Duke Energy Is Shutting Down Piedmont Foundation After $4.9 Billion Buyout of The Gas Company

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Duke Energy Is Shutting Down Piedmont Foundation After $4.9 Billion Buyout of The Gas Company

piedmont-natural-gas-foundationOn October 1st, 2016, Duke Energy completed it’s historic $4.9 billion buyout of Piedmont Natural Gas.

The new combined company has now announced that on Jan. 1, they will close the Piedmont Natural Gas Foundation.

Piedmont’s charitable arm will now be folded into the Duke Energy Foundation, consolidating the combined companies grant-writing and community event organizing division.

Duke CEO Lynn Good said that they decided to close Piedmont’s charitable operation as part of Duke’s overall integration of Piedmont brand.

Continued consolidation efforts will be focused on operations at headquarters and central offices around the Charlotte region.

4 Charlotte Teenagers Were Shot Outside A North Tryon Night Club

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4 Charlotte Teenagers Were Shot Outside A North Tryon Night Club

spice-lounge-shooting-charlotte

Four teens, ranging from 14 to 16 years old, where shot this past weekend outside of the Spice Lounge at 4116 N. Tryon Street. At least one of the teens is now confirmed as having life-threatening injuries.

The shooting happened around 10:30 p.m. on Saturday night, the reasons are not known at this point. The four victims are currently being treated at Carolinas Medical Center.

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Carnis Poindexter Jr.

Soon after CMPD arrived on the scene, they arrested Carnis Poindexter Jr., 16, for possession of a firearm by a minor, and a 15-year-old male juvenile for carrying a concealed weapon, possession of a firearm by a minor, and shooting in the city limits.

No names of the victims have been released at this time.

Police are still investigating the cause of the shooting and any other people who may have been involved.

If you have any information about the shooting, police are asking that you call 704-432-TIPS and speak to a Homicide Unit Detective.

Charlotte’s New Circa Uptown Development Is Changing How Our City Thinks About Urban Living

Steve
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Charlotte’s New Circa Uptown Development Is Changing How Our City Thinks About Urban Living

One of Charlotte’s newest developments in the heart of Center City is attempting to become a new model for urban living.

Circa Uptown has already been named as one of the best commercial developments in the Charlotte region by the Charlotte Business Journal, and has achieved a perfect 5 star rating on both ApartmentRatings.com and on Facebook Reviews.

I decided to take a tour of the complex to find out what made Circa so unique:

I discovered that that one of Circa’s most important success factors was the community it developed.

Every resident I talked to commented about how welcoming and helpful the staff and other residents have been. They told me there are always community events happening and tons of tailgating all over the place during Panther games.

Hundreds of Adults Dressed Up Like Superheros For Charlotte’s 2016 Comicon (Video)

Steve
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Hundreds of Adults Dressed Up Like Superheros For Charlotte’s 2016 Comicon (Video)

Hundreds of comic book loves and super hero fans gathered last week for our annual Charlotte Comicon. A 21,000 square foot ballroom was completely filled with comic and toy dealers selling all the latest comics, toys and action figures and related merchandise.

It also featured the area’s best comic creators and artists. A huge costume contest, featuring local Star Wars, Star Trek and Ghostbusters clubs participating in costumes.

Here’s a recap video of some of the best costumes and sights:

What did you think of this year’s comicon?

Charlotte’s Mayor Roberts Joins Santa During The Free Store’s Christmas Extravaganza (Video)

Steve
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Charlotte’s Mayor Roberts Joins Santa During The Free Store’s Christmas Extravaganza (Video)

Yesterday over 100 people gathered at ‘The Free Store’ to meet their neighbors, encourage the needy, and celebrate Christmas.

It was their 4th annual Christmas celebration, and this year they were joined by both Mayor Roberts and Santa himself.

I spoke with the Mayor about the event and discovered what this interesting place called ‘The Free Store’ was all about:

Charlotte’s Free Store got its start back in 2007 when some music lessons were exchanged for T-shirts, and it found it’s first perminent location in 2010 in NoDa’s eclectic Area 15. Since then, the “store” has helped thousands of people both contribute to the needs of others and find new resources for themselves.

Their motto says it all, ‘Give what you want, take what you need’.

They are now giving out free breakfasts and lunches every Saturday, as well as their steady supply of clothes, toys, and home goods.

The director of the Free Store, Amber Ervin told me that in addition to needing more resources and food, they are also in need of new volunteers. If you’d like to help out, you can email amber@visionpossible.com, or just swing by the Free Store in person at 420 E 15th St.

Naked Man Walked From Mooresville To Cornelius Along I77 Before Being Picked Up By Police

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Naked Man Walked From Mooresville To Cornelius Along I77 Before Being Picked Up By Police

Today the Charlotte region saw high temperatures only reach about 46°, but in spite of the frigid temperatures, one man was spotted walking almost 10 miles down I77 without any clothes on.

Emergency crews picked him up after he had walked from just north of Exit 33 down to Exit 28 (according to witness reports).

Here’s a picture of the man that was posted by Facebook user Lou Anne Johnson (we blurred the private area before uploading);

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and another shot of the man taken at 2:22pm by Facebook user Rashel Limper (picture also strategically blurred);

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and here’s a video of the man from the other angle;

We just spoke with Daniel Chagoyan, a ‘good samaritan’ who stopped to help the man, here is what Daniel told us:

“I saw him walking on 77 south, close to Exit 28. I pulled over and went up to him. I got a shirt out of my car and gave it to him and the man took it and put it on. I kept asking the guy if he was ok, with no response back. Then I offered to give him a jacket, which he refused. I then brought him to the passenger seat of my car and turned my heater on to warm him up. He still wasn’t talking. The man’s skin turned red, but his body didn’t seem to be shaking from the cold. The whole time, the man was looking down and the only look on his face was of resentment or hate. The ambulance arrived about 5 minutes later and asked me several questions, then thanked me and took the man to the hospital.”

Police have not yet released any more information about the man’s name, or why he was walking along the side of the highway without any clothes.

Kannapolis Approves Architectural Designs For New $250 Million Baseball Stadium and Master Plan

Steve
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Kannapolis Approves Architectural Designs For New $250 Million Baseball Stadium and Master Plan

This past week, the Kannapolis City Council officially approved spending $2.4 million on architectural designs for a massive new downtown sports and entertainment venue.

City officials are now hoping the new Intimidators ballpark and streetscape will significantly increase foot traffic and bring new folks into the city.

The city’s new $250 Million Master Plan and baseball stadium is now slated to be built at corner of West 1st and Oak Avenue, in addition to new lodging, apartments, offices, retail, and a new performing arts center on the south end.

kannapolis downtown development

Since last year, the city has been trying to determine how to make the best use of the 50 acres of downtown land and buildings it purchased, and now with it’s new master plan, it’s hoping to move forward in confidence.

The new master plan also calls for:

– A new performing arts center, with expansion room for new restaurants, retail and residential.
– A multistory office complex.
– A $15 million, 200-unit housing project.
– A new boutique hotel

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Power Tool Company Just Built Their New Headquarters in Mooresville – Bringing 65 New Jobs

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Power Tool Company Just Built Their New Headquarters in Mooresville – Bringing 65 New Jobs

A fast-growing power-tool company focused on batter-operated tools just moved into their new $2 million headquarters in Mooresville, consolidating their two other locations in Iredell County.

According to their press release, owner Chris Allen hopes to eventually employ 120 people in their new 40,000 square foot facility. They currently employ 65 people, including design, R&D, executive, financial, and marketing positions. Allen has stated that he plans on hiring another 50+ employees over the next five years.

The new headquarters is located in a new speculative office wing of the old mill complex off main street next to the Merinos Home Furnishings warehouse:

new-power-tools-headquarters-in-mooresville-nc

Greenworks Tools currently sells most of their products in Lowe’s home improvement, Costco, Target, Walmart, Tractor Supply Co., and on their Amazon.com online store.

The company now has plans to grow into a $1 billion (annual sales) company as consumers continue to transition from gas powered tools to electric power tools. Their currently on track to make $325 million in revenue for 2016.

Major League Soccer Just Announced Possible Expansion Team In Charlotte

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Major League Soccer Just Announced Possible Expansion Team In Charlotte

charlotte-mls-soccer-teamIn a press release yesterday, Charlotte Motor Speedway owners Bruton and Marcus Smith announced that they had met with the MLS commissioner to talk about becoming potential investors to bring a Major League Soccer expansion team to Charlotte.

“I am very interested in bringing a major league soccer club to Charlotte. MLS has great momentum and a tremendous future, and so does our city. Charlotte would be a great addition to the league, and an MLS club would be a great addition to Charlotte. We are working with local leaders on an application, and hope to have more to say in February,” commented Marcus Smith.

A possible location of the new professional soccer team may be the historic memorial stadium in Elizabeth, which is currently waiting on $24 million in potential renovations.

The Charlotte Regional Visitors Authority, the City of Charlotte and Mecklenburg County issued a joint statement regarding MLS expansion possibilities in Charlotte, North Carolina.

“We’re honored that Major League Soccer is considering Charlotte for expansion and support the Smith family’s exploration and enthusiasm in ownership. Soccer continues to gain a tremendous following throughout our region as we’ve seen from the international soccer matches we’ve hosted to thriving soccer camps, soccer academies and community programs that are creating the next generation of fans. We’re confident that an MLS team would be successful in the Queen City and look forward to continuing this conversation in the weeks and months to come.”

Negotiations are still underway, but if a deal were to be struck, we likely wouldn’t see our first game for a least a year or two.

Food Network’s Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives Just Filmed An Episode At Charlotte’s JJ’s Red Hots

Steve
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Food Network’s Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives Just Filmed An Episode At Charlotte’s JJ’s Red Hots

Food Network’s popular show “Diners, Drive-ins and Dives” was just seen filming one of their latest episodes at Charlotte’s legendary hot dog restaurant, JJ Red Hots.

Guy Fieri went into the kitchen with owner Jonathan Luther to learn how to make the Kasekrainer, which was the winner at this year’s Sausagefest.

The producers at Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives didn’t release any additional information as to when the episode might air, but based on previous Charlotte filmings, we estimate that the JJ Red Hot episode will air sometime in March or April of 2017.

The popular show, which highlights local restaurant favorites around the country, has already been to Charlotte numerous other times, including stops at; BarBQ King on Wilkinson Boulevard, Cabo Fish Taco in NoDa, Dish in Plaza-Midwood, Jake’s Good Eats on Albemarle Road, Landmark Diner on Central Avenue, Dilworth’s 300 East, and South 21 Drive-in on Independence Boulevard.

No wonder Charlotte was just ranked as the #9 food city in America by Zagat Restaurant.

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