Charlotte area police officers started their Bike to DC in Charlotte Thursday morning. (Cindy Mills photo)

Officer Melvin Waller just before pedaling off on the Ride to DC. That’s Kaybri, the daughter of  fellow Davidson officer Paul Lowry, with him.  (Paul Lowry photo)

Davidson Police Officer Melvin Waller climbed onto his bike in Charlotte Thursday at 9am and began pedaling the first of what will be a 500-mile ride to Washington, DC, over the next few days. Waller and about 85 other officers from around the area are taking part in their annual Bike to DC, which honors fallen police officers.

Waller has dedicated his ride to officers including Mark Allen Swaney, a Davidson officer who died on Christmas Day 1997 in an exchange of gunfire that also killed a suspect on Davidson’s West Side.

Read the full story

A Florida developer has filed plans with the Cornelius Planning Department to demolish part of the Magnolia Plaza shopping center off West Catawba Avenue and construct what town officials say will be a Publix supermarket. See the full story on CorneliusNews.net.

Area high school seniors were chosen from among 15,000 finalists nationwide for National Merit Scholarships this year. The National Merit Scholarship Corp. announced the finalists Wednesday, and the list includes local students in public and private schools. Read the full story

Oxford Dam at the end of Lake Hickory, in Catawba County. (via Huntersville Fire Department)

Heavy spring rains raised water levels all along the Catawba River basin this week, leading to flooding in some low-lying areas of the river and area lakes. Residents along Lake Norman reported flooding, and some residents in northwest Charlotte’s Riverside neighborhood were evacuated amid rising waters. Read on for a photo gallery. Read the full story

The Lake Norman Regional Transportation Commission will hold its regular monthly meeting on Wednesday, May 8, 2013 at 6:30pm at the Cornelius Town Hall, with a focus on transportation planning in the NC 73 corridor through the region. Read the full story

Updated Wednesday 8:03am
Piedmont Natural Gas says work on a new gas pipeline at the northern edge and just north of Davidson on Wednesday could be noisy. The work is scheduled between 10am and noon.  Read the full story

The rain broke enough Monday to let the sun shine through on Lake Davidson. Jack McCall took the photo from his home at Spinnaker Point. (Jack McCall photo)

Updated 6:27pm
By DAVID BORAKS
DavidsonNews.net

After several days of heavy rain, water levels around Lake Norman are above normal, prompting warnings this week from officials who manage safety on the lake. Duke Energy said it is boosting flows at its dams in the Catawba River basin, and urging lakeside residents to beware of flooding in low-lying areas.

The National Weather Service reported Tuesday morning that some residents along the river were being evacuated, especially in the area between Lake Norman and Mountain Island Lake.  Fire officials said Tuesday night that about 40 homes in the Riverside community in northwest Charlotte were evacuated.

Meanwhile, the Lake Norman Marine Commission is asking boaters to avoid big wakes near shore. Read the full story

Months of debate among Cornelius commissioners over the NC Department of Transportation’s plan to widen I-77 north of Charlotte by adding toll lanes ended dramatically and quickly Monday night in a 3-2 vote in favor of the concept. With the board still one member short because of a vacancy, it was up to Mayor Lynette Rinker to break a 2-2 tie on the issue. See the full story on CorneliusNews.net.