Since Monday, Tibetan monks from the Drepung Loseling Monastery have been working 8-hour days at Davidson College’s student union to create an intricate mandala sand painting.

Read the full story

Updated Monday, 4:07 p.m.
A team of visiting Tibetan monks began a four-day visit to Davidson College Monday with a ceremony in the college union that included chanting and the sound of horns, drums and cymbals. The ritual, in front of a table with ritual objects and a photograph of the Dalai Lama, consecrated the space as they prepared for the painstaking and meditative work of constructing a mandala sand painting. Read the full story

Davidson College said Friday that WDAV-FM General Manager Scott Nolan will step down Nov. 2. The station named longtime program manager Frank Dominguez as interim general manager and said it would immediately begin a search for a replacement. Read the full story

An outside fire was reported at the intersection of Pine and Church Streets in Cornelius last week. Davidson firefighters who responded found a homeowner burning brush, a reclining chair, and a sofa in his back yard. The resident was advised that burning rubbish is illegal and emergency personnel extinguished the fire with a garden hose. Davidson also helped Mount Mourne Volunteer Fire Department with a fire on Deerwood Lane in Mooresville. A construction crew broke a water main on Park Forest Street a week ago, prompting a call for firefighters. Smoke from an outside grill that wafted into a fraternity house prompted an emergency response to Davidson College on Oct. 12. Details on these and other incidents and a tally of the week’s medical calls may be found below. Read the full story

Ninth Congressional district candidates Democrat Jennifer Roberts and Libertarian Curtis Campbell offered diverging views of government in an election forum Thursday night at Davidson College. The forum also included candidates for Mecklenburg County Commission. Listen to audio replays of the three sessions on our ELECTION2012 page»

Also on our Election 2012 page today:

• Voter registration ends Friday; early voting begins Oct. 18 – information for voters about the upcoming election.
• Mooresville commissioner proposes switching to partisan elections

Hours after announcing its biggest donation ever (a $45 million gift from the Duke Endowment) on Thursday, Davidson College was toasting with donors at a big party on the front lawn of Chambers Hall. Read the full story

Davidson College has received its largest gift ever, $45 million from the Duke Endowment that college officials say will be used to “transform the academic heart of the campus.” The money will pay for renovations to a half-dozen campus buildings beginning next year, as well as a new science building. Read the full story

A Jetton Street resident called the fire department on Oct. 2 to check on a smoking electrical box on the outside of a detached garage. A Duke Energy technician shut down power to the panel, and no damage was found. Davidson Engine 1 provided backup Oct. 1 when Cornelius firefighters put out a house fire on Island Forest Drive, on Lake Norman. And firefighters also responded to two calls at Davidson College recently involving people trapped in elevators, as well as a slew of malfunctioning carbon monoxide alarms. See a complete list of recent incidents (as well as a tally of the medical calls) below. Read the full story