CARRBORO, N.C. (AP) ó A weekly newspaper asked for and is getting a $50,000 loan from a North Carolina town so it can print more copies, hire more staff and expand.

The Carrboro Board of Aldermen approved the loan Tuesday night for the Carrboro Citizen, a two-year-old publication. The money comes from a fund used to spark local business development.

Alderman Dan Coleman told The News & Observer of Raleigh that the town is lucky to have a growing newspaper in an age when other papers are cutting staff as revenue declines.

Publisher Robert Dickson says his paper can grow beyond its 160 news racks in the small town next to Chapel Hill.