Commerce and its employment division.

There is no official count on how many slave cabins are left standing across the country today.  You might ask,  “Who’s counting?”

Well, the South Carolina-based Slave Dwelling Project is counting and so is the National Trust for Historic Preservation.

Archaeologists at James Madison’s Montpelier estate in Virginia set out to locate where slave cabins once stood on its property.  And last week, a group of people helped re-build a part of that history.

Fifty years ago, when African Americans wanted to watch a movie at the Carolina Theatre in downtown Durham, they had to climb 97 steps up to the second floor balcony.

Today, there’s a new Civil Rights exhibit on display outside that second floor balcony to honor the fight to desegregate the theater.

Florists across the state are working overtime to make sure the snow storm doesn’t wipe out Valentine’s Day sales.

A steady stream of customers in Chapel Hill made their way through the slush of melting snow to grab some flowers.

Charles House owns University Florist and Gifts on Franklin Street.  He says the snow and ice couldn’t have come at a worse time.

Rex Healthcare is back on the road with a brand new mobile mammography unit screening for breast cancer.

You can’t miss the shiny, pink and purple Mobile Mammography Unit.

“Yeah, we love it, she’s very pretty," said Wendy Avery, Mobile Mammography Coordinator.

The "pink" mammography unit is often called "she."  “She” welcomed about 25 women Thursday, parked outside Revlon’s manufacturing plant in Oxford.

The North Carolina Farm Bureau is applauding the passage of the new Farm Bill.  Leaders say it provides stability and certainty to the state’s largest industry.

Larry Wooten is President of the North Carolina Farm Bureau.  His family farms tobacco, corn and soybeans in Pender County.

“Very thankfully this extravaganza of a piece of legislation that took over two years to bring to fruition is finally passed the Senate and it’s headed to the President’s desk to be signed into law.”

The Research Triangle Foundation has announced plans for a major expansion - its first mixed-use development project since the park opened. In a matter of weeks, 100 acres of prime real estate in RTP became available. The Research Triangle Foundation scooped it up at a price tag of $17 million dollars.

Bob Geolas is President and CEO of the foundation: "Look it's a big idea, it's a big vision. As RTP was itself 50 years ago." Geolas says that big idea will become Park Center - a mix of residential, cafes, business and retail.

Raleigh-based Martin Marietta Materials is moving ahead with its largest acquisition yet.  It is acquiring leading cement producer Texas Industries.

Martin Marietta is one of the largest U.S. producers of construction aggregates like crushed stone, sand and gravel.  Once the company formally merges with Texas Industries, it’s sure to be number one.

The $2.7 billion transaction couldn’t come at a better time, as housing and other construction is starting to bounce back.