DavidsonNews.net and CorneliusNews.net are taking our own pulse again. It’s a been a few years since we’ve surveyed our readers, and we could use some fresh information about who you are, how you use the sites, and what you like and don’t like.

We’ll use this information to improve our pages, and to continue to develop this as a sustainable business. Thank you in advance for taking the time; your feedback is important.

Read the full story

The Davidson Think Tank, a group of local residents that explores local issues through video and events, takes a look this week at the role of this website in the community. Paul Studtmann, a Davidson College professor and Davidson Think Tank member, interviewed David Boraks, the founder and editor of Davidson News LLC. Read the full story

Longtime readers may know this, but if you’re relatively new to our websites you may not: We’re among a relatively small, but growing roster of independently owned community news websites that are transforming the way communities get and share information. And this week, I’m in Chicago for the 3rd annual Block by Block Community News Summit, this year on the theme “from surviving to thriving.” Read the full story

Leigh-Ann Mueller collected her bike at Matthews Police Department Sunday, thanks to the help of an anonymous fellow cyclist who helped nab the man trying to sell it on Craigslist.

Davidson triathlete Leigh-Ann Mueller is grateful for community this week, both where she lives and the community of area cyclists, which helped her get back a racing bike stolen from her home last week. The bicycle’s return is a great story with an anonymous hero, a supporting role for DavidsonNews.net, and a lesson. Read the full story

Do you get our daily email headlines? We send out a summary of the day’s news, plus event listings, alerts, breaking news, and weather issues or other news that needs your immediate attention. A good way to make sure you don’t miss anything on our sites! It’s easy to sign up. You can find our email signup on the right side of the page that says “Get our free daily email updates.” Just enter your email address and follow the instructions. Or CLICK HERE»

LIKE US ON FACEBOOK, FOLLOW US ON TWITTER

Meanwhile, we also post our headlines, photos of the day and event notices on our Facebook page. Just “like” us at facebook.com/davidsonnews

And we’re on Twitter, at http://www.twitter.com/davnews … If you use Twitter, you can get our breaking news headlines as well as traffic and fire alerts as we get them.

SEND US YOUR NEWS

Have news for DavidsonNews.net, or a question or comment about a local issue? A Photo of the Day from your neighborhood? Send it to editor David Boraks at editor@davidsonnews.net.

ADVERTISE WITH US

Are you a local business owner? We can help you reach your target audience right here in our area. CorneliusNews.net and DavidsonNews.net and our many associated pages (The Guide, Real Estate, Sports, Health & Fitness) form the largest Web advertising network in the Lake Norman area, as measured by monthly unique visitors. Find out more at http://davidsonnews.net/advertise/

SATURDAY UPDATE: Thanks to all who voted. With your help, we passed the 250 target. Next, the judges will review our 1200-word application. Keep your fingers crossed for us!

It’s a hot summer Friday – and 24 hours ahead of a deadline for us and several dozen other small businesses in the Lake Norman area. We need your votes before Saturday, June 30, in a grant competition called Mission Small Business, organized by Chase Bank and Living Social.

Here’s why we need your support: Chase and LivingSocial say they’ll give up to 12 business grants of $250,000 each. Judges include the co-founder of AOL, a cupcake entrepreneur, an executive with the US Chamber of Commerce and the founder of deal site Living Social. Read the full story

Thanks to our new subscribers! We’ve had 13 responses in the past five days. We’re shooting for 50 new subscribers by July 4.

We’re a small business, just like the shops on Main Street, and reader payments are one of the ways we pay for this community service.  (Advertising does not come close to covering our costs.)

As of June 1, we had 223 subscribers, just a fraction of our daily readership. We’d like to grow that. If you think this is a community service worth paying for, please consider a payment today – visit http://davidsonnews.net/support-us/.

We’re not changing anything major here:  Your payment is voluntary. Think of it as a payment for the daily service you use. We’d appreciate the help.

And thanks, from David, Christina, Lyndsay, Brenda, Thomas and the gang!

It’s Small Business Week and we’re asking for your help. Our goal here is to reflect our community, inform our community and to build community. As a locally-owned small business, we can’t do that without your patronage. Just like the shops and restaurants on Main Street, we need your support. Help keep DavidsonNews.net sustainable by becoming a voluntary paying subscriber today. Read the full story