BCR's Daily Fishwrap Report for November 18, 2009

Duke Baseball to DBAP: Duke's baseball team will play 18 home games at the Durham Bulls Athletic Park in 2010, the first year of a 3-year deal in which the Bulls and the university will share ticket revenue and concessions. Bulls/Capitol Broadcasting VP George Habel notes the move should help to bring more Duke students downtown. Jack Coombs Field on Duke's campus will continue to host some home games. (Triangle Business Journal)

NCCU Wants Online Growth, Frets Over Standards: Even as new Chancellor Charlie Nelms has been encouraging higher academic performance and accountability at the HBCU, he's raised concerns to the UNC system over proposed graduation and student retention rate standards, which he and senior administrators say aren't fair to a school that serves a largely low-income population. Nelms' counter: look at performance of "college-ready" students across the UNC system. Meantime, the campus -- which Nelms notes is disadvantaged in size and number of facilities compared to its past and planned population growth -- is thinking about the lucrative world of online education as one way to grow without increasing facilities as quickly. (Herald-Sun #1 , #2)

Triangle Home Sales Up, South Durham Strong: We reported here recently about the growth in home sales of late, and its linkage to first-time home buyers taking advantage of tax credits. More proof: the N&O notes that while September-over-September sales were up 26%, houses over $400k aren't moving, while the low end is doing well. Among the best-selling subdivisions in the Triangle this year: Woodcroft (103 homes) and Hope Valley Farms (108 homes), both popular with first-time homebuyers and the UNC/Duke/NCCU graduate student set. (N&O)

Urban Ministries Sees Graduation: A dozen Durham residents graduated from the Urban Ministries of Durham drug treatment and recovery program yesterday, celebrating the start of a life without drugs and substance abuse -- congratulations! (Herald-Sun #1, #2)