An earthquake in northern Virginia shook buildings up and down the East Coast, including the Lake Norman area, shortly before 2 p.m. Tuesday.

The U.S. Geological Survey reported an earthquake that registered 5.8 on the Richter scale, centered near Mineral, Va., northwest of Richmond. News reports said major buildings were evacuated, from the Pentagon in suburban D.C. to office towers in Manhattan. No damage was reported in the Lake Norman area.

“Something geological just happened,” said Gary Kerr, who owns an art and photography printing shop in Davidson. “I’m on the second floor of a building and this whole place is just wobbling.”

“My floor was bouncing,” said Julie Davidson, who lives in Cornelius’s Jetton Cove neighborhood.

People at Davidson College also felt the quake. “Am I crazy, or did we just have an earthquake?” said Davidson political science professor Shelley Rigger, who reported the old building she works in was shaking.

“I didn’t know what it was,” Davidson College art professor Nate Rogers said. “I just assumed somebody had dropped some giant sculpture in the art building.”

Cornelius Town Manager Anthony Roberts was in his office on the second floor of Town Hall when he felt the quake. “The whole dadgum building – like a ripple – just swayed,” he said.

Marianna Champlin, writing on DavidsonNews.net‘s Facebook page, said she was sitting on the couch with her daughter, who was shaking her leg.

“I told her to stop and she did. The couch kept shaking and she said, ‘That isn’t me.’ I wondered if there was road construction or something in our neighborhood but nope, there wasn’t. I found it odd and almost began wondering if we had just felt an earthquake. A few minutes later I checked the USGS website to find out there was an earthquake in VA!!!”

See a map of the quake on the U.S. Geological Survey site. http://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/recenteqsus/

See more about the quake and a link to some local earthquake history on the Davidson Lands Conservancy site.

The U.S. Green Building Council recently awarded LEED Silver certification to a house at 631 James Alexander Way, off Spring Street, in Davidson. The certification means the home, built by John Marshall Custom Homes Inc., meets strict standards for green construction and design under the LEED for Homes program. See a photo and story in REAL ESTATE & HOME »

A garden compost system. (Mecklenburg County photo)

Beginning next month, Mecklenburg County offers basic home composting classes around the area for people interested in learning more about the benefits of recycling and waste reduction.

The 2-hour, hands-on workshops are part of the county’s Organic Waste Reduction program and teach beginners the basics of home composting and residential recycling, soil preparation and management, toxicity reduction, grass cycling and mulching. Classes meet outdoors. Read the full story

This tree at Beaver Dam broke off at its trunk. More photos below. (Rachel Goldstein/DavidsonNews.net)

By DAVID BORAKS and RACHEL GOLDSTEIN
DavidsonNews.net

About 15 trees were toppled during a storm Thursday afternoon at Beaver Dam Park, the historic Davidson family homestead off Davidson-Concord Road.

Most of the trees fell around a parking lot behind the house, though several fell in front of the house. The Federal-style home was not damaged in the winds. Read the full story

This old tree snapped off during Thursday afternoon's high winds at Beaver Dam Park. (Armin Desch photo)

A strong storm blew through the Lake Norman area Thursday afternoon, knocking down trees and affecting traffic lights and power.

As of 6:30 p.m. Duke Energy was reporting that 16,868 customers were without power in Mecklenburg County.

Armin Desch, who runs Armin’s Catering and manages Beaver Dam in east Davidson, said it looked like a “twister” came through the park. He said about 15 trees were knocked down, many in the parking lot, and a few in front of the historic Davidson residence at Beaver Dam. The house was not damaged. (See a related story and more photos about the damage at Beaver Dam.)

“The house is fine and we have a bridal luncheon tomorrow. We can make due with the grass lot, because the parking lot is blocked with trees. One of my staff members was on site and she was terrified by the time I got there,” Mr. Desch said.

Trees also fell in Cornelius, including one on Westmoreland Road near Statesville Road.

News reports said planes at Concord Regional Airport were blown around in the storm, and one flipped on the runway.

Have a photo from the storm or a report of damage? Add a comment here, or send it in to editor@davidsonnews.net.

Mecklenburg County, the N.C. Department of Environment and Natural Resources Division of Air Quality and CATS encourage Charlotte region residents to leave their cars and home Thursday and try out a different commute to work.

Residents of Mecklenburg County and surrounding areas who work in the Charlotte region, in observance of Don’t Drive Day, are urged to ride the bus, carpool, telecommute, ride the LYNX Blue Line, walk or ride a bike to and from work Aug. 11. In doing so, commuters will save money on gas, reduce traffic-related stress and improve the local air quality, according to a press release from the county.

Charlotte recently was ranked the 10th most smoggy city in the U.S. by the American Lung Association, and reducing the number of cars on the road is one way to improve the city’s air quality. Vehicle exhaust is the primary source of air pollution in the Charlotte region, according to county officials.

WANT TO PARTICIPATE?

Commuters participating in Don’t Drive Day can enter information about their clean commute online. They will be eligible to win prizes, including the grand prize, an Apple iPad donated by N.C. Air Awareness. Additional prizes donated by REI, Duke Energy, Harris Teeter and Alta Planning and Design will be awarded.

The unbuilt Abersham development in Davidson may be sold to the county for open space and a future park. (David Boraks/DavidsonNews.net)

By DAVID BORAKS
DavidsonNews.net

Mecklenburg County Commissioners on Tuesday authorized county officials to move forward with a deal to buy the former Abersham development in northeast Davidson, for $3.733 million. The complex deal involves the Trust for Public Land, which has contracts to buy the 243-acre site from Community One Bank and Fifth Third Bank, which own the land after foreclosing on the failed project. Read the full story

Footprints cover a rock in a stream in Black Mountain, where your community editor was relaxing last weekend. Send us your summer photos. Info below. (David Boraks/DavidsonNews.net)

We’re always looking for good photos of Davidson, people and events. Send us your photos for consideration at editor@davidsonnews.net.

SUMMER PHOTOS

Send us your family lineups in interesting places, your favorite shot of a landscape or landmark, or even that quirky photo you shot at the beach. Email to editor@davidsonnews.net and we’ll consider them for publication. Read the full story