RDU on the Rise: Hockey fever, new flights & a burrito on the beach
Hi there! I’m Brian Gordon, The N&O’s technology and innovation reporter with this week’s RDU On the Rise.
If you’re interested in Triangle tech news, I also write Open Source, The News & Observer’s weekly technology newsletter. You can sign up here.
Let’s get right into it.
This weekend
Hockey fever has come to Raleigh: 57,000 people are expected to fill N.C. State’s Carter-Finley Stadium Saturday night to watch the Carolina Hurricanes host its first ever outdoor game.
The rink is installed, the weather is looking good, and the visiting Washington Capitals have promised to lose. Should be a good time, especially if the traffic isn’t awful.
Puck drops at (or shortly after) 8 p.m.
Tickets are selling for a few hundred dollars, plus parking. So, if that’s too steep, or if hockey just isn’t your bag, you can still enjoy the Fan Fest, a free, all-day party on Friday in downtown Raleigh.
General Assignment reporter Josh Shaffer breaks down what the Fest will offer: live bands including Kooley High to Superchunk, dozens of food trucks, plus 200 drones performing a synchronized light show over the Capitol. The event runs from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.
There’s also an opportunity to take a picture with the Stanley Cup. Hopefully hockey’s top prize will return to Raleigh for a longer stay in June…
Shine bright like a Durham fashion icon
Not much about a Super Bowl halftime show can be subtle, but Rihanna (along with her special guest/second child) paid homage to the late Durham native André Leon Talley when she wore a big red puffer jacket, Talley’s signature look, on stage.
As breaking news reporter Aaron Sánchez-Guerra writes, Talley was a vogue editor and fashion authority who had a friendship with the Barbadian-American singer.
A North Carolina Central University alumnus, Talley died in January 2022 at the age of 73. This week, Christie’s sold his red “sleeping bag” jacket at auction for more than $25,000 as part of his estate sale. The auction house had estimated it wouldn’t sell for more than $1,000.
Planes, trains, and automobile departments
Raleigh-Durham International Airport has a new airline:
The low-cost carrier Breeze Airways made its inaugural flight out of RDU this week, and the company has also announced three more nonstop flight destinations out of the Raleigh-Durham airport writes transportation reporter Richard Stradling. It’s a win for those looking to visit Los Angeles, Louisville or Pittsburgh.
And a heads up if you’re traveling via Avelo Airlines: They’re in a new terminal now.
But Richard isn’t just an airline reporter. He covers things that move on the ground too.
This week, he dove (drove?) into a policy change at the N.C. Department of Motor Vehicles that will allow more people to walk-in rather than make appointments. (Will this mean the end of long lines at the DMV? No.)
And recently, he reported on the state’s passenger trains’ record-breaking year for travel. Here’s his handy guide to riding the Piedmont.
Medicaid for more
North Carolina seems poised to (finally) pass Medicaid Expansion after the State House preliminary approved the policy this week.
The House had been the last holdout as the state Senate and Gov. Roy Cooper have expressed support for expanding Medicaid, which could open the door for more than 600,000 low-income North Carolinians to access health care coverage, politics reporter Luciana Perez Uribe Guinassi writes.
While most states have already expanded Medicaid, most states in the southeastern United States have not.
The chamber also passed new rules that some Democrats fear could make it easier for the General Assembly to override Gov. Cooper’s veto. Republicans say these concerns are overblown.
There’s also a package of gun rights bills that would repeal the state’s permit law for buying handguns. Avi Bajpai reports that it passed the N.C. Senate and now heads to the state House.
But enough politics.
A burrito on the beach
This Black History Month, service journalism reporter Kimberly Cataudella complied lists of events to attend, and lists of Black-owned restaurants in the Triangle.
Her roundup includes Cosmic Cantina, which I had for the first time this week from the restaurant’s Durham location. The veggie burritos are great.
Browse through the restaurants by area: Cary, Apex & Morrisville | Chapel Hill & Orange Co. | Durham | Johnston Co. | Raleigh & Wake Co.
And while there’s still a month more of winter, it’s not too early to think about summer travel.
The short-term rental website HomeToGo released rankings of its “most sought-after” vacation spots, and an N.C. destination nabbed the top spot.
Fair warning: Topsail Beach might be crowded. It may or may not help if you know how to pronounce it.
Until next time
Thanks for reading. Have a great weekend, and look out for next week’s edition hosted by Luciana Perez Uribe Guinassi.
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