Longtime N.C. State linebacker Payton Wilson will become the next member of the Wolfpack Ring of Honor, the program announced on Wednesday.

Wilson’s induction will take place on Nov. 2, before the team plays Stanford.

“Payton was the embodiment of ‘Hard. Tough. Together,’ N.C. State head coach Dave Doeren said in a statement. “Watching him develop as a player and as a person during his time at NC State was one of the most rewarding parts of my career. I am so proud of him and honored to have been his coach.”

In his six-year career, Wilson twice led the ACC in tackles (2020 and 2023) and ranked fifth in FBS with 11.5 tackles per game (138 total tackles). He added 17.5 tackles for loss to rank No. 10 in program history and finished with 10 or more tackles 23 times in his career.

Wilson’s dominance, notably in his final season, earned national recognition. He received the 2023 Butkus Award for the nation’s top linebacker and 2023 Bednarik Award for the best defensive player. Wilson received 2023 ACC Defensive Player of the Year honors and became the fourth unanimous first-team All-American in program history. He was a finalist for the 2023 Nagurski Trophy as well.

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November 29, 2023 5:00 PM

“I am so grateful to be inducted into the Wolfpack Football Ring of Honor,” Wilson said in a statement. “It was one of my goals to have a career at N.C. State that would result in my name being listed among the all-time greats, and I’m proud that I accomplished it. I appreciate everything that Coach Doeren and Coach (Tony) Gibson did for me.”

He joins former Wolfpack greats, including Roman Gabriel, Torry Holt, Bradley Chubb, Philip Rivers and Bill Cowher, in the Ring of Honor.

Wilson, from Hillsborough, sustained multiple injuries during his career, including a 2021 shoulder injury. He was a finalist for the 2022 national comeback player of the year award.

Known for his participation in community service events, Wilson’s work included assisting at Gigi’s Playhouse — a nonprofit that serves individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities.

He remains a player the coaching staff and current players point to as a current leader. Doeren said earlier this year that Wilson was one of the major leaders in the locker room that led N.C. State to its five-game winning streak to end the 2023 regular season.

“Payton Wilson was a dominant player on the field, but even more importantly, grew to become a great leader,” said director of athletics Boo Corrigan. “He brought recognition and honor to our university, and we are proud to celebrate his accomplishments by inducting him into the Ring of Honor.”

The Pittsburgh Steelers selected Wilson in the third round of the 2024 NFL Draft. He has played in six games, recording 26 tackles, including 18 solo, and a stuff.

All three women’s basketball teams from the Triangle appeared in the Associated Press Preseason Top 25, which was released on Tuesday.

Fresh off its Final Four run, N.C. State led the pack at No. 9. Duke came in at No. 11 and North Carolina rounded out the group at No. 15, both of which made the NCAA Tournament last year.

Reigning national champion South Carolina ranked No. 1 with 27 first-place votes.

Six ACC teams landed in the Top 25, with No. 6 Notre Dame leading the way. Four other league schools, Stanford, Miami, Syracuse and Georgia Tech, also received votes.

In the final 2023-24 poll, N.C. State finished at No. 4, Duke finished at No. 17 and UNC received votes.

The Wolfpack returns starting guards Saniya Rivers, Aziaha James and Madison Hayes from the Final Four run, when it ultimately lost to the Gamecocks. It also returns Zoe Brooks, who came off the bench and provided shifty scoring and energetic defense. The team has an opportunity to score efficiently with the additions of five-star recruit Zamareya Jones and four-star prospect Devyn Quigley.

Meanwhile, the Blue Devils return in the 2024-25 season after advancing to the Sweet 16. Duke played a strong defensive game before losing, 53-45, in the regional semifinals to UConn, which went on to the Final Four.

The Blue Devils return the majority of their roster and coach Kara Lawson said the team did not lose anyone to the transfer portal.

The team added forward Toby Fournier and forward/center Arianna Roberson, but Roberson is unavailable due to an injury sustained during the preseason.

“She’s going to be a difference maker for us when she’s able to play again,” Lawson said. “I look forward to that day, but I know she’ll be a great support for our team this year.”

The Tar Heels enter the season led by graduate students Alyssa Ustby and Lexi Donarski. Their signing class came in at No. 15, according to ESPN’s final rankings, and includes No. 32 overall recruit Blanca Thomas.

All three teams, however, talked about handling the center spot by committee. N.C. State and Duke’s rosters feature injuries that could limit their strength in the frontcourt.

Wolfpack coach Wes Moore even discussed at ACC Tipoff last week the possibility of experimenting with a five-guard lineup.

“We know it’s a new start, and you’ve got different players,” Moore said. “We miss River Baldwin and Mimi Collins tremendously. They’re both playing professionally in Europe right now. We’re going to have a hard time filling their shoes. Everybody wants to talk about our guards. I get it. They’re unbelievable, but we got to have some balance. We’ve got a lot of questions to answer between now and our opening game.”

The Tar Heels have the most experience inside with the return of Maria Gakdeng, though coach Courtney Banghart said the job won’t fall solely on her. Banghart said the current team has more firepower and isn’t starting the year down players due to injury like it was last year.

“You’ve just got depth at every position that we just didn’t have,” Banghart said. “Not only are we more skilled and deeper, but we can shoot it better, and the ball moves more, we have more talent.”

N.C. State plays No. 1 South Carolina on Nov. 10 in the Ally Tipoff and No. 20 Ole Miss on Dec. 5 as part of the ACC/SEC Challenge. It could also face No. 7 LSU in the Bahamas on Nov. 27 during the Pink Flamingo Championship.

Duke’s schedule features three potential top-25 matchups in the nonconference schedule. It’s set to face No. 18 Maryland on Nov. 10, Kansas State on Nov. 25, No. 10 Oklahoma or DePaul on Nov. 27 and South Carolina on Dec. 5.

The Tar Heels play No. 2 UConn on Nov. 15 in Greensboro and No. 22 Kentucky on Dec. 5.

UNC and Duke open their seasons at home on Nov. 4. The Heels host Charleston Southern, while the Blue Devils welcome Radford. N.C. State begins its schedule a day later against East Tennessee State in Reynolds Coliseum.

This story was originally published October 15, 2024, 12:33 PM.

A Pilates studio has been announced for a new mixed-use development near downtown Raleigh.

BK Pilates is joining the Rockway development, adjacent to Dorothea Dix Park, and is scheduled to open in 2025, according to a news release.

The boutique fitness studio offering reformer-based workouts will be located beneath The Row apartments. The multifamily residential building, which will include 335 apartments, is expected to open this year.

“The studio’s emphasis on wellness and personalized fitness aligns perfectly with the vibrant, active lifestyle we are fostering at Rockway, and we are confident that BK Pilates will quickly become a beloved destination for Raleigh residents,” Stacey Buescher, the managing director of operations for developer Kane Realty Corp., said in the news release.

BK Pilates owner Marina Kaydanova opened her first Pilates studio in Brooklyn in 2012, and since then, she has expanded throughout New York and into Charlotte, North Carolina, and Charleston, South Carolina.

The Rockway studio will be BK Pilates’ first in the Triangle and will offer a variety of class types, including 45-minute reformer group classes and private sessions.

Popular local bakery Benchwarmers Bagels will open a 4,000-square-foot Raleigh location at Rockway, The News & Observer previously reported. The original shop, inside Transfer Co. Food Hall, will remain open and unchanged.

Rockway, located at 925 S. Saunders St., will feature residential and retail space. The Row is the first multifamily project to open at the development, featuring studio, one-, two- and three-bedroom units and townhomes.

Kane also has plans for two additional residential concepts. The Heath will feature 375 units with a rooftop lounge, pool, fitness center, bike storage and internal courtyard, along with 5,000-square-feet of ground-floor retail space. Lynde Hill Lofts is expected to include about 200 apartments.

The name of the development is a nod to the Rocky Branch Greenway Trail and Rocky Branch Creek, which run along the property, The N&O previously reported.

This is the latest business focusing on health to announce plans to open in downtown Raleigh.

Have a question about your community you’d like answered? Or maybe a tip or story idea you’d like to share? The service journalism teams at The News & Observer and The Charlotte Observer want to hear from you.

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October 09, 2024 10:47 AM

Durham semiconductor manufacturer Wolfspeed received long-anticipated backing Tuesday from the U.S. Department of Commerce to boost its domestic production of silicon carbide chips.

A $750-million grant through the CHIPS and Science Act will support Wolfspeed’s incoming massive materials factory in Chatham County and its existing fabrication site in New York State.

Negotiations have progressed for months, with Wolfspeed CEO Gregg Lowe sharing in August that the company and government were working out “final terms.” Like all CHIPS Act grants, Wolfspeed’s award is non-binding and subject to the company reaching certain milestones. In a statement, the government said Wolfspeed must also “take additional steps to strengthen its balance sheet to better protect taxpayer funds.”

Wolfspeed announced Tuesday new private capital to “bolster” its balance sheet; a consortium of investment firms led by Apollo Global Management provided the chipmaker a loan worth another $750 million. The Commerce Department said Wolfspeed would not have received this financing without obtaining a CHIPS grant.

Combined, the $1.5 billion in new funding arrives as Wolfspeed aims to expand its North Carolina operations while easing liquidity concerns and reversing lowered investor expectations.

Formed in 1987 under the name Cree, Wolfspeed has pivoted in the past five years away from producing LED lights and toward exclusively making a unique semiconductor material called silicon carbide. What distinguishes silicon carbide from regular silicon chips is a chemical process called sublimation in which solids are converted into gases — and then back into solids. By avoiding the liquid phase, the semiconductor reduces electrical leakage and performs more efficiently.

Lowe told The News & Observer in an interview that silicon carbide, compared to traditional silicon, enables electric vehicles to go between 5% and 15% farther.

Wolfspeed has pioneered production of 200-millimeter substrates, or wafers, which are larger than the industry standard 150-millimeter size. Larger in diameter, these wafers yield more chips and present potential cost savings. Wolfspeed also makes 150-millimeter substrates, but the CHIPS funding is specific to the wider wafers the company has prioritized.

“The (CHIPS) grant will be made to help us produce 200-millimeter silicon carbide crystals and process those crystals into wafers, and then wafers into semiconductor chips,” Lowe said.

In September 2022, Wolfspeed announced it would construct a 200-millimeter materials factory in western Chatham County, on a megasite near Siler City. The company anticipated this massive facility would produce 10 times the silicon carbide currently produced at its existing 200-millimeter materials facility in Durham. Under a state economic incentive agreement, Wolfspeed committed to create more than 1,800 jobs and invest $5 billion at the future Chatham County plant.

A month before this North Carolina expansion announcement, President Joe Biden signed the CHIPS Act, which reserved $53 billion in grants for U.S. producers of semiconductors. The legislation also established an investment tax credit for eligible manufacturers to subsidize 25% of their project costs, through which Wolfspeed now expects to receive a federal tax credit worth around $1 billion.

Wolfspeed, headquartered just outside Research Triangle Park, has around 3,500 employees statewide. In June, the company fired up the first furnace at its 2-million-square-foot Siler City factory, which it named the John Palmour Manufacturing Center for Silicon Carbide after its late cofounder. Silicon carbide crystals require extremely hot temperatures to form, about 2500 degrees Celsius.

Wolfspeed plans to begin shipping silicon carbide wafers from this site to its fabrication plant in New York State’s Mohawk Valley next summer.

“The project is on schedule, on budget,” Lowe said. “I personally pressed a button to start the first crystal growers. So, we’re already growing crystals in that facility.”

But as Wolfspeed readies its biggest North Carolina factory, the company has seen its stock price plummet.

Oct. 26, 2022 was the last day a share of Wolfspeed sold for more than $100. By the time President Biden visited its headquarters the following spring, the company’s stock had dropped to around $64. When the company topped off its massive materials factory near Siler City in March 2024, its share price stood at $28. And until this past week, investors have been able to purchase the stock for less than $10 a share.

Missed production deadlines, the rise of new competitors (including from China), softer sector demand, and concerns over Wolfspeed’s financial future have contributed to this fall. “Repeated delays from (Wolfspeed) have undoubtedly challenged the view of whether the company can provide customers supply assurance,” Morgan Stanley wrote in an August analyst note.

“We know that one area of investor concern has been our liquidity and capital structure and our ability to fund our long-term strategic plan,” Wolfspeed’s head of investor relations Tyler Gronbach said in an email last month to The N&O. “Which we are addressing through new funding, operating efficiencies and streamlining capital investment.”

In August, the company said it would close its 150-millimeter fabrication factory in Durham. Going forward, Wolfspeed is also looking at “additional potential areas to reduce costs and improve profitability across all aspects of the business,” Gronbach said.

Though not a cure-all, CHIPS Act dollars will benefit the company, analysts say.

“Make no mistake: securing CHIPS Act funding (estimated at potentially less than $1 billion) would be immensely helpful to Wolfspeed,” George Gianarikas, managing director of the investment bank Canaccord Genuity, said in a recent investor note. “Indeed, we believe the company is an excellent candidate for a grant, given its critical semiconductor technology in forward-looking industries and its U.S.-based manufacturing operations.”

Wolfspeed stock was up more than 20% midday Tuesday to around $14 a share.

In an Oct. 15 interview with the N&O, U.S. Deputy Secretary of Commerce Don Graves said the government feels “Wolfspeed’s best days are ahead of it.”

“The CHIPS program structure is to invest in companies that we believe are financially sound, that have a really good business plan and model for how they’re going to use the dollars, how they’re going to help drive U.S. leadership, how they’re going to create good jobs and and strengthen the local economy, and how they’re going to crowd in private sector dollars like you have here with Wolfspeed,” he said.

Graves explained the government has sought to accompany private funding with grants for virtually all CHIPS recipients thus far. He added his department was unable to give specific details about Wolfspeed’s agreement, and that the terms of each grant are “bespoke.”

The Commerce Department said Wolfspeed provides silicon carbide technologies to the U.S. military for national security applications.

“What the President and Vice President realized is that we should never be allowed to be held hostage by other countries and their ability to provide or willingness to provide us with semiconductors,” Graves said.

In August, the Commerce Department announced it had entered preliminary agreements with 15 companies in the two years since Biden signed the CHIPS and Science Act, with direct incentives exceeding $30 billion. The list of recipient companies include Micron, Intel, Samsung, and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company.

Enjoy Triangle tech news? Subscribe to Open Source, The News & Observer's weekly newsletter, and look for it in your inbox every Friday morning. Sign up here.

This story was originally published October 15, 2024, 5:05 AM.

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Brian Gordon is the Technology & Innovation reporter for The News & Observer and The Herald-Sun. He writes about jobs, start-ups and all the big tech things transforming the Triangle. Brian previously worked as a senior statewide reporter for the USA Today Network and covered education for the Asheville Citizen-Times.

Among the thrill rides and carnival games, fair food has become its own sort of spectacle.

Defying decency and sometimes physics, this corner of the culinary universe always asks the big question: If you can’t deep fry it, are you sure you want to eat it?

The North Carolina State Fair will feature 72 new foods, drinks and desserts this year, with bologna fries and cheese puff nachos joining the menu alongside long-time favorites like ribbon fries, foot-long corn dogs and smoked turkey legs.

We sampled 30 of the new foods for media day, tasting our way through the deep-fried, sugar-coated and bacon-wrapped new offerings.

Here are my top three picks:

▪ Deep Fried Ribs from Lawrence & Perry BBQ, LLC: We all know a pork rib doesn’t need to be deep fried. We know this so deeply in our soul that until now no one has bothered to ask, “But should it be fried?” Apparently, yes. These baby back ribs are the ultimate finger food, with a thick crunchy breading wrapped around the porky succulence we all know and love. A sweet and tangy barbecue sauce is soaked into that crispy crust for some extra flavor.

▪ Alaskan King Crab Pop from Oak City Fish & Chips: How can you not feel like royalty strolling through the fair with king crab on a stick? Perfectly sweet king crab is dusted in peppery seasoning and a squeeze of lemon on this most indulgent of fair foods.

▪ NC Crab and Shrimp Bomb from Waypoint Oyster Bar: This fried ball glows a neon red from its Flamin’ Hot Cheeto crust, but inside is sweet crab and shrimp with ooey gooey cream cheese.

Cowboy Bites from Fat Boys BBQ: The ultimate fair food snack, deep-fried gobs of mac and cheese with brisket and a drizzle of barbecue sauce.

Korean BBQ Kimchi Nachos from Bulkogi Korean BBQ: This take on nachos delivers serious funk and spice with kimchi playing the main star among salsa, cheese and pickled jalapenos.

Jerk Pork Belly Bao from Cool Runnings Jamaican: This Caribbean fusion bite combines jerk flavors and pillowy bao buns. The pork is sweet and tender and the jerk sauce delivers the warm spices but not the heat here. This bite was voted the winner of the NC State Fair Media Day tasting.

Fried Hazelnut Croissant from LaFarm Bakery: This is for the Nutella fanatics out there. Here La Farm’s famous croissants get a state fair upgrade with a quick fry and a dusting of crunchy sugar.

Honey Butter Mozza Dog from GoldenKdog: This might be the evolution of the mozzarella stick. Here you get cheese on a stick with a crisp, crunchy coating and a sweet kick of honey butter. It dances around savory and sweet, but you won’t be missing marinara sauce.

Mexican Street Corn Potato from Spudastic Potato: In the fair food realm, where cheese and sugar glow in neon colors, this humble, baked potato stands out for its wholesomeness. Off-the-cob esquites and a baked potato don’t really have a lot to say to one another, but somehow the bite just works, with the corn adding sweetness to the earthy, buttery spud.

Monster Tots from Hot Chix: A tater tot can do no wrong, and these dressed with either buffalo sauce or bacon and cheese deliver on all the crispy, salty, fatty expectations one could ever have.

Sizzling Hot Funnel Cake from The Busy Beaver: The “hot” here refers to Flamin’ Hot Cheetos, which absolutely belong on a funnel cake. Here these funnel cakes weave a complex tapestry of savory and sweet, one topped with chocolate and spicy cheetos and another with cheese, all on crispy, sugary dough.

Fried Cheesy Croissant from La Farm Bakery: Yes a fried croissant is a beautiful thing, making the flakes even flakier with every bite. But the cheese is a little absent here, which may crumble any cheese-pull dreams.

Simba Dessert from Safari Eatz: This fried apple dessert a la mode eats like a crepe with sweet, chewy dough.

Bacon Cheeseburger Corn Dog from Pioneer Wagon: This is a really fun take on the corn dog, replacing the wiener with a cheeseburger, covered in cheese and more bacon than you think you deserve. But the burger could use some other textures, maybe some zippy chopped up pickles or onions mixed in.

Mema Mia from Ezzell’s Something Good: One of the most inventive dishes at the fair this year, here you have baked spaghetti deep fried and served on a bun with meat sauce and cole slaw. It’s fun and tasty, but the deep fry versus bread combo can make it feel heavy. Maybe next year spaghetti on a stick?

Big Bacon Wrapped in Cheese on a Stick from Bubba’s Bacon: Think fried mozzarella stick, but instead of a crispy breading you have crispy bacon around the gooey cheese. Simple, satisfying.

Battered Bologna Fries from Granny’s Country Kitchen: These crispy meat sticks likely deliver on their name and not much else. They likely won’t replace your love for french fries, but if you can’t get enough bologna this will likely be a new experience.

Tanghulu from The Candi Queen: One of the most beautiful bites you’re likely to find at the fair, bites of fruit are encased in perfectly clear sugar like an early spring bud caught by a late frost. It can be surprising how hard the sugar is at first, but it’s thin so you probably won’t break a tooth. The Candi Queen also candies popular snack cakes like oatmeal pies.

Pineapple Bowl from Brazilian Bowls: These rice bowls are a refreshing step away from the deep fryer. The best bites deliver a bit of char on the pork with a nugget of sweet pineapple and black beans.

Sausage & Peppers Egg Roll from Woody’s Wing Wagon: I love egg rolls at the fair, but is the invention better than the inspiration? Here you’ll still be wanting a Philly cheese when you’re done.

Minne Cookie Dough Pie from The Original Minneapple Pie: Kind of like deep-fried cookie dough, but in pie form. Everything you love about cookie dough, the crispy sugar and crunch of chocolate is alive and well in this pie, served with ice cream.

Trompi Al Pastor Stick from Las Gringas: Everyone’s favorite taco style, al pastor, is recreated on a stick here, with bites of pork piled up and topped with pineapple. While inventive, the flavors are a little muted from the inspiration.

S’more Pizza Cone from Kono Pizza: These handheld s’mores look like torches and it’s impossible not to hold them in the air triumphantly. It’s hard to recreate the smoky campfire, marshmallow and melty chocolate combo, but all of that is here, deep into the cone. The cone is kind of in the way, though, and would be better if somehow it could be graham cracker pizza dough.

Summerween Slush from Moose Joose Slush: It feels wrong to drink a creamsicle slush in October, but this one leans into its Halloween colorscape. It veers on the sweet side, which is amped up by a sprinkle of candy and a whole dunked creamsicle.

Strawberries & Cream Waffle Stick from Waffle Chix: Waffles on a stick is what fair foods are meant for, but here the strawberry syrup is neon red and sugary.

Birthday Cake Cookie Dough on a Stick from Kora’s Cookie Dough: A treat for funfetti lovers, these cake pops are wrapped in sprinkles and icing. If you’re not a die-hard dessert fan, brace yourself, this may be the sweetest bite you find at the fair.

Fried Fufu from Ethio-Ini Alkaline Cuisine: Dense and chewy fufu is best eaten with stews but seems to crumble in the fryer despite a spicy and herbaceous sauce.

Chocolate Dipped Strawberry Iced Tea from Tika Tea: Refreshing and subtly sweet (by sweet tea standards) with a nice balance of strawberry, with a skewer of chocolate dipped strawberries.

Crabcake Sammie from Fresh AF Vegan: These crabcakes deliver some crab flavor but could be helped by added texture inside the creamy fried balls.

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This story was originally published October 14, 2024, 2:56 PM.