Movement Mortgage Announced $18 Million Expansion – Adding 700 New Jobs

Steve
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Movement Mortgage Announced $18 Million Expansion – Adding 700 New Jobs

movement-mortgage-expansionMovement Mortgage, LLC, one of the fastest growing mortgage lenders in the country, recently announced that it will be expanding its corporate headquarters in Fort Mill. They will be investing $18 million and creating over 700 new jobs in the next 5 years.

“This hiring and expansion is going to help drive our business forward as we continue to lead a Movement of Change in the mortgage industry, corporate culture and our communities,” commented Casey Crawford, Movement Mortgage’s CEO and Co-Founder.

“Movement Mortgage has been an incredible partner to our state since its doors opened in Lancaster County two years ago. This $18 million investment, and the 700 jobs it means for Lancaster, shows that Movement Mortgage is committed to our state and its people, and we couldn’t be more excited to see this fantastic company continue to grow and thrive here for a very long time,” commented South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley.

The company was originally founded in 2008 in Fort Mill with just 4 employees and have since grown to over 4,100 workers, including more than 650 at its Lancaster County headquarters. As one of the nation’s top 10 purchase mortgage lenders, Movement Mortgage now has licensed operations in 48 states.

The company will be constructing an additional 91,000-square-foot building off highway 160 as part of their expansion plans.

They will start hiring within the next few weeks, anyone interested can visit the company’s careers page here.

Amazon’s New Series ‘The Tick’ Might Come To Charlotte To Help Refugees #TickSaveMyCity

Steve
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Amazon’s New Series ‘The Tick’ Might Come To Charlotte To Help Refugees #TickSaveMyCity

tick-save-my-city-charlotteCharlotte was just selected as 1 of 3 finalist cities in Amazon’s new online crowd-sourced contest #TickSaveMyCity.

In their new #TickSaveMyCity campaign, Amazon partnered with Tongal to ask Tick fans across America to make videos addressing a problem in their city that they think the Tick could solve.

“The Tick is always willing to help citizens in distress,” explains Mike Benson, U.S. Head of Marketing for Amazon Studios. “There is no problem that is too big or too small for him to handle.”

Out of the hundreds of videos submitted, 3 finalists were selected, including a video from Charlotte;

Finalist #1: For Refugee Children

The first video features Caleb Van Voorhis from Charlotte, NC, explaining that we need help at ourBRIDGE center, a place where refugee and immigrant children can learn English, get help with homework and feel safe in their new home. Check out the video below and “like” the video on YouTube to vote!

Finalist #2: Tick vs Debris

The second video comes from Cedar Falls, IA where the Tick is called on to help clean up debris;

Finalist #3: Doggy Business

The third video asks the Tick to help with a growing problem in Waldwick, NJ – dog poop;

Online voting will be open to the public until July 24th, and the winner will be announced on August 1st. The Tick will then travel to the winning city to help solve the problem…although Amazon has not released details as to how involved the Tick will actually get with the actual problem.

Caleb Van Voorhis told me that he thinks that if his video wins, Amazon would likely bring a film crew to Charlotte to help renovate the new refugee center, “I believe they’d do something ala ‘extreme home makeover’ giving the center support with things like painting the halls, making a garden, and providing things like school supplies and outdoor activities equipment. ourBRIDGE just moved into this new building and now they don’t have the funds to do this sort of thing, since they run completely off donations.”

If you love Charlotte and you’d love to see Amazon send the Tick here to help local refugees, please give the thumbs-up “like” here on the YouTube video to vote!

Please help spread the word! 

Last Night’s Severe Thunderstorms Leave Over 1,000 Without Power Around Charlotte Region

Steve
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Last Night’s Severe Thunderstorms Leave Over 1,000 Without Power Around Charlotte Region

Severe thunderstorms swept through the Charlotte region last night, leaving Hundreds of people without power as lightning, strong winds, and hail knocked down power lines and blew several transformers.

According to Duke Energy, there were over 750 people in Mecklenburg County, 317 in Cabarrus County, and 208 in Gaston County who were still without power as of 6 a.m. this morning.

power-outages-across-charlotte

Dozens of people sent us photos and videos last night on social media, showing powerful lightning, large hail, and flooding around the Charlotte region;

What did you think of last night’s storms?

Did you lose power at all last night?

Hawthorne Lane Bridge Is Closing For 1.5 Years To Make Way For The New Street Car

Steve
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Hawthorne Lane Bridge Is Closing For 1.5 Years To Make Way For The New Street Car

The Hawthorne Lane Bridge is about to shut down for the next 20 months, starting on Monday, July 24th, 2017, it’s expected to reopen by Sunday, March 31, 2019, according to CATS.

It will be demolished and rebuilt to make way for Charlotte’s new Gold Line Street Car Extension.

CATS said the bridge is already 25 years old, and since most bridges have a lifespan of 30-50 years, it made sense to spend $5-6 million to rebuild it now while they are already ripping up the street to add the new street car tracks.

Traffic will be detoured down Central Ave. a while the new bridge is being built;

hawthorne-lane-closure

Here is a rendering of what the new bridge will look like;

hawthorne-bridge-rendering-charlotte

The total cost for the Gold Line’s second phase is now estimated to be $150 million.

It will be extended from Johnson C. Smith University in the West to Sunnyside Ave. in the East.

citylynx-gold-line-phase-2-extension

The look and feel of the new street car line will be the same as the existing line, with added cars for more capacity.

Here is a video of what it’s like to ride the Gold Line Street Car:

What do you think about Charlotte’s extended Gold Line?

Do you think it’s worth the cost? 

The 2017 BMX World Championships Will Take Place in Rock Hill Next Week

Charlotte Stories
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The 2017 BMX World Championships Will Take Place in Rock Hill Next Week

2017-bmx-world-championship-in-rock-hillFor the first time in more than fifteen years, the World Championships are coming to the USA.

The Novant Health BMX Supercross Track in Rock Hill is one of just a few Olympic-caliber BMX SX tracks in the US. The entire course was modeled after the 2008 Beijing Olympic track, designed for speed with a 35-foot initial elite jump, asphalt turns for acceleration, and a massive final jump over the amateur track.

Next week, over 3,300 riders from 40+ countries are expected to come to Rock Hill to compete in the 2017 World Championship. They’ll be bringing thousands of other fans, family, and friends across a wide spectrum of cultures spanning the entire globe.

The World Championships will take place at the Novant Health BMX Supercross Track, 1307 Riverwalk Parkway, Rock Hill, SC 29730 from Tuesday, July 25 through Saturday, July 29.

Tickets range in price from $12.50 for a single day pass to $50 for the entire week – tickets are available here.

Check out this year’s promo video, produced by the City of Rock Hill;

The last time the world championships were in the US was back in 2001 in Kentucky. Last year’s 2016 BMX World Championships were held in Medellín, Colombia

Here’s a video from last year’s final race;

Go team USA!

Dozens of Charlotte Families Lost Everything in Last Night’s 3-Alarm Fire

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Dozens of Charlotte Families Lost Everything in Last Night’s 3-Alarm Fire

A massive three-alarm fire was intentionally set at around 1am last night at Woodscape Apartments in East Charlotte off Farm Pond Lane, according to the Charlotte Fire Dept.

CMPD and Charlotte Fire are now working together to find who was responsible for setting the fire.

Over 130 people and their pets have now been left without homes.

Here is WSOC’s helicopter footage from after the fire;

If you’d like to help out the 100+ affected families, here are the top 3 ways you can give;

#1  New Hope Baptist Church: New Hope Baptist Church (7841 Idlewild Rd) is now accepting clothing donations, baby supplies, water, and food Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday between 10 a.m. and 6 p.m. for the affected families.

#2 Red Cross Disaster Relief: People can donate by visiting redcross.org, calling 1-800-RED-CROSS, or texting the word REDCROSS to 90999 to make a $10 donation.

#3 Crisis Assistance Ministry: Clothing can be dropped off Tuesday through Friday between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m. and Saturday between 10 a.m. and 3 p.m. at Crisis Assistance Ministry on Spratt St.

Volunteers say the items that are needed the most are clothing, shoes, baby and toddler supplies, personal care items, and food and water.

Please help spread the word!

Family Offering $5,000 Reward To Help Find Missing Father and Husband

Charlotte Stories
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Family Offering $5,000 Reward To Help Find Missing Father and Husband

michael-randy-mcfalls-srIt’s now been over 4 days since a Clover man disappeared after leaving his job in Charlotte last Thursday.

The CMPD has an official missing persons case open, but this has not stopped the family from doing everything they can on their own. On Sunday afternoon, Michael Randy McFalls Jr., and dozens of other relatives and family friends passed out nearly 200 flyers all around McFalls Sr’s workplace.

The 52-year-old left was last seen leaving his job at a Charlotte construction company located at 3900 Stuart Andrews Blvd. Charlotte Thursday afternoon around 4:30 p.m.

missing-man-in-charlotte

McFalls Sr.’s supervisor told police that he said he was heading home (to Clover, SC) after work and seemed to be acting normally.

McFalls Sr.’s wife (of 31 years) said her husband texted her saying he was on his way home from work and planned to stop to get something to drink – this was the last time anyone has heard from him.

After trying to track him using his electronic devices, the family said that McFalls Sr.’s cellphone, iPad, apple watch are all turned off.

Charlotte-Mecklenburg police said McFalls Sr is thought to be driving his 4-door 2013 Chevy Silverado, which has a Clemson sticker on the lower right hand side of the tailgate, NC licence plate DZ-7187.

As of Monday evening, there have been no updates in the case.

Michael Randy McFalls Sr’s family is now offering a $5,000 reward to anyone who can provide information surrounding his disappearance.

Panthers Cut GM Dave Gettleman – Steve Smith and DeAngelo Williams Quickly Respond On Twitter

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Panthers Cut GM Dave Gettleman – Steve Smith and DeAngelo Williams Quickly Respond On Twitter

The Carolina Panthers Owner/Founder Jerry Richardson announced yesterday that general manager Dave Gettleman has been cut from the organization after being the general manager since 2013.

“After much thought and a long evaluation of our football operations, I have decided to relieve Dave Gettleman of his duties as general manager,” Richardson said. “I want to thank Dave for the role he played in our success over the past four seasons. While the timing of this decision is not ideal, a change is needed.”

A couple of the best players to ever play for the Panthers organization (who were also fan favorites) were both cut from the team in a rather ugly fashion back in 2014 by Dave Gettleman. Although his decisions were unpopular, many experts agreed they were necessary, but could have been handled differently.

Now that Gettleman himself was let go in a similarly cold manner, his former casualties were quick to share their opinions via Twitter.

DeAngelo Williams got straight to the point;

The always vocal and usually emotional Steve Smith had a much more colorful reaction;

Now that Gettleman is officially out of the organization, could the Panther’s relationship with Steve Smith and DeAngelo Williams begin to heal? Panther fans have even created a petition to try to bring Steve Smith back to the Panthers for one last season.

What are your thoughts about cutting Gettleman?

Should we bring Smith or Williams back?

NC’s Cheerwine Was Invited To White House Today To Kick Off ‘Made In America’ Week

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NC’s Cheerwine Was Invited To White House Today To Kick Off ‘Made In America’ Week

cheerwine-at-whitehouseRepresentatives from North Carolina’s own Cheerwine soda company visited the White House today for President Trump’s ‘Made in America’ event. The event was said to highlight and celebrate each state’s effort and commitment to American made products, bringing in 1 company to represent each state.

During today’s event, President Trump also signed his latest executive order.

According to an official press release from the White House, the “‘Buy American and Hire American’ Executive Order…targets the abusive use of waivers and exceptions to undermine ‘Buy American’ laws that promote the allocation of taxpayer funds to American companies.”

In addition to Cheerwine representatives from North Carolina, the event also included leaders from the following companies, representing their respective states;

State Company Product
Alabama Altec Bucket trucks
Alaska Alaska Bowl Company Bowls
Arizona PING Golf Golf clubs
Arkansas Hytrol Conveyer belt
California The California Wine Institute Wine
Colorado Gordon Signs Neon signs
Connecticut Sikorsky Helicopters
Delaware ILC Dover LP NASA space suit
Florida Tervis Tumblers
Georgia Chick Fil A Food
Hawaii Koloa Rum Co. Rum
Idaho Boise Cascade Company Engineered wood floors
Illinois Caterpillar Farm equipment
Indiana Broomcorn Johnnys Brooms
Iowa RMA Armament Body armor, dummies
Kansas Grasshopper Company Lawnmower
Kentucky Campbellsville Apparel Company Apparel
Louisiana Marucci Sports Baseball bats
Maine Hinckley Yachts Yacht
Maryland Eddie Heath’s Crab Pots Crab pot manufacturer
Massachusetts St. Pierre Manufacturing Corporation Horseshoes
Michigan Milton Manufacturing Fabric
Minnesota Faribault Woolen Mill Wool blankets
Mississippi Taylor Machine Works Forklift
Missouri Beehler Corporation Door hinges
Montana Simms Fishing Fishing gear
Nebraska Greater Omaha Packing Beef
Nevada Kimmie Candy Candy
New Hampshire Cider Belly Doughnuts Doughnut company
New Jersey Campbells Soup Soup
New Mexico Desert Plastics Plastic Manufacturer
New York Steinway Piano
North Carolina Cheerwine Soda
North Dakota Dakota Outerwear Co. Military outerwear manufacturer
Ohio Bully Tools Shovels, rakes, hoes etc.
Oklahoma DitchWitch Trencher/excavator
Oregon Leupold and Stevens Sights and scopes
Pennsylvania Ames Wheel barrows
Rhode Island Narragansett Brewing Company Beer
South Carolina Casual Cushion Company Cushions
South Dakota K Bar J Leather Shotgun chaps
Tennessee Gibson Guitars Guitars
Texas Stetson Hats Cowboy hats
Utah Colonial Flag Company Flags
Vermont Dubie Family Maple Maple syrup
Virginia National Capital Flag Company Flags
Washington Liberty Bottleworks Water bottles
West Virginia Homer Laughlin China Company Iconic fiesta line of china
Wisconsin Pierce Manufacturing Two firetrucks
Wyoming Aviat Aircraft Model aircraft

What do you think about the new ‘Made in America’ week?

What do you think about President Trump’s job in office so far?

Concord High School Student About To Compete For The National Championship

Charlotte Stories
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Concord High School Student About To Compete For The National Championship

One of the Charlotte region’s best athletes is about to compete on a national stage for the title of the best high school tennis player in America.

Concord’s own Kate Earnhardt, who went undefeated last year and helped secure CFA Academy’s first girls state title in Cabarrus County history, was just invited to compete in the New Balance High School Championships.

According to the event’s description, “The New Balance High School Tennis Championship is the first event of its kind, crowning the individual HS National Champions for the last 3 years…it will be held at Weil Academy in Ojai, CA from July 24-27, 2017… On July 27th the tournament will honor one boy and one girl as the New Balance High School Tennis Champion.”

The invitations and seeding for the event was determined by examining the highest ranked players in every region of the country, based on the Universal Tennis Rating (UTR) system.

Earnhardt will be joining 63 other great high school players starting on July 24th to find out who our country’s best high-school tennis player is.

You can follow the results of the tournament on the USTA’s tournament page here.

Go Kate!

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