U.S. Rep. Sue Myrick, R-Charlotte, said Tuesday she won’t seek re-election in the reconfigured ninth Congressional district. The district will now stretch from Union County north to south Iredell and includes Davidson and Cornelius. At least one candidate – Republican county commissioner and former sheriff Jim Pendergraph – has already thrown a hat into ring. See our Election 2012 Page

New full professors, from left: Rick Gay, Dan Aldrich, Gayle Kaufman, Mario Belloni, Vivien Dietz.

Five Davidson College faculty members have hit a big milestone – promotion to full professor. The college announced last week that trustees approved the new rank for historians Daniel W. Aldridge III and Vivien E. Dietz, physics Prof. Mario Belloni, Education Prof. Rick Gay and sociologist Gayle Kaufman.

Full professor is the college’s top rank and recognizes faculty for achievements in teaching, professional activity, and college/community service. New professors typically begin at the rank of assistant professor. They can be granted tenure and promoted to associate professor after a sixth-year review. They become eligible for full-professor honors after another review and seven more years.

Here are biographies of the new full professors: Read the full story

Roy Alexander (left), executive director of Davidson Lands Conservancy, and Russ Gavitt hatched the idea of a jazz-and-art fundraiser. They're standing in front of a new gazebo the DLC built at the Lake Davidson Nature Preserve, off Jetton Street.

Russ Gavitt has been a longtime supporter of the Davidson Lands Conservancy, but this year, he was looking for a way to do more. Over coffee with the conservancy’s executive director Roy Alexander recently, the photographer and Davidson resident helped come  up with the idea of staging an art and music fund-raiser.

On Friday, Feb. 24, Mr. Gavitt and other artists will be selling their work while a jazz quartet performs at “Spread the Love,” an arts reception to benefit three Davidson institutions: the lands conservancy, the Community School of Davidson and the Ada Jenkins Center. It will run from 7-10 p.m. at Homewood Suites, 125 Harbour Place Drive, off I-77 Exit 30 in Davidson.
Read the full story

By DAVID BORAKS
DavidsonNews.net

It’s a busy week for meetings about the proposed Red Line Regional Rail Project. Mooresville’s Red Line Review Committee meets Tuesday morning. And what could turn out to be dueling meetings are scheduled Wednesday at Cornelius Town Hall – one with an anti-rail expert from the Cato Institute and another featuring a panel discussion with large property owners who support the project. Meanwhile, owners of property in downtown Davidson along the rail line have been invited to a Wednesday afternoon meeting explaining how the proposed financing would work. Read the full story

Guinness World Record certificate for the Davidson group paddle ball record of Sept. 3, 2011.

Were you one of the 356 people who bounced paddle balls on the Davidson Green last September shooting for a world record? Pat yourself on the back. It’s now official: You are a Guinness World Record holder. Organizer Steve Langley of Hutnersville, who calls himself the Paddle Ball King, got the word Monday.

“It’s a relief,” Mr. Langley said Monday afternoon. “Although it was success by any measure of the fun … To get the official Guinness certificate is very satisfying. It was a pretty monumental effort and we had to jump through a lot of hoops.”

Read the full story

Alex Phillips (left) of Restaurant X serves Davidson resident Margaret Goode. (David Boraks/DavidsonNews.net)

Eight area restaurants brought their best soups Davidson College Saturday afternoon for the eighth annual Souper Bowl, a soup cook-off among local chefs that raises money for the Davidson Housing Coalition‘s HAMMERS emergency home repair program.

More than 400 diners were there, tasting the soups and picking winners in a variety of categories from most creative to best vegetarian. There also was a silent auction of pottery, jewelry and other art objects. And the Rusty Knox, Sands of Tyme, and Davidson College acapella groups provided musical accompaniment. Read the full story

Georgia Krueger speaks at Thursday's reception. At left is Natisha Rivera-Patrick, and second from left, Ada Jenkins board chair Lisa Estes. (David Boraks/DavidsonNews.net)

There was lots of hugging at Ada Jenkins Center Thursday morning, as volunteers, staff and supporters formally welcomed executive director Georgia Krueger back to work. Ms. Krueger had taken a medical leave last fall as she battled Lyme Disease. Read the full story

To the Editor:

Cornelius Commissioner Dave Gilroy writes: “The obviously failing Red Line Rail effort championed by our liberal-leaning, big-spending North Meck mayors (Woods, Tarte, and Swain) in concert with Anthony Foxx and Beverly Perdue’s Department of Transportation (NC DOT) is welcome news for taxpayers. The real tragedy however is that this aggressive, extremely well-organized, and high energy initiative could have been profoundly constructive for regional transportation if focused on our true priorities.” Read his full letter on CorneliusNews.net.