Latest news with #LocalLimelight
Axios
09-07-2025
- Business
- Axios
Local Limelight with Michael Laut of Raleigh's Laut Design
Michael Laut was just a junior in college when he decided to start his own industrial design firm inside his cramped apartment near N.C. State, using a table as a workbench instead of a place to eat. Why it matters: Now, 18 years later, his firm Laut Design has traded the apartment for a modern workshop in Northwest Raleigh, with a team of more than 20 designers and staff. Laut now makes products and graphic designs for some of the biggest companies in the country, like Bayer and Pepsi, and local favorites like Burt's Bees and Murphy's Naturals. We talked with Laut for our latest Local Limelight conversation. This Q&A has been edited for length and clarity. 🪖 How did you end up in the Triangle? My dad was a foot and ankle surgeon in the Army, fixing up the 82nd Airborne paratroopers after hard landings, so I grew up on Fort Bragg. My extended family moved to Southern Pines and I stayed in Raleigh after attending N.C. State's College of Design. 🧆 Favorite place to eat in the Triangle? Recently, Ajja, near Five Points. My assistant turned me on to it and it's become a definite favorite. 🌳 What do you think the Triangle is missing? We need our government leaders to stop selling our green spaces out from under us. Raleigh should be outraged about Lake Crabtree. Green spaces are a huge part of what makes Raleigh amazing. 📲 What's your first read in the morning? The Daily Stoic newsletter, followed very quickly by a flurry of company updates in email. 📚 Last great book you read? I re-read — or listen to — the Ian Fleming (James Bond) novels on a rolling basis, and " Every Tool's a Hammer" by Adam Savage is a semi-recent favorite. 🎧 Do you have a go-to podcast? I'm big into mountain biking, and you can't beat The Pinkbike Podcast for that. 🏝️ Favorite place to go for a long weekend? Big Pine Key, Florida. If you know, you know. 🔨 How do you unplug at the end of the day? My garage is full of the best tools and machinery I've collected throughout my career in making things (so far...) and is absolutely my happy place at home. My favorite evenings are spent in there with my wife and two kids. 🐶 Do you have any pets? Opal, our English black Lab, has been the shop dog since 2013. ✏️ Any advice on breaking into the design industry? No hiding. Designers who shy away from the tough skills — sketching, complex surfacing, fabrication and materials knowledge — only fool themselves. It all comes out in the interview, or worse yet, during the first weeks on the job. Lean into the hard part and ask for help.
Axios
16-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Axios
Local Limelight: Donovan Zimmerman of the Paperhand Puppet project
For more than two decades, the artists Donovan Zimmerman and Jan Burger have used fantastical puppetry to captivate audiences and promote environmentalism across North Carolina. Why it matters: The Paperhand Puppet Project — which Zimmerman and Burger co-founded in 1998 — is now one of the Triangle's most iconic and unique artistic endeavors, mixing music and acting with intricate handmade masks, dreamlike sets and giant puppets. Driving the news: The nonprofit arts organization will take over Chapel Hills' Forest Theatre this summer to unveil its 25th play, "The Gift," which explores the wisdom of grandmothers as well as how water influences the world. It features a collaboration with Jaki Shelton Green, the state's poet laureate, and singer and songwriter Dawn Landes. What they're saying: "I think the common thread [of our plays] is that Jan and I both share a real healthy sense of wonder when it comes to like looking at the phenomenon and the miracles of this earth," Zimmerman, 55, told Axios. "I think we try to bring people back that sense of interconnectedness [with nature] because I think that there's a real tendency to feel disconnected in our busy modern lives." What's next: " The Gift," will be shown at the Forest Theatre every weekend between Aug. 8 and Sept. 28. Tickets are now on sale. We talked with Zimmerman for our latest Local Limelight conversation. The Q&A has been edited for Smart Brevity. 🚗 How did you end up in the Triangle? I fell in love with my wife-to-be and we are still together on the piece of land we bought. That was probably around 1991. I had been traveling around a lot, living in Oregon and in Connecticut. One of those times coming through here I met Lea and I canceled my other plans and stayed here. 🍛 Favorite place to eat in the Triangle? Vimala's Curryblossom Cafe in Chapel Hill. She provides food for our whole cast every Saturday during our run of shows. 📖 What is the last great book you read? " Is a River Alive?" by Robert Macfarlane. 🗣️Why are the arts important to a city? I see it as a basic need, like people need food. I don't think we want to live in a society that doesn't have artists reflecting the world back to us in beautiful, interesting and compelling ways that enrich our existence here. 💸 What is the Triangle missing? Prioritizing funding artistic endeavors like we do sporting events. 🐶 How do you unplug? I hang out in my yard, pet my dog Koki and eat mulberries off the big old mulberry tree in my front yard. Or I go swimming in a pond that's just adjacent to our land.
Axios
06-05-2025
- Politics
- Axios
Local Limelight with Wake County Sen. Sydney Batch
State Sen. Sydney Batch, a Triangle native, is North Carolina's first Black female minority leader in her chamber. Why it matters: Since she burst onto the political scene when she won her race for a Wake County House seat in 2018's blue wave, Batch has become a rising star in her party and made a rapid ascent in the ranks of state politics. She assumed one of the most powerful positions in North Carolina politics in December, when Senate Democrats ousted political giant and longtime lawmaker Sen. Dan Blue as minority leader and installed Batch in his place. We talked with Batch for our latest Local Limelight conversation. The Q&A has been edited for Smart Brevity. 🥩 Favorite place to eat in the Triangle? Oak Steakhouse or Salsa Fresh. 🏀 What do you think the Triangle is missing? Another professional sports team. 🤳 What's your first read in the morning? Text messages. 📖 Last great book you read?" The Good Lord Bird" by James McBride. 🎧 Go-to podcast?" How Stuff Works." ⛱️ Favorite place to go for a long weekend? The beach, and if she had to pick one: Carolina Beach. 🎓 How did you end up in the Triangle? Batch grew up in Chapel Hill and has three degrees from UNC-Chapel Hill, including a law degree and master's in social work. After graduation, she founded Raleigh law firm Batch, Poore & Williams with her husband. "It would fundamentally change people's lives," Batch said. What's something you're looking forward to, unrelated to politics/your work? Going on family vacation with her extended family in Cancun this summer. How do you unplug at the end of the day? Putting a jigsaw puzzle together while watching a TV show.
Axios
29-04-2025
- Politics
- Axios
Local Limelight with Wake County Rep. Mike Schietzelt
North Carolina state Rep. Mike Schietzelt is one of just two Republicans who represent Wake County in the General Assembly. Why it matters: Schietzelt, a Marine Corps veteran and attorney, is serving his first term in House District 35, which stretches across much of the northern part of the county. We talked with Schietzelt for our latest Local Limelight conversation. The Q&A has been edited for Smart Brevity. What made you decide to run for office? After being recruited by Republican House leadership, "I felt like I was a good fit for my district. I'm not an overwhelmingly ideological person," Schietzelt said. "I don't feel like there are a lot of people advocating the needs for our suburbs." 🍖 Favorite place to eat in the Triangle? Backyard BBQ Pit and Hog Heaven Bar-B-Q, both in Durham. 🛣️ What do you think the Triangle is missing? A freeway connecting Raleigh to Wake Forest. "There is a huge missed opportunity right now" with the state "dragging its feet" on expanding U.S. 1, Schietzelt said. "Now we're talking about converting it into a toll road, which would unfortunately cut us off from some of the best opportunities we have in terms of economic growth." 💡 What's your first read in the morning? The Bible, or emails. 📚 Last great book you read? Ralph Ketcham's biography of James Madison and " Confident Pluralism" by John Inazu. 🎧 Go-to podcast? " Do Politics Better" or " Tying It Together" with Tim Boyum. 🎣 Favorite place to go for a long weekend? Banner Elk, or somewhere "I can sit around without Wi-Fi" to do a little hiking and fishing. 🐶 Do you have any pets? Atlas, who turns 14 in a few weeks. 🤓 How did you end up in the Triangle? Duke University's law school, which he attended after years of traveling the country as a professional trumpet player. ✍️ If you could pass any law, what would it be? Ratifying the Convention of States. His non-serious answer: Everyone should watch the 1994 film "PCU," a comedy on political correctness. ⛳️ What's something you're looking forward to, unrelated to politics or your work? "Sleeping at some point," Schietzelt said. But really: Getting out to play a round of golf. 🥹 How do you unplug at the end of the day? Putting the kids (he has four) to sleep.
Axios
15-04-2025
- Politics
- Axios
Local Limelight with The Atlantic's David A. Graham
Every day, journalist and Durham resident David A. Graham gets up and tries to make sense of the world of politics as a staff writer at The Atlantic and writer of the magazine's daily newsletter. Driving the news: His new book, " The Project: How Project 2025 Is Reshaping America," out on April 22, attempts to unpack how President Trump's second term in office could reshape the U.S. The book takes a deep dive into Project 2025, a nearly 1,000-page document published by the conservative think tank The Heritage Foundation, and its influence on the White House. What they're saying: Graham said he doesn't believe most voters knew much about Project 2025 when they voted. "Democrats basically treated it as a talking point (and in some notable cases misrepresented it)," Graham told Axios. "Donald Trump tried to hide from it. But the full scope of what Project 2025 wanted to achieve and the methods it laid out to do so never really broke through." You can read an excerpt from the book over at The Atlantic. You can also catch Graham chatting about the book with New York Times columnist Frank Bruni at Flyleaf Books in Chapel Hill on April 29. We talked with Graham for our latest Local Limelight conversation. The Q&A has been edited for Smart Brevity. 🎓 How did you end up in the Triangle? I went to Duke and left after graduation but returned for my wife's job. 🐝 What's your first read in the morning? Axios Raleigh! (Well, really The New York Times Spelling Bee, but after that…) 🍽️ Favorite place to eat in the Triangle? Ideal's for lunch and Littler for dinner. (RIP Honey's.) 🍻 How do you unplug at the end of the day? A good beer and hanging out with my kids ✈️ What do you think the Triangle is missing? Direct public transit from RDU to Durham, and some really good pho.
