Nearly 13,000 attendees at the 30th annual Hog Day festival feasted on barbecue.

The smell of about 3500 pounds of smoking pork will fill the air in River Park in Hillsborough this weekend.

With the 2012-13 fiscal year approaching, Chapel Hill, Hillsborough, Orange County and Carrboro’s officials are making the final adjustments to their budget proposals.

Orange County Democrats jumped on board this weekend to support a sales tax increase that could determine the fate of a proposed light rail connecting Chapel Hill and Durham.

March is national nutrition month, but for Orange County officials and organizations, making healthy food more affordable and accessible is a year-round project.

During a sting operation conducted last week, officers from Chapel Hill, Carrboro and Hillsborough caught six retailers who willingly sold alcohol to minors. Followed by several undercover officers, three volunteer underage buyers — college students from a local community college criminal justice program — went to 31 stores across the county and attempted to purchase alcoholic beverages on March 8.

For a quarter of a century, Hillsborough has showcased its history and its holiday spirit through its annual Candlelight Home Tour — and this Sunday, the tradition continues.

Chapel Hill now stands alone in the county in its strict regulation of food trucks.

Billy Swann’s favorite part about coming to work every day is simply getting to do his job. He works as a janitor at the OE Enterprises building and at a consignment shop in Hillsborough.

A 1977 graduate of UNC, Michael Brown is the creator of many of the town’s beloved murals, including the sea turtles on Columbia Street and the marching parade in Porthole Alley.

Local food producers will soon have a more cost-efficient way to bring their products to consumers’ plates.

The Hillsborough Town Board is trying to alleviate an old traffic congestion problem with a new, technology-driven approach. On Monday, the town began a weeklong survey of traffic on Churton Street, the main downtown roadway, using Bluetooth technology.

Evelyn Poole-Kober believes that everyone should have a peaceful place to rest, even after death.

With six days left for potential public servants to file for November’s election, the field still lacks true competition.

Cyetesse Cotton has been getting her teeth cleaned at the same place for more than 40 years.

Although the November elections are still months away, Hillsborough Mayor Tom Stevens announced his decision to run for a fourth term Monday.

After cooking for 12 hours and serving barbecue samples for another five, Jeff Whitney looked forward to going home, taking a nap and eating a salad.

The Orange County Board of Commissioners took the first steps toward closing the county’s landfill by passing a $5 tipping fee increase Tuesday night. Revenue generated from the increase — which County Manager Frank Clifton said would be between $50,000 and $60,000 per year — will be used to fund remediation payments to the Rogers Road community that has housed the landfill for almost 40 years. Commissioner Valerie Foushee emphasized the need for the board to move forward rather than revisit past options. “(The Rogers Road residents) don’t have 30 more years to keep living through this,” she said.

UNC Health Care broke ground on its first satellite campus Wednesday, a move intended to alleviate patient overcrowding at the main campus.

Hillsborough could get a train station if the state approves a request for funding.The town Board of Commissioners voted unanimously Monday night to send a letter to the North Carolina Department of Transportation requesting a portion of newly available federal funds for a rail station to be constructed at Orange Grove Street.