When Cornelius Town Board met last night to discuss the purchase of a new 25-foot police boat, their approval came surprisingly fast considering it was such a large expenditure. CPD’s new high-speed $207,000 boat will come fully loaded with an indoor cabin, advanced navigation and surveillance technology, and one of the fastest motors available.
“An open boat is just not feasible for our officers to be out on the water during the winter,” Hoyle commented to commissioners at last night’s meeting.
The new boat would require a 20% down payment, which would need to be paid through a new budget amendment for the town of Cornelius. The town will also apply $41,400 in funds they’ve seized in recent drug raids toward the total cost of the boat.
City commissioners who disapproved of the purchase suggested that, since many people who use Lake Norman are not Cornelius residents, the town should seek financial support from other towns around Lake Norman for the purchase of the new patrol boat.
Mecklenburg County currently pays more than $300,000 per year to Cornelius for lake patrol services, paid from property taxes of Mecklenburg residents who live near the lake.
The massive hotel that was originally planned to be built as part of the original Epicenter development just officially celebrated it’s “skybreaking”.
For years, naked i-beams and wires protruded from the top of the Epicenter, an eye sore for anyone on the upper levels of the complex. The original hotel was brought to a halt after the developer ran out of money and entered into a lengthy legal battle.
In the lawsuit, Mount Vernon and accused Vision Ventures of fraud and engaging in a scheme to “squeeze out” Mount Vernon from its minority interest in the Epicenter’s air rights and the 263 parking spaces for the planned hotel.
The CFO for development firm Citisculpt commented that the suit was settled last week but he did not release any further details.
Cleveland Construction has been selected to finish the project. The new designs include a suite-style luxury 116-room Residence Inn on top of the tower, and a 184-room AC Hotel on the lower section – both are brands of Marriott International.
The high-rise will also include a public rooftop bar, restaurant space on the fifth floor and retail space on the first floor. The finished complex is now expected to open toward the end of 2017.
In case you don’t know, today is election day in North Carolina! This will be the first time our state’s primary will be held in March instead of May – a change we made to be more influential in the presidential races.
This is turning out to be one of the most significant elections in recent history – not only for the presidential race, but also on a local level. The results from today’s vote could determine whether or not the i77 toll lane contract will be canceled, and if Charlotte’s new bathroom bill will be overturned at the state level.
We had to chance to talk to one of the candidates about why each person’s vote matters;
This election could influence whether or not the NC legislators call for a Special Session of the North Carolina General Assembly to repeal Charlotte’s bathroom bill, as many of those who would be in the session are up for re-election.
The toll lane contract will face much stiffer opposition if N.C. Rep. Robert Brawley, from Mooresville, defeats Governor McCrory for the Republican nomination for governor.
This year a valid North Carolina ID will be required to cast your vote, and you will have to be registered either Republican, Democrat, or Libertarian to vote for your presidential, congregational, senate, and governor nominations – check out what your sample ballot will look like here. If you’re registered as an independent, you must choose a party to vote with when you go to the polls (if you don’t choose a party, you’ll only be able to vote for the district court judges and the NC bond proposal).
Your vote will be determining;
The President
The Republican nomination race has been really tightening recently, with Ted Cruz winning several key states. Donald Trump is still the front-runner, but his lead continues to slide. If Marco Rubio decides to join Ted Cruz as his running mate, many project that Trump would be overtaken.
The Democratic front-runner is still Hillary Clinton at this point, but Bernie Sanders also has been winning several key states, and still has a very good chance of winning the nomination.
The Libertarian front-runner is now Gary Johnson, with the other four candidates mostly tied for 5th place.
U.S. Senate
Republican Richard Burr is now running for re-election and now has a good chance of winning. His only real competition at this point is tea-party-affiliated Greg Brannon.
Deborah Ross and Chris Rey are the two major contenders on the Democratic side – Rey seems to be more popular at this point.
The North Carolina Governor
Our current governor has the best chance of winning the Republican nomination, but former N.C. Rep. Robert Brawley (from Mooresville) will offer him some stiff competition due to the whole i77 toll lane fiasco (recently ranked as one of the 6 worst highway projects in America).
N.C. Attorney General Roy Cooper will clean up on the Democratic side. He’s been the guy the Democratic party has been wanting for higher office for a long time and is finally taking the leap.
N.C. Attorney General
Democrats have maintained this seat for generations, but now it’s finally up for grabs.
Buck Newton and Jim O’Neill are the Republican front-runners, both with relatively similar qualifications (Newton, a NC Senator from Eastern NC, and O’Neill, a DA from Winston-Salem).
Josh Stein is now considered to be the Democratic favorite and should easily get the nomination.
Mecklenburg County commissioners
Incumbents Ella Scarborough, Trevor Fuller and Pat Cotham are running the at-large race for the Democrats, and Republicans have sporadic choices in a few districts.
District Court Judges
If you’re voting in Mecklenburg County (district 26), you’ll have two seats on your ballot.
Seat 1: Hon. Charlotte Brown-Williams will be retiring and four attorneys are battling for her seat; Paulina Havelka (criminal and family law), Tracy Hewett (a public defender who lost the seat in the last race, Aretha Blake (Charlotte School of Law), and Faith Fickling (Legal Aid).
Seat 2: Christy Mann will be trying to defend her seat against George Bell and James Cyrus (Bell has ranked #1 out of all judicial candidates facing an incumbent for the District Court races according to the NC bar).
Other positions
The Republican primary will exclusively include the N.C. Commissioner of Agriculture, N.C. Commissioner of Insurance, and N.C. Secretary of State
The Democratic primary will include N.C. Treasurer, N.C. Commissioner of Labor, Mecklenburg County register of deeds, and N.C. Lieutenant Governor.
The N.C. Superintendent of Public Instruction will be on both primaries.
The new bond proposal
This year the election includes a $2 billion bond proposal, your vote would determine if the state can borrow the extra funds to pay for many proposed projects, including many new university buildings across the state (UNC Charlotte would get a new science building), and several new state parks. Our state has historically done a good job of managing their bond funds, so this new $2 billion bond will most likely be a good decision.
Rock Hill currently has the only Olympic-caliber training facility on the East coast – the BMX Supercross track. The track is currently accessible to all levels of riders, and provides a safe introduction to residents and Olympic hopeful BMX riders alike.
WARNING: don’t watch the following video if you’re afraid of speed;
The North Carolina elections are coming up on March 15th and candidates from both the Democratic and Republican sides are all coming to the Charlotte region to speak to the biggest city in the state, except for Trump, he’s speaking in mountains of Hickory.
Ted Cruz will be hosting a rally at the Charlotte Motor Speedway’s zMax Dragway between University city and Concord on Sunday, March 13 from 2pm – 5pm.
Hillary Clinton will be holding her rally in Charlotte’s Grady Cole Center on March 14th starting at 7:30 p.m.
Bernie Sanders will be visiting the Queen City for the first time on March 14th, with a rally to be held at the PNC Music Pavilion starting at 1:30 p.m.
Donald Trump’s campaign stated that he will be holding his rally in the mountains of Hickory at the Lenoir-Rhyne University on March 14th starting at 10am.
According to recent polls, Trump and Cruz are fairly close among North Carolina Republicans (32% to 26% – Kasich is third with about 11%), and Hillary appears to have a substantial lead over Sanders among North Carolina Democrats (57% to 28%).
It seems that small business incubators and co-working spaces are now popping up all over the Charlotte region – now York County will be opening their first, right in the heart of downtown Fort Mill. The space will be called ‘LOOM’ and will feature shared office space that professionals, creatives, entrepreneurs, and others can use on a monthly membership basis.
They are planning to have space for at least 50 ‘co-workers’ at any given time, meaning there could be well over 100 members involved. They already have 70 people in their meet-up group, and will most likely see a huge surge of interest once the space opens this coming June.
LOOM wants to create a stimulating and productive environment for collaboration and professional growth in Fort Mill and York County. They’ll not only provide a desk, but also a space for innovative interactions with like-minded independent workers in an accessible, inspiring, and sustainable community.
Their name, LOOM, is a tribute to our textile history, yet represents a contemporary take on the traditional art form by giving a place for local talents to “weave” together.
You can find out more information about them on their Facebook page here.
South Carolina resident Brent Nicholson is not in jail for getting caught with one of the largest stash of stolen firearms in US history.
There were so many guns and other weapons in the home and nearby out-buildings that law enforcement stopped counting after a while, remarked Jay Brooks, the Chesterfield County Sheriff.
There were even multiple tractor trailer containers filled with weapons. Most of the top law enforcement officials have never even seen a stash half this size.
There were so many guns, Brooks said, that top law enforcement officials from the area didn’t know how to accurately count the mountains of illegal firearms.
The raid of Nicholson’s property began Friday and continued over the weekend. Nicholson himself was arrested in Union County, North Carolina, on Saturday, and is now being held in the Chesterfield County Detention Center in South Carolina.
Guns weren’t the only thing hidden inside the home, according to investigators.
They also found 150 chainsaws and numerous taxidermy supplies among what Brooks described as a “menagerie” of stolen property.
The value of items seized from the home could be in the millions.
Authorities have now discovered that local people would steal anything and bring it to him, knowing that he’d pay them cash for it.
The weekend is almost here, and this weekend is going to be especially crazy in Charlotte for both residents and visitors! If you’re not quite sure yet what you will be doing, we got you covered!
Here are the top 5 things to do this weekend in Charlotte;
One of the fastest rising comedians is coming to Charlotte this weekend. Comedian/actor/writer Brian Posehn has made appearances on Seinfeld, Friends, Just Shoot Me, NewsRadio, Californication, Everybody Loves Raymond, The Big Bang Theory, Guys With Kids, and Anger Management.
He’s also done tons of voice-acting for Aqua Teen Hunger Force, Adventure Time, Metalocalypse, Bob’s Burgers, Mission Hill and American Dad. Brian has even made appearances in many blockbuster movies, including Funny People, The Devil’s Rejects, Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer, Sex Drive, and Surfs Up.
For the sixth straight year, the U.S. National Whitewater Center will be hosting its now famous “Green River Revival” on Saturday, March 12th.
Bringing Ireland to the Queen City, the festivities kick of the festivities at the Color Me Green 5k, where participants will need the luck of the Irish to avoid the green dye as they run through the trails. The fun continues at 1:00pm when the river turns Irish green and live music begins on Belmont Abbey Island.
In what could be one of the greatest concerts of all time, the Charlotte Symphony Orchestra will be playing all of your favorite Boyz II Men hits from the 90s, including; I’ll Make Love To You, End of the Road, One Sweet Day, and tons more.
The epic concert will be held at the Belk Theatre at Blumenthal Performing Arts Center on March 12th, starting at 8pm.
The Rich & Bennett’s St. Patrick’s Day Pub Crawl is once again coming to Charlotte on March 12th. Last year, almost 20,000 people joined the festivities in Uptown.
If you see a massive green crowd charging toward you on March 12th, now you know what it is.
If you want to join, your green t-shirt acts as your ticket, for more information and meeting locations click here.
If you love good country cooking and music, you don’t want to miss this festival starting on March 12th at 6pm. It will feature all you care to eat Oysters, BBQ, a low country boil w/ shrimp and andouille sausage – and plenty of drinks!
There will also be plenty of live music, games, and access to all of the Aw Shucks Farm Entertainment and Animal Barn, Raffles for prizes and more – check out their website for more info or for tickets.
This weekend in Charlotte, Groupon is also offering discounts on;
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Blackstone Shooting Sports is the largest indoor shooting range in the Carolinas and one of the country’s premier indoor gun ranges. Blackstone features 27 well-lit, state-of-the-art shooting lanes, including a 9-lane tactical training bay designed for advanced law enforcement and civiliant training. Each of the lanes at Blackstone is 25 yards long and can handle handguns, shotguns, and rifles up to 300 Winchester Magnum in caliber!
Their programmable target system was designed by Action Target and Mancom, the industry leaders in shooting range equipment. Just punch in the distance for your target and hit GO! Our tacical range also features turning targets, a great way to test the abilities of shooters of all skill levels.
All lanes are equipped with Action Target’s steel Total Containment Trap, baffling system, and clear-view bulletproof glass shooting stalls. The heated and air-conditioned range features a state-of-the-art ventilation system that provides clean air at a constant 68 degrees. With a slight breeze at your back, our system moves air down-range at a carefully monitored rate of 75 cubic-feet-per-minute in order to minimize lead exposure and to ensure that those at the firing line will always breath fresh, clean air.
When Cornelius Town Board met last night to discuss the purchase of a new 25-foot police boat, their approval came surprisingly fast considering it was such a large expenditure. CPD’s new high-speed $207,000 boat will come fully loaded with an indoor cabin, advanced navigation and surveillance technology, and one of the fastest motors available.
Looking for strategic staffing solutions in Charlotte, NC? 
