vassago

I walked by yesterday evening and the night before and they have fixed the lights...and the field looks AMAZING lit. The perspective from the street (4th st) into the sunken field is very cool, it really feels a lot more significant than it looks in pictures.

apparently Rob McDowell. https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-kJ9ZlCApQr8/UdBoNoRS7RI/AAAAAAAACjU/xwbJ57iK7bA/s250-c-k-no/2013-06-30 http://charlotteseen.com/advisory-board/ http://charlotteseen.smugmug.com/CharlotteFashionWeek/Charlotte-Fashion-Week-2013/Finale-After-Party-Club-Label/31938785_jDjHSF#!i=2772296095&k=nJzxr4j

Too bad the Panthers are wearing black on silver and not the black on black that won the best uni contest. http://scottfowlerobs.blogspot.com/2013/11/5-early-notes-on-panthers-vs-patriots.html

I find it interesting that Atlanta mayor Reed was quoted in February by the Observer regarding our dealing with the Panthers: “No mayor who has played the stadium game has won,” said Reed, who became Atlanta’s mayor in 2010. http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2013/02/08/3839728/atlanta-mayor-streetcar-is-smart.html#.UoFECeJdB8E And today in the Journal-Constitution: “… We have been working very hard with the Braves for a long time, and at the end of the day, there was simply no way the team was going to stay in downtown Atlanta without city taxpayers spending hundreds of millions of dollars to make that happen,” Reed said. “It is my understanding that our neighbor, Cobb County, made a strong offer of $450M in public support to the Braves and we are simply unwilling to match that with taxpayer dollars.” http://www.ajc.com/news/sports/baseball/braves-plan-to-build-new-stadium-in-cobb/nbpNQ/ I wonder what the long-term economic loss to the city will be due to the move vs. what they might have spent to keep the team in the city limits.

Probably to trap moisture since there is no shade for the new sod. And to protect against the coming frost/freeze?

I walked by yesterday and the lights do appear to be pointed down-ish. I don't if that means they are in the correct position but if they are I can already hear the complaints that the neighbors are going to have. Side note - the grass from the webcam looks great!

Has anyone else noticed how bright the lights are? Not pleasant when your eyes inadvertently glance directly at them. Could this be what Lights said about them not being positioned?

If you look at the 1877 ward map of Charlotte the western boundry of 3rd Ward looks to extend just west of what now appears to be Cedar Street (Johnston on the map). http://www2.lib.unc.edu/dc/ncmaps/interactive/Cm912c_C47_1911b.html It's amazing how much the original grid has been mangled over the years.

Not Charlotte specific but both a hilarious and deeply troubling portrayal of North Carolina. The Daily Show interviews Don Yelton, a NC GOP executive committee member, about our states new voter laws. It is the Daily Show so obviously it was cut to make Mr. Yelton look as bad as possible but even so... "Suppressing the Vote" http://www.hulu.com/watch/549336

I don't do religion so I don't have a position based on biblical right or wrong - I do like the CO's comparison to the super-rich in the state: Homes by comparison • Panthers owner, Jerry Richardson, Charlotte, total square feet. 7,068 • Investor, businessman, wealthiest man in Charlotte C.D. Spangler Jr. Charlotte, Total square feet: 6,169 • Businessman, wealthiest person in North Carolina, James Goodnight, Cary, Heated area 7,510 (total square footage not available) That a minister of "God" has such a ridiculously huge house (16,000 sq ft) seems to project an excessive lifestyle that I'd think would be a contradiction to what he preaches. What do I know. Read more here: http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2013/10/22/4407782/elevation-pastor-building-big.html#storylink=cpy

I have a hard time believing this. Blue Moon, really? North Carolina's brew of choice is Blue Moon, if the Blowfish survey is to be believed. Sam Adams came in at second place, with Corona rounding out the top three. http://www.bizjournals.com/charlotte/news/2013/10/22/north-carolina-not-big-drinkers-but.html

Another club. http://cltparty.com/2013/10/16/the-grand-opening-of-vanity-saturday-night/

^ funny that you said that. when i moved into my itty-bitty apartment in cambridge, ma years ago that was exactly the answer i got from the realtor when i remarked about how cramped the building was. if not for the excellent urban neighborhood around central sq. my time there would have been miserable. southend is definitely building the right type of neighborhood.

who owns/operates that radio tower?

I more meant to the public/ the Catawba Nation? Tribe A get this because ... but Tribe B cannot have the same because ... I understand that the politicians have already been bought by the Cherokees. “I’ve seen no argument to justify it whatsoever,” McCrory said. What's the argument against? I've read about the letter that some of our House leaders have signed but what was the argument in the letter?

How would the state justify granting Vegas style gaming to the Cherokees and not the Catawba Indian Nation?

Again the implication seems to be that the tribe can go ahead with the casino once it has the land despite what our supreme leaders opinions might be. Does anyone know if NC can actually do anything more than be a pain in the tribes butt? The Catawbas have asked the U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs for permission to buy the N.C. land and consider it part of its reservation, which now consists of 1,006 acres east of Rock Hill. “Once the land is in trust, the scope of the tribe’s gaming rights will flow from its sovereign authority,” says Gregory Smith, the tribe’s attorney, who’s with the law firm Hobbs Strauss Dean & Walker in Washington, D.C. http://www.bizjournals.com/charlotte/blog/outside_the_loop/2013/09/nc-gov-mccrory-wont-support.html

Remind me because I've lost count now. How many have we now lost when we were up in the fourth? "Roller coaster. That's about as bad as it gets," Rivera said. "You had an opportunity to win the game, an opportunity to close it out, and you didn't. ... We had a chance to make a play and we didn't. That's the thing that's hard to swallow: We just have to make one play." Rivera is already trying to spin for job.

So statistically speaking we just about blew our playoff chances. Most likely we're going into bye 0-3. If Rivera goes, which IMO he should, does he go tomorrow to give our new guy some time since we do have a bye in two weeks? Two games so far and both games, as you said, were played to not lose rather than to win. The coaching culture needs to change ASAP.

Shocker.

Watching the game today and during halftime UNCC had a "Stake Your Claim" commerical and I couldn't help but notice that their version of our skyline has what looks like the old Trump Charlotte project.

From today's Third Ward Community Newsletter: Darlene Heater, VP of Sustainability and Community Development, Charlotte Center City Partners, presented information about several projects of interest to Third Ward residents: 1. Gateway Intermodal Station. The project is on hold until the state gets the authority to enter into an agreement with a new developer. Hines, the developer originally selected, has lost interest after learning that the amount of developable land has decreased due to track realignment requirements from NCDOT. At this point, the state, city, and/or CATS will likely have to make funds available in order to move the project forward. How that will be done is not defined at present. Darlene encouraged Third Ward residents to make their voices heard. 2. Railroad Grade Separation. This project would involve separating the existing at-grade crossing of the CSX rail line and Norfolk Southern (NS) mainline where they cross in Charlotte’s Fourth Ward neighborhood (adjacent to the ADM facility). Due to problems in negotiations with ADM and with timing challenges associated with the available funding, the project may not occur. There is hope that the funds will stay in the Charlotte area and possibly be diverted to the Gateway Station project.

An article last week in the CO said that 100+ legislators had signed a letter of opposition but it also seemed to imply that the Department of Interior has ultimate approval. http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2013/09/03/4285092/nc-house-members-opposed-to-casino.html#.Ui484z-wV8E

An application to U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs was filed today. http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2013/09/09/4300183/catawbas-file-application-for.html#.Ui4uLz-wV8E