Flames from the explosion reached over 150 feet into the air yesterday.
Due to the explosion, the pipeline is shut down until repairs can be made. The company anticipates the main line will be closed for at least the rest of this week.
AAA Carolinas released a statement today, telling motorists to expect higher prices and widespread shortages.
“If September’s shutdown was any indicator of what we should expect, prices are definitely going to spike at the pump,” said Tiffany Wright, public relations manager for AAA Carolinas.
Drivers throughout the greater Charlotte are already experiencing spiking prices and “out of service” bags covering gas pumps.
John Oliver’s hit show ‘Last Week Tonight’, featured on HBO, and all over the internet, just highlighted Charlotte its latest segment about school segregation.
The episode just aired 2 nights ago, and it’s already been viewed over 2 million times (it’s currently #3 on Youtube’s trending list).
He starts talking about Charlotte at about 6 minutes into the video:
Hillary’s campaign just announced that President Obama will be returning to Charlotte this coming Friday to campaign on behalf of the Democratic presidential nominee, just a day before early voting comes to a close.
This will be the second time the president has visited Charlotte to campaign with Hillary (the first was back on July 5th). He will also be joining her at a rally at UNC-Chapel Hill this coming Wednesday.
Topgolf International Inc. is continuing to make steady progress on their $4.4 million, 14-acre site near the Whitehall complex (that place with the giant spinning head fountain) in the Steele Creek area of South Charlotte.
Construction started in August and the complex now has a soft opening anticipated for early 2017.
Topgolf Charlotte will be a futuristic “golf entertainment complex” offering targeted games where players hit ‘microchipped’ balls as close to various targets and special zones as possible. The balls individually record their location before and after they are hit, and give individual scores for each player. They will also feature a full food and drink menu – catering to golfers and non-golfers of all skill levels.
“We needed a super-regional facility and by that I mean something with highway access and large trip counts,” commented development manager Ted Heilbron.
Heilbron said the company has been looking at moving into Charlotte for two years.
The new complex will mean 480 new jobs and a $30 million paycheck to Mecklenburg County in taxes over 20 years.
The company also stated that if the Whitehall complex proves to be a hit, they will move quickly to build a second location in the North Charlotte/Lake Norman area.
A Gastonia resident just had their mail intercepted after they attempted to mail Democratic presidential candidate Hilary Clinton an envelope filled with human fecal matter.
When a local mail carrier was on his routine route in Gastonia’s Union Terrace subdivision, they noticed an unpleasant smell coming from a letter they picked up on Union Road. The letter, which was addressed to Hillary Clinton, also had some brown smudges on it.
The carrier immediately notified the acting postmaster, who in turn contacted the Secret Service.
The sender won’t be facing any charges since the material inside the envelope wasn’t explosive or otherwise harmful, although it possibly could have been considered hazardous.
Postal Inspector Justin Crooks commented that even though confiscated items are often held and later returned to sender, he doesn’t think this particular envelope will be kept or returned.
If you’d like to successfully send your favorite candidate some poop, we’d recommend using PoopSenders.com, or you could use Amazon.com – they’re now selling 5 lb bags of cow manure for $10 – just have it shipped to the campaign headquarters.
New businesses, especially restaurants, are popping up regularly across Cabarrus County and more are on the way.
Freddie’s steakburgers and custard is about to open in a new development between Allen Tate and the Concord ABC Store on Concord Parkway (this will be the second Freddie’s in Concord – the first being on Concord Mills Blvd.).
Another development at the corner of Rock Hill Church Road and Concord Parkway is now slated to include a new Dunkin’ Donuts, State Employees Credit Union, as well as a new Firehouse Subs – all expected to open before the end of the year.
Over on Derita Rd., just past the mall is yet another development slated to open soon. It will be called Christenbury Corners, and will include three new restaurants, a grocery store and a department store, as well as yet another Dunkin’ Doughnuts.
What do you think of all the new development in Concord?
On Friday night at roughly 9:45pm, Wanda Sue Hearn was struck and killed by a dark-colored SUV. The driver then quickly sped away from the scene on Court Drive in Gastonia:
Police are now asking for the public’s help in locating the vehicle. The official BOLO (be on the lookout) from the police states that the vehicle is believed to be a Burgundy 2010-2012 GMC Acadia SUV (there should be damage damage to the front right headlamp, fog light, and/or bumper):
– not actual vehicle –
This video was taken of her brother immediately after the incident (he was walking with her when the SUV hit his sister):
Police are asking anyone who may have seen the incident or who might have additional information to contact Officer J. Ewers with the Gastonia Police Department at 704-866-6702.
“I’m in desperate need of help for my mother in law, she was hit from behind last night, her and her brother were walking to dollar general around 9 when a vehicle came from behind and hit her so hard it knocked her shoes off an killed her instantly she was a good kind caring loving mother an a grandmaw to her first granchild I need help with her funeral cost her name Wanda Sue Hearn rip we love you.”
Local Weddington resident Harry Swimmer has just been named a top 10 global finalist for CNN’s Hero of The Year Award (you can vote for him here).
20 years ago Harry met a girl with cerebral palsy and offered her a free ride on one of his horses.
“I wondered what might happen if I put her on a horse,” commented Swimmer. “She just lit up like a candle. That’s when I knew what I wanted to do.”
Soon after that initial encounter, he and his wife decided to turn their lucrative for-profit horse farm into a nonprofit getaway for children with special needs:
Since 1994, the Swimmer’s farm has hosted over 700 children with special needs, if you’d like to volunteer, you can visit the Misty Meadows Mitey Riders website to find out more.
NC’s election board has just reported a high number of complaints about electronic voting machine errors and wrong selections.
State Board of Elections spokesman Pat Gannon commented this week that the complaints involved touch-screen machines used for early voting. He noted that the complaints only came from 5 out of the 100 North Carolina counties, including:
Cumberland
New Hanover
Iredell
Mecklenburg
Catawba
The complaints noted that the machines wrongly identified a voter’s choice, but in all reported cases, the voters were able to correct their ballots before casting them.
“To my knowledge, at this point, we don’t have any cases where elections officials noted significant problems with any machines based on these complaints. Of course they’re all looked into and that’s why we encourage people to immediately flag down an election official,” commented Gannon.
Here’s a video from Virginia showing a touch-screen voting machine malfunctioning:
CBS’s affiliate WFMY-TV in Greensboro just released this report:
The NC State Board Of Election released the following statement regarding the complaints:
The N.C. State Board of Elections is aware that some voters have contacted advocacy groups or elections officials with concerns about touch-screen voting machines in several counties.
Similar reports have been made in recent elections, and we take them very seriously.
We want to ensure voters that safeguards are in place to ensure touch-screen machines accurately record voters’ selections.
Touch-screen machines are tested thoroughly before each election. They are recalibrated daily before voting begins to test and ensure accuracy. If a voter notices an issue with selection accuracy of a machine, they should raise their hand and notify an election official immediately. If needed, the machine may be taken out of service for recalibration, and the voter may be moved to a different machine.
Also, each touch-screen machine prompts voters to review their selections before casting their ballot. As with paper ballots, voters should check over their selections to ensure accuracy prior to casting their ballot. On touch-screen machines, voters also can review a real-time audit log that records all of their selections.
“We urge all voters to carefully review their selections before casting their ballots, and to immediately report any questions or concerns to elections officials,” said Kim Westbrook Strach, executive director of the N.C. State Board of Elections.
This weekend is going to be incredible! There will be live music, sports, festivals, and tons of costume parties!
Here are the top 10 things happening around the Charlotte region this weekend:
#1 Kellogg’s Tour of Gymnastics
The 2016 Kellogg’s Tour of Gymnastics Champions will be coming to Charlotte this month on October 28th. The event will showcase gymnasts from the 2012 and 2016 Olympic Games, along with well-known names from the sport. They will be performing at the Spectrum Center (formerly Time Warner Cable Arena) in Uptown.
Kiss 95.1 Grave Diggers Ball turns the Queen City into the Scream City every October with the area’s largest costume contest, DJs and live music performances by chart-topping acts.
The most prestigious dirt racing event in the country, the Oct. 27-29 Bad Boy World of Outlaws World Finals brings together the top series in the sport, the World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series, the World of Outlaws Late Model Series and the Big-Block Modifieds of the Super DIRTcar Series, for a full weekend of racing culminating in the crowning of all three series champions.
Plaza Midwood is hosting their twelfth annual Fall Crawl Festival this coming Saturday in Midwood Park, with live music, food, games, and tons of kids activities from 12:30 until 6:00 pm.
Join Sugar Creek Brewing Co. Saturday, October 29th for a carnival themed party, with food trucks, fire breathers, live music, music, movies, games and entertainment for the kiddos.
The annual Carolina Renaissance Festival continues this weekend. There will be tons of shows, arts and crafts, games and rides, jousting knights on horseback, feasting and so much more! Time travel to the greatest party since Camelot!
Featuring a set hand-crafted and designed exclusively for the Charlotte production, FIRST DATE tells the story of when Aaron meets Casey and a casual drink turns into a hilarious high-stakes dinner. Can this couple turn a dating disaster into something special before the check arrives? There will be several show times throughout this weekend at the Blumenthal Performing Arts Center.
The Panther’s next home game will be this Sunday at the Bank of America Stadium. They’ll be taking on the Arizona Cardinals – hopefully they can start turning this season around!
The most beautiful colors are now on display in most parts of our state. The blue ridge parkways is at peak stage at medium elevations, and the lower elevations around North Carolina are just now starting to show color.
AAA Carolinas released a statement today, telling motorists to expect higher prices and widespread shortages.
Hillary’s campaign 
When a local mail carrier was on his routine route in Gastonia’s Union Terrace subdivision, they noticed an unpleasant smell coming from a letter they picked up on Union Road. The letter, which was addressed to Hillary Clinton, also had some brown smudges on it.
New businesses, especially restaurants, are popping up regularly across Cabarrus County and more are on the way.
Local Weddington resident Harry Swimmer has just been named a top 10 global finalist for CNN’s Hero of The Year Award (
