The state and local tax exempt products-including appliances like washers, freezers, refrigerators, air conditioners, dishwashers, and thermostats-meet federal guidelines for energy efficiency.

Generally, the Energy Star appliances cost more than less efficient models, but they should save money in the long run by trimming utility bills and making owners eligible for tax credits.

Energy Star appliances that are intended to be used for a business or as rentals are not part of the Tax Free Holiday offer.

The holiday runs from 12:01 a.m. on the first Friday in November, through 11:59 the following Sunday.

Click here to learn more.

Friday, college presidents, community members and students met in Durham to try to turn that around.

"Truthfully we need more college graduates," NC Community College System President Scott Ralls said. "As a nation we've fallen behind."

The state community college system held its Fifth Annual Minority Male Mentoring Conference Friday.

More than half of all Hispanic and African-American high school graduates enroll in community colleges.

You don't have to tell Cedric Bettis that mentoring can make a difference.

The Durham Tech alumnus had already dropped out of college once when he went back and decided to enroll in their minority mentoring program.

"It made me feel welcome," Bettis said of the experience. "It gave me an opportunity to engage with like minded people in a similar situation."

The goal of the conference was simply to fine tune the mentoring programs at different colleges to graduate more minority students.

"We're there to serve all of our students," James Sprunt Community College President Lawrence Rouse said. "We want to make sure our minority males are just as successful as any other students on our campus."

The state community college system estimates that if graduation rates of minority students rose to that of white students by 2020, the state would add over $5 billion to the economy.

Police say Masjid Ibad Ar-Rahman, located at 3034 Fayetteville Street, sustained damage to the property during the morning of November 2.

Several windows and doors were broken. Reports indicate that two flat screen monitors, a printer and a personal computer were taken.

Anyone with information on the incident is asked to call Investigator K.D. Emanuel at 560-4415 ext. 29306 or CrimeStoppers at 683-1200.

"I used to do protective services for Bobby and Whitney, Alicia Keys, and Earth, Wind and Fire," he said with a smile on his face, looking out at the corner of Angier Ave. and Driver St. "I've seen a lot in my life but I've never seen anything like northeast Durham."

What started as Joe's Big Hot Dogs will morph into restaurant, Internet café and grocery store at the first of this year. He's one of several business owners who have taken interest in a section of Durham once known for having the highest crime rate in town.

"There's some really decent people here and they need a second shot," Bushfan said. "Most of them think they're stuck in a rut because they're in a negative area; but that's all about to end as far as I'm concerned."

Research from the Durham Police Department shows that extra patrols in the "Bull's Eye" area have paid off. From May 2006 to April 2007, there were 929 total violent gun crime incidents citywide. Nineteen percent, or 184 of them, happened in the Bull's Eye target area. In the next year, there were 851 incidents citywide and 130 (15.28 percent) in the Bull's Eye. But over this last year, according to records, there were 770 incidents citywide and 113 (14.68 percent) in the Bull's Eye.

"While such crimes are down 17.1 percent citywide," the report reads, "they are down 38.6 percent in the target area, which is continuing to be a less concentrated area of gun violence within the City."

But those who grew up there and have recently taken interest in coming back for business know changing perceptions is going to be tough.

"East Durham has changed since I grew up here," said Sandra Rorie, who is well-known as ‘Nana.' "It's been one of the neighborhoods that appears it's kind of been shut off."

Rorie said she wanted to make a difference when she opened Nana's Café two months ago.

"I think it's going to take more people believing in east Durham," she said.

Nathaniel Harris, who was working on housing construction for New Beginnings ministry, said slow progress that everyone is making in the Bull's Eye makes a difference in morale.

"It just brings more structure -- good structure -- to the neighborhood," he said. "It inspires a lot of people in the area; gives back hope."

 Contact Josh Green, NBC 17 News Reporter:
jgreen@wncn.com

Durham released the draft audited financial statement Thursday morning, claiming the center earned $401,706 for the city.

"That's truly great news for Durham, especially in light of today's economy," said Durham Mayor Bill Bell in a press release. "Our first season has been undeniably successful. The management of DPAC, in addition to operating in a first-rate facility, has found the right combination and diversity of performances that attract people from throughout the region, and the numbers show that."

According to the statement, the center generated a "net income of $1,004,265, of which, pursuant to the operating agreement with the City, 40 percent, or $401,706, is to be shared with the City".

"The Durham Performing Arts Center is an asset to the City and the region, and thanks to the support of citizens, visitors, patrons and sponsors, the facility is something that we all should be proud of. With the great line up of shows, including Phantom of the Opera and Wicked for the coming season, it looks like DPAC is well on its way to continuing its success in 2010," Bell said.

Landfill gas, largely methane, is produced when organic materials in large landfills decompose. This greenhouse gas, if allowed to be released to the atmosphere, is 20 times more potent than carbon dioxide at trapping heat in the atmosphere.

Durham's project captures the gas produced at the City's closed landfill and will fuel three 20-cylinder engines to convert it into electricity. Using the gas to produce electricity is not only cost effective, but also eliminates this potent gas that otherwise is a major contributor to global warming. Ultimately, this project will generate approximately three megawatts of electricity, which is equivalent to powering about 1,900 average-sized homes annually.

"Not only does this project support Durham's green energy efforts by converting landfill gas into renewable energy, it also provides a financial benefit to our taxpayers by offsetting the costs of the required post-closure landfill monitoring," said Mayor Bell. "This is just another example of how Durham is leading the way in protecting and preserving our community's natural environment."

Under the terms of the partnership, Duke Energy will purchase the renewable energy certificates and three megawatts of renewable energy generated at the landfill.

Methane Power has made a $5 million investment in the City of Durham to construct the new facility, which will harness the landfill gas and turn it into renewable energy that will then be purchased by Duke Energy.

According to Lewis Gay, vice president of Methane Power, landfill gas is one of the most economical renewable options available in North Carolina and it uses proven technology.

"We are dedicated to providing North Carolina with as much renewable energy as possible from landfill gas," Gay said.

As Butch Davis prepares his Tar Heels for this meaningful game (The Victory Bell, bragging rights, bowl possibilities and program momentum), six Chapel Hill area organizations have united to produce the "Touch Downtown Chapel Hill" campaign with the shared goal of bolstering the community, hometown spirit and economic activity during football weekends.

"Touch Downtown Chapel Hill" strives to encourage football fans, both residents and visitors, to start early and stay late in Chapel Hill after the game ends and enjoy nearly 100 restaurants, 50 specialty stores and a mile of family cultural attractions.

According to a recent study, the 2008 North Carolina-Notre Dame football game generated $6.4 million for the Chapel Hill and Orange County economies, plus $325,000 in local and state tax revenue. With seven home games on the schedule for 2009, the total economic impact projects to be over $40 million in addition to more than $2 million in local and state tax revenue.

Chapel Hill Transit offers bus transportation from six Park & Ride lots before and after 2009 Tar Heel football games. Two lots on Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard offer Tar Heel Express service three hours before kickoff and three hours after the game with drop-off points including Franklin Street, Tar Heel Town and Kenan Stadium.

The drop-off site for all six routes is one block from Kenan Stadium and Tar Heel Town. The costs for all Tar Heel Express buses are $5 round trip and $3 one-way.

Additional information is available at 919-968-2060 or 888-968-2060 or www.TouchDowntown.com.

But despite that influx of demand for jobs, potential employers still hope to find the right candidates to fill their positions

"We're looking for folks with tax experience," John Wizner with Jackson Hewitt Tax Service said.

"We have several positions in human services like social workers, nurses, several positions in mental health," Charlene Wilkins with the County of Durham said.

Officer Greg Grayson said the Durham Police Department is also looking for qualified people.

"We're looking for sworn police officers over the age of 21," Grayson said.

Some jobs like the ones at Jackson Hewitt Tax Service are temporary positions that begin in December.

"We can use about 100 people. We have positions from office manager to receptionist," Wizner said.

Other employers including the County of Durham are looking for full-time employees now, offering salaries from $20,000 to nearly $50,000 a year. But county officials say the market is competitive.

"With the economy the way it is so many people are out of work and we're not only getting people applying for jobs that are skilled in the field, but we're also getting people skilled in other areas but also meet the requirements of the position. So it is challenging," Wilkins said.

Gwendolyn Burney said she has been applying online, but this job fair has given her a clearer idea of what employers want.

"With the Internet, you don't know who you're talking to so it's good to be face to face," Burney said.

There were about a dozen employers at the fair and nearly 1,000 people came through inquiring about jobs.

The fair was sponsored by JobLink, Durham County Library, The City of Durham and the Employment Security Commission.

"As long as I've got one person on the ballot other than myself, it's a contest," Bell said at a party held in his and other city leader's honor downtown Tuesday night.

Bell took 77 percent of the vote against one opponent in the municipal primary, Steven Williams.

"I ran in 2005. I did put my name in the hat to run but during that time I was going through a lot of personal issues. One of which - I lost twins," Williams said as he campaigned earlier in the day near a polling location. "I've been in Durham for 36 years, so it's not like I'm new. I know these streets like the back of my hand; I know this city like the back of my hand."

But now Bell gets ready for his fifth term in office. He's served eight years already and has seen the revitalization of downtown. Now he wants to see that expand to neighborhoods.

"My immediate focus is going to be on revitalizing our inner-city neighborhoods. I think that's very, very important," he said. "I'm a firm believer if you have strong neighborhoods, you have a strong city."

Bell said city staff members have identified three neighborhoods to focus on.

"Northeast central Durham has experienced the most ... in terms of economic downturn. So obviously that's very key on our agenda," he said. "We're also looking at south side, which includes Rolling Hills, South Street, Roxboro Street."

"Neighborhood revitalization is a lot tougher to do than doing downtown revitalization. Primarily because when you're talking about neighborhoods, you're talking about individual homes. That's something you have to be very sensitive to."

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According to police, the robbery occurred at the Wachovia located at 2000 West Main Street on Oct. 26.  A man entered the bank around 3 p,m. and handed a teller a note demanding money.

Witnesses say the man did not appear to have a weapon and he fled the bank with and undisclosed amount of money.

The suspect was wearing a ball cap with a design on the front, sunglasses, a brown tweed jacket and white T-shirt.  He was last seen carrying a bag similar to a laptop bag with a shoulder strap.

Anyone with information is asked to call Investigator Rogers at 560-4935, ext. 29416 or CrimeStoppers at 683-1200.

Durham residents that need help with paying their heating bills are invited to apply for Durham County's Low Income Energy Assistance Program (LIEAP), a federally-funded program that provides one-time cash payment to help eligible families pay their heating bills. This payment is usually received in February of each year. Currently, the LIEAP is accepting applications at the Durham County Department of Social Services (DSS), located at 300 N. Duke Street. The deadline to apply for the LIEAP is November 13, 2009. Telephone applications will be taken for disabled clients.

A household that applies for the LIEAP must:
- Have at least one United States citizen or non-citizen who meets the eligibility criteria.
- Meet an income test.
- Have assets at or below $2,200.
- Be responsible for its heating bills.

Energy Assistance is important to all that receive it, and especially vital if someone in the home is elderly, disabled or a young child under six years old. These persons are especially at risk for life threatening illness or death if their home is too cold in the winter or too hot in the summer.

Most current recipients of Food and Nutrition Assistance, also known as food stamps, will have applications for LIEAP automatically submitted. Therefore, this group does not need visit DSS to apply. Residents that receive food stamps and received a letter denying LIEAP eligibility are encouraged to visit DSS to apply for the LIEAP assistance. Residents with an income below 110 percent of the Federal Poverty Level are encouraged to apply by coming to the agency to complete an application. To view the 2009 Health and Human Services Poverty Guidelines, visit the United States Department of Health and Human Services' website.

Disabled clients that need to apply for the LIEAP may call to make an application at 919-560-8356. For other questions about the LIEAP program, call 919-560-8600.

About the Department of Social Services
The mission of the Durham County Department of Social Services is to partner with families and the community in achieving well being through prosperity, permanence, safety and support. Our vision is a community where families achieve well being. The Department provides economic services programs including Work First, Medicaid, Child Support, Child Day Care Subsidy and Food Stamps as well as social work services, including Child Protective Services, Foster Care, Adoption, Adult Protective Services, Group Care and Crisis Assistance. To learn more about the services and programs offered by the Department, visit the County's website.

She says state lawyers tell her there's a possibility the courts will take up the issue in the late Fall or perhaps by early January.

Perdue says she feels confident she's doing the right thing in trying to stop the releases, despite any legal repercussions that may occur as a result of her efforts.

After meeting with lawyers on Monday, she believes the state will have a compelling argument against release.

"I feel very comfortable the attorney general is moving forward to aggressively prepare a case," she said. "I hope that we can present a different set of circumstances for them to consider."

After the state Supreme Court upheld an appellate court ruling saying a 1974 law defined a life sentence as only 80 years and that former death row inmates could be set free when the courts added in good behavior credits, many were outraged.

"The state is poised to release a group of offenders who are a threat to every man, woman and child in North Carolina," said Thomas Bennett of the North Carolina Victim Assistance Network when word of the impending releases became public back on Oct. 15th.

But some of those inmates are already on the outside.

Inmate Faye Brown is a convicted murderer who is out on work release and Governor Perdue says she is OK with that.

"I've always been a big fan of work release because it's a supervised program and at night they go back to the unit," she said.

It's that concept of control and punishment for bad behavior that makes work release and parole acceptable to Governor Perdue.

"I believe folks who are on parole, who are monitored and supervised, can indeed participate in the community because there's always a set of rule and parameters," she maintained. "Nobody is just out there as a free agent. It's totally different from what we're talking about now."

"It's been about eight years in the process," said Reverend Melvin Whitley, who is a community activist in northeast central Durham. "East Durham has cleaned itself up over the years and today we've reached another milestone."

In September the dozers showed up Boone Street, but Haskell Properties got a restraining order against the city to avoid demolition. Later that month a judge lifted the order, and Durham's Neighborhood Improvements Services said the owners had until this Sunday to get everything they wanted out of the five houses.

"They've had at least three months to have done something with it," said Rick Hester, the Housing Code Administrator. "As far as I can tell, they have not done anything since we were here."

"We tried to work with them and nothing would happen."

But a civil complaint filed in court Friday suggests that Haskell Properties didn't want the houses do go down without a fight. The suit says Neighborhood Improvements Services verbally agreed to allow the owners an extension of time to comply with city housing regulations.

It reads: "Defendant, City of Durham, breached the Contract by, among other things: unilaterally cancelling the extension of time granted under the contract by authorizing and dispatching a demolition crew to Haskell Properties on September 11, 2009, to destroy said property in violation of the contract."

The owners also said they set aside the money to pay for improvements.

"[The apartments] were not up to code," Hester said. "Most of them were in such disrepair that that's why we went ahead and took them down."

"We feel like we have the legal ground and that we have all the proof and all the evidence we need to win any lawsuit."

He said the property owners will still own the land, but they will have a bill on their hands.

"The demolition bill will probably run around $60,000 to $70,000 by the time everything's done," Hester said.

Harris' new title will be the deputy assistant secretary of education for policy and strategic initiatives with the U.S. Department of Education.

Harris has been the head of the Durham public school system since July 1, 2006, when he was promoted from deputy superintendent.

"Durham is a community that truly cares about its children. I am proud that we have earned the respect and support of our community," said Harris in a prepared press release. "I am especially proud of the leaders we have in place at the district and school level. We have great classroom teachers who focus each day on improving academic achievement for all students and many other dedicated staff members who support teaching and learning. The collaboration among our leaders, teachers, staff and parents will allow Durham Public Schools to continue providing quality educational opportunities for all students."

"It is with heavy but deeply grateful hearts that the members of the Durham Public Schools Board of Education accept the resignation of Dr. Carl Harris. Dr. Harris has provided a quiet strength in his leadership of our district over the past three-and-a-half years," said Minnie Forte-Brown, Chair of the Durham Public Schools Board of Education. "Dr. Harris leaves a school system that has improved academic achievement, a significantly lower dropout rate and a slate of new schools that offer support targeted to specific student needs. Durham's loss is definitely our nation's gain. We wish him well as he takes his wisdom and his experience to Washington to improve schools across our country."

The statewide business booster's group holds a conference on environmental issues on Monday in Durham. The state Chamber of Commerce said it wants to make businesses aware of state and federal environmental legislation, as well as efforts companies are taking to become more green.

The chamber said one of the biggest looming environmental management issues affecting businesses could be water.

More than a dozen bills were introduced this year in the General Assembly to implement recommendations of a major water allocation report completed last year. They could be considered next year.

It happened at an apartment complex in the 1300 block of Hudson Avenue.

Authorities say a man was transported to Duke Hospital with gunshot wounds to his neck and hip. Both injuries are non-life threatening.

The victim's name has not been released.

The shooting is still under investigation. Anyone with information is asked to call CRIMESTOPPERS at (919) 683-1200.

The North Carolina Arts Council is accepting applications for the 2010-2011 Artist Fellowship awards until Monday. The awards are for visual arts, crafts, choreography and film or video. The award is $10,000.

The Legislature funds the program, which supports creative development of North Carolina artists and new work by them. The awards allow artists to set aside time to work and to buy supplies and equipment.

Artists who have been year-round residents of North Carolina for at least a year immediately prior to the application deadline may apply. Students are not eligible.

For more information, click here.

Employers will be on hand at the East Regional Library to interview and accept applications from job seekers.

The fair will take place from 9:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. Job seekers are advised to bring copies of their resumes and a photo ID.

The Durham Area Transit Authority will also be providing free bus passes to and from the job fair from the Durham Station Transportation Center.

"We're working with lawyers to try to be sure that we've done everything that we can do to prove that the method that was used to compute these suggested releases was wrong," said Gov. Bev Perdue.

Twenty-six men and one woman had been named eligible to be released, because 1974 law that appeared to define a life sentence as 80 years.

The list includes convicted murderers, rapists, and robbers-some of whom were originally sent to death row.

"The question becomes, do you want those folks to live next to you in an unsupervised capacity," said Perdue. "I don't, and I don't believe anyone in North Carolina does."

But some groups, including the American Civil Liberties Union of North Carolina argue that blockage of the inmates' releases is outside Perdue's authority.

"We don't object to the Governor or the Attorney General double-checking the math. But they cannot retroactively change the rules of the game. That would violate Due Process," said Jennifer Rudinger, executive director of ACLU-NC. "The Governor and the Attorney General took an oath to uphold the laws of the state as those laws were written at the time they were applied, not as they wished the laws had been written."

The Orange, Durham, Person/Caswell Drug Treatment Court Collaborative will be working to improve services for drug court participants through mental health screenings, detox, access to life skills training and job placement programs. The Freedom House Recovery Center in Chapel Hill will be the provider for the services.

Judge Beverly Scarlett who oversees the drug court said the services are vital to getting people back on their feet.

"If we can create a better person who would not be prone to engage in those bahaviors, we don't have to worry about filling up the jail so quickly and releasing people who have not been treated," said Judge Scarlett.

The Collaborative will target 459 adults for enhanced and expanded drug treatment court services in the next three years.