• Kim D. Saunders, president and CEO of Mechanics and Farmers Bank, is one of the most powerful women in business nationwide according to Black Enterprise.
• Phoebe Lawless, chef/owner of Scratch bakery can claim bragging rights as one of the top "pie purveyors" in the U.S. according to the editor of Seriouseats.com in a USA Today article. Scratch is at the Durham Farmers' Market every Saturday and will open a retail location Downtown later this year.
• Three Duke University students have advanced to the The World Finals of the International Collegiate Programming Contest, billed as the "toughest competition of its kind in the world."
• DPAC is outperforming 83 of the 89 cities that will host the tour of "Wicked" making it the musical's sixth best on-sale performance this year.
• The Duke University Tennis team scored the #1 recruiting class in the country according to the Tennis Recruiting Network's list of the top 25 recruiting classes in 2010.
• Jeopardy! featured Durham in its Double Jeopardy! Round category "They Named a City for Me In…" with the question "Dr. Bartlett Durham (1854)."
• Durham-based MCNC won a $28 million grant from the U.S. Department of Commerce's National Telecommunications and Information Administration, one of only four organizations, companies or universities nationwide selected.
• North Carolina Central University kicked off a three-year student exchange program with the Ghana Institute of Management and Public Administration to deepen cooperation between the two countries.
• A Prime Example Events & Wedding Planning earned its place in the top 5 percent of local wedding professionals according to the WeddingWire Network in the Bride's Choice Awards 2010.
• Harvey Heartley, Sr., NCCU varsity basketball player from 1951 until 1955, was one of six individuals and one relay team elected into the Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association's 2010 Hall of Fame class.

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• The Carolina Association of Educators presented its 2010 NCAE Excellence in Equity Award to Durham Public Schools. Each year, NCAE honors one or more individuals or groups in North Carolina for their long-term dedication, commitment and energy toward the goal of making North Carolina a more equitable community.
• The Special Event Company is one of 10 finalists from more than 500 entries for Best Event Company in the international 2010 Events Solutions Spotlight Award. The award winners will be presented at the event industry's top professionals and featured in the January 2010 issue of event Solutions Magazine.
• Durham-based Parata Systems is sending two Parata Mini pill-dispensing robots (with generators) to Haiti, to aid in medication distribution in the wake of the country's recent, devastating earthquake. Parata is an industry leader in robotic pill dispensing systems.
• Duke was the answer to the Double Jeopardy question, "When playing against hated North Carolina in NCAA hoops, the Cameron Crazies of this school get loud."
• The International League named The Durham Bulls its team of the decade. Six Durham Bulls players also hold individual honors for the past decade.
• The DPS Finance Department won the Association of School Business Officials (ASBO) International Certificate of Excellence in Financial Reporting and a Certificate of Achievement for Excellence in Financial Reporting.
• The film "Extraordinary Measures," which opens in theaters this week, is based on the story of a father searching for a life-saving drug for his son, which in real life was developed at Duke University Medical Center by Dr. Y.T. Chen.

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• Golden Belt is the First Gold-Certified LEED Historic Campus in the Southeast as recognized by the U.S. Green Building Council in recognition of its exemplary sustainable practices.
• Self-Help Credit Union has taken over California's Kern Central Credit Union increasing its assets by 50%. Combined, the nonprofit now manages 19 credit union branches with $600 million in assets and more than 50,000 members.
• The consumer version of Durham-based BioSignia's Know Your Number technology will be featured on NBC's "The Biggest Loser."
• The Sarah P. Duke Gardens were part of the daily double question on "Jeopardy" asking contestants to identify the "Stately Botanical Gardens."

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• Hope Valley has been designated on the National Register of Historic Places according to the National Park Service.
• The Duke University women's tennis team will start the 2010 season as the nation's #1 team.
• North Carolina Central women's basketball coach Joli Robinson notched her 200th career win as the Eagles coach.
• Duke basketball's John Scheyer is one of 20 students in midseason consideration for the 2010 Bob Cousy Award.
• HGTV selected Courtney James, with Urban Durham Realty, and her clients, Sanjay Premakumar and Jodi Koviach to appear in an upcoming episode of House Hunters.

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• Daniel Bradford, Publisher of All About Beer Magazine is featured on the front cover of Folio Magazine and in an article about independent niche magazine publishing.
• Cameron Indoor Stadium is celebrating its 70th birthday this year.
• Sue Anne Lewis is working with the North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics to set a world record for food donations gathered at one place over a 24-hour period by a non-charitable organization on Saturday, March 20.
• Durham Academy senior Mollie Pathman picked up many soccer awards recently including: NSCAA national scholar-athlete player of the year, first-team National Soccer Coaches of America Association high school All-America, NSCAA academic All-America team, Parade magazine All-America, a Rise/ESPN All-America, and the Gatorade player of the year for North Carolina. She will play soccer at Duke University next year.
• Jorge Garcia is one of 11 North Carolina teens named to the Statewide Youth Council, a new initiative of the North Carolina School Community Health Alliance.
• Durham based Shodor, a national resource for computational science education, received a grant from RBC Bank for its Computing MATTERS program.

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