In a sign that new home construction activity in the Triangle could finally be picking up, the number of single-family building permits issued in Wake County increased 26 percent in the first quarter.

There were 967 permits issued in the first three months of the year in Wake, up from 768 during the same period in 2011, according to data compiled by the Home Builders Association of Raleigh-Wake County.

Holly Springs and Garner posted the largest percentage increases.

Holly Springs issued 98 percents compared to 56 during the first quarter of 2011, a 75 percent increase. Garner's permit activity jumped 480 percent, from 5 to 29.

Permit activity declined 16 percent in Cary and was up 45 percent in Raleigh. Apex was also a big gainer with a 42 percent increase.

As the number of both new and existing homes has continued to drop in the Triangle, real estate professionals have been waiting for it to correspond to an uptick in new home construction.

There were just 1,603 new homes on the market in March in Wake, Durham, Orange and Johnston counties, Triangle Multiple Listing Services data show. That was down 27 percent from the same period a year ago and off 40 percent from two years ago.

New home construction has historically been a major source of employment in the Triangle, and the lack of activity has made it harder to bring down the unemployment rate.

Target has purchased the land for its new store at New Hill Place, the Holly Springs mall now under construction near the N.C. 55 Bypass.

The Minneapolis-based retailer paid $2.4 million for the property, according to Wake County property records.

The seller was Kite Realty Group, which is building the 550,000-square-foot retail center that is to be anchored by Target. The center will also include 10 large stores, 29 smaller stores, a movie theater and a bowling alley.

Holly Springs officials recently approved a road plan for the development that includes 15 traffic signals and thousands of feet of new lanes around a junction on the N.C. 55 bypass.

Kite Realty is funding the construction of four intersections along N.C. 55 at its junctions with Green Oaks Parkway and Holly Springs Road. Kite also plans to install similar designs at the bypass intersections of two new roads to be built near the shopping center.

There will also be a new four-lane road that will begin at N.C. 55, skirt the back of the mall and end at Old Holly Springs-Apex Road.

Target bought portions of five different parcels that all total include 46 acres.

Three of the state's largest health systems are carrying their battle over hospital beds into overtime.

Earlier this month, regulators approved Rex Healthcare's plan to build a 50-bed hospital in Holly Springs and add a new tower on its main Raleigh campus for a heart and stroke facility. They also said WakeMed could add 51 beds — 22 at its Cary campus and 29 at its main campus on New Bern Avenue in Raleigh.

But regulators with the Department of Health and Human Services denied Rex's request to build a 40-bed hospital in Wakefield and WakeMed's application to add 79 beds on its main Raleigh campus.  And Winston-Salem-based Novant, which has been trying to enter the lucrative Triangle health care market, was shut out completely. It had hoped to put a 50-bed hospital in Holly Springs.

Now all three are appealing the ruling, a move that sets up a long legal fight that could postpone a final decision for several years.

Holly Springs will finally get the hospital it wants.

On Tuesday, state regulators told officials at Rex Healthcare that they had been approved to build a 50-bed hospital in the Wake County community.

Rex will also be allowed to build a new tower on its main Raleigh campus for a heart and stroke facility.

State regulators had 101 beds to grant. The other 51 went to WakeMed — 22 for its Cary campus and 29 for its main Raleigh campus.

Novant, who has been trying to enter the Wake County market by building a hospital in Holly Springs, was denied its request.

Lindsey Hilts' two-out single in the bottom of the seventh inning drove in Jasmine Lamontagne on Sunday, and the North Carolina Challengers defeated Long Island (N.Y.) Bandits-Smith 5-4 to become national champions for the first time.

The 16U team from the Triangle-based girls fast-pitch softball organization won the 16-and-under PONY National Championship Tournament on Sunday at Thomas Brooks Park in Cary.

You may notice a lot of girls softball players in the Triangle this weekend and next week.

The PONY Softball Fastpitch National Championships are returning to the Wake County for the fifth year in a row.

Novant Health, a Winston-Salem hospital chain eager to expand into the Triangle, has suffered a setback in that effort.

Novant last year won permission from state regulators to build a surgery center in Holly Springs, its first major foothold in this region. But Raleigh hospitals WakeMed and Rex Healthcare appealed the decision, contending that Novant used inaccurate information in its application.

An administrative law judge recently agreed. The judge, Donald Overby, recommended that Novant's project should be denied, in part because Novant's "financial projections are not credible, reliable or reasonable."

He also determined that WakeMed's proposal to add operating rooms at its Cary campus was superior and should be approved.

You'd be hard-pressed to find another North Carolina high school senior capable of having the kind of eight-day stretch Holly Springs' Carlos Rodon might pull off this week.

Friday night playoff updates.

Raleigh gymnast Sydney Snead placed seventh in the nation this past weekend and earned a chance to work with one of the legends of gymnastics.

Snead competed in the Junior A all-around competition at the Level 10 Junior Olympic National Championships in Long Beach, Calif.

Level 10 is the highest level before Elite (Olympic) competition in gymnastics.