Wednesday, February 29, 2012

Durham WWII Vet Inducted into French Legion of Honor

Billy Brown Olive of Durham was inducted as a chevalier into the French National Order of the Legion of Honor along with 9 other WWII veterans from North Carolina. The honor recognizes valor and service to the French republic.

Duke's Williams Named ACC Rookie of the Year

Duke University freshman Elizabeth Williams was named the ACC Women's Basketball Rookie of the Year after dominating the season with nine Rookie of the Week selections. Williams is just the fourth Blue Devil in school history to be named ACC Rookie of the Year.

Tuesday, February 28, 2012

Quintiles Celebrates 30 Years

Durham-based pharmaceutical services company Quintiles celebrates the 30th anniversary of its incorporation on Feb. 26, 1982. Its operations began in a trailer on the UNC-Chapel Hill campus; Quintiles is today the world's largest company of its kind with about 25,000 employees worldwide, including 1,700 in the Triangle.

Gray, Williams Named to All-ACC Team

Duke Blue Devils Chelsea Gray and Elizabeth Williams have been named to the All-ACC first women's basketball team. Williams became the third freshman in league history to make the team.

Tootie's Cafe and Grill to Open on Angier Ave.

Tootie’s Mobile Kitchen & Catering food truck will open a brick-and-mortar restaurant, Tootie’s Café and Grill, at 2108 Angier Avenue. The family-owned and operated restaurant will open in March.

Monday, February 27, 2012

City of Durham Honors Human Relations Award Winners

Barbara Lau, executive director of the Pauli Murray Project, Durham City Council Member J. Michael Woodard, Stephanie Williams, a housing specialist for The Durham Center, and Mike Shiflett were honored with 2012 Human Relations awards for their commitments to improving human relations among the people of Durham at a ceremony hosted by the City’s Human Relations Commission and the Human Relations Division of the City’s Neighborhood Improvement Department.

Friday, February 24, 2012

Sprout Cafe to Open at Museum of Life & Science in Early March

Sprout Cafe, Tom Meyer's latest restaurant, is slated to open at the Museum of Life and Science during the second week of March. The Cafe will feature Meyer's popular Chacarero, a "fresh garden sandwich," which features your choice of protein, toppings and homemade spread all placed in a warm, grilled flatbread made by Neomonde Bakery

Mason Plumlee Earns All-American First Team Honors

Duke Blue Devils junior Mason Plumlee has been named a Capital One Academic All-America first team selection. The 6-10 forward from Warsaw, IN is among the top post players in the ACC while also carrying a 3.44 grade point average as a double major in Psychology and Cultural Anthropology. He is the third Duke player to earn Academic All-America first team honors and the first since Shane Battier earned that distinction in back-to-back years in 2000 and 2001. Ten total Duke players have earned Academic All-America recognition.

DPS Appoints Hogans as Principal of Little River Elementary

Cory Hogans has been appointed the new principal of Litter River Elementary School. Hogans has served as principal of Morehead Montessori Elementary School since 2004 and was the assistant principal for Frank Porter Graham Elementary School in Chapel Hill prior to that.

Thursday, February 23, 2012

Ninth Street Apartment Project Breaks Ground

Groundbreaking on the 303-unit, $47 million Circle Ninth Street apartment project begins Wednesday, February 29th. The developer, Crescent Resources LLC, indicates that the project was inspired by the existing Erwin Mill factories and warehouses in the area.

Ninth Street Bakery Launched Kombucha Enterprise "Bull City Booch"

Ninth Street Bakery has launched a beverage enterprise, Bull City Booch which a popular type of fermented tea, kombucha. Bull City Booch is produced in-house and is available on tap in the bakery's cafe at 136 East Chapel Hill Street.

Durham-Based Appia Extends Service to Latin American

Durham-based tech company Appia has launched app stores in 18 Latin American countries for America Movil, one of the world's largest wireless providers. Appia-powered app stores for the likes of AT&T, Verizon, Samsung and Vodaphone can be accessed by more than 400 million wireless customers to download games and a host of applications.

Tuesday, February 21, 2012

Durham Presbyterian of Colonial Village to Host First Worship Service

Durham Presbyterian a new church located at 2504 N. Roxboro will offer its first worship service on Sunday, February 26 at 10:30AM. The church, formed from the merger of Northgate Presbyterian and St. John's Presbyterian, is a multi-generational worshiping community seeking to reflect the diversity of the city.

Duke's Wenger Now Most Decorated Men's Soccer Player in ACC History

Duke University's Andrew Wenger has been named the Atlantic Coast Conference Men's Soccer Scholar Athlete of the Year. Wenger is the most decorated men's college soccer player in ACC history. Voted the conference's Freshman of the Year in 2009 and the league's Defensive Player of the Year in 2010, Wenger was named the ACC Offensive Player of the Year in 2011 and received the MAC Hermann Trophy, awarded annually to the top player in NCAA Division I Men's Soccer.

Durham Public Schools Honors 36 National Board Certified Teachers

Durham Public Schools will honor 36 teachers for completing their National Board Certification. Twenty-seven of the teachers have obtained national certification for the first time, while nine are being honored for their re-certification. The 36 Durham teachers were among 1,244 certified across North Carolina in November, bringing the state’s total number of credentialed teachers to 19,193 – the largest number of National Board Certified teachers in the nation.

Monday, February 20, 2012

Duke-Durham Community Members Named 2012 "Sammie" Winners

Six members of the Duke-Durham community have been selected as 2012 "Sammie" award winners, named for Samuel DuBois Cook, a political scientist, educator and human rights activist and the first African-American faculty member at Duke. All honorees were chosen in appreciation of their work in furthering Cook's legacy.

The honorees are: Dr. Evelyn Schmidt, the director of Lincoln Community Health Center in Durham; William J. Griffith, Duke's vice president for student affairs emeritus; Allison Curseen, a doctoral candidate at Duke who researches 19th century American literature; Alexandra Swain, a Duke junior and Durham native, is majoring in political science and music; Chandra Guinn, director of Duke's Mary Lou Williams Center for Black Culture since 2005; and Rev. William C. Turner Jr., a professor of the practice of homiletics and the pastor of Mt. Level Baptist Church in Durham.

Durhamite Advances to Next Round of 'American Idol'

Durham’s Adam Lee Decker will advance to the next round of 'American Idol' after surviving the latest cut with a group performance of Elvis’ “Jailhouse Rock.”

Friday, February 17, 2012

Four-Star Gen. McCaffrey to Address Obesity Awareness Conference at Structure House

Four-Star Gen. Barry McCaffrey (Ret) will speak at Durham's Wellspring at Structure House today to call attention to the nation's growing obesity crisis. Structure House is celebrating its 35th anniversary and was selected for the event as a national model facility which has treated over 30,000 people.

Duke Golf Course to Host 2012 Jr World Championship Qualifier

The Duke University Golf Course with host the 2012 Callaway Junior World Championship qualifying for boys and girls in North Carolina, March 24-25, 2012. Qualifiers are eligible to compete in the 44th Junior World Championships sponsored by Callaway Golf.

Thursday, February 16, 2012

Duke Tops Colleges, Universities Across NC in Fundraising

With $349.7 million, Duke University topped every North Carolina college and university in fundraising and raised more funds than all but 11 schools nationwide.

Wednesday, February 15, 2012

Durham Chamber Honors Krzyzewski Family

The Greater Durham Chamber of Commerce honored Duke men’s basketball coach Mike Krzyzewski, his wife Mickie, and their daughters Debbie Savarino, Lindy Frasher, and Jamie Spatola with their Civic Honor Award. The honor, which has been given by the chamber since 1933, recognizes people who have made “extraordinary contributions” to the community. Upon accepting the honor Mike Krzyzewski said, “Coaching a national team for the U.S., you get an opportunity to be with people from all over the world,” Krzyzewski said. “In every interview I do, where they (ask where I’m from), I say, ‘I’m from Durham, N.C.’ How good is that to be able to not only say it, but feel it?”

Tuesday, February 14, 2012

Richard Hays Named as New Dean of Duke Divinity School

Richard Hays, George Washington Ivey Professor of New Testament, has been selected as dean of the Duke Divinity School. Hays has served as the interim dean since former Dean Gregory Jones stepped down in August 2010. Hays first came to the Divinity School as a professor in 1991.

Rivers Collects Duke Record-Setting 7th Rookie of the Week Award

Duke freshman Austin Rivers was named ACC Rookie of the Week for the fourth consecutive week after leading the Blue Devils to wins against North Carolina and Maryland at home last week. Rivers leads the ACC with seven Rookie of the Week awards and has broken the Duke record of six held by Luol Deng.

Monday, February 13, 2012

New Editor Selected for Duke Student Newspaper The Chronicle

Duke sophomore Yeshwanth Kandimalla has been elected as editor-in-chief of the university's independent daily newspaper The Chronicle. Kandimalla will lead the newspaper's staff of approximately 200 student reporters, editors, photographers, layout designers and other contributors.

Harrison Named Football Coach at Jordan High School

LaDwaun Harrison has been named as head football coach at Durham's Jordan High School. Harrison has been on Jordan High School's faculty since 1998 and was a four year football letterman at Wake Forest University.

Nicholas School Announces 2012 LEAF Award Recipient

Duke University's Nicholas School of the Environment will present Oscar-nominated filmmaker John Sayles, a pioneer of the independent film movement of the 1970s, with the 2012 Duke LEAF Award for Lifetime Environmental Achievement in the Fine Arts during a ceremony on April 21 in Reynolds Theatre.

Duke Cancer Center Will Open to Patients on Feb. 27

The new Duke Cancer Center at Duke University Medical Center will open to patients on Monday, February 27 following an open house on Wednesday, February 22. The $230-million facility will consolidate all outpatient oncology services under one roof while promoting multidisciplinary communication through the Duke Cancer Institute's mission of integrated cancer treatment and clinical research.

Friday, February 10, 2012

New Projectors for Carolina Theatre

New projectors have been installed in the Carolina Theatre’s two cinemas and Fletcher Hall as part of the theater's ongoing renovations. The new high-definition digital projectors will improve the quality of film at the theater, and open possibilities for other kinds of programming.

Durham Firefighter Climbs Emprire State Building in Full Gear for Charity

Durham city firefighter Touché Howard joined 500 runners from around the world to climb to the 86th floor of the Empire State Building in New York City to raise money for the Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation. The 50-year-old Howard climbed all 1,567 steps in 34 minutes and 45 seconds and was the only firefighter to compete wearing firefighting gear and using an air pack.

Wednesday, February 8, 2012

Obama Honors Three NCSSM Students at White House Science Fair

Ada Taylor, Katrina Gutierrez and Greeshma Somashekar – all seniors at NCSSM – were recognized by President Obama at the White House Science Fair for their 2011 grand prize in the cyber-security category at the Conrad Foundation’s annual Spirit of Innovation Summit. Their potentially life saving product, MedPAL, works with a Bluetooth-enabled heart monitor to relay GPS coordinates to an emergency call center in the event of a cardiac irregularity. The product also notifies personal emergency contacts.

Tuesday, February 7, 2012

Duke Coach Buehler Named 2011 Jackie Robinson Humanitarian Award Winner

Duke University track & field coach Al Buehler was recently honored with the 2011 Jackie Robinson Humanitarian Award from the United States Sports Academy in Daphne, Ala. The national honor is presented to an individual who has demonstrated qualities of dedication, personal sacrifice grace under pressure, and other qualities that Jackie Robinson showed throughout his career, when he broke the baseball color barrier.

Rivers Ties Former Blue Devil Deng With 6th ACC Rookie of the Week Selection

The Duke Blue Devils' Austin Rivers was named ACC Rookie of the Week for the league-leading sixth time this season, tying former Blue Devil Luol Deng for the ACC rookie selections in Duke history.

Monday, February 6, 2012

Duke Medicine Creative Director One of GD USA's People to Watch

Duke University Health System creative director Kevin Kearns has been added to Graphic Design USA's list of 'People to Watch in 2012.'

Shoeboxed Partners with Hewlett Packard

Durham-based Shoeboxed has partnered with Hewlett Packard to allow users of HP's new web-connected printers to scan information, documents, records and receipts directly into online Shoeboxed accounts.

Durham Elementary Schools Complete 100th Day Hunger Challenge

Students at nine Durham public elementary schools collected approximately 7,500 cans of food as part of the Hundredth Day Hunger Challenge. Students at Sandy Ridge, Easley, Watts Montessori, Hillandale, Hope Valley, Mangum, Morehead, E.K. Powe and Oak Grove elementary schools strove to collect at least 100 canned goods per classroom to be donated to local food pantries and shelters.

RTP Foundation Honors Emeritus Board Members

Emeritus members of the Research Triangle Foundation of North Carolina Board of Directors, David L. Ward, Jr. and Richard L. Daugherty, received the Archie K. Davis Award, an honor given to people who have performed “extraordinary and sustained” service for the advancement of the Research Triangle Park.  Ward served 24 years on the board and was chairman for 11 years. Daugherty, the former site general manager for IBM, served on the board for about 25 years.

Lululemon to Open at Southpoint in Spring

Yoga clothing and athletic wear retailer, lululemon athletica, will open in a 2,800-square-foot space at the Streets at Southpoint in late Spring.

Durham's SportsMedia Technology Provides Super Bowl Tech

Durham-based tech provider SportsMedia Technology provided the instant graphics, statistics and high-tech tools for the 2012 Super Bowl. In addition to the lines inserted to plow first down yardage, SMT customized the telestration for drawing lines by announcers, Digital Zoom and Tony Dungy's Coachers Clicker for replays.

Durham Band Delta Rae Signs to Sire Records

Durham-based folk-rock band Delta Rae has signed to Sire Records, a subsidiary of Warner Music Group. The band's first full-length LP is expected in late spring or early summer.

Friday, February 3, 2012

Duke Filmmaker Wins Film Festival Contest With One Minute Watermelon Film

Duke University filmmaker and associate director and instructor in the Program in the Arts of the Moving Image, Josh Gibson took the grand prize at the Slamdance 2012 film festival in Park City, UT for his one-minute film about watermelon. The grand prize for Panasonic's "Five Flavors of Filmmaking" contest was an AF100 Large Imager HD Cinema camera.

Special Event Company Reports Exponential Growth in 2011

The Special Event Company, a Durham-based strategic event and meeting management company, reported exponential growth in 2011, the year of the firm's 25 year anniversary and 10 year anniversary of doing business in the United States. The firm launched a new meetings's division, the International Meeting Planners (IMP), to provide full service delivery of meetings for the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries. IMP’s clientele include a diverse collection of CROs and pharmaceutical companies worldwide.

Thursday, February 2, 2012

Greenfire Announces Plans for Residential Construction Project Downtown

Greenfire Development announced new plans for a $10 million residential development project to be located downtown adjacent to the N.C. Mutual Life Insurance Co. headquarters building. The project will include 88 one- and two-bedroom apartments; Construction is expected to start in July, and to be wrap up by May of 2013.

NPR Song of the Day: Carolina Chocolate Drops' "Country Girl"

"Country Girl" a single from Durham Grammy winners the Carolina Chocolate Drops' new album Sweet Defiance is NPR's Song of the Day for February 2, 2012. Listen here.

Wednesday, February 1, 2012

Durham Bulls' Russ Canzler to Play for Cleveland Indians

The Durham Bulls' Russ Canzler, the top player in the Class AAA International League last season, was acquired by the Cleveland Indians from the Tampa Bay Rays, whose roster he was expected to join. Canzler, 25, played four positions - right and left field, third and first base - last season for the Durham Bulls, and he batted .314 with 18 homers and 83 RBIs in 131 games.

Duke Releases New Online Map for Campus Visitors

Duke University has released a new, online map program to provide campus visitors with details about Duke buildings, landmarks and attractions, dining, transportation, parking, and much more. The new campus maps are available on the Duke home page, www.duke.edu, and can be accessed on iPhone or Android device.