The City of Charlotte is now declaring Thursday evening’s Belk Bowl to be an extraordinary event. The game is expected to draw tens of thousands of fans and tailgaters in and around the Bank of America stadium beginning Thursday afternoon.

Designating the Belk Bowl as an extraordinary event gives CMPD officers more power to search people, restrict various activities, and make arrests.

The last ‘extraordinary event’ in Charlotte took place during the Keith Scott protests when the National Guard surrounded the Panthers Stadium during their Sept. 25th game.

Security officials are expecting thousands of outsiders to pour into our city tomorrow to watch the game while tailgating in parking lots, in local bars, and at the stadium. Recent terrorist attacks in Berlin and Nice, France, have made event’s like the Belk Bowl a high priority for police and security.

The Belk Bowl is an annual college football bowl game played at Bank of America Stadium. The game currently features a matchup between the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) and the Southeastern Conference (SEC), this year the Virginia Tech Hokies will be taking on the University of Arkansas Razorbacks.

Tickets are now starting at $54 each – click here to buy tickets.

According to the Charlotte City Code, these are the regulations that go into effect when an ‘Extraordinary Event’ is declared:

(a)During the period of time and within the boundaries of an extraordinary event, it shall be unlawful for any person, other than governmental employees in the performance of their duties to push, pull or transport any, vehicle, cart, or float, unless a permit specifically authorizes the use of that item(s).

(b)During the period of time and within the boundaries of an extraordinary event, it shall be unlawful for any person, other than governmental employees in the performance of their duties, to throw any item unless a permit specifically authorizing such throwing.

(c)During the period of time and within the boundaries of an extraordinary event, it shall be unlawful for any person, other than governmental employees in the performance of their duties, to willfully or intentionally possess, carry, control or have immediate access to any of the following:

(1)A bar, chain, shaft, staff, cable, wire, lumber, or plastic pipe capable of inflicting serious injury to a person if thrown at or struck upon another, except as permitted by subsection 19-303(d);

(2)A container or object of sufficient weight that may be used as a projectile, or that contains objects that may be used as a projectile, that could inflict serious injury to a person or damage to property;

(3)An aerosol container, spray gun or soaker device;

(4)A paint gun, etching materials, spray paint container, liquid paint or marker containing a fluid that is not water soluble;

(5)A backpack, duffle bag, satchel, cooler or other item carried with the intent to conceal weapons or other prohibited items;

(6)A glass or breakable container capable of being filled with a flammable or dangerous substance carried with the intent to inflict serious injury to a person or damage to property;

(7)A sharp or bladed objects such as a box cutter, utility knife, ice pick, axe, or any other object defined in section 15-14;

(8)A hammer or crow bar;

(9)Pepper spray, mace or any other irritant carried with the intent to delay, obstruct or resist the lawful orders of a law enforcement officer;

(10)Body armor, shield, helmet, protective pads, or gas masks carried or worn with the intent to delay, obstruct or resist the lawful orders of a law enforcement officer;

(11)A mask or scarf worn with the intent to hide one’s identity while committing a crime;

(12)A police scanner;

(13)Rocks, bottles, objects, bricks or pieces thereof that are of sufficient weight or design as to cause serious injury to a person if thrown at or struck upon another;

(14)A device used to shoot, hurl or project a missile of any description capable of inflicting serious injury to a person;

(15)A “sock” or “pocket” containing material of sufficient weight as to cause serious injury to a person if thrown at or struck upon another;

(16)Fireworks, smoke bombs, sparklers, and stink-bombs;

(17)An animal unless specifically allowed under the terms of a permit issued in section 19-313 or is a service animal used to assist a person with a disability.

(d)The following factors shall be a defense to prosecution for a violation of subsection (c):

(1)The defendant was engaged in, or on the way to or from, an activity in which the or she legitimately used the device or object;

(2)The defendant possessed that object for that legitimate use; and

(3)The defendant did not use or attempt to use the object as a weapon or to injure another person or damage property.

(Ord. No. 4814(b), § 1, 1-23-2012)

The Christmas season can often make people feel pressured to give the perfect gift or feel let down when we don’t receive what we were hoping for. One local church in Charlotte tried to combat those feelings with a simple message – be grateful for the gifts you already have.

Forest Hill’s creative team produced a video released on Facebook to introduce a new message series and it quickly went viral.

It’s now been shared over 100,000 times and viewed over 4.9 million times:

Please share the video and continue to spread the message of gratitude!

The CMPD just held their 42nd annual Explorers Christmas Project this past week, delivering presents and food to over 1,700 needy families throughout the Charlotte region.

They built bicycles, assembled toys, hand-wrote cards, then personally delivered them with plenty of hugs and encouraging words.

Each family they delivered presents to also received a gift card for a whole frozen chicken.

The CMPD Police Explorers Project originally started in 1974 as a way to give back to the community during the Christmas season. That first year, the Police Department helped 15 families – this year that number has grown over 100 fold.

To identify the children and families, CMPD partners with Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools guidance counselors and teachers to identify children and their families who are in need of assistance during the Christmas season. They also work with the Charlotte Fire Department to include families with emergency situations onto their list.

Their goal is to give each child at least three gifts, and provide each family with a gift card to a local grocery store to purchase a Christmas Dinner.

This year has been their biggest in over 40 years since the program first started.

Our #SeasonOfGiving continues! Hornets staff delivering toys for @CMPD Explorers Christmas Project. #SwarmToServe pic.twitter.com/t03qmlH7Iy

— Charlotte Hornets (@hornets) December 19, 2015

CMPD and city leaders plan on continuing to grow the program to bring even more joy next year.

Please share!

This past week we reported on the Federal Government’s decision to stop allowing federal financial aid to be used by students at the Charlotte School of Law (CSL), due to the fact that the school continued to misrepresent the extent of its problems, including the state’s lowest passing rate on the most recent bar examination.

Two students at the school have now filed a class action federal lawsuit, claiming that CSL leaders knowingly hid ongoing issues without any consideration of the student’s future.

The lawsuit specifically alleges that they school’s Dean Jay Conison, President Chidi Ogene, and owner Infilaw Inc. willfully ignored an order from the accrediting American Bar Association to inform students of significant failings in its admissions policies and curriculum, originally issued in July of this year.  In the suit, the students state that they wouldn’t have paid thousands of dollars in fall tuition had the school disclosed its problems as it was ordered to in July.

Last year, students received almost $50 million in federal aid, and now students are scrambling to figure out how they’re going to pay for their next semester. CSL is currently filing an appeal the government’s decision, hoping to reinstate the federal aid.

Tuition and fees at the Charlotte School of Law currently totals about $60,000 a year.

The class action lawsuit (which includes every student who paid tuition after Aug. 1st) accuses the school and its owners of deceptive and unfair trade practices, unjust enrichment, breach of fiduciary duty and fraud.

According to The Catawba Riverkeeper Foundation, a new coal ash leak has just beed discovered near Lake Wylie’s Allen Steam Station.

It was discovered coming from an abandoned pipe during a routine court-sanctioned inspection. The pipe drains directly out of one of Duke Energy’s ‘retired’ coal ash reservoirs.

The Riverkeepers now fear that continued corrosion of the pipe could lead to a similar blowout to what was seen 3 years ago at the Dan River, but since Lake Wylie has such a higher population than Dan River, this has the potential to affect far more people.

Duke Energy just released a statement saying that the pipe is likely leaking groundwater at a rate of about ‘a coffee cup per minute’. They said they took a sample of the water and it met state surface water standards, but with an elevated level of boron (indicating possible coal ash leakage).

Although Duke Energy has now plugged the pipe, the risk of further corrosion or a blowout is still possible.

The Catawba Riverkeeper Foundation is asking that all coal ash basins around the Lake Wylie steam station to be moved away from all bodies of water.

The last thing anyone wants is a repeat of what happened in Belmont, NC.