Financial Aid made available to residents afflicted by storms

The Disaster Loan Operation Center (DLOC) will be located at the Fayetteville Street Elementary School, 2905 Fayetteville Street. According to an assessment , residents of 12 housing units at Eagle Point Apartments, 412 Pilot Street, and 30 housing units at Econ Plaza, 3115 Fayetteville Street, were displaced in the short and long-term when their homes were flooded. Loans up to $200,000 are available to homeowners to repair or replace damaged or destroyed real estate. Homeowners and renters are eligible for loans up to $40,000 to repair or replace damaged or destroyed personal property.

NCCU surpassed 2015-2016 fundraising goal

Local historically black colleges and universities are experiencing a spike in donations in 2016. In Durham, N.C. Central University has surpassed its fundraising goal and brought in $7 million dollars for the 2015-2016 fiscal year. The school was just named "HBCU of the Year" by the national publication HBCU Digest.

Two buildings and a parking deck to be constructed in the Durham Innovation District

The Durham Innovation District (Durham.ID) will soon include two new seven story mixed-use buildings named North and South. The buildings will include office and technology work space, but also including retail and restaurants. The buildings will be located on Morris Street between Hunt and Roney in what is currently a large parking lot. A new eight-story, parking deck will be constructed behind the buildings, accessible from the south and east sides of Roney Street, accommodating approximately 1,200 vehicles. The deck will offer supplemental public parking for community events and the neighboring downtown farmer’s market. Construction is slated to begin in Q3 2016 with completion expected in the spring of 2018.

Built Custom Burgers to open at Streets of Southpoint

Built, a new burger spin off of California-based The Counter Custom Built Burgers, has signed a lease to open the company’s first North Carolina location at The Streets at Southpoint mall in south Durham. Built Custom Burgers will be opening in early 2017 in the food court area.

Hillside High School product wins World Junior Championship Hurdles title

Durham's Marcus Krah won the Men’s 110m Hurdles at the IAAF World U20 Championships 2016 in Poland. The Hillside High School product earned a personal best of 13.25 seconds. He will be attending UNC- Chapel Hill.

East Durham Pie Company launches crowdfunding campaign

Owner of East Durham Pie Company Ali Rudel has launched a $20,000 crowdfunding campaign to open up a shop in Old East Durham.The storefront will enable customers to pick up whole pies and slices six days per week with flavor varieties such as apple elderberry, blueberry rosemary and ginger peach. Rudel plans to pay ‘living wages’ under Durham Living Wage certification and anticipates an opening date by the end of the year.

The Durham Sports Commission is officially established

The Durham Sports Commission has been officially established by the Durham City Council and the Durham Board of County Commissioners to recruit sporting events to Durham. It will be a new department within the Durham Convention and Visitors Bureau, funded by the local hotel “bed tax,” and it will be under the direction of an appointed board. These are the newly appointed Durham Sports Commission members:City of Durham Appointees: Desmond Scott – Owner, Prime Athletic Training and Fitness Institute, Dan Hill – Founder of Hill Chesson & Woody benefits consulting firm, Omar Beasley – owner MC Bail Bonding. Durham County Appointees: Ingrid Wicker-McCree – Athletic Director of NCCU, Tommy Hunt – retired, Atlantic Coast Conference, Dwight Perry – Ophthalmologist/Partner at NC Eye, Ear, Nose, and Throat. Durham Chamber Appointees:George Habel – Durham Bulls Baseball Club, Chris Kennedy – Senior Deputy Director, Duke Athletics, Terrence Holt – Holt Brothers Construction LLC.

Amazon has signed a lease to occupy Centerpoint I industrial building

Amazon.com has signed a lease to occupy the entire 324,838-square-foot Centerpoint I industrial building on T.W. Alexander Drive in Durham. Centerpoint I was the market’s single largest block of existing Class A industrial space for lease in the triangle.

Netflix premiers series created by Durhamites Matt and Ross Duffer

Netflix released "Stranger Things,” an eight-part supernatural series created by Matt and Ross Duffer, Durham natives.The 32-year-old twins grew up roaming through the aisles of the now-defunct VisArt Video looking for titles and attending showings at Carolina Theatre, where their dad would take them to catch the latest a releases.

Read more here: http://www.newsobserver.com/entertainment/tv/article88426297.html#storylink=cpy

32-year-old twins (who refer to themselves professionally as The Duffer Brothers) grew up roaming through the aisles of the now-defunct VisArt Video looking for titles. They were also regulars at the Carolina Theatre, where their dad, a movie buff, would take them to catch the latest art house releases.

Read more here: http://www.newsobserver.com/entertainment/tv/article88426297.html#storylink=cpy

Carolina Theatre partners with booking company NS2

Carolina Theater has announced a partnership with National Shows 2, a Nashville-based concert promotion company, that will bring at least 60 national touring acts to the historic theatre each year.

Longfellow announced plans to build two new seven story buildings in downtown Durham

Longfellow Real Estate will construct two seven-story buildings on what is now a Morris Street parking lot. The eight-story parking structure will be accessible from the south and east sides of Roney Street, and developers say that it will offer supplemental public parking for community events and for the Durham Farmers’ Market.The project is part of the 1.7 million square-foot Durham Innovation District and will bring nearly 350,000 square feet of primarily new office space downtown, along with a 1,200-vehicle parking deck.Duke Clinical Research Institute has signed a lease to occupy all of the office space in one building .The company plans to begin construction later this year, and the buildings have an anticipated completion date of spring 2018.

Bull Durham Beer Company to expand

Bull Durham Beer Company has announced plans for expansion. They will partner with a chicken wing restaurant and will open a bar and restaurant next to the Durham Bulls Athletic Park at 359 Blackwell St.

Lisa Sorg Leaves Bull City Rising

Lisa Sorg, former editor of IndyWeek, joined forces with Kevin Davis from the investigative news blog Bull City Rising nearly a year ago. This week she announced her departure for a full-time job with NC Policy Watch.

Tour de Fat Durham stop raised over $29k

Tour de Fat, New Belgium Brewing’s traveling festival of bikes, beer and hilarity in charity, raised $29,093 in Durham on June 25. About 4,000 bicycle and beer enthusiasts came to Diamond View Park downtown for the event, with 1,000 riding in the bike parade. Proceeds from beer and merchandise sales and donations at the Durham stop went to Bike Walk NC, Triangle Spokes Group, and Durham Bike Co-op. In total, Tour de Fat has raised more than $4 million for cycling nonprofits around the country.

Read more here: http://www.newsobserver.com/news/local/community/durham-news/article88203962.html#storylink=cpy

Lucia restaurant to experience trasformation

Lucia restaurant owner Kevin Jennings has announced a major a transformation for the restaurant in the upcoming weeks. The restaurant has hired a new head Chef; James Huff, who hails from Washington, D.C., where he was previously executive chef at Pearl Dive Oyster Palace and a new general manager; Brandon Carr, former restaurant manager of Four Square. They will be closed for at least a week while they develop a new plan for the restaurant located at 605 W. Main St. at West Village.

Duke University to construct new alumni building

Duke University will begin construction on their new alumni building in the fall. The building, currently occupied by the Office of News and Communications, located at 615 Chapel Drive, will be renovated into administrative offices and meeting rooms, adding approximately 7,400 square feet. A new 16,900-square foot alumni office building will be constructed next to it. Also, a new events building and meeting pavilion will feature events spaces, restrooms, a catering kitchen, a reception area and a dedicated meeting space. The goal completion date is December 2017.

Durham residents open a local "Etsy type" store; The Makers Mercantile

The Makers Mercantile curates pieces from mostly Triangle-based makers and features their stories on its blog to personalize the shopping experience. The Makers Mercantile is the brainchild of Durham residents Maggie Meyer, who also owns calligraphy and design studio Lettered, and Maria Carroll-Holton, an N.C. State business school graduate and an avid buy-local consumer. Currently, there are more than a dozen local makers, including Durham's Evie Watts and Redden Goods.

Waffle House to open on Ninth Street

The former Charlie's Pub & Grille space at 758 Ninth St. on Ninth Street will be taken over by a Waffle House. The Waffle House will be keeping the same 4,000-square-foot building footprint and will tie into the existing water connection, so most of the changes to the property will be aesthetic. The opening date is TBD.

Durham Rescue Mission receives $25K grant from Walmart Foundation

The Durham Rescue Mission received a $25,000 grant from the Walmart Foundation’s State Giving Program. The Durham Rescue Mission relies heavily on support from the community and this gift will provide a quarter of the annual food budget needed for the year.