A panel of pros pick the North Carolina stocks they think will perform best in 2012.

Mooneyham: Over the last decade, the clamor and downright demagoguery surrounding North Carolina’s gasoline tax rival that of any topic in state politics.

Up Front: I have a special place in my heart for newspapers. I grew up the son of a newspaperman.

Chiquita Brands International Inc. is moving its headquarters  from Cincinnati to Charlotte this year.

Two eastern North Carolina wind-farm projects are having trouble shooting the breeze.

The U.S.-Korea Free Trade Agreement threatens 10,626 textile jobs in the 6th Congressional District — more than any other district in the state — according to Public Citizen Inc., a Washington, D.C.-based consumer advocacy group

Rachel Weeks, 27, did something radical last year. The CEO of Durham-based School House Inc., which makes high-end college apparel, moved manufacturing from Sri Lanka to North Carolina — swimming against the current of companies moving production offshore.

Labor eyes public employees to bolster ranks that, though they are weak, still stir strong opposition.

Gearino: What’s the functional difference between a tax-funded federal stimulus program and Duke Energy Corp.’s recent rate-hike request?

Alcoa battles government officials over hydropower on the Yadkin River, and Badin is caught in the middle.

Annie’s Bakery Inc. is expanding faster than a loaf of semolina sesame bread — one of its specialties — left to rise in a warm spot.

2012 Legal Elite winner: Young Guns (Best Under 40) - J. CHRISTIAN STEVENSON, Kirk Palmer & Thigpen PA, Charlotte

2012 Legal Elite winner: Tax / Estate Planning - GRAHAM D. HOLDING JR., Robinson, Bradshaw & Hinson PA, Charlotte

2012 Legal Elite winner: Real Estate - GEORGE W. SISTRUNK III, Hamilton Stephens Steele & Martin PLLC, Charlotte

2012 Legal Elite winner: Litigation - DANIEL L. BRAWLEY, Williams Mullen, Wilmington

2012 Legal Elite winner: Intellectual Property - E. ERIC MILLS, Ward and Smith PA, New Bern

2012 Legal Elite winner: Family - D. CALDWELL BAREFOOT JR., Barefoot Family Law, Raleigh

2012 Legal Elite winner: Environmental - WILLIAM CLARKE, Roberts & Stevens PA, Asheville

2012 Legal Elite winner: Employment - N. RENEE HUGHES, Gardner & Hughes PLLC, Charlotte

2012 Legal Elite winner: Criminal - LOCKE T. CLIFFORD, Clifford Clendenin & O’Hale LLP, Greensboro

2012 Legal Elite winner: Corporate Counsel - LISA D. INMAN, Waste Industries USA Inc., Raleigh

2012 Legal Elite winner: Construction - WILLIAM H. GAMMON, Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough LLP, Raleigh

2012 Legal Elite winner: Business - AMALIE L. TUFFIN, Whitmeyer Tuffin PLLC, Raleigh

2012 Legal Elite winner: Bankruptcy - KENNETH M. GREENE, Carruthers & Roth PA, Greensboro

2012 Legal Elite winner: Antitrust - JONATHAN HEYL, Smith Moore Leatherwood LLP, Charlotte

Call it payback: Here’s what some of the state’s best lawyers are doing to make their communities a better place to live.