Business & Economy

Officials gathered in Raleigh today to christen a new Capitol Area Transit operations and maintenance facility. The facility is needed to accommodate a rise in demand on the city's bus fleet.

Andrew High is from congressman David Price's office. He says the money for the maintenance facility came from federal funds. High says it will help with more people using public transportation.

  Governor Bev Perdue is finishing up a whirlwind tour of the state this week, touting the importance of public education. She is on the road as the state legislature considers cutting the education budget by nearly $1 billion.

At the center of the debate is a temporary one-cent sales tax. Enacted in 2009, it is set to end in June. Republicans want to let it lapse, the Governor and education advocates want it continued.

Town commissioners in Hope Mills have a plan for repairing the broken Hope Mills Dam. The dam failed last June leaving the Hope Mills Lake dry. The town's attorney presented the plan during a commissioner's meeting this week. It calls for repairing the existing dam rather than building a new one. The companies that built the dam will repair it at their expense. Mayor Eddie Dees says he's happy to have the plan.

The state Department of Transportation has released a survey that identifies a need for improving bicycle and pedestrian safety. Nearly three quarters of respondents said they don't feel safe biking through their communities on a daily basis. That number was about 50 percent for pedestrians. The survey identified a lack of bicycle lanes and sidewalks as the top safety issue. But DOT spokeswoman Julia Merchant says there also needs to be a mutual respect among drivers, bicyclists and pedestrians.

Tanger Factory Outlet Centers is spending the month of May celebrating its 30th Anniversary and its success as a top builder of outlet malls. Shareholders met today in New York for their annual meeting. 

 What better way to celebrate than by ringing the closing bell at the New York Stock Exchange. Steven Tanger rang the bell yesterday.  He’s President and C-E-O of Greensboro-based Tanger Factory Outlet Centers.