Local/State

Judge raises more questions about WakeMed Medicare settlement

WakeMed CEO Bill Atkinson, center, is flanked by Tom Oxholm, chairman of the board of WakeMed, left, and Debbie Laughery, WakeMed spokesperson, right, as they walk out of federal court Tuesday, February 5, 2013, in Raleigh. U.S. District Judge Terrence Boyle left WakeMed officials and federal prosecutors in suspense Tuesday over whether he would sign off on a deferred prosecution agreement involving false Medicare billing. Boyle said he would decide in the coming weeks whether he would sign the agreement, which also involves $8 million in fines and repayments to the federal government.

U.S. District Judge Terrence Boyle retreated to his chambers without ruling on an $8 million settlement hashed out by prosecutors and WakeMed over false Medicare billing.

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Archive by category ''Local/State

STATE POLITICS

Bill to overhaul unemployment advances to NC Senate

A controversial bill that calls for a top-to-bottom overhaul of the state's unemployment system, including a major cut in benefits to jobless workers, is taking center stage in the Senate after receiving final approval from the House on Tuesday
LOCAL/STATE

Food Lion owner cuts 500 jobs

Delhaize America, which owns Food Lion and other supermarkets, is firing 350 corporate workers, including an unspecified number at the company's Salisbury headquarters. The company is also closing 150 open positions, for a total of 500 job cuts.
LOCAL/STATE

NC attorney general files suit against S&P

N.C. Attorney General Roy Cooper has filed a lawsuit against ratings agency Standard & Poor's, joining more than a dozen of his peers in alleging that the company inflated the ratings on risky investments. Cooper's suit, filed in Wake County, alleges wrongdoing starting in 2001, becoming more common...
BUSINESS

Duke Energy to retire idle Crystal River plant

Duke Energy announced Tuesday that it will close Progress Energy's idled Crystal River nuclear reactor in Florida. The Crystal River plant has been shut down since 2009 after a botched component-replacement project cracked concrete in its reactor containment structure.
STATE POLITICS

NC House tentatively backs overhaul to state's unemployment system

The state House on Monday night tentatively approved an overhaul of the state's unemployment system along partisan lines after voting down a series of amendments offered by Democrats.
SHOPTALK

Super Bowl winner applies can-do attitude to restaurant

It won't take long for Zydeco Downtown to transition the Raleigh restaurant from Super Bowl Sunday to Fat Tuesday. After all, New Orleans is never far from owner Antwan Harris' mind. Harris won the Super Bowl twice in his NFL career, the first in the Big Easy with the New England Patriots in 2002.
LOCAL/STATE

Raleigh finally gets a vegetarian restaurant

The Fiction Kitchen is now open at 428 S. Dawson St., serving dinner Tuesday-Saturday. Owners Caroline Morrison and Siobhan Southern plan to add Sunday brunch by the end of the month.
SHOPTALK

In slow economy, they take a direct approach to sales

Jane Currin, a Raleigh Pampered Chef consultant, is one of millions of entrepreneurs who have turned to direct sales as a way to start their own business and make extra money.
LOCAL/STATE

Duke Energy seeks 9.7 percent rate hike

Duke Energy Carolinas on Monday asked regulators for permission to raise its North Carolina rates by 9.7 percent, increasing typical residential bills by about $14 a month. The increase would be the utility’s third since 2009.
LOCAL/STATE

NC chicken farmers suing Ukrainian billionaire

A Ukrainian billionaire’s elaborate plan to restart the North Carolina operations of chicken processor Townsends failed miserably. Left in limbo are the heavily indebted chicken farmers who are now desperate to be rid of their one-time white knight.