Urban Planet Mobile Named Finalist for Gates Foundation Grant

Urban Planet Mobile, the world’s leading mobile education provider, has been selected as a finalist for the Gates Foundation’s prestigious Next Generation Learning Challenge Education Grant.

Durham Schools Make Washington Post List of Top High Schools

Jordan, Durham School of the Arts, Riverside and Northern High Schools made The Washington Post's 2011 Challenge Index rankings of the nation's top high school.

Carolina Theatre to Undergo Renovation

The Carolina Theatre will undergo a $1.8 million renovation this summer that will include the most significant changes to the facility since it was restored in the early 1990s.


Read more: News & Observer - Carolina Theatre is being Renovated

DCVB Director of Sales Named Supplier of the Year

Corey Bizzell, Director of Group Sales and Service and the Durham Convention & Visitors Bureau was honored with a “Supplier of the Year” award by his peers in the Meeting Professional International Carolinas Chapter. The highly competitive award is given to a member who showed outstanding commitment to MPI and the meetings industry.

Durham Metro Ranks Highest Nationally for Sexual Equality

The Durham MSA is the top metro in the U.S. for equality between the sexes in employment, earnings, industry and education level, according to a U.S. News & World Report study of Census data.


Read more: Report: Durham metro tops for sexual equality | Triangle Business Journal

Burt's Bees Donates a Day of Labor to NEEM Urban Farms

Burt's Bees is donating a day of service as part of the company's annual Culture Day. The fourth annual event ties into Burt's Bess' commitment to giving back to the communities in which it operates. This year, nearly 400 employees are scheduled to work at three urban farm sites controlled by local non-profit, NEEM. NEEM founder and director, Jeff Ensminger, called the donation of labor “one of the coolest things I’ve seen a company do.”

Read more: Bull City Rising - Burt's Bees Work Today to Further Bull City Urban Farms

GE Aviation Flips the Switch on Durham Solar Field

GE Aviation’s jet engine assembly plant in Durham will be flipping the switch on its new $3 million solar power field at a ribbon cutting ceremony on May 18. The 7-acre Durham solar array has more than 9,000 solar panels and will provide enough electricity to power about one-third of the jet engine plant’s electrical power needs during daylight hours.


Read more: GE Aviation set to turn on Durham solar field | Triangle Business Journal

Washington Duke Inn Honored With Presitgious Pinnacle Award

Jim Bressler and the Washington Duke Inn have been awarded The Pinnacle Award, one of the most prestigious honors in the meetings field. As voted by the readers of Successful Meetings, this recognition represents an earned reputation as the most credible and prestigious symbol of  excellence among planners, and corporate and association executives.  
 

Durham Boasts Highest Salaries in the South

Wages are higher in Durham than anywhere else in the South. According to data compiled by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics and a study by The Business Journals, a division of Charlotte-based America City Business Journals, the typical worker in the Durham metropolitan area – Durham, Orange, Chatham and Person counties – earned $50,480 in 2009. These earnings make Durham the wage leader throughout the South.

Read more: Durham boasts highest wages in South | Triangle Business Journal

DPAC Ranked Second Most Attendend Theater Nationally

The Durham Performing Arts Center is the No. 2 theater in the country in attendance rankings for the first quarter of 2011, according to trade magazine Pollstar.

Read more: The Herald-Sun - DPAC ticket sales ranked second in U S

LaunchBox Digital Ranks Fourth Nationally Among Startup Accelerators

LaunchBox Digital was just ranked fourth among national startup accelerators by Tech Cocktail. LaunchBox Digital was the only accelerator in the southeastern United States outside Texas to be recognized. Founder John McKinley is a former chief technology officer and president of digital services at AOL .

Read more: Tech Cocktail - Top 15 U.S. Startup Accelerators and Incubators Ranked; TechStars and Y Combinator Top the Rankings

Secretary of Education Visits Durham's Innovative Performance Learning Center

The Performance Learning Center, a Durham public high school come laboratory for progressive teaching and learning methods, has drawn attention from national policymakers who came to see the innovation in action. U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan joined U.S. Sen. Kay Hagan at the school on Monday to talk about how to turn around low-performing schools. They toured a math class and talked to students.

The Performing Learning Center is a partnership between the Durham Public Schools and Communities in Schools, a nonprofit that has helped form schools around the state. The partnership aims to reduce dropout rates and has been supported by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.


Read more: News & Observer - Durham School Gets High-Profile Visitors

Golden Belt Neighborhood Hosts Home Tour, Celebrates Progress

On Sunday afternoon, the Golden Belt neighborhood hosted it's first "Before and After Home Tour." Golden Belt, like other long-distressed residential sections in central Durham, has benefited from a combination of official emphasis, private investment, and a changing trend in residential fashion. Fresh paint, tidy yards, blooming flowers, and a sense of pride and optimism are becoming characteristic of houses in the Golden Belt neighborhood, a National Register historic district near the former Golden Belt textile factory.

Read more: News & Observer - Neighborhood Comes Back to Life