A luxury extended-stay hotel is opening this December in Morrisville.

Hotel Sierra Morrisville, located at 10962 Chapel Hill Road near Interstate 540, will feature 141 rooms ranging from standards to one-bedroom suites with separate living spaces and full kitchens. Prices range from $99 to $139 per day, with packages offered for golf enthusiasts and extended-stay guests.

Some of the hotel's upscale amenities include a flat-panel TV, an alarm clock with an iPod docking station, robes and complimentary build-your-own-omelette breakfasts. There is also a fitness center and a 2,042 square-foot bar and lounge that's also available for corporate events and private parties.

LodgeWorks, a two-year-old hotel development and management company with 14 nationwide locations, is the developer.

It will be the first Hotel Sierra in North Carolina. Another is planned to open in Charlotte next year.

Goodnight's net worth: $6.8 billion.

CARY Despite losing nearly $2 billion of his net worth, Jim Goodnight remains the richest person in North Carolina and held onto the No. 33 spot in the Forbes magazine list of the 400 richest Americans.

Goodnight's net worth of $6.8 billion was down from $8.7 billion last year, Forbes reported. Goodnight, 66, is co-founder and CEO of SAS Institute, the Cary company that is the world's largest privately owned software maker.

The net worth of most people on the Forbes list took a hit.

John Sall, who co-founded SAS in 1976, also saw his ranking drop a bit, to No. 91 from No. 84 last year. His net worth declined to $3.4 billion from $4.4 billion. The only other Tar Heel on the Forbes list was Clemmie Spangler Jr. of Charlotte, with a net worth of $1.65 billion, down from $2 billion last year. He is ranked No. 212 on the Forbes list.

Apex service center opens

APEX An Apex couple opened an Express Oil Change & Service Center franchise in Apex.

Steve and Patty Shields opened the automotive care chain at 901 E. Williams St. at the end of August. Steve Shields was previously an accountant looking for a career change, according to a press release, and moved his family from Salt Lake City, Utah, to start a new business.

The garage is open weekdays from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Saturdays from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. The Apex location is the first of 15 centers planned for the Triangle area in the next five years.