EnergyUnited offers an all-expenses-paid trip to the nation’s capital this summer for two rising high school seniors. The students will visit Congress, learn about the U.S. political system and develop leadership skills during the annual Rural Electric Youth Tour June 16-22.

The Electric Cooperative Youth Tour has been a joint effort of local electric cooperatives, such as EnergyUnited and the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association (NRECA), based in Arlington, Va., for 47 years. Read the full story

These signs were installed on Concord Road last year when the NC DOT resurfaced the road. (David Boraks/DavidsonNews.net)

By ROLEY ALTIZER

Since the spring of 2004, I’ve been obsessed with walking. From Dec. 14, 2004, (the day I started keeping records) to Dec. 5, 2011, I had walked 8,220 miles throughout town.

I started walking during the spring of 2004 as part of my rehabilitation after having brain surgeries—after I could be trusted to walk from McConnell to the Post Office and back.

I’ve always been an observant and analytical person, so during my years of walking I’ve made hundreds of mental notes about pedestrian safety here in town. Read the full story

Map shows locations of potential stations and financing districts. Click to download the PDF.

$452 million project won’t happen without all area governments in, task force chair says

By DAVID BORAKS
DavidsonNews.net

MOORESVILLE – Supporters of the Red Line Regional Rail Project north of Charlotte began their sales campaign in earnest Tuesday at a meeting of about 150 area elected and appointed officials. Leaders from across the region were there to hear the pitch, from Charlotte Mayor Anthony Foxx and Mecklenburg County Commission chair Harold Cogdell to town commissioners from the Lake Norman area.

There were plenty of skeptics in the crowd at the Charles Mack Citizens Center: local officials with questions about financing, retirees worried about higher taxes, and conservatives philosophically opposed to rail transit. Read the full story

Lake Norman-area leaders were scheduled to meet in Mooresville Tuesday to hear a new proposal to fund construction of the Red Line Regional Rail Project, which would run from Charlotte to Mooresville. The 25-mile Red Line has been discussed for  years, but lately it hasn’t had much momentum. Supporters are trying to change that.  Scott Graf, the morning host at our news partner WFAE-FM, talked to David Boraks of DavidsonNews.net and CorneliusNews.net, in advance of Tuesday’s meeting.

Click the play button to start? Can’t see the player or hear the audio? CLICK HERE>

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

(MP3, 4 min., 34 sec.)

EnergyUnited will issue refunds this month to its members who, as part of the cooperative, are entitled to shares of the organization’s excess profits. The $3 million in “capital credits” will be distributed across EnergyUnited’s  service area, including about 7,000 members in areas south and west of downtown Cornelius and areas north and east of downtown Davidson. The average check: just over $26. Read the full story

Click to download the 90-page business plan. Additional links and summaries below.

By CHRISTINA RITCHIE ROGERS
DavidsonNews.net

CHARLOTTE – Consultants Wednesday night outlined a 5-year plan to build the Red Line Regional Rail, a 25-mile commuter train line from Charlotte to Mooresville, and to pay for the estimated $452 million project through a formal partnership among local governments, the state and Charlotte Area Transportation System.

Under the proposed plan, the partners would cooperate by setting up a Joint Powers Authority (JPA), which would govern construction and operation of the rail line. The plan calls for the sharing of construction and operations costs:  25 percent from CATS, 25 percent from the state of North Carolina, and 50 percent from local governments.

Wednesday’s presentation came at a joint meeting in Charlotte of the Metropolitan Transportation Commission and its Red Line Task Force. It included an updated estimate of the project’s cost – $452 million in 2018 dollars, adjusted for inflation. That’s slightly lower than the $456 million number state and local officials had been using, based on previous estimates. Read the full story

Geese have become a problem at Roosevelt Wilson Park, the town says. (Jay Wilson/DavidsonNews.net)

The Town of Davidson has hired a Charlotte company called Goose Busters!to help with a perennial problem at Roosevelt Wilson Park: Too many Canada geese and what they leave behind. (Did you know geese can drop a pound of poop daily?)

Beginning Thursday, Dec. 1, and continuing three times a week for several weeks, the company will use trained herding dogs to shoo the birds away and will treat goose eggs to prevent geese from nesting in the park, which is off Griffith Street in Davidson. The town says the campaign won’t kill any geese. Read the full story

A diagram from CMU shows the part that will be replaced. (Charlotte Mecklenburg Utilities)

Updated Tuesday, Nov. 29
The Charlotte City Council on Monday night approved a contract to replace 68,000 potentially faulty wireless electronic transmitters on water meters across the county.

The utility said it had negotiated a settlement with the manufacturer, Itron, which is paying to replace the transmitters. The devices send water-usage data by radio signals from water meters to meter-reading trucks. Malfunctioning transmitters can transmit usage figures that are too low or too high, CMU said an announcement Monday morning. Read the full story