The Raleigh Convention Center is a fitting place to create a permanent honor to former Mayor Charles Meeker, who left office last week at the end of his fifth term.
It was Meeker who led the charge to build the $221 million venue, pitching it as a key step in the revitalization of downtown.
Now, law partners, friends and colleagues have honored Meeker with a series of tributes in the center, which opened in 2008.
Fewer people than Omaha, but more than Miami.
That's one of the more eye-catching takeaways from Raleigh's position in new U.S. Census Bureau figures.
With a population of 403,892, Raleigh ranks as the nation’s 43rd-most populous city, the Census found. The latest round of information comes to us courtesy of the city's public affairs staff.
The ranking can be attributed to two big factors: Raleigh is growing while other cities are shrinking or growing at slower paces, says Mitchell Silver, the city's planning director.
Also, city populations can be misleading. While Raleigh technically has a larger population than Miami, the two cities are nowhere close in terms of metro areas.
The Miami-Fort Lauderdale-Pompano Beach metro area boasts 5.5 million people, good for No. 8 in the country in this category. Raleigh-Cary comes in at 1.1 million, or No. 48 on the list, just behind Buffalo-Niagara Falls and ahead of Birmingham-Hoover.
By the way, Charlotte-Gastonia-Rock Hill appears at No. 33 with 1.7 million people.
Raleigh’s population jumped more than 46.2 percent since the last U.S. Census.
The 2000 population figure was 276,093. The Capital City’s population has more than doubled since 1988 when 201,111 persons called Raleigh home.
The 40 to 50 largest U.S. cities and their populations are as follows:
40. Atlanta, Ga. 420,003
41. Colorado Springs, Colo. 416,427
42. Omaha, Neb. 408,958
43. Raleigh 403,892
44. Miami, Fla. 399,457
45. Cleveland, Ohio 396,815
46. Tulsa, Oka. 391,906
47. Oakland, Calif. 390,724
48. Minneapolis, Minn. 382,578
49. Wichita, Kan. 382,368
50. San Juan, P.R. 381,931
The lighting of Raleigh's Christmas tree will be featured on national news tonight, even though it took place more than a week ago.
Look for the tree to make a cameo during the close of ABC World News with Diane Sawyer (That means just before 7 p.m., for those unfamiliar with broadcast news schedules).
The old Dillon building on the western side of downtown should serve as Raleigh's next train station, a citizens group recommended this morning.
The finding represents a major step in the quest for a Grand Central-style rail hub to accommodate Amtrak and future Southeast high-speed rail.
Raleigh tourism and economic development officials are usually quick to inform the public when the city's three-year-old convention center gets positive recognition.
The decision to build the facility came after many long debates pitting Raleigh's pro-downtown constituencies, led by Mayor Charles Meeker, the Chamber and others, against conservatives who questioned the $221 million price tag and economic benefits.
The center appears this month on a list of the South's "most creative and professional" places to meet, as selected by readers of ConventionSouth, a leading trade magazine.
New Raleigh Mayor Nancy McFarlane has finalized her choices for City Council committees, which hash out the details of public policy making its way through City Hall.
The new Raleigh City Council encountered some turbulence Tuesday afternoon during its first regular meeting, which started with a disagreement over the next Mayor Pro Tem and ended nearly three hours later with a group photo in the lobby of City Hall.
One thing was clear: There will be some interesting dynamics with this new council.
The local Sierra Club announced its endorsements today for upcoming elections in Raleigh and Cary. The group will host a meet-the-candidates event tonight for its Raleigh selections.
Candidates will speak about how they first came to identify with protecting the environment; their proudest accomplishments; and what is at stake environmentally in these elections, according to an announcement from the Sierra Club. There will also be an audience Q&A.
Developers won approval Tuesday for a multi-story project that will bring a Kerr Drug to Hillsborough Street, but not before objections from a pair of city council members known for their strict stances on design.
Thomas Crowder and Russ Stephenson took issue with a parking lot proposed next to the building, saying a strip of asphalt doesn't fit with the city's goal to enliven Hillsborough Street as an urban, walkable district. The pair voted against the project, which eventually passed on a 6-2 vote.
The local Realtors association has released its slate of endorsements for the Raleigh mayoral and city council races, and in a not-so-surprising development, real estate executive Billie Redmond won the association's backing to be the next mayor.
The Realtors' association Board of Directors also voted to support $56 million in transportation and affordable housing bonds proposed on the Oct. 11 ballot.
