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OK. So it's not the healthiest food. But when has airport food ever been healthy?
Piedmont Triad International Airport is going for the next best thing with its new food courts, which feature name brands like Dunkin Donuts, Pizza hut, Haagen Dazs, Quiznos, Sam Adams Brewhouse and Nathan's Famous hot dogs.
The brands will be spread between the food courts on the north and south concourses.
The airport formally opened the food courts Wednesday. They were renovated for $1.5 million and Creative Host will operate them.
Henry Isaacson, chairman of the Piedmont Triad Airport Authority, said at a recent meeting he hopes the restaurants will stay open until the lights go out after the last flight at night.

The downtown mystery project now has a name - The Greensboro Triumph Center - a larger footprint and a higher price tag of $300 million, according to details obtained by the News & Record.

Read the full story here.

As part of its anniversary celebration, Friendly Center is offering a major promotion and drawing starting Sunday.

Until Aug. 31, shoppers can register to win prizes such as:

A $100 gift certificates from Carlyle & Co., Harper's Restaurant, Leon's Style Salon, GameStop and Toys & Co.

An 18-carat gold ring with diamond baguettes, valued at $1,895, from Schiffman's Jewelers.

An 18-inch Akoya pearl necklace from Belk.

A Friendly Center shopping spree that includes a gift certificate for $1,957 (the amount corresponds to the year the center opened) and one night at the O. Henry Hotel.

A number of other retailers and restaurants also are taking part. Visit individual stores and eateries to find out what they're offering and to register.

Winners will be notified starting Sept. 4, after a drawing.

GREENSBORO - A merger agreement between RF Micro Devices Inc. and Sirenza Microdevices could create the world's largest company dealing with radio frequency components for cell phones and other wireless devices.

Greensboro-based RFMD announced today that it has signed a merger agreement with Broomfield, Colo.-based Sirenza. The approximately $900-million deal - $300 million in cash with the balance in stock - has been approved by the boards of both companies and is expected to close by Dec. 29. It is subject to shareholder and regulatory approval.

RFMD President and CEO Bob Bruggeworth will remain at the helm of the combined company. Bob Van Buskirk, president and chief executive officer at Sirenza, will relocate to North Carolina and lead RFMD's new multi-market products group. After the deal closes, the combined company's board likely will include nine members from RFMD and only two from Sirenza.

"Our two businesses are highly complementary in terms of customers, markets, products and manufacturing expertise, and our combination will create an RF market leader with breadth, scale and capabilities that are unrivalled," Bruggeworth said in a news release.

Sirenza has operations in China, Germany and the United States and develops wireless components for consumers, along with equipment for aerospace, defense and homeland security.

GREENSBORO - The center city saw an estimated $110 million in renovations and new construction in fiscal year 2006-07, Downtown Greensboro Inc. said in its annual report.

The nonprofit group said an additional $345 million in projects are under consideration.

Downtown additions included 26 new businesses and 77 new residential units, with nearly 500 more under construction.

The report said DGI is working with several developers who are considering projects that, if built, would add an additional 600 housing units and several hundred thousand square feet of commercial space.

Robert W. Standen was named president of Key Risk Insurance Co. and its affiliate, Key Risk Management Services Inc., headquartered in Greensboro, the company said Tuesday.
The company employs 325 people, most of whom work in the Greensboro headquarters, a company spokeswoman said.
Key Risk Management Services is a member of the W. R. Berkley Corp., a publicly traded insurance holding company.
Key Risk also operates regional offices throughout the Southeast .

AT&T North Carolina has agreed to improve its rebate program for Internet customers, according to an announcement today from the N.C. Attorney General's office.

The telecommunications provider, which recently announced plans to bulk up its infrastructure in North Carolina and expand its wireless coverage here, has agreed to provide DSL-related rebates to eligible N.C. consumers within 60 days of receiving a paper or electronic rebate claim. AT&T also has promised to keep detailed records of rebate complaints from the state's consumers.

Since January of last year, the attorney general's office has received 16 complaints from AT&T customers who experienced problems with rebates for DSL service. Those complaints have since been resolved.

AT&T, which absorbed Cingular last year, also is in the process of adding new cell sites throughout the Triad, as part of a three-year investment of more than $530 million. Areas included in the enhanced wireless rollout are throughout Greensboro, along Highway 52 north of Winston-Salem, along Interstate 40 between Winston and Statesville, north of Burlington in growing residential areas, Clemmons and along Interstate 85 in the Lexington area.

Fresno, Calif.-based staffing operation PrideStaff hopes to open three offices in the Triad market within the next year as part of an aggressive growth plan.

The company has not yet announced specific locations for its planned local franchises, a spokeswoman said Wednesday. But PrideStaff has identified local staffing as an industry worth about $540 million per year, with nearly 13,000 temporary workers employed in the Greensboro-Winston-Salem market daily.

PrideStaff was founded in 1978 and currently runs 39 offices throughout the country, including locations in Charlotte and Raleigh. The full-service commercial staffing company plans to double that number of offices within the next three years.

RF Micro Devices has signed a worldwide distribution deal with Minnesota-based Digi-Key to sell its wireless chip products, according to an Aug. 30 post by electronicsweekly.com.

The report said that Digi-Key will have enough inventory of RF products to provide enough chips for its customers to manufacture wireless products or to create prototypes.