General News
Work of ‘hidden profession’ is all around you
The year was 1908. President Theodore Roosevelt, nearing the end of his second term, convened a Governors’ Conference at the White House with the primary goal to formulate a national philosophy of conservation based on efficient use of finite resources and scientific management of renewable ones. According to Edmund Morris’ Theodore Rex, the invitation list […]
Report: Charlotte ordinance confusing, lacks modern tools
Charlotte’s current zoning ordinance sometimes gets in the way of carrying out the city’s adopted plans, a consultant’s report concludes. It also can be a Byzantine set of confusing and sometimes contradictory requirements. The ordinance “does not include many modern zoning tools that would help ensure effective implementation of Charlotte’s land use policy goals,” says […]
Report: Charlotte ordinance confusing, lacks modern tools
Charlotte’s current zoning ordinance sometimes gets in the way of carrying out the city’s adopted plans, a consultant’s report concludes. It also can be a Byzantine set of confusing and sometimes contradictory requirements. The ordinance “does not include many modern zoning tools that would help ensure effective implementation of Charlotte’s land use policy goals,” says […]
Will Americans continue to be suburban creatures?
Will Americans continue to be suburban creatures? The question has been widely debated by developers, planners and the press since the Great Recession. Surveys showing preferences for urban, walkable, in-town neighborhoods have been called fads by some, or hailed by others as the end of suburbia. Ultimately, it will be the attitudes of the Millennial […]
A rich spot of earth
One could argue the local foods movement in America has its roots in the red clay of the Piedmont, on a hilltop not unlike the Uwharries near Charlottesville, Va. Nearly two centuries before Alice Waters opened her landmark restaurant Chez Panisse in Berkeley, Calif., Thomas Jefferson understood the allure of applying French culinary techniques to […]
Two cities, two mills to be reborn
Mae Jones looks out her front door every day at the empty, massive Loray Mill, about a mile from downtown Gastonia, and remembers the rumble of machines, the acrid odors and her hard work there for 35 years. Once, it was the lifeline of the surrounding mill village, and Jones, 93, is thrilled by efforts […]
Wildlife of the Rocky River: the spiny softshell turtle
The Rocky River begins in Iredell County and flows through Cabarrus, Stanly, Anson and Union counties. This part of our region is very close to South Carolina and you find some interesting critters here you don’t see in other parts of the central N.C. Piedmont. One distinctive species is the Gulf Coast spiny softshell turtle […]
Waxhaw looks to future for N.C. 16 plan
WAXHAW – The question came from the back row of the small audience, during a presentation from planning consultants about the future for N.C. 16 as it bisects the fast-growing Union County town. “If we do all this, will we still be considered a small town?” Consultant Monica Holmes of Lawrence Group paused briefly before […]
A year later, were tornado lessons learned?
It’s that time of year again – for changing skies and summer storms. A little more than a year ago, early on March 3, 2012, an unannounced tornado blew through parts of Harrisburg and eastern Mecklenburg County. The twister injured four people, destroyed six homes and left 41 others uninhabitable or with major damage – […]
Hydrangeas, summer’s coolest flower
On the cusp of summer, just when I begin to dread the onset of unrelenting heat and humidity, a cool and soothing vision appears in our forests and yards – the blooms of native and Asian hydrangeas. Wild hydrangea (Hydrangea arborescens) is uncommon, even rare, in the Piedmont. I’ve seen them at only one location […]