A public health expert from Pennsylvania will make a presentation in Chapel Hill tomorrow about his research and findings on the public health consequences of fracking for natural gas.

Trevor Penning, who studies how certain kinds of hydrocarbons cause cancer in humans, will speak at 1:30 p.m. Wednesday in the Rosenau Auditorium. Penning is the director of the Center of Excellence in Environmental Toxicology at the University of Pennsylvania.

The presentation is free to the public and sponsored by UNC-Chapel Hill's Center for Environmental Health and Susceptibility.

Penning recently made a presentation on the same topic at Harvard School of Public Health in Boston. He condludes that despite years of complaints, reported illnesses and other anecdotal information, there is a lack of research on the of the consequences of fracking on public health.

Penning's presentation is an overview of the potential health hazards that are suspected but not proven. That includes a focus on heavy industrial activity, which generates diesel fumes, ground-level ozone and other emissions that can exacerbate asthma and other conditions.

Dr. Lisa Carey, the medical director of UNC-Chapel Hill's Breast Center and associate director of the UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center, has been named to the board of trustees of Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina.

"Lisa's years of experience in clinical research and deep knowledge of the health care industry make her an excellent addition," CEO Brad Wilson said in a statement. Blue Cross is the state's largest health insurer.

Carey has written about racial disparities in breast cancer and has led multiple clinical trials. She also serves on the National Cancer Institute's Breast Cancer Steering Committee.
 

The chief financial officer of Durham LED lighting company Cree has resigned.

John Kurtzweil's resignation took effect Monday, the company said in an announcement.

Kurtzweil, who plans to continue as a Cree employee until June 15 to assist with the transition, is leaving to take the same job with Extreme Networks. California-based Extreme provides Ethernet switches for computer and mobile networks and generated $189.3 million in sales for the first nine months of its current fiscal year, making it significantly smaller than Cree.

"The decision to leave Cree was a very difficult one for me as the past six years have been personally rewarding," Kurtzweil said in a statement.  "At this point in my career, however, I decided to move to Extreme Networks, a smaller firm where I can have a more hands-on role in growing the business."

Analyst Daniel Amir of Lazard Capital Markets wrote in a research note that he views the resignation as "slightly negative given that Kurtzweil was respected on the Street. The departure seems to show that Cree does not have a clear succession plan."

Martin Marietta Materials appeal of a recent Delaware court ruling will be heard May 31, the day before Vulcan Materials holds its annual shareholders' meeting.

Reuters reported Friday that the hearing for the appeal has been delayed from May 25 to May 31.

Raleigh-based Martin Marietta had planned to nominate four independent directors to Vulcan's board at the June 1 shareholders' meeting. But a Delaware judge recently ruled that Martin Marietta violated a 2010 confidentiality agreement with Vulcan in making its hostile takeover bid in December.

The judge in the case denied Martin Marietta’s request for a stay pending a ruling the appeal, which forced Martin Marietta to move ahead with terminating the company's exchange offer to merge with Vulcan.

If Martin Marietta loses its appeal, it will be prevented from pursuing any activities related to the merger for four months.

A company accused of unfair and deceptive trade practices by the state's Attorney General will have to pay the state $5,000 and can no longer conduct its business in the state.

The Beacon Project, Creative Marketing Solutions, Universal Placement Services, and Marilyn Broerman of Charlotte sold plastic countertop candy dispensers and coached people on starting their own candy vending business.

Some consumers paid as much as $50,000 to start such businesses, tempted by the promise of "$3,000 a week cash forever." The companies also told the vendors to say the money collected would be used to help find missing children, according to the AG's office. Instead, candy sales profits went to the individual vendors.

N.C. Attorney General Roy Cooper originally filed suit against the defendants in February, 2011.  On Monday, under a consent judgment signed by Superior Court Judge Robert H. Hobgood, the companies, Broerman, and their employees are permanently banned from offering business opportunities, soliciting charitable donations, and engaging in unfair business practices in North Carolina. 

BioDelivery Sciences International announced Monday that it had received a $2.5 million payment for its oral pain patch.

The payment was from Meda AB, the company's Swedish partner in developing and commercializing Breakyl, which is marketed in the U.S. as Onsolis.

The payment was for the drug achieving registration and pricing approval in its first European Union country. BioDelivery Sciences is set to receive a final milestone payment of $2.5 million at the time of commercial launch, which is expected to occur later this year.

Sales of BioDelivery's Onsolis oral pain patch for cancer patients, which was approved by federal regulators in 2009, have been underwhelming to date in the U.S.

But the company anticipates that new regulations recently adopted for narcotic painkillers will level the playing field.

SearStone, a proposed retirement community in Cary, announced Friday that it has signed an agreement to sell $117.5 million in bonds to finance the construction of the 169-unit project.

The bond purchase agreement is with Herbert J. Sims & Co. SearStone expects to close on the sale after the state Department of Insurance issues the development a preliminary certificate.

SearStone is a continuing-care retirement community, or CCRC. Such communities offer a range of medical services that let residents stay in one place as their needs change.

The state regulates CCRCs to ensure that residents receive proper care and that the projects are financially sound.  The department will issue its preliminary certificate after reviewing the project’s financial statements.

SearStone received approval from Wake County officials last year to issue the bonds through the Public Finance Authority, a group that partners with private borrowers and local governments.

The bonds will cover the cost of the project's first phase of construction.

SearStone said Friday that more than 138 of its units under contract. The community will be operated by a nonprofit, Samaritan Housing Foundation, which will be responsible for setting the monthly fees for the community.

The project is being built on 24 acres at High House Road and Davis Drive.

Medical device maker Bioptigen said Thursday that it has received Food and Drug Administration approval to sell its hand-held ophthalmic imaging device.

CEO Eric Buckland said that the company's Envisu device is the first hand-hand scanner that provides real-time, 3-D images of the cornea, retina and other parts of the eye -- enabling ophthalmologists to diagnose eye diseases.

Buckland said that the 20-employee company anticipates hiring five workers this year in the wake of the FDA approval.

The device will be especially useful for children, since the typical tabletop ophthalmic scanner requires patients to place their eye against the device and remain motionless. It can also be used with anesthetized patients and patients with conditions that make it difficult for them to hold their heads motionless.

Bioptigen, which is based in Research Triangle Park, already sells a tabletop ophthalmic imaging device.  The Envisu device previously was approved by regulators in Europe, Canada and Australia.

Bioptigen, which is privately held, was incorporated in 2004 and doesn't release revenue numbers.

State officials said Thursday that a California company that sent out misleading letters is returning checks it received from 700 North Carolina businesses and has agreed to stop doing business in the state.

Corporate Services also will pay $30,000 to the state under the settlement, in addition to the approximately $90,000 in checks that it is returning to businesses.

"The bottom line is that we are not going to allow anyone to send out advertising that tries to pass itself off as an official government correspondence when it is not," Secretary of State Elaine Marshall said in a statement.

Marshall and Attorney General Roy Cooper announced the settlement with Corporate Services and its owner, Selwyn J. Monarch.

In 2009 Corporate Services was sued by the state after sending out mailings that appeared to be from a state agency.  The letters misled business into thinking that they hadn't complied with state laws on filing corporate minutes and directed them to pay $125.

Corporate Services subsequently agreed to pay $25,000 to the state under a settlement that also barred it from sending misleading mailings.

In the spring of 2011, however, Corporate Services sent out another mailing that the state alleged violated the settlement agreement. Corporate Services, which claimed the second round of mailings was sent out by mistake, has agreed to return about $90,000 in checks to businesses that responded to the mailing and has agreed to stop doing business in North Carolina, according to the state agencies.

State regulators today approved this state's largest solar farm as iPhone maker Apple said it would double the size of the project.

The N.C. Utilities Commission gave the go-ahead for the Cupertino, Calif.-based technology company to start generating operating the 20-megawatt solar farm at its huge data complex in Maiden. The center supports the company’s iCloud online data storage system and its SIRI voice-recognition software.

Apple said today it would expand the project by adding 20 more megawatts on 100 acres on the site in Catawba County for a total of 40 megawatts. The state's biggest solar farms to date have maxed out at 5 megawatts.

Apple's solar modules will maximize solar energy by aligning with the sun's rays throughout the day. The array will track the sun as it moves across the sky by rotating on a north-south axis.

The solar project will be built in phases and is expected to start generating power in October and completed by December.

Apple is also planning a 4.8-megawatt fuel cell facility, the nation's largest, at the site. That request is still pending with the Utilities Commission.