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Forget dorms. In NIL era, some athletes opt for luxury apartments

With pools, golf simulators and more, The Novus is drawing Duke players using NIL income.

Sports

NIL money is allowing some Duke basketball players to live in downtown Durham&#x27;s <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="most high-end apartment building" data-vars-click-url="https://www.axios.com/local/raleigh/2025/06/27/see-inside-the-novus-durhams-newest-high-rise" data-vars-content-id="cefe5921-f999-4da2-98f2-922f2d7f84d3" data-vars-headline="Forget dorms. In NIL era, some athletes opt for luxury apartments" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.axios.com/local/raleigh/2025/06/27/see-inside-the-novus-durhams-newest-high-rise" target="_self">most high-end apartment building</a>.Why it matters: In the <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="NCAA&#x27;s new era" data-vars-click-url="https://www.axios.com/local/raleigh/2026/03/20/high-point-ncaa-upset-wisconsin-nil-money-mid-majors-transfer-portal" data-vars-content-id="cefe5921-f999-4da2-98f2-922f2d7f84d3" data-vars-headline="Forget dorms. In NIL era, some athletes opt for luxury apartments" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.axios.com/local/raleigh/2026/03/20/high-point-ncaa-upset-wisconsin-nil-money-mid-majors-transfer-portal" target="_self">NCAA&#x27;s new era</a>, Division I athletes have gained access to a lifestyle that just five years ago would have risked sanctions or been reserved for the independently wealthy.

Growth in the Triangle cools slightly but still among nation's fastest

Immigration across the country slowed down in the first year of the Trump administration

News

Population growth is slowing in most counties nationwide amid a massive drop in immigration, new U.S. Census data shows.<ul><li>But that isn&#x27;t stopping the Triangle from still being among the <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="fastest-growing areas" data-vars-click-url="https://www.axios.com/local/raleigh/2025/03/13/raleigh-durham-population-growth-census-immigrants" data-vars-content-id="7f345a6e-a50f-44b0-a890-6fedede25457" data-vars-headline="Growth in the Triangle cools slightly but still among nation&#x27;s fastest" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.axios.com/local/raleigh/2025/03/13/raleigh-durham-population-growth-census-immigrants" target="_self">fastest-growing areas</a> in the country. </li></ul>Why it matters: The new data offers the best look yet at how tighter immigration enforcement is affecting America&#x27;s demographic makeup, <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="Axios&#x27; Alex Fitzpatrick writes" data-vars-click-url="https://www.axios.com/2026/03/26/county-population-growth-immigration" data-vars-content-id="7f345a6e-a50f-44b0-a890-6fedede25457" data-vars-headline="Growth in the Triangle cools slightly but still among nation&#x27;s fastest" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.axios.com/2026/03/26/county-population-growth-immigration" target="_self">Axios&#x27; Alex Fitzpatrick writes</a>.

Will Wade abandons Wolfpack

Wade might be the most-hated man in Raleigh now.

Will Wade is out as head coach of N.C. State&#x27;s men&#x27;s basketball team. Why it matters: In a stunning move, Wade, who spent his one season in Raleigh promising a &quot;<a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="red reckoning" data-vars-click-url="https://www.axios.com/local/raleigh/2026/03/26/more-leadership-changes-rumored" data-vars-content-id="e3eb1e98-5d5f-44c2-87df-bccdc4948019" data-vars-headline="Will Wade abandons Wolfpack" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.axios.com/local/raleigh/2026/03/26/more-leadership-changes-rumored" target="_self">red reckoning</a>&quot; for the ACC, quit to return to Louisiana State University. <ul><li>Wade coached at LSU from 2017 to 2022, before being ousted after an NCAA investigation. </li></ul>

Northgate Mall area's transformation grows with nearly 300 apartments

Some of the new apartments could be set aside as affordable housing

Development

A Charlotte developer has begun construction on a new apartment project that will bring nearly 300 units to the area near the shuttered <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="Northgate Mall" data-vars-click-url="https://www.axios.com/local/raleigh/2025/08/12/triangle-projects-facing-contentious-rezoning-debates-north-hills-northgate-durham-raleigh" data-vars-content-id="2b4b23e7-a1d9-4c17-a562-68159c339988" data-vars-headline="Northgate Mall area&#x27;s transformation grows with nearly 300 apartments" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.axios.com/local/raleigh/2025/08/12/triangle-projects-facing-contentious-rezoning-debates-north-hills-northgate-durham-raleigh" target="_self">Northgate Mall</a> in Durham. Why it matters: The new apartment project adds more fuel to the large-scale transformation coming to the Northgate area of Durham, where the former mall is set to be partially demolished to <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="make way for a Target and more" data-vars-click-url="https://www.axios.com/local/raleigh/2026/03/18/target-will-anchor-major-redevelopment-of-the-now-closed-northgate-mall" data-vars-content-id="2b4b23e7-a1d9-4c17-a562-68159c339988" data-vars-headline="Northgate Mall area&#x27;s transformation grows with nearly 300 apartments" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.axios.com/local/raleigh/2026/03/18/target-will-anchor-major-redevelopment-of-the-now-closed-northgate-mall" target="_self">make way for a Target and more</a>.

Local Limelight: Jesse Lipson on Levitate's big hiring plans

Jesse Lipson is one of the Triangle's most successful tech leaders of the past two decades

Jesse Lipson has been one of the Triangle&#x27;s leading tech entrepreneurs for the past two decades. He founded the Raleigh software company ShareFile, which he sold to Citrix, and he now leads Levitate, a maker of communications and marketing software.Why it matters: Raleigh-based <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="Levitate" data-vars-click-url="https://www.levitate.ai/" data-vars-content-id="cb70fdff-8c02-421c-835f-27091e912d7c" data-vars-headline="Local Limelight: Jesse Lipson on Levitate&#x27;s big hiring plans" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.levitate.ai/" target="_blank">Levitate</a> recently <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="raised $16 million" data-vars-click-url="https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/levitate-raises-16m-to-bring-ai-to-relationship-based-businesses-302704595.html" data-vars-content-id="cb70fdff-8c02-421c-835f-27091e912d7c" data-vars-headline="Local Limelight: Jesse Lipson on Levitate&#x27;s big hiring plans" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/levitate-raises-16m-to-bring-ai-to-relationship-based-businesses-302704595.html" target="_blank">raised $16 million</a> from investors, which will help kick off a hiring round of more than 100 new employees. <ul><li>That will take its Raleigh headcount at its Gateway Plaza headquarters to around 300, and help fill out new offices in Toronto and Wilmington. </li></ul>

Top contenders emerge in N.C. GOP race to replace Phil Berger

Berger has led the North Carolina Senate since 2011.

Politics

The behind-the-scenes jostling to replace Phil Berger as leader of the North Carolina Senate is now out in the open, a day after he conceded <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="primary defeat" data-vars-click-url="https://www.axios.com/local/raleigh/2026/03/13/page-still-leads-after-initial-count-finalized-in-closely-watched-north-carolina-primary" data-vars-content-id="f45998a4-ad73-4bf5-b0a3-e5440e7946b5" data-vars-headline="Top contenders emerge in N.C. GOP race to replace Phil Berger" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.axios.com/local/raleigh/2026/03/13/page-still-leads-after-initial-count-finalized-in-closely-watched-north-carolina-primary" target="_self">primary defeat</a> to Rockingham County Sheriff Sam Page.Why it matters: Berger&#x27;s long tenure has shaped Republican power in Raleigh, and his successor will determine whether that influence — and party unity — holds.

Epic Games lays off more than 1,000, as Fortnite's popularity slows

Epic Games rode Fortnite's success to be one of the most valuable startups in the country

Epic Games, the Cary-based video game developer, is laying off 1,000 employees amid a slowdown in engagement in Fortnite, its most popular game. Why it matters: After Fortnite was released in 2017, Epic Games rode the game&#x27;s popularity and the success of its Unreal Engine visualization tool to become one of the most valuable privately held companies in the country, and was at one point valued <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="at more than $30 billion" data-vars-click-url="https://www.axios.com/local/raleigh/2024/03/13/epic-games-ipo-potential-in-2024" data-vars-content-id="c4dc9860-801c-4d10-899a-225a49b0d25f" data-vars-headline="Epic Games lays off more than 1,000, as Fortnite&#x27;s popularity slows" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.axios.com/local/raleigh/2024/03/13/epic-games-ipo-potential-in-2024" target="_self">at more than $30 billion</a>. <ul><li>It hired thousands of people and ambitiously bought the former Cary Towne Center mall for a future headquarters that has yet to materialize. </li></ul>

A year of major decisions looms at UNC-Chapel Hill

Hubert Davis' position as UNC basketball coach seemed secure before a March Madness loss to VCU.

Education

Hubert Davis&#x27; future as the head coach of UNC&#x27;s basketball team <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="hangs in the balance" data-vars-click-url="https://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/story/_/id/48270301/sources-unc-davis-discussing-future-tournament-loss" data-vars-content-id="c6d3c727-73e5-4906-8565-637214235999" data-vars-headline="A year of major decisions looms at UNC-Chapel Hill" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/story/_/id/48270301/sources-unc-davis-discussing-future-tournament-loss" target="_blank">hangs in the balance</a>, with the university set to make a decision in the coming days.<ul><li>It&#x27;s a sign of how fast things can change in Chapel Hill, as his position seemed secure until a 19-point lead <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="evaporated" data-vars-click-url="https://www.axios.com/local/raleigh/2026/03/23/blue-devils-dance-on" data-vars-content-id="c6d3c727-73e5-4906-8565-637214235999" data-vars-headline="A year of major decisions looms at UNC-Chapel Hill" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.axios.com/local/raleigh/2026/03/23/blue-devils-dance-on" target="_self">evaporated</a> against VCU in the NCAA Tournament last week.</li></ul>

How HB2's legacy reshaped N.C. and modern culture fights

It's been a decade since the divisive "bathroom bill" was signed into law.

Ten years ago, House Bill 2 — the <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="&quot;bathroom bill&quot;" data-vars-click-url="https://www.axios.com/local/raleigh/2025/03/25/north-carolina-republicans-transgender-rights-bathroom-bill" data-vars-content-id="fca0229e-9746-433c-91ef-f79264cdff20" data-vars-headline="How HB2&#x27;s legacy reshaped N.C. and modern culture fights" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.axios.com/local/raleigh/2025/03/25/north-carolina-republicans-transgender-rights-bathroom-bill" target="_self">&quot;bathroom bill&quot;</a> — became law, <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="setting off" data-vars-click-url="https://www.charlotteobserver.com/news/business/article68655007.html" data-vars-content-id="fca0229e-9746-433c-91ef-f79264cdff20" data-vars-headline="How HB2&#x27;s legacy reshaped N.C. and modern culture fights" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.charlotteobserver.com/news/business/article68655007.html" target="_blank">setting off</a> years of political and economic shifts in North Carolina.Why it matters: The fallout from the now-repealed measure was marked by widespread corporate pressure and boycotts.<ul><li>HB2, which rankled the power balance between North Carolina&#x27;s GOP-controlled state legislature and a large Democratic-run city, was also a blueprint for modern culture fights.</li></ul>

Wiley Nickel wants to significantly expand the Wake County DA's office

Wiley Nickel, the DA in waiting, however, will need to convince local partners to fund it.

Wiley Nickel, Wake County&#x27;s <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="district attorney in waiting" data-vars-click-url="https://www.axios.com/local/raleigh/2026/03/04/wake-county-primary-results-district-attorney-raleigh-city-council-commissioners" data-vars-content-id="304c4ee0-03d0-46df-8311-495019f26bc1" data-vars-headline="Wiley Nickel wants to significantly expand the Wake County DA&#x27;s office" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.axios.com/local/raleigh/2026/03/04/wake-county-primary-results-district-attorney-raleigh-city-council-commissioners" target="_self">district attorney in waiting</a>, says he wants to use the next 10 months before he assumes the role of DA to secure more resources for the office. <ul><li>The top priority, he told Axios, is to significantly increase the number of prosecutors working in the state&#x27;s largest county by population — which could help clear case backlogs and keep violent offenders off the streets.</li></ul>

Page still leads after initial count finalized in closely watched North Carolina primary

A win for Page would represent a seismic change in the N.C. General Assembly.

Rockingham County Sheriff Sam Page continues to lead state Senate leader Phil Berger by 23 votes after election officials in Guilford and Rockingham counties finalized their initial count of the March Republican primary. Why it matters: A win for Page would represent a <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="seismic change" data-vars-click-url="https://www.axios.com/local/raleigh/2026/02/27/the-most-watched-primary-in-north-carolina-berger-sam-page" data-vars-content-id="1e82836d-601f-40d1-8f95-84b259ae8725" data-vars-headline="Page still leads after initial count finalized in closely watched North Carolina primary" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.axios.com/local/raleigh/2026/02/27/the-most-watched-primary-in-north-carolina-berger-sam-page" target="_self">seismic change</a> in the N.C. General Assembly, where Berger is seen as the most influential Republican member. <ul><li>Yes, but: There&#x27;s still a long way to go before this race is over. </li></ul>

Raleigh joins cities diverting some 911 calls from police

Embedded clinicians in Raleigh's 911 center aim to calm callers and connect them to urgent care.

An experiment underway in Raleigh aims to protect 911 callers in mental health crises from unnecessary interactions with <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="police" data-vars-click-url="https://www.axios.com/local/raleigh/public-safety" data-vars-content-id="a633959a-99dc-4629-aabf-94d19a2a08f6" data-vars-headline="Raleigh joins cities diverting some 911 calls from police" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.axios.com/local/raleigh/public-safety" target="_self">police</a> by having them speak directly with a clinician. Why it matters: Sending police to calls they&#x27;re unequipped to handle can be dangerous for everyone involved.

News 🗞

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