Click to download the full 2013-14 proposed budget. (PDF)

By DAVID BORAKS
DavidsonNews.net

There was little discussion on Tuesday night when Davidson commissioners held a public hearing on the $9.1 million 2013-14 budget. When Mayor John Woods called for comments from the audience, only one of the 15 or so residents spoke.

The plan will guide town spending in the fiscal year that begins July 1. It leaves property taxes unchanged, at 35 cents per $100 of assessed value, prepares for possible tax refunds as the county revises assessments from the 2011 property revaluation, and leaves some money for capital improvements, new equipment and maintenance of existing equipment, which has been a board priority. Read the full story

DavidsonLearns, a new “lifelong learning” program in the Lake Norman area, is now accepting registrations for its first first three courses beginning in October, focusing on the topics of poetry, politics and economics.
Read the full story

NGK Ceramics USA, which makes ceramic filters for auto engines, announced Tuesday it will invest $93 million to expand its Mooresville plant, creating 86 jobs over the next three years.

The office of Gov. Beverly Perdue issued the announcement, saying the project was made possible in part by a $160,000 grant from the One North Carolina Fund. Read the full story

Updated Feb. 25, 12:20 p.m.

Cornelius Mayor Jeff Tarte speaks to a full room at the Chamber's Focus Friday event Feb, 24. (Christina Ritchie Rogers / DavidsonNews.net)

By CHRISTINA RITCHIE ROGERS
DavidsonNews.net

Enlisting expert help may be the best hope for citizens appealing their 2011 property tax revaluations, Cornelius Mayor Jeff Tarte said Friday morning during the monthly “Focus Friday” issues session at Lake Norman Chamber of Commerce. One such expert, Buck Moody, told the crowd of about 30 people that recent independent appraisals can help, and so can a close attention to possible errors in the county’s calculations. Read the full story

Updated Friday, 10:26 p.m.
Last year when a citizen task force plotted ways to save neighborhood libraries and expand hours at regional libraries, one of the unfinished discussion topics was the future of the Main Library in downtown Charlotte. On Thursday, Mecklenburg County Manager Harry Jones and Charlotte Mecklenburg Library CEO Vick Phillips announced the appointment of a new task force, to “explore possibilities” for the downtown branch.

The task force had been proposed by the Future of the Library Task Force. Davidson Commissioner Connie Wessner was a member of that group, representing Mecklenburg County’s towns. On Friday, she said:

I’m happy to see that the process that the original task force began is moving forward as we’d recommended. I’m also delighted to see that a representative from the towns has a seat at the table. I served with Carol Hull on the Future of the Library task Force and have a great deal of respect for her. She is very capable of representing the perspectives of the system’s small libraries and articulating their relationship to the Main Branch and the system as a whole.

Here’s the county press release: Read the full story

By JULIE ROSE
WFAE

Shareholders of Granite Falls-based Bank of Granite on Tuesday approved a merger with the parent company of CommunityONE Bank. The move is an effort to save both banks from crumbling under the weight of loan losses and regulatory action.

The warning to Bank of Granite shareholders in a letter from executives was dire: Without this merger, the bank is at risk of being taken over by regulators and you – the shareholders – could lose your entire investment. Read the full story

Davidson has won a $350,000 grant from the federal Centers for Disease Control for a three-year project to incorporate health assessments into planning and policies. The announcement came at a press conference Friday at Roosevelt Wilson Park. Read the full story in HEALTH & FITNESS»

With the job market highly competitive these days, job-seekers need all the help they can get. Davidson Parks & Recreation will offer a series of job-hunting seminars this fall, in partnership with a local psychologist who specializes in goal setting and self assessment. Read the full story