Police recently caught a suspect in the act of attemping to steal scrap metal from a property owner on East Rocky River Road, but the owner decided not to press charges. Two break-ins were reported at churches: one at the Reeves Temple AME Zion Church and a separate case at the Davidson United Methodist Church Youth House, in which an unknown suspect stole a Nintendo Wii.  Read the full story

Completed solar panels on top of Baker Sports Complex are heating water for the pool and showers and generating part of the complex's electricity. (Davidson College photo)

A project to put solar panels atop Davidson College’s Baker Sports Complex has wrapped up, and the new technology is now producing hot water for a swimming pool and showers and a portion of the building’s electricity.

The $600,000 project is the biggest of its kind in town, and could save the college about $25,000 a year in energy expenses, college officials have said. It’s also part of the college’s growing commitment to sustainability. The solar-panel project was funded by college, the Duke Endowment and a North Carolina state grant that is part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. Read the full story

Davidson College police investigated Friday night's crash, in which a man driving this moped was hurt in a collision with the white SUV. (David Boraks/DavidsonNews.net)

Updated Tuesday, 1:13 p.m.
A 51-year-old Mooresville man driving a moped was injured Friday night around 10:30 in a collision with an SUV at the intersection of North Main Street/N.C. 115 and the Glasgow Street entrance to the Davidson College campus. Read the full story

A lone child ran across the Village Green last Friday, Feb. 17, the first day a new rule kept local elementary school students from gathering there. (David Boraks/DavidsonNews.net)

By DAVID BORAKS
DavidsonNews.net

Concerns about unsupervised children roaming downtown streets and shops have brought an end to the longtime Davidson tradition of Fridays on the Green. Davidson Elementary School officials told parents last week they no longer may give their fifth-grade-aged children permission to walk downtown on Friday afternoons. But some local business owners see no major problems and are lamenting the change, saying it will hurt their businesses.

The school’s interim principal said the ban was prompted by complaints from parents and businesses and concerns about safety and unruly behavior. She also told DavidsonNews.net the students are too young to be out without an adult. Read the full story

Davidson Presbyterian Church on Depot Street will host a community breakfast this Saturday, 7 to 11 a.m. The menu includes eggs, bacon, sausage, biscuits, grits, toast, orange juice and coffee. It’s $7 for adults, $5 for children 6 under. Read the full story

By CHRISTINA RITCHIE ROGERS
DavidsonNews.net

CHARLOTTE – The Red Line Task Force is looking to extend the deadline it set for reviewing plans for a commuter rail line north of Charlotte to give local governments, the state, Charlotte Area Transit System and Norfolk Southern Corp. more time to analyze financial and operational assumptions.

The task force had hoped to get feedback from the seven local governments along the line, CATS and the N.C. Department of Transportation by the end of March. The plan then would be revised and sent to back local governments for approval in June. But recent feedback from Norfolk Southern Corp., which owns the tracks between Charlotte and Mooresville, has thrown a wrench in the original plans. Read the full story

By DAVID BORAKS and CHRISTINA RITCHIE ROGERS
DavidsonNews.net

Updated 5:18 p.m.
Norfolk Southern Corp. has taken another big swipe at the proposed Red Line Regional Rail Project, saying in a letter to the N.C. Department of Transportation Tuesday that while the company “stands ready to study” the project, it believes the current plan to bring commuter rail to the Lake Norman area is “fatally flawed” and based on outdated assumptions. Read the full story

Speakers at a public hearing last Tuesday, Feb. 14, offered support for designating the former Davidson IB School on South Street as a historic landmark. Supporters included both the property owner, Charlotte Mecklenburg Schools, and its current tenant, Lake Norman Christian School. See the full story in REAL ESTATE & HOME»

Also on Real Estate & Home today, the latest Davidson and Cornelius home sales. And Teal Michel’s Interior Design column, with a focus on the color green.