The Wachovia Foundation has awarded a $10,000 grant to The Rex Hospital Foundation to support the renovation and expansion of Rex Cancer Center. The improvements to Rex Cancer Center will encompass the values long associated with Rex: high-quality care with the best technologies and clinicians available; a supportive and nurturing environment for the patient and family; and a focus on the whole person. Some of these improvements include: Expanded space for new medical equipment and medical treatments; a state-of-the-art linear accelerator and tomotherapy system, increased space for the cancer resource center and touch-screen kiosks for patient education.

Rex Cancer Center is devoted to preventing and treating cancer through cutting-edge therapies and individualized patient care. At the foundation of Rex Cancer Center are outstanding radiation oncology and hematology/oncology services. Rex provides cancer patients and their families with educational programs, screening programs, complimentary workshops, support groups and individual counseling. Rex diagnoses 1,800 new cancer cases each year. About 850 to 900 of these patients will come to Rex for cancer treatment, with 4,000 chemo treatments and more than 16,000 radiation treatments. Rex Cancer Center has been designated by the American College of Surgeons as a nationally accredited comprehensive community cancer center

Read More:CarolinaNewsWire

RALEIGH – A group of private investors has partnered to buy an office building at a marquee intersection, hoping an Earth-friendly renovation will reduce operating costs and lure tenants willing to pay more for green digs.The group, which includes three Greensboro partnerships and one from Durham, last week paid a partnership led by Mark Properties $3 million for the Navigant building, county property records show. Known for its time-and-temperature display, the building is at U.S. 70 and Creedmoor Road.

It’s the latest deal on a corner across from Crabtree Valley Mall, an area where developers are planning several buildings, including one under construction that would be among the region’s tallest.

The project is expected to meet the standards of the U.S. Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, or LEED, rating system.

Details of the 32,000-square-foot renovation are being worked out, said Greg Sanchez, a partner in the ownership and president of Durham commercial real estate services firm Tri Properties, which will manage the building and conduct the renovation.

To meet LEED standards, the renovation would incorporate environmentally friendly construction practices and energy-saving design, which lower operating costs. The LEED designation could attract tenants willing to pay a premium for green offices. “A lot of tenants want to be in an energy-efficient building,” Sanchez said.

Read More:News & Observer

It was a trying year for N.C. State basketball coach Sidney Lowe. The Pack finished 15-16 in his second season, closing with nine straight losses. There also were serious issues he had to deal with away from basketball. On Thursday, Lowe talked with staff writer Chip Alexander.Q: What do you think N.C. State fans want from you and the basketball program?

A: I think they want a winner. Bottom line, they want a winner. With the tradition and history we’ve had, the national championships, we’ve had runs where we’ve really been good consistently, year in and year out, and I think they want to get back to that point. So that every year they know we’re going to be in the hunt. Whether it’s in the hunt for the ACC championship or in the hunt for the NCAA.

Q: Every year is a big year for a coach, but in your mind how big is next year for you given this past season?

A: It’s a very important year. They’re all important, but any time you’re coming off of a tough year that next year is important. But I think you still have to keep things in perspective, in terms of where you are and what you’re trying to do.

It’s like injury situations. If Farnold [Degand] doesn’t get hurt last year, who knows what we would have done this past year and we wouldn’t be discussing having a tough year. So we have to be healthy. But it’s an important year. It’s important because, you know what, we don’t want to come back and duplicate what we did this year.

I know a lot of people were disappointed this year. I know my AD [athletic director Lee Fowler] was disappointed. But I’ll tell you that no one hurt more than I did.

Q: You had so much happen in the last year away from basketball [Lowe’s father died and his mother suffered a heart attack. Lowe’s oldest son, Sidney II, still must face felony charges of kidnapping, possessing drugs and armed robbery stemming from a shooting incident last March in Greensboro]. Did that affect any basketball duties, practice time, game preparation, recruiting, your concentration, anything like that last season?

A: Not really. Because I’ve always been this way, and I try to tell my players the same thing, that when I have something to do, that’s what I’m focused on. This is my job and this is going to take precedence right now.

I never, ever, bring a personal situation to work. Anyone who has been around me will tell you, inside I’m going to be dying but you’re going to get the same smile, get the same hello, the same greeting. I don’t do that. I don’t think it’s right to bring your personal life to work with you and have other people have to adjust to your mood that day. I don’t think that’s right.

So, no, it didn’t. When I got away from the office, I dealt with that. But I still watched the same amount of film, had the same meetings, the same everything. I kept it the same.

Q: How rough has the year been? Has it almost been too much for you to stand at times?

A: It’s been a very rough year. My dad passing, certainly that was very tough on me. But I thought about the good times. My dad lived a long life and was a great father. In the background, not saying too much, but proud and wore his N.C. State hat everywhere he went.

Q: A lot of people were concerned about you because of your dad’s death, but also because of your son. …

A: And that means a lot. So many people have come to me and expressed themselves to me and it means a lot. You worry, but that’s when I get away from it. I can’t say [the job] is therapy for me but this is my focus. I have one son there and I have 13 or 14 here. I just came to work and never let it interfere with my work

Read More:News & Observer

(ARA) – Dogs and cats and fish, oh my! More than 63 percent of American households own a pet today, which equates to 71.1 million homes and a whopping 382.2 million pets, according to a recent American Pet Products Manufacturers Association survey of pet owners. So are Fluffy and Fido just hanging out at home, or are they going to work with their human companions?Pets, it seems, are showing up in the workplace more than ever, with 30 percent of employers allowing workers to bring pets to the office, according to a recent consumer survey commissioned by The HON company, a leading designer and manufacturer of office furniture. Of those who actually bring their pets to work, the majority of Americans bring dogs (24 percent), followed by fish (12 percent) and cats (8 percent).

Dog Days in the Office
Visitors to The Warehouse Office Furniture Mart, a Cincinnati-based contract furnishing dealership that sells HON office furniture, can expect to be greeted by a couple of unusual “customer service representatives” when they enter the showroom. Jake and Woody, Labrador Retrievers owned by the company’s president, Jack Keane, can be seen daily at the dealership.

Since 2000, Keane has encouraged employees to bring in any well-behaved pet to spend the day in the company of the dealership’s staff and customers. He even encourages customers to bring their dogs along when they visit the showroom.

The affable and quite mannerly pair – often referred to as the “star customer relations team” – spend their days tethered on long leads in the 15,000-square-foot showroom’s office area. This arrangement allows them plenty of interaction with dog-loving customers but keeps them out of the way of the handful of those a little more canine-wary.

“We’ve had at least 95 percent positive feedback on Jake and Woody’s daily presence,” Keane says of the boys.

Keane’s business isn’t alone in cultivating a pet-friendly atmosphere. A recent search online at Simply Hired (www.simplyhired.com), an online job search engine, turned up 8,100 open jobs at pet-friendly companies, including natural candidates like PetSmart and IAMS Pet Food; but also big names such as Google, Amazon.com and even Dartmouth College.

There are other benefits to having pets in the office – millions of Americans believe pets on the job lower absenteeism and encourage workers to get along, according to responses from both the American Pet Products Manufacturers Association and HON surveys.

Keane feels having Jake and Woody in the showroom actually helps build top-of-mind awareness for his business, too.

“People definitely remember our showroom,” he says. “It’s a great way to reach out to customers, especially dog lovers, and make ourselves stand out from the competition.,”

For more information on The HON Company, please visit  www.HON.com .