It's been a quiet holiday on the newsfront, but the gears of local professional journalism -- LoProJo if you're in the know -- turn again come this morning:

• The company that's been working on the $1 million outdoor boarding platform for downtown's new Amtrak station is expected to receive an $800,000 contract from NCDOT in early January to perform upfit work at West Village's Walker Whse. for the inside portion of the station. The current estimate for the station's completion is June 2009. (H-S)
• Coordination and interaction issues between the City's Police and General Services departments are getting scrutiny both from downtown stakeholders and from city leaders in the ongoing tumult over the safety of the Corcoran St. parking deck, a matter of concern after Self-Help founder Martin Eakes was assaulted there last month. DDI's government relations coordinator informed city manager Tom Bonfield that a D.P.D. safety assessment of the deck was sent to General Services two years ago but apparently received no response. The N&O's Jim Wise also alluded this weekend to Eakes friend Eugene Brown's own personal investigation of conditions in the parking deck, something that the city councilman "has hinted that he's got a lot to talk about when he [goes public]." (H-S, N&O)
• The H-S has a rememberance of the life of Trevor Spain, a 32-year resident of Shepherd St. in the normally-quiet Morehead Hills neighborhood. Spain was found dead by his father in the house; robbery appears to be the motive, and family suspects the culprit was a person known to the deceased. (H-S)
• Rare good news on the civic construction front: NCDOT is finding that bids for recent road work (outside Durham) are coming in below estimates, giving hope that the ongoing problem of escalating construction costs for road-paving, bridge building and the like may be at an end. (H-S)