Community
Online education will push buttons
By Dave Friedman. When U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas declared that he would run for President of the United States, the announcement took place at Liberty University in Lynchburg, Va. The school, founded by evangelical pastor Jerry Falwell in 1971, is one of the largest colleges in the country. Notably absent from Cruz’s announcement at […]
Concord’s new police chief hails from Milwaukee
June 11. Gary Gacek, a police commander from Milwaukee, will be the new chief of the Concord Police Department. The position has been vacant since March, when former chief Guy Smith retired. Deputy City Manager and former chief Merl Hamilton has been serving as interim police chief during the search process. Gacek was selected out of […]
Bruton Smith on being inducted into Nascar Hall of Fame
By Dave Vieser. Bruton Smith, a name synonymous with auto racing, has been selected to join the Nascar Hall of Fame. Smith, founder and chairman of Concord-based Speedway Motorsports, will join former race car drivers Terry Labonte, Curtis Turner, Jerry Cook and Bobby Isaac at the official induction in January 2016. “It will truly be an […]
Sen. Tarte says Davidson toll resolution is helpful
June 10. By Dave Yochum. While it wasn’t as strong as toll opponents had hoped, the Town of Davidson has officially expressed its concerns with the NCDOT/Cintra plan to widen I-77 with toll lanes. A resolution drafted by Commissioner Jim Fuller with input from NC Sen. Jeff Tarte passed 4-0 in front of a packed […]
Cabarrus is a model for how to accomplish critical infrastructure
Cabarrus County has done quite well, thank you, in the world of NCDOT and improvements to infrastructure. In fact, it’s one of the South’s largest transportation and distribution centers, thanks to widening projects to Interstate 85, providing quicker access to both Charlotte and Raleigh. And thanks, also, to a sustained group effort among top business […]
Visiting Cabarrus County is a year-round thing
By Michael Mezquida. Cabarrus officials are saying that tourism isn’t just a May and October affair anymore. They cite hotel occupancy rates and other figures prove people are coming to the Cabarrus for more reasons than just racing. And another hotel is in the planning stages of being built in Concord. Homewood Suites, a division Hilton, […]
McAlpine helps put brakes on I-77 tolls
By Dave Yochum. A modest, low-key guy with the mind of a CFO and the heart of an entrepreneur brought the Lake Norman business community together at Michael Waltrip Raceworld in late May to discuss plans to widen I-77 with tolls. If John “Mac” McAlpine V seemed to be preaching to the choir, he was. In […]
Why businesses and their customers should care about tolls
OPINION: A letter from Vince Winegardner In early 2012, I had heard about plans to widen I-77 with revenue derived from tolls. I was not terribly worried about that at the time. I was like most people and thought toll roads where the 50 cent variety used to cover maintenance and subsidize the construction costs. […]
I-77 toll controversy highlights worries about clout in Raleigh
By Dave Vieser. With Pat McCrory’s election in 2012 and Republicans holding a majority in the state legislature, things seemed to be looking up for Lake Norman. With a strong GOP lineup came expectations of increased help from Raleigh for critical infrastructure needs, especially in the transportation spectrum. Two years later, town boards around Lake Norman, […]
No housing bubble anywhere in sight
The Charlotte housing market is hot compared to other markets around the country. While the numbers regionally are strong, close-in neighborhoods and those with amenities like greenways and access to rail are the hottest, according to economists and Realtors. The high-end suburbs, where supply is limited, is strong too. “Median sales prices are holding steady […]
