News

Bank of America held its annual shareholders' meeting in Charlotte today. CEO Brian Moynihan began the meeting highlighting the company's financial gains. He says the company has seen large growth in deposits and credit card accounts and has helped close to 2 million homeowners avoid foreclosure. He says internally, the company has been able to reduce costs to more quickly increase payouts for its shareholders.

Davidson College officials confirmed Wednesday what has been rumored for weeks, that most Wildcats’ sports teams will leave the Southern Conference for the Atlantic 10 Conference (A-10), beginning in the 2014-2015 academic year.

Months of debate among Cornelius commissioners over the NC Department of Transportation’s plan to widen I-77 north of Charlotte by adding toll lanes ended dramatically and quickly Monday night in a 3-2 vote in favor of the concept. With the board still one member short because of a vacancy, it was up to Mayor Lynette Rinker to break a 2-2 tie on the issue.

US Airways mechanics and technicians now have enough signatures to call for a union vote. At a news conference in south Charlotte, they announced that nearly 3,000 mechanics and technicians signed a petition to hold an election to be represented by another union, the Teamsters. Mechanics complained about low wages, high insurance premiums and poor representation by their current union, The International Association of Machinists. Luis Martinez is a lead mechanic for US Airways in Charlotte.

After months of growing tensions between longtime Mecklenburg County Manager Harry Jones and county commissioners, the board voted Tuesday to terminate Jones.

His firing was swift, and seemed well-orchestrated. After a 6-2 vote with Dumont Clarke and Vice Chairwoman Kim Ratliff opposing, the board ended Jones’ contract shortly after it emerged from a three-hour closed session. Commissioner George Dunlap was absent.

"The largest tax cut in North Carolina history." That's how Republican state senate leaders describe the tax plan they unveiled Tuesday. But that plan also expands the sales tax to many more services.

  Residents along the Catawba River should remain vigilant through tonight for rising waters caused by this week’s heavy rains, Duke Energy and emergency management officials warned.

A road in Charlotte was blocked Tuesday and firefighters were going door-to-door warning people about flooding along the Catawba River.

Water flowed downstream after mountain counties received heavy rainfall Monday. Some areas of the mountains got as much as seven inches of rain. Charlotte received 1.6 inches of rain, breaking a precipitation record.

Alcoa has settled a long-standing dispute with a primary foe in its fight to maintain control of hydropower dams on the Yadkin River.  Stanly County Commissioners voted Monday night to drop their legal challenges against Alcoa, which was a major employer in the region until closing its aluminum smelter in 2002.  

Alcoa now makes a profit selling the electricity from those dams and Stanly County has long argued the public would be better served if those dams were under the state's control. 

All Things Considered Host Mark Rumsey gets some analysis on the settlement from WFAE reporter  Julie Rose.

Charlotte City Manager Ron Carlee wants council to approve a property tax increase to help fund a Capital Improvement Plan.

Otherwise, the budget he proposed Monday night looks  pretty much like last year's budget. It totals just just under $2 billion, or 1.5 percent above this past year. That increase accounts for an estimated rise in costs and a slight pay raise for city employees, but otherwise keeps spending the same as last year. Here’s the full breakdown:

Seventy-seven World War II veterans from upstate South Carolina are on their way Tuesday morning to see their memorial in Washington DC. They’re taking what’s called an Honor Flight.  These flights have transported thousands of vets to DC free of charge since the memorial opened in 2004.  With an estimated 600 World War II vets dying every day, there’s a real urgency to these flights.

Vince Adametz is one vet on the flight who thought he’d never make the trip.