A UNC Charlotte economist says a minor-league ballpark in uptown Charlotte would generate $66.4 million and create 749 jobs in Mecklenburg County if it’s open by 2014. 

Martin Marietta launched an unsolicited bid in December for Birmingham, Ala.-based Vulcan, which is suing Martin Marietta, contending that its use of confidential information in an unfriendly takeover bid was the pits.

Leading up to the 2012 Democratic National Convention in Charlotte, the host committee kept saying fundraising was “right on track.” But somewhere along the line it ran off the rails.

Capital Goods: Republican Pat McCrory breaks the so-called Charlotte curse by winning the governor's race.

Up Front: Time is money when it comes to medical care.

The Best Doctors in North Carolina by specialty.

The Triad recently became the only region with five of the state’s 10 largest health systems after Carolinas HealthCare System and UNC Health Care made inroads there.

Small Business of the Year Runner-up: Prima Tech USA Inc. is the nation’s largest maker and distributor of animal-health applicators.

Free & Clear: The expected tax-reform battle might not end up being much of a battle at all.

Patients are willing to pay a premium to get extra time from physicians at concierge medical practices.

Small Business of the Year: In a bleak economy, our Small Business of the Year, Johnson Nursery Corp., relieved its growing pains by making color count.

Small Business of the Year Runner-up: Fuentek LLC is based on a simple premise: Brilliant minds often have tunnel vision. Potentially lucrative findings and inventions collect dust at academic institutions and government agencies because their creators don’t envision their commercial viability.

Small Business of the Year Runner-up: Powder-coating company New Finish is expanding in Norwood.

A bid to bring minor-league baseball to the banks of the Cape Fear River in downtown Wilmington struck out with voters in November, when they rejected the use of public money to build a $37 million stadium for an Atlanta Braves affiliate.

Crescent Financial Services has been growing through acquisitions.

Superstorm Sandy was a nasty trick for the East Coast, but what it brought to North Carolina’s mountains was a treat for the ski industry.

Capital Goods: The fishing industry in North Carolina faces a lot of uncertainty these days, and it does so without a dedicated champion in the legislature.

Up Front: Business North Carolina's readers are an erudite bunch.

Red Oak Brewery's CEO says a state law requiring beer makers to turn all of their distribution over to wholesalers if they produce more than 25,000 31-gallon barrels in a year has stymied his expansion plans.

The economy is better, but top contractors are still suffering in the recession's wake.