Durham group to hear why saving the past is profitable

Donovan Rypkema will speak on the economics of historic preservation at the annual leadership lecture sponsored by Preservation Durham later this month.

Rypkema, who heads the real estate consulting firm PlaceEconomics in Washington, will speak at noon Jan. 21; reservations must be made by Monday.

The lecture is a follow-up to one given last year by Joe Riley, mayor of Charleston, S.C., who spoke about why preservation matters to communities. Rypkema will show why preservation is profitable.

The lecture will take place at the American Tobacco Campus Bay No. 7. The cost is $45 and covers lunch. RSVP: 682-3036 or www.preservationdurham.org.

EX-AMBADDADOR TO SPEAK ON 'MANDELA MOMENT'

James A. Joseph, a former U.S. ambassador to South Africa who is now a public policy professor at Duke University, will speak Wednesday evening at United Church of Chapel Hill.

Joseph served as ambassador to South Africa from January 1996 to November 1999 and was the first and only U.S. ambassador to present his credentials to President Nelson Mandela. His reflection on Barack Obama's election was titled "A Mandela Moment in the United States." Much of his work now is with emerging leaders in southern Africa through his joint appointment at Duke and the University of Cape Town.

Joseph will speak at 6:30 p.m. For more information, call 942-3540 or see www.unitedchurch.org.

HISTORIAN TO DISCUSS IRONCLAD BATTLE

Noted historian Ed Bearss will give a talk titled "The Battle of the Ironclads: USS Monitor vs. CSS Virginia" during an event organized by the Raleigh Civil War Round Table on Saturday.

The talk will be held in the Browne-McPherson Music Building at Peace College in downtown Raleigh. Tickets are $10 apiece, and doors open at 12:30 p.m.

For more information, visit the Web site Raleighcwrt.org or call 649-3342.