RDU On the Rise: Construction cranes, mocktails & best in business
Happy Friday, everyone. This is Will Doran, one of The N&O’s political reporters, with the newsletter this week.
Those of us who cover politics are starting to wake up from our post-election hibernation and gear up for the new legislative session starting later this month.
But there’s a whole wide world outside of the legislative building, despite what some folks might think. Here’s what you may have missed while hung over from NYE, or even just still in a Christmas cookie stupor.
Happy New Year!
▪ Brooke Cain has updates on Hallmark filming a new Christmas movie at Biltmore Estate in Asheville, a stunning mansion that’s best known as the location where I proposed to my gorgeous girlfriend the day after Christmas in 2014.
▪ Wanna try your luck at Hollywood? Here’s how you can be an extra in the movie, which starts filming this month.
▪ Geologists (and UFO-ologists, probably) will be on the first ferry out of Chapel Hill to investigate the dramatic new cliffs that must have appeared magically overnight Tuesday in the Outer Banks, first seen when Netflix announced of the newest season of its popular OBX show. Korie Dean investigates.
▪ Duke Energy’s Christmas Eve power blackouts happened in large part because their coal and natural gas plants were unable to keep up with demand, even as their nuclear and solar output worked as expected. Brian Gordon covered the meeting Tuesday where state regulators grilled company execs.
▪ The company also said it intentionally didn’t warn people their power was about to be cut off. The Charlotte Observer’s Mary Ramsey explains why.
Good eats in 2023
Forget the New Year’s resolutions; let’s eat!
▪ Yelp put together a list of people’s favorite new Triangle restaurants based on (what else?) Yelp reviews. Check out Simone Jasper’s story to learn about a good new spot near you.
▪ Better yet, why not defer to the refined tastes of your fellow N&O readers? We got thousands of responses to our poll on the Triangle’s best new restaurant. The winner, as chronicled by food writer Drew Jackson, was a French bistro in Chapel Hill. A Peruvian-influenced BBQ spot in Raleigh was the runner-up.
▪ Two of my own favorite restaurants are places I never would’ve known about if not for The N&O writing about them in years past. Morrisville’s Swagat and Durham’s Gocciolina aren’t in primo downtown locations, but there’s a good reason people will go out of their way to find them.
▪ Also, Kane Realty just announced another restaurant slated for its expansion project in Raleigh’s North Hills. Kimberly Cataudella has the details.
▪ To discover more new places and hidden gems throughout the year, follow our intrepid food writer on Twitter at @jdrewjackson.
Follow the cranes
This section is dedicated to my college roommate Max who was obsessed with cranes (and, fittingly, just got a job as a professor of robotics).
I need to send him Chantal Allam’s new report on big developments underway in the Triangle — complete with some pretty sweet crane shots by photographer Travis Long.
▪ Take a closer look at some of the region’s biggest construction projects — from high-rise apartments to mixed-use complexes.
▪ Interactive map: See where the construction sites are located near you.
▪ Newly announced: Holly Springs is getting another massive life science manufacturing plant.
▪ And we’re best in business, again: N.C. was named “2022 State of the Year” for business.
Start your year with schadenfreude
It’s rare for Tar Heels like me to root for the Wolfpack, yet I couldn’t help but cheer as they crushed Duke, 84-60.
▪ NCSU beat writer Chip Alexander chronicled the win, and sports columnist Luke DeCock put it bluntly: “Anything Duke could screw up, it did.”
▪ I have to imagine that new Duke Coach Jon Scheyer frequently looked a lot like he did in this 2010 classic from The N&O archives:
▪ Meanwhile in Washington, Democrats were having their own fun little time watching Kevin McCarthy’s bid for US House Speaker implode. And Danielle Battaglia has a profile on little-known N.C. Rep. Patrick McHenry, who has worked his way up through the leadership ranks over the years and is now a dark horse candidate for Speaker if McCarthy flames out.
More from this week’s headlines
Raleigh and Wake County to spend millions more to cover rising affordable housing costs
NC may start new teacher pay pilot this fall. Here’s what it would take to implement.
Durham tech company at risk of bankruptcy, delisting from New York Stock Exchange
UNC Health needs hospital space. Here’s where clinics, outpatient services could go.
State Health Plan ousts longtime insurer BCBS NC. Here’s what those impacted need to know.
NC gets a big federal grant to replace an aging ‘lifeline’ to the Outer Banks
Western Blvd. could remain closed at the Beltline this weekend for water line repair
Wake County libraries open longer hours, offering more reading and computer time
For Dry January: Raleigh’s first alcohol-free bar + places serving mocktails
That’s all from me
Join us next week when your next news sommelier will be Kimberly Cataudella.
Have a great weekend, and a great new year!
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