North Carolina news

• Why Duke Energy’s CEO saw a big drop in compensation last year

  21-03-2019 23:24
  Duke Energy Corp. awarded CEO Lynn Good just under $14 million in total compensation for 2018.That is down significantly from the $21.4 million awarded to her in 2017. But that package included a one-time “retention grant” valued at $7 million. The most recent figure was up just a tick from the $13.8 million package she received in 2016.Duke (NYSE: DUK) is quick to point out that Good did not actually receive that total amount in 2018. Her base salary — at $1.35 million, up fro
  
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• PHOTOS: Carowinds prepares to double launch into 2019 season with new roller coaster, themed area

  21-03-2019 20:05
  Carowinds' media event ahead of the 2019 season was somewhat of a Throwback Thursday for the amusement park.Carowinds, owned by Sandusky, Ohio-based Cedar Fair Entertainment Co. (NYSE: FUN), is debuting Blue Ridge Junction, a 7-acre, mountain-themed area that hearkens back to an earlier version of Blue Ridge Junction that was part of the park years ago. The centerpiece attraction, Copperhead Strike, is a roller coaster that's meant to evoke a Carolinas history of moonshiners on the lam, racing&h
  
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• Black farmers association asks Fed to reject SunTrust, BB&T merger

  21-03-2019 19:55
  An organization that represents tens of thousands of black farmers is urging the Federal Reserve Board of Governors to reject the proposed merger of SunTrust Banks Inc. and BB&T Corp.The National Black Farmers Association says it is against the $66 billion merger, which would create the nation’s sixth-largest bank that would be headquartered in Charlotte.
  “That the proposed merger is moving forward without a lending program to offer full banking services to black and other small-
  
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• Big issues for business: Parker Poe lawyer talks major trends, shifting case law for NC companies headed to court

  21-03-2019 19:55
  North Carolina businesses are facing a rising tide of class-action lawsuits and working harder to enforce noncompete agreements as valuable employees move to new opportunities.
  
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• Big-data software firm Tresata's upcoming hackathon to tackle public health

  21-03-2019 19:52
  It's the seventh year for Tresata Inc.'s annual hackathonCLT — an opportunity for technology experts to spend 24 hours tackling some of Charlotte's toughest issues.Organizers expect this year's event to bring in more than 1,000 participants. The hackathon starts Friday night at Discovery Place and stretches to Saturday afternoon. Participants compete in groups in three categories: HACK, which is for hacking, coding and analytics; CODE, which is for coding and developing scalability fo
  
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• Full-service bakery headed to new development in Oakhurst

  21-03-2019 19:29
  Ella Stone’s expanding dessert business will include a full-service bakery later this spring.The owner of Celestial Cakery has snagged a 1,200-square-foot space at 1640 Oakhurst Commons Drive, Suite 103, in southeast Charlotte. It is one of the first tenants of the Oakhurst on Monroe development at the corner of Monroe and Chippendale roads.That bakery will be known as Swirl. It is scheduled to open in May.Expect Swirl to dish up approximately a dozen desserts and pastries as well as signa
  
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• Specialty grocer doubles down on uptown, targets summer opening for new store

  21-03-2019 18:29
  Reid’s Fine Foods is expanding its portfolio with a second uptown store.The specialty grocery has signed a lease for 2,613 square feet on the first floor of The Duke Energy Center, at 550 S. Tryon St. The goal is to open that location somewhere in the August timeframe, says Tom Coker, managing partner.It is currently in the permitting process.Expect that location to serve breakfast, lunch and dinner with dine-in and to-go options, fresh foods and a deli. It also will have a wine bar and of
  
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• Christian retailer to shutter all 170 stores, including four in the Charlotte region

  21-03-2019 17:15
  LifeWay Christian Resources will close all 170 of its retail locations by the end of year, the company announced Wednesday.The decision to close its physical locations comes as LifeWay looks to strengthen its digital presence, according to a company blog post. Two months ago, LifeWay confirmed plans to shutter some locations, resulting in a unknown amount of job cuts.“While we had hoped to keep some stores open, current market projections show this is no longer a viable option,” Brad
  
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• WFS Express to lay off 127 employees at Charlotte facility

  21-03-2019 14:22
  Worldwide Flight Services Express Inc.’s Charlotte facility will close due to the loss of a contract, resulting in layoffs for 127 employees, according to a filing with state authorities.The notice was issued Tuesday by Richard Pacheco, WFS senior vice president of human resources, to the N.C. Department of Commerce’s Division of Workforce Solutions in accordance with the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act. WARN filings are required in cases of plant closures
  
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• CBJ Morning Buzz: Work begins on Panthers' practice field; Bank of America poised to take off?

  21-03-2019 14:15
  In local news:It might be a while yet before the Carolina Panthers have a gleaming, state-of-the-art practice complex that's worthy of millions of corporate sponsorship dollars, but a temporary fix for the team's training situation is coming soon. The Charlotte Observer reports a team official has confirmed the start of site work for a "bubble" to be installed at the practice fields just outside Bank of America Stadium.
  As CBJ has previously reported, Panthers owner David Tepper, who took contro
  
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