News

Next week, Moog Music will open doors to its new headquarters and studio in Asheville, NC. The electronic musical instruments manufacturer is known for producing Theremin kits, synthesizers and other analog equipment, but digital music era artists are crazy for the Moog sound. Bands like Rush, Coldplay and Weezer and pop singers like Lady Gaga, Ke$ha and Beyoncé have all scooped up sets of Moog gear for their recording sessions and concert performances.

Mardy Grothe's obsession with quotations began in college, but it wasn't until he battled cancer decades later that he finally sat down to write a book about them. He's been writing books ever since. His latest is called "Neverisms: A Quotation Lover's Guide to Things You Should Never Do, Never Say, or Never Forget" (Collins Reference/2011).

Jeffrey Pugh is a professor of religious studies at Elon University, so he is used to teaching students about God and the Devil. But in his new book, "Devil's Ink: Blog from the Basement Office" (Fortress Press/2011), Pugh takes on the role of Satan himself. Writing from the point of view of the Prince of Darkness, Pugh gives a different take on the world in a series of mock-blog posts.

Durham health officials want to ban smoking in a number of public places, including all county and city grounds, athletic fields, playgrounds, and bus stops. Gayle Harris is director of the Durham County Health Department.

UNC Health Care board members say they're not interested in selling Rex Hospital to WakeMed.

Last week, officials at WakeMed sent a letter to U-N-C President Tom Ross offering to buy Rex Hospital for 750 million dollars. That's about three times what UNC paid to buy Rex 11 years ago. Yesterday afternoon, board members for UNC Health Care sent Ross a resolution saying a committee will study the financial implications of selling the Raleigh hospital. But the resolution says Rex is an integral part of UNC's teaching and business infrastructure. 

Raleigh will host a benefit concert for tornado victims. The city hopes to raise money to give to charities, including the Salvation Army and the Inter-Faith Food Shuttle.  

The “Rise Up Raleigh concert” will include 11 bands and take place at the Downtown Raleigh Amphitheater - just 200 yards north of a spot where one of the tornadoes touched down.

The Hi Mount neighborhood just north of downtown Raleigh is being considered for addition to the National Register of Historic Places. Officials say the post-war community was planned in the late 1930s with construction finished by 1954. Martha Hobbs is a preservation planner with the city. She says the recognition could be a boost for the area. 

Rick Wagoner is the new Chair of the Board of Trustees at Duke University. Wagoner is the former CEO at General Motors. 

It was a little more than 2 years ago that Wagoner resigned as CEO at GM after being asked to do so by the White House. During his 13 years in charge of the company, it lost about $85 billion.

The YWCA of the Greater Triangle’s Racial Justice Initiative aims to empower women and eliminate racism through dialogue, action and advocacy. Luckily, the ambitious goals are being taken on by a team that includes two women who have been challenging people to address racism head-on for many years. Crystal Hayes and Julia Dawson met in college where they began their advocacy work in favor of racial justice. In the beginning, Hayes, an African-American woman from New York, rejected the idea of a friendship with Dawson, a white Southerner who is about 10 years her junior. Eventually, their shared passion for bringing an end to racism brought them together – first as partners in activism, then as pals.

  This week, Garner native Scotty McCreery will perform in the final three of the American Idol tv show. The newly-minted 17 year old star was welcomed home over the weekend with a made-for-tv celebration.