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Measuring the Return on Investment
   January 13, 2011

Bianca Guinn
Today’s public libraries are expected to deliver traditional services in a rapidly changing technological environment . As libraries struggle to maintain high quality programs that are financially sustainable, the impact of the recent recession and the consequent decline in financial support further challenges libraries to find ways to survive while continuing to deliver essential services. Read more
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Bulldozers, dumptrucks and track hoes, oh my!
   January 6, 2011
Ruth Ann Grissom

We’ve had some heavy machinery on our land in southern Randolph County the past few months.  Rest assured – this earth-moving equipment has NOT been there to prepare the land for a subdivision, fast-food chain or strip mall.  It’s part of a wetlands restoration project through the state Ecosystem Enhancement Program (EEP).  When streams or...

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City-county consolidation: promises made, promises kept?
   January 6, 2011

Kurt Thumaier & Suzanne Leland
City-County consolidation, when a county and the cities within a county merge to form a single government entity, is the most visible and comprehensive change in the local government structure. With an average passage rate of fifteen percent, and only forty total consolidations in the US, city-county consolidation is an extremely rare event. Yet, during this great recession, many communities such... Read more
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Three special pines
   December 10, 2010
Ruth Ann Grissom

Ask an outdoor enthusiast to name a special natural area in the state and he might mention mountain bogs, Carolina bays or longleaf pine savannas.  If pressed to identify one in the piedmont, he might squint and scratch his head and stammer.  The piedmont is often described as fragmented, cultivated and compromised.

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Persistently Green: Landscapes in Transition
   December 10, 2010

Sara Gleave

It’s no secret that the Charlotte region has been rapidly growing more urban over the past few decades.  Yet despite the record expansion of the urbanized area experienced during economic boom times, private landowners cling to over two million acres of undeveloped land in the Charlotte metropolitan region.  Why do these remnants of green...

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The changing face of Mecklenburg
   December 3, 2010

Mecklenburg County, N.C. is home to the state's largest city, Charlotte. Most people living in Mecklenburg County today were born outside of North Carolina. U.S. Census Bureau data estimates from 2009, released earlier this fall, put that number at just over 58 percent. The new diversity of the county has some interesting twists. For instance, more people living in the county today were born in... Read more
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Marbled Salamanders
   December 3, 2010
Crystal Cockman

During our recent hike in the Birkheads, I noticed more than ever one of the most significant aspects of being in the woods this time of year – and that is just how quiet it is. Other than the occasional loud sounds of crunching leaves under our feet, most of the normal sounds of the forest are very subdued this time of year. Not many birds chirping or frogs calling, as much wildlife...

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The Future Isn't Free
   November 22, 2010

Charlotte is once more at a crossroads: future challenges abound—in education, environmental sustainability, and social equity to name only three. Even more important is the question of transportation infrastructure, and I make no apologies for returning to one of my favorite topics because of its primary importance to the economic growth and prosperity for our city.

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Charlotte Biotech: A Life Sciences Cluster Emerges
   November 12, 2010

Marjorie Benbow

A few weeks ago, UNC Charlotte hosted the ninth annual Charlotte Biotechnology Conference.  The original idea for this event was that it serve as a barometer of the “life science cluster” in the Charlotte region.  Sensing increased activity in patents and start-ups ten years ago, UNC Charlotte's Office of Technology Transfer and the regional...

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To covet a covey
   November 4, 2010
Crystal Cockman

This region is home to a variety of native species that are both important naturally and historically occurring species, and also important game species. White-tailed deer, gray squirrel, and wild turkey are just a few of the more commonly encountered ones that fall into this category. For a number of these, certainly for the turkey and deer, they are around today to be hunted largely as a...

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