MI-Connection workers install new high capacity cable lines on a Davidson street last month. (David Boraks photo)

System now offering phone service, new channels in town

MI-Connection, the cable and internet system owned by the towns of Davidson and Mooresville, is now offering local phone service and more TV channels to its customers in Davidson.

Company officials told DavidsonNews.net they completed a major upgrade of cable lines and equipment in Davidson earlier this month. The change means improved TV picture quality, faster internet speeds, more standard and high-definition TV channels, and new products, including local telephone service delivered over your cable line, the company says. Read the full story

A new networking group is forming at South Main Square for Davidson-based professionals and services. The first monthly meeting will be Thursday, Feb. 26, from 8:30 to 9 a.m. Also, check below for upcoming events at South Main Square, which includes shops, restaurants and offices off South Main Street in Davidson. Also in this column:

• Southern Bella boutique closing.
• A name change for Home Economist, plus dates for a series of health and nutrition events.
• 2009 board election at MI-Connection cable system.
• Lake Norman Chamber awards for Forrest, Bilodeau.
• Divorce workshops for women.

Read the full story

Fitness Together, a chain of personal training studios, has opened its second location in this area, in the Davidson Commons (Harris Teeter) shopping center off Griffith Street.

Also in this column: the MI-Connection cable system board of directors meets Thursday, Jan. 29, at 7:30 a.m. in Mooresville ; Lake Norman Chamber invites Olympic gold medalist skater Dan Jansen to speak at annual meeting; Market Properties broker graduates from Realtor school; winter hours announced at Hatties Fresh Market; used tack and riding equipment sale this weekend at Bradford Store. Read the full story

This is part 2 of our 2008 year in review feature. Return to part 1, CLICK HERE>

Go on to part 3, CLICK HERE>

Public Safety

BB&T robbery suspect is caught on camera, Feb. 21.

The high point – make that low point – for police news last year has to be the Feb. 21 armed robbery at the BB&T bank branch on Main Street. Security cameras captured images of a man in camouflage jacket and sunglasses taking money from a bank teller. He escaped on foot. Afterward, news and police helicopters circled overhead. Police later said the man may have also robbed a Mooresville bank branch the same day. A man was later charged with the Mooresville robbery. Read the full story

The board of directors of the town-owned MI-Connection cable and internet system signed agreements Thursday that will enable it to offer telephone service to customers in Davidson, Mooresville and Cornelius. MI-Connection completed the agreements with Bristol Virginia Utilities (BVU) and Level 3 Communications. Officials at the local cable system told DavidsonNews.net last month they planned to begin marketing phone service in parts of their service area on Jan. 1. Read the full story

By DAVID BORAKS
DavidsonNews.net

Competition is getting ready to expand for video, internet and telephone services, giving consumers more choices, new products and unfamiliar new lingo to learn. For the local cable systems and phone companies now going head-to-head, it means entering new business lines while trying to hold on to existing customers. Two of the latest signs of change:

MI-Connection workers install new high capacity cable lines on a Davidson street last month. (David Boraks photo)

• Local phone company AT&T announced Monday it would begin selling its U-verse video and high-speed internet services in Charlotte-region neighborhoods where it already offers telephone service, from Gastonia to Salisbury. A spokeswoman told DavidsonNews.net Monday U-verse won’t be available in all neighborhoods, but some parts of Davidson and Huntersville could get service soon.
• MI-Connection, the cable/internet system owned by the towns of Mooresville and Davidson, plans to begin selling a local phone service called True Voice in parts of its north Mecklenburg/south Iredell territory on Jan. 1. A MI-Connection spokeswoman tells DavidsonNews.net the service will be available first to about 3,800 households in Cornelius and Mooresville, where cable lines and equipment have already been upgraded. Customers in Davidson and other areas will get the new option by March, as a system-wide upgrade is completed. Read the full story

Want to help plan for our town’s future? The Town of Davidson is seeking volunteers to join study groups that will help develop a new comprehensive plan – a town-wide vision that will guide future development and policy decisions. The deadline for applications is Wednesday, Oct. 22. Details below.

Meanwhile, in other news from Town Hall: the town has hired a new public works operations supervisor to assist the public works chief. And the Town Board Tuesday set the term dates for the town’s three members on the board of the MI-Connection cable TV system. Read the full story

The Town Board Tuesday night approved a pair of zoning-related requests – one after a lengthy discussion about conflicts-of-interest among board members. Commissioners also gave their blessing to the Bicycle Master Plan and the final report and recommendations of the Natural Assets Stakeholders Committee, or Greenprint Committee. The committee spent the past year studying the town’s trees and other natural asset and made recommendations on how to preserve them. Read the full story