Quite a bit to catch up on between this weekend's papers and this mornings, in case you missed 'em:
- The H-S' front page on Sunday featured an intriguing difference of opinion between the usually pro-development mayor and the more cautious Council progressives, with Bell calling for at least preliminary discussions with Raleigh on reopening a decade-old agreement on the utility services boundaries within the two cities' growth areas. Councilfolk Woodard and Catotti warned that such a move could open up the ecologically-sensitive area for more intensive development. This one's an important read. (H-S)
- The new Terminal 2 at RDU opened up Saturday night to its first arriving flight, with a formal ribbon-cutting on Sunday to mark the opening of the first phase of the replacement for the ill-planned American Airlines hublet we once called "Terminal C." (We could tell you where Terminal B was, but then we'd have to kill you.) The new terminal is a $570 million facility that features 19 gates, 26 shops and restaurants, and five times the number of security checkpoint lanes as its unloved predecessor, which was never designed to handle much except through traffic. (N&O #1, #2; H-S #1, #2, #3)
- Merck hints that its vaccine plant in Treyburn's business park might not be tapped out at $750 million and 400 jobs, but would be competing with the firm's other two American vaccine plants for two forthcoming vaccine products. (N&O TDN)
- The City's crime rate continues to be 2% below last year's tally even as violent crime levels are up 8% over the 2007 total. (H-S)
- Durham Central Market, the new food co-op hoping to bring a Weaver Street Market experience to downtown, has sold 275 of its targeted 300 founding shares, the group announced at a community potluck yesterday. (H-S)
- Legendary civil rights-era photographer and former NCCU public relations director Alex Rivera died at 95; an NCCU alum, Rivera's photographs of subjects ranging from twentieth-century African-American pioneers to President Nixon drew him acclaim within and outside the state. (H-S)
- As expected, the City Council moved ahead with the upset bid process for the sale of 727 N. Mangum, which Bill Bell-linked nonprofit UDI wants to buy and combine with adjacent parcels to build a multi-story mixed-use building, according to the firm's CEO. Some neighborhood groups and local business interests have expressed concerns about the likely demolition of historic structures, with Old North Durham's spokesperson telling Council last week that other non-profits asking about buying the property were told it wasn't for sale. Other parties now have the chance to bid on and try to displace UDI's purchase of the structure. (H-S)
- The Durham News has an interesting feature on the City's "Second Chance Program," modeled on an effort in High Point that tries an intervention with repeat but non-violent offenders -- this time in the Operation Bulls Eye district of East Durham -- trying to connect these individuals with everything from social services organizations to community groups to attempt to offer these individuals a chance to go straight. (N&O TDN)
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