The number of new single-family building permits issued in Wake County remained largely flat in 2011, falling 1 percent compared to the prior year.

There were 3,703 new permits issued in the county, according to Wake County data compiled by the Home Builders Association of Raleigh-Wake County.

The towns that experienced the biggest jump in new permits last year are those poised to benefit from the Interstate 540 extension in western Wake County. Apex, Holly Springs and Morrisville all experienced double-digit growth.

Homebuilders are hoping to have plenty of new inventory on the ground when the toll road is completed in December. The road will greatly reduce commuting times to Research Triangle Park and several other job centers.

Permits increased 56 percent in Holly Springs, 36 percent in Apex and 22 percent in Morrisville.

The two largest municipalities in the county, Raleigh and Cary, both saw the number of new building permits decline. Cary's dropped by 6 percent while Raleigh's fell by 12 percent.

Transit planners are nailing down details, including the locations of four Raleigh train stops, for a $655 million plan to run rush-hour commuter trains between Duke in West Durham and Garner. (See today's Road Worrier with reader comments).

You can read tons of details on the buses-commuter trains-light rail plans for Wake, Durham and Orange counties at the ourtransitfuture.com website.  It took some searching but I finally found the July 2011 Alternatives Analysis reports on this page.  (Note: When you see mention of the "Durham-Wake" corridor, that's the commuter trains.  There are separate light-rail studies for the "Durham-Orange" and "Wake" lines.)

The Wake County commissioners face a big vote in May (probably after the primary election) on whether to approve an ambitious plan for more buses, new commuter trains and new light rail trains in that chronological order. And whether to let voters decide in November ... [MORE].

It's holiday time, which means more waste is making its way into your home by way of presents, decor and all those holiday goodies. Find out how and where you can dispose of the extra holiday waste with our roundup of holiday recycling programs in the Triangle area:

Don't toss that holiday waste — recycle it with Wake County's Holiday Wrap-Up recycling program.

Residents can drop off Christmas trees (without lights, ornamentation, etc.), wrapping paper (excluding foil and bows), holiday greeting cards, corrugated cardboard, chipboard (i.e. cereal boxes, paper roll tubes, etc.), SBS Board (i.e. shirt and gift boxes), magazines and catalogs at the following convenience centers:

Light-rail lovers may be disappointed, but fiscal realists seem more likely to approve of a simple decision by Wake County Manager David Cooke to separate the region's ambitious bus-and-train plan into two packages: "core transit" and "extended transit" (see today's Road Worrier column, with reader discussion).

Wake commissioners had a good chat about this at a meeting in Raleigh Monday. Tonight in Chapel Hill, the Orange County commissioners will follow suit. Both counties are considering whether to hold a half-cent sales tax referendum in November 2012, like the one approved by Durham voters last week.

Wake can afford to promise voters that a proposed half-cent sales tax would make possible a big "core transit" package, Cooke said. Bus service would nearly double in five years, and Wake and Durham could get new rush-hour commuter trains rolling within eight years.

Light rail? Not so much. ... [MORE]

When high-level federal officials come down to Raleigh from Washington, they’re usually here to snip ribbons on multi-million-dollar construction projects, or to hand out checks with lots of commas and zeroes.

The check delivered to Wake County Wednesday by Ray LaHood, President Barack Obama’s transportation secretary, was for a mere $601,661.

That’s just 1.7 percent of a total $34.6 million in grants awarded Wednesday in 55 communities across the United States for the Veterans Transportation and Community Living Initiative, a new program to improve transportation options for veterans and military families.

Wake County Human Services will use the money to establish a 24-hour “one call, one click” communication center to improve the transportation services it provides to rural residents through Medicaid, public health and other programs.

“This will make it possible for veterans and their families to check bus and van schedules online or over the phone, or to schedule rides with vanpools and private transportation companies,” LaHood said, flanked by local veterans in a ceremony at Wake County’s A.A. Thompson Center in East Raleigh. ... [MORE]

Ray LaHood, the U.S. transportation secretary, will visit Raleigh Wednesday to announce a federal grant that will help Wake County Human Services establish a “one-call / one-click” telephone and Internet transportation communication center.

The center will improve public access to the county's Wake Coordinated Transportation Services provided to rural residents through Medicaid, public health and other programs.

Wake County is receiving a share of $34 million in grants to be awarded across the country in the Veterans Transportation and Community Living Initiative. The program is aimed at improving transportation services for military families, wounded veterans and other people with disabilities.  Veterans make up 16 percent of the county population.

LaHood will speak at 2 p.m. Wednesday at Wake County’s A.A. Thompson Center, 567 E. Hargett St.

The state Department of Transportation has awarded two contracts worth $7.6 million to repave and rebuild road shoulders on 27 miles of state roads and streets in Wake County.

The work is to be finished by August. It covers parts of 16 roads, including:

1.6 miles of New Hope Road between Poole Road and New Bern Avenue,
0.8 miles of Hillsborough Street from Gorman Street to west of Gardner Street,
2.7 miles of Horton Road from Forestville Road to Marks Creek Road,
3.3 miles of Johnson Pond Road between Hilltop-Needmore Road and Ten-Ten Road,
1.9 miles of Six Forks Road from I-440 to Atlantic Avenue,
3.5 miles of Church Street between Ashe Street and the Durham County line,
1.8 miles of Ray Road from Strickland Road to Norwood Road, and
0.9 miles of Lynn Road between Creedmor Road and Lead Mine Road.

The contractors are Rea Contracting of Raleigh and Barnhill Contracting of Tarboro.

Wake County businesses are saying thanks to local first responders on Friday with all sorts of freebies and discounts.

Among the freebies: bowling, coffee, breakfast sandwiches, frozen yogurt and a bucket of golf balls at the driving range.

Discounts on restaurant meals, massages and go-kart racing are also being offered.

All law enforcement, fire, EMS, and emergency communications personnel - in uniform or with proper identification - are eligible.

Click here for a complete list of freebies and discounts during Raleigh/Wake County First Responders Appreciation Day.

This region cracks the top 10 (often at No. 1) on so many lists related to jobs, careers, doing business and such.

So it's almost shocking to see Wake County all the way down at No. 15 of Money Magazine's latest list of "Where the jobs are."

To be fair, it's a bit of a lagging indicator. The list of 25 counties is based on job and population growth 2000-2010, as well as places where unemployment was below the national average.

Rockwell County, Texas, came in at No. 1. Loudoun County, Va., was No. 2, and Williamson County, Texas, was No. 3.