The charm of sourwoods in the winter woods

For those who are partial to the charms of a lush forest in spring and summer, don’t throw shade on the winter woods – they’re far from rigid and stark. Sourwood trees animate the slopes and ridges of the Uwharries with their contorted and even whimsical shapes. They bring a prankish personality to the stately but somewhat staid canopy of hickories and oaks.

The sourwood (...

Charlotte transit system reckoning with pandemic struggles and 'structural weakness'

After almost two years of pandemic-related challenges, the Charlotte Area Transit System is trying to balance the need to restore service and lure back riders with the need to grow and meet the challenges of a growing region. 

And CATS chief executive John Lewis has a simple message: Charlotte’s transit...

Examining housing needs at Brookhill Village in the event of redevelopment

In 2020, Lookout Housing Ventures proposed a redevelopment plan for Brookhill Village, a 36-acre naturally occurring affordable housing development near the intersection of Remount Road and South Boulevard. Although the proposed development has not moved forward, the approximately 120 households of Brookhill Village may be at risk of displacement if Brookhill Village were to be redeveloped...

Too much of a good thing: Bunny boom

No spiderworts. No asters. No threadleaf ironweed or liatris. Very few brown-eyed Susans and even fewer green beans. That was the sorry state of my garden last year. No, it wasn’t weather-related, it was rabbit predation.

My neighbor and I noticed a rabbit hanging around our yards last winter. One of its back legs was lame.  Given all the red tailed hawks and barred owls in the...