Here's a look at today's local headlines:

SLOW MONEY: In the second of our new semi-monthly local business features, correspondent Jamie Kennedy reports on Slow Money, a person-to-person lending program for business startups and expansions. "It's about bring our money back home," says cofounder Carol Peppe Hewitt.

LIBERTY ARTS: The sculpture studio and gallery is hosting a party in its new space behind Golden belt this week during the "Third Friday Durham" culture crawl (does anyone still call it that?) Correspondent Debbie Meyer has that story and a roundup of all the gallery offerings in her monthly arts feature.

GANG PROBLEM: It's complicated, says Durham new anti-gang coordinator , Jim Stuit. Staff writer Jim Wise provides an update on how Durham is tackling its youth violence problem.

Carl Kenney, winner of this years N.C. Press Association 1st place award for serious columns, says the downtown Business Improvement District tax is way overdue. (Hank Scherich disagrees.). Duke hosts a free all-day conference Friday on the 150th anniversary of the Civil War.  And Bonitta Best finds NCCU's LeVelle Moton at a loss for words after Central's tough loss in the MEAC quarterfinals.

Tell us what's on your mind at editor@newsobserver.com, and thanks for reading,

Mark 

N.C. Central University is the newest member of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference.

The university has lobbied for this for a long time now and campus leaders are thrilled today.

"This is a significant milestone in North Carolina Central University's transition to Div. I," NCCU chancellor Charlie Nelms said in a statement released this morning. "Membership in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference is a win-win proposition for our student-athletes, alumni and fans — indeed, all our university constituents."

Check back for updates and read the News & Observer Friday for more.

Any day now.

That's the word from the commissioner of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference, which is reviewing N.C. Central University's application to join.

Any day now.

Writing this week in The Durham News, Triangle Tribune sports editor Bonitta Best takes the conference to task a bit for dragging its feet.

She writes in part:

"And let's not forget NCCU's most important asset: its countrywide fan base. With the economy squeezing wallets and advertisers scaling back on sponsorships, the MEAC needs all the leverage it can get.

Somebody needs to remind them of that since NCCU can't. Instead of saying something like "What the heck is taking so dang long? Do we have to turn into Keith Sweat and beg all night long?" [NCCU athletic director Ingrid] Wicker-McCree has to play diplomat.

"We're looking forward to joining the conference, and we expect a decision very soon."

Yep, A-N-Y day now; yessiree.

Here's the whole column.