(Research Triangle Park, N.C.) Shh! Nobody is supposed to know that the Menzies family is one of thousands in the U.S. invited to participate in an Arbitron study of media habits. Actually, now that we’ve left the study, I guess it’s okay to let the cat out of the bag. It was an interesting few weeks, an experience that said a lot about project management, customer service, and how individual privacy can be easily punctured. (more…)

(Denver, Colo.) KSL Capital Partners, LLC announced today that it has entered into an agreement to acquire the historic Grove Park Inn Resort & Spa from an affiliate of Sammons Enterprises, Inc. One of the most iconic resorts in the United States, the 512-room Grove Park Inn sits between the majestic Blue Ridge and Great Smoky Mountains in Asheville, North Carolina. The agreement is subject to customary closing conditions and is expected to close in the next 30 days. (more…)

(Old Fort, N.C.) Blending traditional therapeutic methods with a challenging outdoor environment, SUWS of the Carolinas, a therapeutic wilderness program located in the beautiful Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina, announces its new Approach program aimed at helping kids with autism, a disorder that currently affects one in every 90 children in the U.S. and tens of millions worldwide. The unique program will focus on building social skills for those that have high-functioning autism such as Asperger’s, and other spectrum disorders such as Non-verbal Learning Disorder (NLD) and Pervasive Development Disorder (PDD). (more…)

(Raleigh, N.C.) Pergo North America (Pergo LLC) today announced it has successfully emerged from a corporate turnaround program that involved making significant capital and structural investments in order to ensure long-term financial stability. (more…)

(Charlotte, N.C.) Carlisle Companies Incorporated (NYSE:CSL) announced today that it has completed the sale of the non-roofing and waterproofing unit of its German company, PDT Phoenix GmbH to Datwyler Group of Altdorf, Switzerland. The business unit makes elastomer profiles for use in applications for tunnels, rail, windows and facades. Carlisle will retain the roofing and waterproofing business as the European center for Carlisle Construction Materials. (more…)

(Asheville, N.C.) Ingles Markets, Incorporated (NASDAQ: IMKTA) today announced that its Board of Directors has declared a cash dividend of $0.165 (sixteen and one-half cents) per share on all its Class A Common Stock and $0.15 (fifteen cents) per share on all its Class B Common Stock. This is an annual rate of $0.66 and $0.60 per share, respectively. Dividends on both the Class A and Class B Common Stock are payable January 19, 2012, to all shareholders of record on January 6, 2012. (more…)

(Charlotte, N.C.) Ventas, Inc. (NYSE: VTR) (“Ventas” or the “Company”) and Cogdell Spencer Inc. (NYSE: CSA) (“Cogdell”) today announced that the Boards of Directors of both companies have approved a definitive agreement under which Ventas will acquire Cogdell and its 72 high quality medical office buildings (“MOBs”) in an all-cash transaction. At closing, Ventas’s investment, including its share of debt, is expected to approximate $760 million to $770 million, before anticipated transaction expenses. (more…)

(Mooresville, N.C.) Lowe’s announced plans today for a new Customer Support Center in Albuquerque, New Mexico. The center is expected to be operational during the first quarter of 2012 and is estimated to create 250 jobs by March and a total of 600 jobs by the end of 2013. Lowe’s plans to invest more than $15 million to renovate leased space in a 65,000 square-foot building at 6301 Jefferson Avenue, NE. (more…)

(Raleigh, N.C.) As families prepare for the holiday, a new report released by the AFL-CIO shows that, 69,700 North Carolinians will lose their unemployment benefits on December 31st if Congress fails to act to extend unemployment insurance. (more…)

(Raleigh, N.C.) The Greater Raleigh-Durham Chapter 105 of the Institute of Real Estate Management (IREM) announced their officers for 2012 at their Annual Officer Installation held on November 9th at The Angus Barn. (more…)

(Research Triangle Park, N.C.) First Flight Venture Center (FFVC) and UAI Technology, Inc. have announced the joint development of the First Flight Launch at Alexander Business Suites. FFVC currently hosts 39 life science, medical device, clean-tech and IT companies who have been accepted into a two-year incubator program to help fuel and grow financially sustainable companies within the Triangle. First Flight Launch at Alexander Business Suites will be a facility where companies who are ready to move out of the incubator can locate and have access to on-going mentoring and shared resources as they grow in size.  The facility is also available to companies who have not previously been in an incubator program, but desire to link with FFVC for growth and sustainability. (more…)

(Morrisville, N.C.) Full-service advertising and branding firm The Marketing Machine has published the first in a series of educational podcasts on best practices for advertising, marketing, branding and public relations with “Tradeshows 101” available online at www.themmachine.com. The podcast features The Marketing Machine President Paul Spinak as well as Greg Fawcett, VP of client relations. (more…)