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Axios Raleigh

A daily look at the most significant and interesting stories affecting Raleigh.

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Remote work is shaping the Triangle

Remote work has a huge influence on the Triangle's economy

News

Nugget blew up during the pandemic. Now what?

Nugget's couches became one of the hottest items to own during the pandemic.

Budget proposal could include new limits on suing North Carolina employees

Under a little-known provision quietly slipped into early state budget proposals, North Carolinians who sue state employees could soon lose the ability to present their case to a jury of their peers in state court.

Here's who's running for North Carolina governor in 2024

The election will take place November 5, 2024.

IBMA Bluegrass festival is leaving Raleigh. City leaders hatch plan to replace it

Festival organizers announced Wednesday they are working to find a new host city starting in 2025.

After a decade-long run in the City of Oaks, the <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="International Bluegrass Music Association&#x27;s" data-vars-click-url="https://www.axios.com/local/raleigh/2023/09/26/guide-to-ibma-bluegrass-festival" data-vars-content-id="33d8e7c1-bd00-4822-9d41-5e020f7f93ba" data-vars-headline="IBMA Bluegrass festival is leaving Raleigh. City leaders hatch plan to replace it" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.axios.com/local/raleigh/2023/09/26/guide-to-ibma-bluegrass-festival" target="_self">International Bluegrass Music Association&#x27;s</a> annual conference and World of Bluegrass festival will be leaving Raleigh after next year. <ul><li>Yes, but: Local leaders are already crafting a plant to replace the annual gathering of bluegrass musicians with a new music festival. </li></ul>

Why converting offices to apartments hasn't caught on in Raleigh

Converting offices to apartments comes with many challenges

As demand for housing in the Triangle surges, office space is sitting empty. But don&#x27;t expect those cubicles to be converted into condos any time soon.Why it matters: Rising rents and increasing vacancy rates at offices across the country have led many <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="municipalities" data-vars-click-url="https://www.axios.com/local/denver/2023/08/12/office-to-apartment-conversion-denver-colorado" data-vars-content-id="a68b6ef9-2e80-454d-87b7-c1c4cfeb1640" data-vars-headline="Why converting offices to apartments hasn&#x27;t caught on in Raleigh" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.axios.com/local/denver/2023/08/12/office-to-apartment-conversion-denver-colorado" target="_self">municipalities</a> and <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="developers" data-vars-click-url="https://www.axios.com/2023/08/04/office-buildings-residential-apartments-housing" data-vars-content-id="a68b6ef9-2e80-454d-87b7-c1c4cfeb1640" data-vars-headline="Why converting offices to apartments hasn&#x27;t caught on in Raleigh" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.axios.com/2023/08/04/office-buildings-residential-apartments-housing" target="_self">developers</a> to consider converting poor-performing offices into apartments.<ul><li>In the Triangle, <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="vacancy rates have increased significantly" data-vars-click-url="https://www.axios.com/local/raleigh/2023/08/02/triangle-office-vacancy-rate-remote-work-raleigh" data-vars-content-id="a68b6ef9-2e80-454d-87b7-c1c4cfeb1640" data-vars-headline="Why converting offices to apartments hasn&#x27;t caught on in Raleigh" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.axios.com/local/raleigh/2023/08/02/triangle-office-vacancy-rate-remote-work-raleigh" target="_self">vacancy rates have increased significantly</a> because of remote work trends, especially in its downtown cores.</li></ul>

Illustration of a high-rise office building with an oversized "Home sweet home" embroidery piece framed and hanging from the roof

North Carolina Republicans are drawing new redistricting maps for 2024

Republicans will be drawing new voting maps for the 2024 election

New voting maps for the state&#x27;s Congressional representation and for the General Assembly are expected to be released in the coming weeks.Driving the news: A <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="public hearing on redistricting" data-vars-click-url="https://ncleg.gov/requesttospeak/71" data-vars-content-id="8fdeeea1-483a-4f40-a2e0-57ad9bfccef6" data-vars-headline="North Carolina Republicans are drawing new redistricting maps for 2024" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://ncleg.gov/requesttospeak/71" target="_blank">public hearing on redistricting</a> will be held Wednesday at 4pm in Raleigh, with members of the public being given a chance to speak.

Photo illustration of North Carolina Senator Phil Berger with lines radiating from him.

Kane Realty going lights out for bird migration

Every year hundreds of millions of birds die by striking buildings at night

Every year Wake County&#x27;s Audubon chapter pushes for building owners to cut off their lights during migration season, which is about to hit its <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="busiest period this week" data-vars-click-url="https://alert.birdcast.info/?latLng=35.7795897,-78.6381787&amp;locName=Raleigh,%20NC,%20USA" data-vars-content-id="18c50cda-0cad-4f14-8c3d-f256df0bb691" data-vars-headline="Kane Realty going lights out for bird migration" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://alert.birdcast.info/?latLng=35.7795897,-78.6381787&amp;locName=Raleigh,%20NC,%20USA" target="_blank">busiest period this week</a>.Why it matters: Hundreds of millions of birds die by flying into buildings, often confused by their lights at night, during migration season, which in the fall runs from Sept. 10 to Nov. 30.

Your guide to the IBMA Bluegrass festival in Raleigh

There are plenty of free events for this week's Bluegrass Festival in Raleigh

The banjos have arrived.Driving the news: The <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="International Bluegrass Music Association&#x27;s" data-vars-click-url="https://ibma.org/" data-vars-content-id="0f84619b-3ba8-4314-bd33-a88463226461" data-vars-headline="Your guide to the IBMA Bluegrass festival in Raleigh" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://ibma.org/" target="_blank">International Bluegrass Music Association&#x27;s</a> annual conference and music festival kicks off Tuesday in downtown Raleigh, bringing musicians from across the world to the City of Oaks.

North Carolina will expand Medicaid eligibility in December

For more than a year, the state's political leaders have debated when Medicaid expansion would occur in North Carolina

Medicaid expansion in North Carolina will go live on Dec. 1, Gov. Roy Cooper and N.C. Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Kody Kinsley announced Monday.Why it matters: When it does, expansion will make more than 600,000 of the state&#x27;s poorest residents newly eligible for government health care coverage.

Illustration of a red cross multiplying into many red crosses. 

Raleigh's Humble Pie closing after more than three decades serving food

The restaurant said its downtown space would be taken over by a new company.

Humble Pie is closing after 33 years of serving up food and drinks in Raleigh&#x27;s Warehouse District.Driving the news: The restaurant <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="announced on Instagram" data-vars-click-url="https://www.instagram.com/p/Cxl76tGr6GI/?img_index=3" data-vars-content-id="c048f546-f2de-4837-9268-0666d45a9c06" data-vars-headline="Raleigh&#x27;s Humble Pie closing after more than three decades serving food" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.instagram.com/p/Cxl76tGr6GI/?img_index=3" target="_blank">announced on Instagram</a> Sunday night that its last dining service will be this Saturday, Sept. 30.

The Triangle got richer during the pandemic

While nationwide median incomes fell, households got richer in the Triangle

The Research Triangle became richer during the pandemic, according to <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="new data" data-vars-click-url="https://www.census.gov/content/dam/Census/newsroom/press-kits/2023/iphi/20230912-iphi-slides-income.pdf" data-vars-content-id="90e4fb8e-f8b2-4633-87ba-126be0d6ac41" data-vars-headline="The Triangle got richer during the pandemic" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.census.gov/content/dam/Census/newsroom/press-kits/2023/iphi/20230912-iphi-slides-income.pdf" target="_blank">new data</a> on household income released by the U.S. Census Bureau.Driving the news: From 2019 to 2022 <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="the nation&#x27;s median household income as a whole fell" data-vars-click-url="https://www.axios.com/2023/09/12/real-incomes-fell-last-year-no-wonder-americans-were-bummed-out" data-vars-content-id="90e4fb8e-f8b2-4633-87ba-126be0d6ac41" data-vars-headline="The Triangle got richer during the pandemic" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.axios.com/2023/09/12/real-incomes-fell-last-year-no-wonder-americans-were-bummed-out" target="_self">the nation&#x27;s median household income as a whole fell</a> 1.6%.<ul><li>But in the Triangle, household incomes actually grew.</li></ul>

Contamination found at Novo Nordisk's Johnston County plant, report says

Novo Nordisk is the drugmaker behind the popular weight-loss drugs Ozempic and Wegovy

<a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="Novo Nordisk" data-vars-click-url="https://www.axios.com/2023/08/10/ozempic-maker-bolsters-weight-loss-inversag-novo-nordisk" data-vars-content-id="ff798f54-b7ec-494b-91f3-79f5f86f1d24" data-vars-headline="Contamination found at Novo Nordisk&#x27;s Johnston County plant, report says" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.axios.com/2023/08/10/ozempic-maker-bolsters-weight-loss-inversag-novo-nordisk" target="_self">Novo Nordisk</a> — the drugmaker behind the popular weight-loss drugs Ozempic and Wegovy — has been having trouble with its factory in Clayton, one of the largest employers in Johnston County.Driving the news: Federal inspectors discovered bacteria in batches of Novo Nordisk&#x27;s main ingredients for a diabetes drug, Rybelsus, that is made at the Clayton plant, <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="the Wall Street Journal reports" data-vars-click-url="https://www.wsj.com/health/pharma/contamination-is-found-at-novo-nordisk-plant-in-u-s-92bca9bf" data-vars-content-id="ff798f54-b7ec-494b-91f3-79f5f86f1d24" data-vars-headline="Contamination found at Novo Nordisk&#x27;s Johnston County plant, report says" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.wsj.com/health/pharma/contamination-is-found-at-novo-nordisk-plant-in-u-s-92bca9bf" target="_blank">the Wall Street Journal reports</a>.

Local limelight: Victor Lytvinenko of Raleigh Denim

Raleigh Denim's Warehouse District workroom has made pants for celebrities like Brad Pitt

<a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="Raleigh Denim" data-vars-click-url="https://raleighdenimworkshop.com/" data-vars-content-id="5dc49b25-bd76-4dea-a3fc-8afb76a6b2cd" data-vars-headline="Local limelight: Victor Lytvinenko of Raleigh Denim" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://raleighdenimworkshop.com/" target="_blank">Raleigh Denim</a> has become one of the biggest fashion brands to emerge out of North Carolina.<ul><li>Started by the married duo of Victor Lytvinenko and Sarah Yarborough in 2007, the brand gained attention for the denim it handcrafts in the Warehouse District and has made clothing for celebrities <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="such as Brad Pitt and Justin Vernon of Bon Iver." data-vars-click-url="https://www.ft.com/content/ca502333-db78-40ce-ab54-5bb94e98083a" data-vars-content-id="5dc49b25-bd76-4dea-a3fc-8afb76a6b2cd" data-vars-headline="Local limelight: Victor Lytvinenko of Raleigh Denim" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.ft.com/content/ca502333-db78-40ce-ab54-5bb94e98083a" target="_blank">such as Brad Pitt and Justin Vernon of Bon Iver.</a></li></ul>Axios spoke with Lytvinenko — fresh off a trip to New York Fashion Week — for our recurring Local Limelight series. Answers have been edited for Smart Brevity and clarity.

Photo illustration of Victor Lytvinenko in a polaroid frame.

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