Ho ho ho, Wells Fargo has come to town.

The Wells Fargo & Co. has awarded more than $6 million to 14 Charlotte-area nonprofits through its “Spirit of Caring” community grants program.

The Charlotte Business Journal lists the recipients here.

Now, I challenge you to find ways to give back to our community, and not only during the holidays. If you don't have money, you can always volunteer your time or donate items you no longer use -- like clothing, linens and non-perishable food items -- to area charities.

No excuses. Lend a hand to your fellow citizen. You can get started here.

Why do you give to charity?

One of the holly daze hot toys may be hazardous to your kid if they eat it. The manufacturer, of course, says that ain't so.

A consumer group in California says one of the hottest-selling toys this holiday season may not be safe for youngsters, reports CBS Station KPIX correspondent Kiet Do.

When it debuted, the Zhu Zhu pet hamster was one of the top 15 hottest toys of the holiday season.

But the consumer watchdog group Good Guide, based in the Bay Area, says that if you have one, keep the receipt.

In rating the product goodguide.com says it found a chemical called antimony, which is a metal with potential health hazards.

"If ingested in high enough levels [it] can lead to cancer, reproductive health, and other human health hazards," said Dara O'Rourke, an associate professor of environmental science at U.C.-Berkeley, and co-founder of goodguide.com.

On Saturday evening, the manufacturer of Zhu Zhu Pets, Cepia LLC, released a statement to CBS News responding to the Good Guide warning. In the statement, the company says that its hamster toys, named Mr. Squiggles, are “absolutely safe and has passed the most rigorous testing in the toy industry for consumer health and safety.”

Read the rest of this CBSNews.com article here.

Probably don't want to let your pets eat them, either.

A long, long time ago, in the far away land of Georgia, a business mentor told me to spend the holidays working on a master plan for the next year. I took her suggestion to heart. Every year, when the table's cleared off and the shredded gift wrap's tucked into the recycling bin, I sit down with my (kick ass) planner and focus on my personal and business goals. While everyone else is zoned out in front of some over-played holiday movie or snoring on the couch, I take time to tweak what is working and discard what isn't.

With that, I enjoyed this advice for those of us who don't know how to take a vacation:

As the holidays approach and business starts winding down for many, it can be tempting for business owners to turn the “Open” sign off and take time to relax. But Terry Cox, CEO and president of the Business Innovation & Growth Council, said the holiday slowdown is an opportune time for business and those who put their feet up could be missing out.

“Everyone thinks everyone else isn’t doing anything, they’re all on vacation or something,” Cox said. “To tell you the truth, between the 15th and 31st might be the best time to reach some CEOs and clients.”

Some reduction in business, whether at the holidays or after, is inevitable, which is why Wright has scheduled networking and marketing for early 2010 to keep busy.

“I don’t think you should be paralyzed by the lack of business,” Cox said. “If anything, you should hunker down and really work on your strategic plan for the next year.”

She also suggests using downtime to work on your business: review business plans, make investments for improvement, prepare for the new year.

Read the entire Mecklenburg Times post, and learn about a Business Innovation & Growth Council seminar next week, here.

Of course, if you start sounding like this ... stop everything and head directly to the nearest spa:

For too long, all types of industry -- not just power companies -- have infused our water with crap we don't need or want, and regulators have let it slide. Obama's EPA, however, seems to be saying, "No more."

Never forget this: It's our water. We have the right to know who's putting what into it. We also have the right to voice our concerns to policy makers.

Selenium is an essential nutrient, but excess amounts can be dangerous to wildlife and people. Now the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is preparing a new regulation that would require more than 600 coal-fired power plants to clean up — perhaps even eliminate — wastewater discharged into lakes, rivers and other waterways. The national standards would replace a patchwork of state regulations that EPA officials say are too lax to protect fish and wildlife from toxic metals and other elements, particularly selenium, in the plants’ wastewater. Some states allow the plants to emit selenium at levels hundreds of times higher than EPA’s water-quality standards, while others don’t even require monitoring for it.

...

Duke Energy’s Gibson Generating Station is one of many plants that have drawn the attention of environmental agencies. Rather than rely on the nearby Wabash River for its plant, which serves Indianapolis and nearby areas, Duke Energy constructed a 3,000-acre lake in the 1970s to use as a cooling pond and to store its waste.

The lake was closed to fishing in 2007 because selenium concentrations in the fish exceeded levels safe for subsistence fishing.

At coal-fired power plants, selenium and metals reach lakes and other water bodies from two main sources: scrubbers, which clean contaminants out of the air, and ash ponds, which store waste from coal combustion, Smith said.

While scrubber wastewater is sometimes stored, reused or evaporated to a disposable sludge, it can also be treated in a settling pond and then released into a nearby waterway.  Water from ash ponds can overflow in a storm or be siphoned off to a water body to prevent the pond from losing its structural integrity.  Ash pond wastewater can also leach into surrounding soil and threaten groundwater.

Selenium occurs naturally in coal, and is especially prevalent in bituminous coal, which is burned mostly in the eastern United States.

Once in the water, selenium can start causing problems.

Selenium builds up in animal tissues, so animals higher up the food web end up with more in their systems.

Read the rest of this Scientific American here.

Read more about the two unlined, high-hazard Duke Energy coal ash ponds that are just upstream from Charlotte-Mecklenburg's drinking water intake from The Mountain Island Weekly here.

Further reading from The Charlotte Observer: Duke Energy's piled-up coal ash stirs up anxiety (Note: The two coal ash ponds near Charlotte are exempt from rules that require new coal ash ponds to be lined.)

THIS JUST IN: EPA: Climate Changing Pollution Endangers Public Health And Must Be Regulated

The one-year anniversary of the Tennessee Valley Authority coal ash spill is Dec. 22.

Thought he was in the energy business? But, he does have a point: Now is the time for forward-thinking vision, not politics.

[Jim] Rogers contended the nation’s economic recovery would be undermined by record-high government spending deficits, a growing national debt and unfunded entitlements for the large number of soon-to-retire baby boomers.

He said without stimulus spending the nation’s third-quarter economic growth would have only totaled 0.7 percent of GDP. He said consumers would be unable to make major contributions to recovery when unemployment rates are expected to remain in double digits. And he said electricity sales — historically a leading indicator of economic growth — are projected to be flat or slightly up for the next five years.

“Now is the time for vision, for a long-term plan and for people to find a way forward,” he said. “But have to be realistic about where we are. We can’t put our head in the sand. ... That’s something Wall Street hasn’t shown the ability to do. And that’s something our politicians don’t have the ability to do because they’re only worried about the next term.”

The luncheon’s other panelists struggled for words when given an opportunity to respond to Rogers’ not-so-sunny comments.

[Ken] Lewis said he believes recovery will be better than Rogers’ forecast, but “given our track record, I can’t argue against him,” he said.

Read the rest of this Charlotte Business Journal article here.

Here's a list of banks that accepted TARP money, and which ones have paid it back. (Click here.)

Bank of America Corp. said Wednesday it plans to repay its $45 billion in government bailout funds in the next few days, a move that will help the troubled bank recruit a new CEO.

The bank said in a statement it would use available cash and raise $18.8 billion in capital to repay the money, which it received during the height of the credit crisis last year and after its purchase of Merrill Lynch & Co. earlier this year.

Bank of America has been searching for a successor to CEO Ken Lewis since the bank announced in late September that he planned to retire on Dec. 31. But the bank, burdened with government restrictions and close oversight after accepting the Troubled Asset Relief Program funds, has so far been unable to sign a new chief executive.

Read more from MSNBC.com.

Further reading: Betting on banking careers

Nonprofit group says they're doing a better job helping homeowners modify their mortgages than the government. The good news for struggling homeowners in Charlotte is that they're here Dec. 3-7 and they're ready to help you help yourself.

A nonprofit group is bringing a mortgage-modification marathon to Charlotte this week that aims to provide speedy help for struggling homeowners.

In the 12th stop on its "Save the Dream" tour, the Neighborhood Assistance Corporation of America said it expects to draw 50,000 people over five days to a program that brings together borrowers, counselors and lenders. Some loans will be modified on the same day, the group said.

NACA is based in Boston but has been expanding a Charlotte office that helps coordinate the nationwide tour.

The group this year began hiring in its Charlotte office as part of an expansion of its "Home Save" services. N.C. and local officials have promised NACA $3.5 million in incentives in return for hiring about 1,000 employees over five years. The group now has about 700 people in Charlotte and Marks has said the group plans to hire a total of 2,000 by the end of next year.

NACA works to find a quick, permanent solution for borrowers, while the government program starts with a trial-modification period, he noted. In a statement Monday, Charlotte-based Bank of America highlighted another challenge with the government program: getting borrowers to supply the necessary paperwork.

At the news conference, [Bruce] Marks acknowledged his approach is controversial. He has cultivated a reputation as a "bank terrorist" who holds protests at the homes of CEOs whose banks NACA deems to be engaged in predatory lending. This pressure has helped persuade lenders to sign loan-modification agreements with the group.

Read the entire Charlotte Observer article, and find out how to sign up for help, here.

In slightly related news: Two CEO Candidates Suggest Breaking Up Bank of America

Here's a clip from a documentary about the group. (Warning: It will make you cry.)

Did you hear? Progress Energy says they're planning to close 11 coal plants in North Carolina because they're old and too expensive to keep up. Interesting.

Did you know the oldest plant they're planning to close is 40 years younger than Duke Energy's Riverbend plant, which is a mere dozen miles from Uptown.

From David Merryman, our Catawba Riverkeeper:

The closing of these facilities will help improve North Carolina's entire quality of life, especially in regards to air and water quality.

The question for everyone here in the Charlotte region to ask is: Why isn't Duke Energy leading the way in this pro-active step to close antiquated coal-plants?

The first plant in North Carolina that should be closed down is Riverbend Steam Station on the Catawba River at Mountain Island Lake. This plant is home to two EPA-listed "high hazard potential" coal ash ponds and discharges coal ash pond overflow water into Mountain Island Lake directly upstream of the Cities of Gastonia, Mt. Holly, and Charlotte primary water intakes.

Our nation's 3rd largest utility, Duke Energy, should be in the forefront of leading the way to environmental stewardship and alternative energy solutions

Learn more about the Riverkeeper Foundation here.

But, Duke Energy says they'll be closing elderly plants like Riverbend, just as soon as their new — and improved — Cliffside plant's upgrade is finished. It will be a few dozen miles west of Charlotte.

Which leads me to this:

Four environmental protesters were arrested Monday in Greenville, S.C., after they climbed on a 1.9 million-pound generator bound for Duke Energy’s Cliffside coal plant.

The protest stared about 9 a.m., says Lt. Shea Smith of the Greenville County Sheriff’s Office. About 16 protesters arrived at the site near S.C. Route 25, where the truck hauling the generator has been parked for more than a week.

Six protestors climbed on the truck and generator. Police arrived about 9:15 a.m., Smith says, and told them to get off the truck or face arrest. Two people got off, he says, but four remained on the truck and two women chained themselves to a beam holding up the generator.

[Andy] Thompson says Duke feels the environmental concerns of the two groups are misplaced. Duke contends the Cliffside unit will be a cleaner and more efficient coal plant than any in Duke’s fleet. And when the expansion is complete, Duke will close 1,000 megawatts worth of older, less environmentally sound plants.

Duke concedes, though, that the total amount of carbon released in the atmosphere will be greater after the new plant is built. That is because Cliffside will operate full time, and the smaller plants it is replacing have operated intermittently.

Read the entire Charlotte Business Journal article here.

Duke Energy said the protest in a South Carolina parking lot shouldn’t slow the three-month trip to move the equipment, called a stator, from a port in the southern part of the state to a power generating plant under construction in Rutherford County.

It is part of a $1.8 billion investment by Duke Energy that should be up and running in 2012.

“We’re tired of waiting. We’re going to take serious enough action to stop construction of this global-warming, pollution-causing death machine,” Nemecz said.

Read more from The Shelby Star here.

In related news:

• Duke wind farm online in Wyoming
• Nuclear plants still come with caveats

Anyone else smell the sale of principle?

Our County Commission is planning to vote on a multi-million dollar project tonight, but they can't tell us what it is or which company is involved ... only that the deal will lead to the magic word: jobbbbbs.

Oh, well, in that case ... we do have double-digit unemployment and all. But, how many jobs? Six-hundred-something? Ummmm, what about the other half-million, or so, unemployed in our fine city? Are they going to get a super-secret deal to lure a company to town, too?

Listen, I'm confused: I thought our government was a representative government whereby our elected officials represent us when making decisions. Now, how in the hell are we supposed to know if We The People want these jobs and this company if we're not allowed to know anything about it until after our government decides to kiss its ass all the way to town?

Mecklenburg County is mulling over more than $13.2 million in federal stimulus bonds for a top-secret industrial expansion code-named Project Cardinal.

Already, members of the N.C. Department of Transportation board have approved up to $150,000 for the project.

The mystery company is promising a capital investment of $148 million and up to 650 jobs within five years, according to N.C. DOT. About 190 workers could be initially hired at the proposed production facility.

The county’s numbers are slightly different: Project Cardinal is expected to create 620 jobs and bring a capital investment of $131 million.

County commissioners will vote Tuesday on issuing its full allotment of $13.28 million given under a $25 billion recovery zone bond program created by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act and administered through the U.S. Treasury Department.

Read more from The Charlotte Business Journal here.

Further reading from The Charlotte Observer: County to vote on unnamed project

I have. This past summer, I met an interviewee in the middle of the afternoon at the Starbucks on East Boulevard. I was in a hurry, as usual. Since I noticed a few signs in the parking lot and a tow truck driving through, I made sure to park all the way in the back in a space sans signs. P.S. The parking lot was practically empty.

Thirty minutes later, my car was gone. My interviewee said something about the towing company and the business next door, something about how they're ridiculous about "their" parking spaces.

It cost $120 to retrieve my car -- not counting the taxi fare to get to A United Towing Inc. on Foster Avenue, and definitely not counting the time it took away from my life and business.

Did I learn my lesson? Yep: Don't patronize businesses on East Boulevard. It's simply not worth it when you can get the same food, service and goods elsewhere minus the worry or the hassle.

Tom Bartholomy, president of the Charlotte-based Better Business Bureau of Southern Piedmont, said towing complaints this year have more than doubled to 71. There were 33 at the same point last year.

He said many of the complaints are coming from Dilworth and South End because they have popular night spots but limited parking.

He said tow companies secure contracts to patrol certain lots and then allegedly "stalk" them. He said people complain that some companies station tow trucks around the corner and then await signals from spotters with walkie-talkies so the trucks can swoop in.

"As soon as the people walk into the wrong store, they immediately boot or tow the car," he said.

Bartholomy said the Key Man Building parking lot off East Boulevard near Starbucks is a hot spot for complaints. It's patrolled by A United Towing Inc.

A worker who answered the phone said United follows the city ordinance and only tows people who are "caught stealing" parking. She said a supervisor wasn't available to be interviewed last week.

Read the entire Charlotte Observer article here.

Want to tell someone about your experience? Contact the Charlotte Better Business Bureau at (704) 927-8611 or reach out to your city council person here.

Remember when tow trucks were stealing cars in Charlotte last year?