One of the key issues in this fall’s election is the August decision by Davidson and Mooresville to purchase the former Adelphia cable TV/internet service. Evan Webster, a Davidson commissioner who is running for re-election, has provided a written response to questions voters and candidates are raising. Mr. Webster has been studying the issue for two years and is the unpaid volunteer chairman of the MI-Connection cable consortium, which will take over the service Dec. 19. Read on for more about the system, Evan Webster’s comments and links to public documents about the cable system’s financial projections. Read the full story

Updated Sunday, Oct. 7, 2007, 9:50 a.m.

Opponents of the planned Davidson-Mooresville takeover of the local cable TV system were encouraged this week when a state finance review panel said it would watch the November election closely to see if opponents win a majority on the town board. But officials and supporters say undoing the deal could be a costly mistake – possibly involving a court battle and liability for $10 million or more in expenses. At a candidate forum Thursday night at St. Alban’s Episcopal Church, the nine Town Board candidates divided themselves clearly into two camps for and against the deal.

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The four-member executive committee of the Local Government Commission in Raleigh on Tuesday approved a request by Davidson and Mooresville to obtain up to $80 million in bank financing to buy and upgrade the local cable and Internet system. But that may not be the final word on the matter. Will the fall election determine the fate of the proposed purchase?

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The Town Board at its monthly meeting tonight will be asked to approve a $500,000 addition to the 2007-2008 budget to speed up engineering on upgrades to the local cable and internet system, Town Manager Leamon Brice said this morning. But the expense will be offset in December, when Davidson and Mooresville complete the purchase of the former Adelphia system, and close on financing to pay for the purchase and system upgrades.
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The newly-formed board of MI-Connection has begun meeting, choosing personnel and planning for transfer of the local cable television and internet system to public ownership at year’s end. In recent weeks, the board has elected officers and the system has hired cable industry veteran James R. Miller Jr. as general manager.

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School is starting, college students are back, and the social and civic calendar in Davidson just got a whole lot busier. This week’s events range from the monthly Planning Board meeting and Town Board work session to the annual Davidson College freshman “Cake Race” Wednesday, where top finishers get their choice of cakes baked by community members. Read the full story

The recent decision by Davidson and Mooresville to purchase the local cable television and internet system continues to make headlines – for both news and opinion. Thursday’s Charlotte Observer reports that the towns have approved a contract setting fees they will pay to Bristol Virginia Utilities, which they plan to hire to operate the system. Meanwhile, Davidson mayoral candidate William E. Jackson Jr. continues to argue that the cable system purchase was a mistake, most recently through a commentary published in the Aug. 17 Charlotte Business Journal.

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The town boards of Mooresville and Davidson voted separately Monday night to go ahead with the proposed $39 million purchase of the local cable TV and internet system. The towns now have 120 days to buy the system, which they plan to rename MI-Connection. Read the full story