Lake Norman Transportation Commission director Bill Thunberg speaks at the Chamber's Focus Friday event. Also pictured (from left): Bob McIntosh, Bill Russell, MattGallagher. (David Boraks / DavidsonNews.net)

By CHRISTINA RITCHIE ROGERS
DavidsonNews.net

While many property owners say they’re in favor of a commuter rail line north of Charlotte, it’s hard to find one in favor of the current proposed Red Line Regional Rail financing plan. Matt Gallagher, who works for developer Gandy Communities, said the special assessments on commercial property owners proposed under the draft financing plan is “a big burden to carry.” He spoke Friday at a Lake Norman Chamber of Commerce Focus Friday event in Cornelius, joined by speakers Bill Thunburg, the Lake Norman Transportation Commission Director and a member of the Red Line Task Force, and Bob McIntosh, of McIntosh Law Firm in Davidson.

Developers have been meeting regularly to discuss the draft financing plan, which asks commercial property owners along the rail to pay an additional “special assessment” tax of as much as 75 cents per $100 of assessed value that will go towards funding construction of the rail line from Charlotte to Mooresville. Read the full story

This crew of women enjoyed the festivities and helped raise money for Community Arts Project. (David Boraks/DavidsonNews.net)

Thursday night’s Taste of Art fundraiser at The Fresh Market off Torrence Chapel Road was a feast for wine-lovers and diners – and a major annual fundraiser for the Community Arts Project. Read the full story

Students remember one of their own, on the W.A. Hough High spirit rock. (Christina Ritchie Rogers / CorneliusNews.net)

School Spirit Rocks bear different messages over the course of a school year. Sometimes, they wish happy birthdays, celebrate important sports wins, or announce school events. And sometimes, become memorials.

Students wrote individual messages to Jocelyn on the rock. (Christina Ritchie Rogers/ CorneliusNews.net)

Jocelyn Desmond

This week, as students at W.A. Hough High on Bailey Road in Cornelius try to make sense of a classmate’s death, the school’s spirit rock carries messages of love and remembrance of junior Jocelyn Albright Desmond, who died March 15.

In one message, a student also refers to other classmates who have died recently, saying, “God has some of his best angels up here now.”

Students’ messages on rock join many notes posted on the Web, including Facebook, remembering their 17-year-old classmate, who lived in Davidson.

Read below for info on how to submit your photo of the day. And see previous photos of the day, CLICK HERE Read the full story

The map shows exactly which properties would be in Special Assessment Districts. Click to view.

Updated 11:43 a.m.
By DAVID BORAKS
DavidsonNews.net

One of the big unanswered questions about the Red Line Regional Rail Project has been which commercial properties would be included in “special assessment districts” that would be asked to help pay for the line. This week, project consultants finally unveiled a parcel-by-parcel map that clears up the picture, at RedLineRegionalRail.org/map/.

It’s a detailed map that uses a “yes-no-maybe” color scheme to show property owners if they will be asked to vote whether to voluntarily create the special districts. Those owners would pay an annual assessment of 75 cents per $100 of property value to help build the line, on the theory that they would benefit from the line’s presence. Read the full story

The Lake Norman Chamber will host a Focus Friday discussion this Friday morning, March 23, on the Red Line Regional Rail Project. Bill Thunberg, executive director of the Lake Norman Transportation Commission, and two property owners along the line – Bob McIntosh and Matt Gallagher – will be the featured speakers. Read the full story

Lightning struck a Lake Norman waterfront home in Cornelius’s Peninsula neighborhood just before 10:30 p.m. Tuesday, sparking a fire that spread to the master bedroom and back of the house. Firefighters from Cornelius, Davidson and Huntersville responded. Read the full story on CorneliusNews.net.

A man whose body was found on the shore of Lake Norman in southern Iredell County on Sunday apparently fell overboard while fishing. But it’s still not clear what caused his death, investigators said Monday.

Officer Ron Robertson of the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission, which has jurisdiction on the lake, identified the man as Mitchell Todd Meadows, 50, of Mooresville. Read the full story

A Revolutionary War Encampment at Legion Park in Cornelius, a celebration of the upcoming birthday of composer Johann Sebastian Bach, documentary film screenings, and a lecture on the fact and fiction surrounding Islam highlight the week’s activities on our community calendar. “Stones in His Pockets” continues on stage at Warehouse Performing Arts Center in Cornelius, while Davidson College hosts its annual Media Conference Saturday, as well as a lecture by N.Y. Times Executive Editor Jill Abramson. See our full list of happenings this week in THE GUIDE»