A new high school competition that aims to promote a better understanding of sustainability is scheduled in Davidson this weekend as part of the 2012 North Carolina Science Festival. Teams from area schools will square off in the first Green Idea Factory Competition on Saturday, at The Business Center, in South Main Square. Read the full story

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Here’s an introduction to an activity some folks in Davidson are getting hooked on: parkour. What is parkour? A sport, an art form?

Stephan Snyder of Davidson, a sophomore in the I.B. program at North Mecklenburg High School, says: “It’s the practice of moving efficiently from point A to point B using vaulting, climbing, and other techniques.” Read the full story

Updated 8 a.m. April 11, 2012
The Charlotte Mecklenburg School board voted 8-1 Tuesday to approve a $1.19 billion budget for 2012-13, including cost-of-living raises for employees and new positions. Next stop: the Mecklenburg County Commission, which has the final say over the school budget. Read the full story

By DAVID BORAKS
DavidsonNews.net

MOORESVILLE – Owners of boat rental companies on Lake Norman are researching ways to improve rental safety but it could be months before any proposals come back to the Lake Norman Marine Commission, commission member John Marino said Monday. At its monthly meeting, the commission also got reports about the start of the spring boating season, and heard about the state’s plans in May for the annual release of grass-eating carp to help battle invasive hydrilla weeds. Read the full story

There are home decor shops and there are landscaping businesses. And then there are businesses like the one Brandon and Amy Morris of Cornelius opened last fall, called The Elements 4 Life Home & Outdoor Living. The new retail store on Davidson-Concord Road, across from the Bradford Store, offers both outdoor design items and gifts, and is a showroom for the couple’s 8-year-old business MINT Landscaping, for Morris Irrigation Nature & Turf. They’re having a grand opening this Saturday. Read our Small Biz Spotlight in REAL ESTATE & HOME»

Lee Keesler

Lee Keesler, a former banker and former head of the Arts & Science Council,  was named Monday as CEO of the Charlotte Mecklenburg Library. The library board of trustees announced the news following a special meeting Monday.

Mr. Keesler will be the third CEO in the past year. His appointment gives the system a new, permanent leader as it continues to navigate changes brought on by county budget cuts and economic changes. Among his duties will be to develop a new strategic plan for the library, the system said in an announcement Monday. Read the full story

Chief academic officer Ann Clark and the superintendents of schools in Reno, Nev., and Memphis are the three finalists for the job of superintendent of Charlotte Mecklenburg Schools, the district announced Monday.

The district is seeking to replace interim superintendent Hugh Hattabaugh, who has been running the system since Peter Gorman stepped down in August.

Here’s the full announcement from CMS: Read the full story

Firefighters last week responded to a report of a gasoline leak at the marina on Portside Drive in Davidson Landing. Employees at Archer’s Towing called 911 when a vehicle began to smoke after its battery arced in a storage area, and the Mecklenburg County fire marshal’s office was called to investigate an illegal outdoor fire on Shearer Street. Davidson firefighters also helped out at a house fire in Cornelius’s Peninsula neighborhood. Details on these stories and more (along with a tally of the week’s medical calls) may be found below. Read the full story