DURHAM — North Carolina is ahead of the curve in gearing the economy toward the future, Vice President Joe Biden told state residents Thursday.

Biden toured CREE Inc. — a LED lighting manufacturing company that received tax credits through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act in January — and discussed the need for replicating the company’s success across the country.

CREE hired 375 workers as a result of the stimulus funds, exemplifying President Barack Obama’s administration’s focus on creating more clean-energy manufacturing jobs for the middle class.

North Carolina is already facing shortages of medical doctors, dentists and pharmacists, and medical professionals say the shortage is predicted to become more severe in coming years.

Clarification (March 18 12:38 a.m): This story includes a breakdown of four U.S. Senate candidates’ positions on health care reform. The breakdown does not include the positions for seven other candidates who have filed in the race but are not considered major contenders.

As concerns grow about greenhouse gas emissions, universities are pouring resources into maintaining an environmentally friendly image.

But those universities are often the greatest contributors to the problems that they are trying to solve.

The search for UNC-system President Erskine Bowles’ successor officially launched Thursday.

At a special Board of Governors meeting, Chairwoman Hannah Gage explained the procedure set out in 1997, with three committees made up mostly of board members.

Liberal arts majors remain popular, even in a tough job market, according to a recent survey conducted by the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.

The survey’s findings are reflected in the UNC student body: 70 percent of undergraduate students are declared as liberal arts majors.

The extended winter season and high amounts of snow this year have affected the state in several ways, for better or for worse.

State departments reported losses of money, time and agricultural production because of the weather.

Clearing roads costs money

UNC-system President Erskine Bowles has had numerous North Carolinians try to tell him how to do his job since he took office in 2006.

Now that he’s stepping down, those people will have their chance to shape who his successor will be.

Duke University’s Board of Trustees announced Saturday a 3.9 percent undergraduate tuition increase for the 2010-11 school year. This tuition increase brings the total yearly cost to$51,865 for Duke undergraduate students.

RALEIGH — Hundreds of people gathered at Shaw University on Saturday, chanting and singing hymns to promote education reform for the state.

The Historic Thousands on Jones Street event, also known as HK on J, is an annual march to the state legislature led by the N.C. NAACP to present its 14-point agenda.

This year, the crowd focused on education reform and protested against the resegregation of public schools.

The 2010 election season is underway in North Carolina as candidates prepare for the May 4 primaries.

The deadline for candidates seeking elected offices to file with state and county election boards was Friday.

The Association of Student Governments is meeting in Greensboro this weekend to continue its discussion on tuition.

At the UNC-system Board of the Governors meeting in February, ASG presented 20,000 student signatures petitioning against the state-mandated tuition increase instituted by the N.C. General Assembly last summer.

Two North Carolina universities are launching programs that will help students earn their undergraduate degrees in three years.

UNC-Greensboro and Mount Olive College officials said the  programs will help students save money and get an early start on their plans for graduate school.

UNC students are partnering with the U.S. Census Bureau to encourage their peers to participate in the 2010 U.S. Census.

Populations that move frequently tend to have low response rates on census forms. College students, who often change residences every year, fall into this category.