Fairway Independent Mortgage Corp. said it has opened a new Lake Norman area office, at 16930 W. Catawba Ave., offering home loans and refinancing in an area from north Charlotte to Lake Norman. Janice Minchenberg is the branch manager. Fairway has 129 offices nationwide, and is headquartered in Sun Prairie, Wis.

Mecklenburg County has hired Ebenezer Gujjarlapudi, aas the new head of its Land Use and Environmental Services Agency), LUESA. Mr. Gujjarlapudi starts Jan. 9, with an annual salary of $145,000. He replaces Cary Saul, who is retiring after more than 30 years with the County. Read the full story

The Davidson Planning Board will continue discussion of a new plan for the area off I-77 Exit 30 at its monthly meeting Monday night. Meanwhile, the Design Review board meets on Wednesday. Read the full story

Now that Thanksgiving has past, we can turn our attention to decorating for the Christmas holidays. While most people spend a lot of time decorating various rooms in the house, the front door just gets a simple wreath made of evergreens. But it doesn’t need to remain this way, since the front door sets the tone for what to expect in the home’s interiors. A great wreath on the front door gets you excited and ready for what is inside. Read the full story

This home in River Run won 1st place for Plattner Custom Builders of Davidson in the $750,000 to $1million category. (Photo provided by Plattner Customer Builders)

The annual Lake Norman Home Builders Association Best of the Lake Gala was held Nov. 2, where Zar Custom Homes was named the Best in Show for a new custom home over $2 million. The annual competition is a showcase for designers, builders and trade craftsmen.

This year’s gala was held at NorthStone Country Club in Huntersville. Charlotte-based Andrew Roby took home six first-place awards, while Davidson-based builder Karl Plattner and Kitchen Vision of Lake Norman both had three firsts. John Marshall Custom Homes of Davidson also picked up a couple of first place awards. Read the full story

Mecklenburg County will close its Land Use & Environmental Services Agency office in Huntersville as of Nov. 30, citing “shrinking budgets and expanding technology.” The county says the duties formerly handled in its north Mecklenburg office, and another closed office in Matthews, now will be handled at the Hal Marshall Services Center in Charlotte. Read the full story