A legal advocacy group has asked a Wake County judge to stop the pending closure of Dorothea Dix Hospital as federal regulators opened an investigation at the new state mental hospital in Butner.

More than 30 doctors and psychologists from Dorothea Dix Hospital have sent a letter to their bosses protesting the pending move to a new facility in Butner as premature and risky.

The bulk of the mental hospital's patients will move to a new facility in Butner dogged by safety concerns and technical glitches.

But standards for new hospital not met; critics cite safety.

The first patients were moved into a new state mental hospital in Butner on Monday, ending nearly a year of worries and delays about when the $130 million facility would open.

A last-minute change in the state budget approved Tuesday will make it easier to open a mental hospital in Butner and quickly close Dorothea Dix Hospital in Raleigh.

Hospital workers want to delay the pending closure of Dorothea Dix Hospital because of concerns about staffing shortfalls and design flaws with a new facility in Butner.

A top psychiatrist going to UNC-CH.

Kenneth Earl White, accused of killing a pregnant neighbor, will be evaluated.

Workers at state mental hospitals say they're not getting all the pay they are owed and face a confusing morass of finger-pointing when they try to get their wages.

Keeping Dix open tops a list of protesters' demands. They also want better pay and staffing increases they say are necessary to improve safety.

The state said Monday that it will again delay moving patients into a new mental hospital in Butner by a month.

Two panels appointed by the Easley administration to review the state's mental health system have filed scathing reports that call for reversing bungled reforms, saying deep cuts to hospital beds and treatment have endangered lives.

The elected officers representing the medical doctors and psychologists at Dorothea Dix Hospital presented their bosses with a formal letter Friday protesting the impending closure of Dix and the move of patients and staff to the new Central Regional Hospital.

They came from across the state to demand safer spaces, more money.

A mental patient with a violent criminal history escaped from Dorothea Dix Hospital on Thursday, amid concerns about whether the state facility is adequately staffed to supervise patients.

Advocates say closing hospitals is a mistake -- and people with mental illnesses need a voice.

Design and staffing problems will again delay the opening of a $120 million state psychiatric hospital, at least until July 1.

DHHS seeks outside help to improve mental hospitals and set up local plans for emergencies.

Wake, state near accord on 32-bed unit.

Wake officials say patients need the facility. The state wanted counties to have alternatives in place when the hospital closes.

The waiting list for Dorothea Dix is lengthening, straining other facilities and families.

Raleigh Mayor Charles Meeker and others who have advocated converting Dix into a park say a state agency is expanding its grasp on the property.

Patients at Dorothea Dix in Raleigh will stay there until early 2008, when the new hospital is ready.

Earlier this month, Raleigh Mayor Charles Meeker pegged Dorothea Dix's worth as parkland at $10.5 million, a figure that was immediately derided by several state lawmakers who think the 306-acre site is worth much more.

Gov. Mike Easley's office said Friday that the governor would review a city-sponsored plan for the Dorothea Dix property.

Two legislators laugh at city's bid.

Park donors may announce amount.

Count Clay Aiken among supporters of turning the Dorothea Dix Hospital campus into a park.

Some stay at a state hospital for a few days only to return repeatedly. Investigators are looking into the matter.

Gov. Mike Easley's idea for 25 acres of the Raleigh campus doesn't go over well with backers of a park.

It wasn't just the mentally ill who lived on Dix Hill.

For years, Raleigh's leftovers have been dumped on the northern end of the Dorothea Dix hospital campus.

Sheehan:Over the past several years, there has been a whole lot of talk in Raleigh about what to do with Dorothea Dix, the state psychiatric hospital.

The Dorothea Dix hospital campus is not a park yet. But don't tell neighbors that.

The fight over the future of the Dorothea Dix hospital campus centers on a big field. It's a developer's dream: 47 acres of flat land minutes from downtown Raleigh.

When it opened in 1856, the central building at Dorothea Dix hospital was a marvel.

Built on a grassy hill overlooking downtown Raleigh in 1856, the Dorothea Dix state hospital was one of the first major psychiatric institutions in the country. It won't be first to close.

Lesson: Maintain empty buildings or eventually they will be torn down.

Proposal for state hospital grounds would have condominiums nearby.

The task force votes for guidelines that don't commit to a major park.

Triangle Politics:N.C. State University might not be interested in a land swap on Dix Hill after all.

Triangle Politics:The grass fields on Dix Hill are spurring the grass roots.

Sides differ on plans for big field.

Wake County Briefs: The City Council voted Tuesday to seek support from Wake County's members of the state legislature for the city to buy the Dorothea Dix campus.

Triangle Briefs:Over the next several days, the Raleigh Television Network will show repeated broadcasts of the Urban Land Institute's presentation of recommended uses for the Dorothea Dix Hospital property.

Wake County Briefs: The City Council directed City Manager Russell Allen and City Attorney Thomas McCormick on Tuesday to devise a plan to approach the General Assembly about selling the Dorothea Dix campus to the city.