A Washington State developer is moving ahead with plans for a four-story, 120-unit retirement housing complex off I-77 Exit 30. Representatives of Hawthorn Retirement Group of Vancouver, Wash., were at a joint meeting of the Davidson Town and Planning boards Monday night, where they heard a variety of concerns, about everything from parking to possible tree removal to the amount of public open space. Read more in REAL ESTATE & HOME»

Repair crews worked on a cut fiber-optic cable over Lake Norman in Iredell County the week of Feb. 13. MI-Connection's board last week discussed possible legal action over the incident. (MI-Connection photo)

By DAVID BORAKS
DavidsonNews.net

Revenues at MI-Connection Communications System rose slightly in the quarter that ended Dec. 31 as growth in telephone and internet service offset flat cable TV revenues. But big debt payments contributed to another $1.66 million loss during the three-months. At a monthly board meeting Thursday, Feb. 23, MI-Connection board members also heard about plans for an April 1 rate increase and product upgrades, and discussed potential legal action over a Feb. 12 cable cut that knocked out half the company’s internet capacity. Read the full story

Completed solar panels on top of Baker Sports Complex are heating water for the pool and showers and generating part of the complex's electricity. (Davidson College photo)

A project to put solar panels atop Davidson College’s Baker Sports Complex has wrapped up, and the new technology is now producing hot water for a swimming pool and showers and a portion of the building’s electricity.

The $600,000 project is the biggest of its kind in town, and could save the college about $25,000 a year in energy expenses, college officials have said. It’s also part of the college’s growing commitment to sustainability. The solar-panel project was funded by college, the Duke Endowment and a North Carolina state grant that is part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. Read the full story

Davidson’s Town Board has meetings Monday and Tuesday nights this week, in part to look at planning issues. On Monday night, the commissioners hold a joint session with the Planning Board to review a proposal for a multistory retirement housing project off I-77 Exit 30. Then on Tuesday, it’s the board’s monthly work session, with presentations about the downtown rail station area plan and town Economic Development Strategic Plan. Read the full story

A lone child ran across the Village Green last Friday, Feb. 17, the first day a new rule kept local elementary school students from gathering there. (David Boraks/DavidsonNews.net)

By DAVID BORAKS
DavidsonNews.net

Concerns about unsupervised children roaming downtown streets and shops have brought an end to the longtime Davidson tradition of Fridays on the Green. Davidson Elementary School officials told parents last week they no longer may give their fifth-grade-aged children permission to walk downtown on Friday afternoons. But some local business owners see no major problems and are lamenting the change, saying it will hurt their businesses.

The school’s interim principal said the ban was prompted by complaints from parents and businesses and concerns about safety and unruly behavior. She also told DavidsonNews.net the students are too young to be out without an adult. Read the full story

By CHRISTINA RITCHIE ROGERS
DavidsonNews.net

CHARLOTTE - The Red Line Task Force is looking to extend the deadline it set for reviewing plans for a commuter rail line north of Charlotte to give local governments, the state, Charlotte Area Transit System and Norfolk Southern Corp. more time to analyze financial and operational assumptions.

The task force had hoped to get feedback from the seven local governments along the line, CATS and the N.C. Department of Transportation by the end of March. The plan then would be revised and sent to back local governments for approval in June. But recent feedback from Norfolk Southern Corp., which owns the tracks between Charlotte and Mooresville, has thrown a wrench in the original plans. Read the full story

The N.C. Department of Transportation’s top official working on the Red Line Regional Rail Project has sent a written response to Norfolk Southern Corp. welcoming the company’s “active role” in the project and requesting a meeting where Red Line Task Force and railroad officials can “share new information” that will help planning the project. Read the full story

By DAVID BORAKS and CHRISTINA RITCHIE ROGERS
DavidsonNews.net

Updated 5:18 p.m.
Norfolk Southern Corp. has taken another big swipe at the proposed Red Line Regional Rail Project, saying in a letter to the N.C. Department of Transportation Tuesday that while the company “stands ready to study” the project, it believes the current plan to bring commuter rail to the Lake Norman area is “fatally flawed” and based on outdated assumptions. Read the full story