MOORESVILLE The town Board of Commissioners has approved a developer's plans to build a 52-slip marina off N.C. 150 and sell and service boats there.

The marina will include a pedestrian boardwalk, protective seawall and a refurbished and expanded building with more storefront.

Residents applauded the commissioners' unanimous votes approving a permit and rezoning for the project Monday night because the votes excluded allowing space for dredging operations. Residents had fought the developer's original plans to allow a local dredging company to relocate its operations from Williamson Road at Interstate 77 Exit 33.

The developer, dentist Ted Morris, ultimately wants to build a development called Promenade on the Lake on the 16.5 acres. It would include a hotel up to eight stories tall, 200 boat slips, a conference center, spa, condos and retail shops. Joe Marusak

Meck briefs

Charlotte

Newbery Award-winning author Richard Peck speaks at 3 p.m. Saturday at ImaginOn, 300 E. Seventh St.

Peck's books for middle-grade and young-adult readers include "A Long Way from Chicago," "A Year Down Yonder" and his newest, "A Season of Gifts." His appearance, which is free, includes a book signing. Books will be available for purchase.

Details: Black Forest Books and Toys at read@blackforestbooksandtoys.com or 704-332-4838. -- Pam Kelley

Regional briefs

Fort Bragg officials say a civilian killed in an explosion at the N.C. Army post ignored large warning zones when he entered an area to scavenge for scrap metal.

Ronnie Blue of Hamlet stepped on a round Friday and it exploded. Another man was not injured.

The post said the men were not Army employees. The Fayetteville Observer reported Tuesday that investigators say the second man says he and Blue had previously scavenged for metal in the area overlooking the range where soldiers practice firing artillery, tank shells and smaller weapons.

Installation range officer Bill Edwards says the well-marked areas are so dangerous that soldiers never go into them.

The post is home to the Army's 82nd Airborne Division and Special Operations Command. -- Associated Press

WILMINGTON

An N.C. mayor has been stuck with the bill of more than $300,000 after an employee embezzled the money from a state license plate agency run by the mayor.

The (Wilmington) Star-News of Wilmington reported Tuesday that Oak Island Mayor Johnie Vereen agreed to pay to settle a three-year-old lawsuit by the state Division of Motor Vehicles.

Vereen was not charged and denied having any role in the theft by former employee Annie Daphine Ross Prince. The 63-year-old pleaded guilty last year to stealing from the Brunswick County license plate agency that Vereen operated.

Prince is serving at least five years in prison.

The DMV shut down Vereen's plate office after auditors found vehicle sales documents were changed to show less money due to the state than was taken in. -- Associated Press

Raleigh

Several dozen legislators are back in Raleigh to discuss North Carolina's tax structure and whether an overhaul can be approved as soon as next spring.

A joint House-Senate finance committee met for the first time Tuesday to hear from experts on the state's sales tax and its exemptions. -- Associated Press

The N.C. Board of Funeral Service didn't keep minutes of its closed sessions as required by state law, according to a report released Tuesday by the State Auditor's Office.

The auditor, acting on a tip, reviewed five years of board minutes and found that typed minutes were not kept for closed sessions, in violation of the state's open meetings law. The board regulates the funeral business.

Paul Harris, the board's executive director , told auditors he was aware that typed minutes were required to be kept for closed meetings. The current and previous three secretaries took notes of closed sessions, but those notes had never been turned into minutes and could not be located, according to the auditor's office.

Board President Larry Andrews promised to create minutes for future meetings and to keep notes taken during those meetings in a file. -- Benjamin Niolet, (Raleigh) News & Observer

South Carolina

An extra unemployment check is yet again in the mail for some S.C. residents.

WIS-TV in Columbia reported Tuesday that a programming error caused the state Employment Security Commission to send out about 150 duplicate unemployment checks.

Officials say the checks went out last week. Anyone who gets two unemployment checks with the same date should cash one and return the other to the local unemployment office.

The commission says anyone who cashes the duplicates as well as the original checks will be responsible for reimbursing the extra money.

It's the second time this has happened in several months. In July, the Employment Security Commission said it sent two unemployment checks to about 1,250 people out of work. -- Associated Press

Fort Mill

Fort Mill Township is now home to two state championship bands.

Fort Mill High School and Nation Ford High School took home first place honors at the S.C. Championships. This is Nation Ford's first win at the state championship. The band, only in its third year, competed in Class 3A. Fort Mill competed in Class 4A, taking home its first state title since 2005. -- Fort Mill Times

Police digest

A 29-year-old man has been charged with murder in an early Sunday killing in the parking lot of a west Charlotte McDonald's.

Damine Russell Fair was in Mecklenburg jail Tuesday evening, police said. He's charged with killing Demarel Hardrick II, a warehouse worker from Charlotte, outside the fast food restaurant on Freedom Drive.

Police said Sunday that Hardrick was shot after a fight in the McDonald's parking lot. For about a day, police searched for a white Ford Explorer with a sunroof and tinted windows. On Monday, they announced they'd found the SUV, and a day later, they made an arrest.

Investigators say the case is still open, and anyone with information should call 704-432-TIPS to speak directly with a homicide detective or Crime Stoppers at 704-334-1600. -- Cleve R. Wootson Jr.

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