Updated Tuesday, Jan. 17, 2012
By DAVID BORAKS
DavidsonNews.net

More meetings lie ahead this week as Mecklenburg County’s Red Line Task Force lobbies for support for the proposed 25-mile commuter and freight rail line north of Charlotte. A critical vote could come Tuesday, when commissioners in Iredell County vote on the proposed $452 million plan.

It appears unlikely Iredell County leaders will vote in favor of the rail line, and that could bring a quick end to the latest effort to revive the rail line project. Iredell commissioners haven’t cast any votes yet, at least not formal ones. But they have signaled their lack of interest in the project: None have attended any of the regional meetings held to explain the project.

RELATED: Davidson planning workshop this Tuesday to Friday takes a closer look at potential development along the Red Line corridor. Read more in Real Estate & Home.

Read the full story

Cyclists started at Ingersoll Rand on Beaty Street in Davidson and turned here onto North Main Street. (David Boraks/DavidsonNews.net)

Updated Sunday, 8 p.m.
About 425 cyclists – young and old, men and women, on road bikes and recumbent bikes – braved freezing temperatures Saturday morning at the 2012 Polar Bear Ride. The annual event is organized by the Rocky River Road Club and includes 100-kilometer and 50-kilometer rides through the countryside of Mecklenburg, Iredell, Rowan and Cabarrus counties.

The ride raised about $5,500 for the Ada Jenkins Center in Davidson, a regional community services center with free health and dental clinics, a food pantry, an after-school program and other social services.

Both rides started and finished at Ingersoll-Rand, off Beaty Street in Davidson.

“It was perfect weather for it, at this time of year,” said organizer Jim Mead, of the Rocky River Road Club. He said 58 members of the club volunteered for the day, providing support along the route and helping out at the start/finish.

Riders came from as far away as Illinois, West Virginia, Virginia and Texas. They included elite riders tuning up before the start of the racing season in a few weeks, Mr. Mead said.

While most riders enjoyed a nice ride in the countryside Saturday, those elite riders were riding hard. They average 23 mph over the 60 miles, he said.

More information about the ride or the club is at www.RockyRiverRoadClub.org.
GALLERY

See a gallery of photos from the ride by Ron Donson, http://www.donsonphoto.com/

This wasn't the only recumbent bike in the ride. Is that Davidson's Bill Giduz? (David Boraks/DavidsonNews.net)

Hot chocolate before the ride. Click image to see a slideshow of Ron's photos. (Ron Donson photo)

By DAVID BORAKS
DavidsonNews.net

The Town of Davidson on Tuesday asked a judge to throw out a lawsuit by CommunityOne Bank challenging the Town Board’s 2011 rezoning of the former Davidson East property, off N.C. 73. In its response to the bank’s Nov. 2 suit, the town argues that the rezoning was legal and does not affect the bank’s ability to develop the property under the previous zoning. Read the full story

Consultant Mark Briggs discusses the Red Line plan at Wednesday's Lake Norman Transportation Commission meeting. Also pictured: Cornelius Commissioner Chuck Travis (left) and consultant Katherine Henderson (right) (Christina Ritchie Rogers/DavidsonNews.net)

By CHRISTINA RITCHIE ROGERS
and DAVID BORAKS
DavidsonNews.net

Commercial property owners along the proposed Red Line Regional Rail Project will be asked to make big up-front investments if area towns agree to move forward with the line, and some say that could make the project a tough sale.

To help pay for the commuter and freight rail line north of Charlotte, owners of commercial property in special districts around the tracks could begin paying extra taxes or fees years before rail service begins – and before they see any benefits. Read the full story

Davidson College plans two days of public events, Monday and Tuesday, Jan. 16-17, in observance of Martin Luther King Jr.’s birthday. They range from Monday’s King Day for Kids to lectures and discussions to a poetry performance.

The list of events is below. For more information on any of these activities, call 704-894-2225. Read the full story

Josh Peklo (left) takes over from Jeff Almond, whose three-year term is up. (David Boraks/DavidsonNews.net)

Josh Peklo began volunteering with the Davidson Fire Department while a Davidson College student in the mid-1990s. This month, he became the department’s chief, taking the reins from outgoing chief Jeff Almond on Jan. 1. Read the full story

By DAVID BORAKS
DavidsonNews.net

Davidson’s Town Board has scheduled a public hearing Jan. 24 on the proposed Red Line Regional Rail Project, including financing plans that would help pay for construction and operation of the line. At its monthly meeting Tuesday, the board also passed a second resolution authorizing the town staff to work with other area governments on developing the “value-capture options and other policies” proposed by the Metropolitan Transit Commission’s Red Line Task Force. Read the full story

Hundreds of cyclists are expected for Lake Norman’s 14th annual Polar Bear Ride on Saturday, Jan. 14, in Davidson. The Rocky River Road Club sponsors the half and full metric century bicycle rides through the North Mecklenburg/Lake Norman area, as a fundraiser for Davidson’s Ada Jenkins Center. Read the full story and find out how to register in HEALTH & FITNESS»