Not every kid is an athlete. Not every kid is a straight-A student. For a lot of teenagers, the arts are the one place they feel like they belong.

Today, students at North Mecklenburg High School learned their theater program is eliminated and the Theater Director is being reassigned to another CMS school, effective Monday, Oct. 19, because of staffing and budget reductions.

This wasn't a struggling program. It was built over five years into one of the strongest at the school, with about 80 students enrolled and some of the strongest participation and retention at North Meck. That is exactly the kind of program a school should be proud of, not cut.

Not only is theater a "fun elective", but it also teaches kids to name and manage big emotions, work through conflict, and express anger and stress in healthy ways. For teens who don't fit the athletic mold, it may be the only constructive outlet they have.

The timing is suspicious. It's October. Students built their schedules around these classes and have been rehearsing for productions. They found out the same week it takes effect.

North Meck is a Title I school. The students who lose the most when a program like this disappears have the fewest other options. The arts open doors to scholarships and college pathways for kids who may never get them through sports or academics.

CMS just fired its superintendent without cause and owes her about $340,000 in severance and North-Meck High School also recently got a brand new football field.

I'm not claiming one budget line paid for another. But families are entitled to ask: when money gets tight, why is CMS letting the arts go first, and why a program with this much participation?

From what families understand, this decision came from the CMS district office, not North Meck's leadership. Principal Hood is a strong supporter of the arts. This is a district decision made mid-semester.

I haven't seen an official CMS statement. If you have one, or know more, please share it below.

Before Monday, email and ask CMS to:

- Pause this decision and protect students' current theater classes and productions

- Explain what was done to support and sustain the program

- Meet with affected students, families, and educators

Board Chair Dee Rankin:

gregoryd.rankin@cms.k12.nc.us

District 1 Rep. Charlitta Hatch:

charlittac.hatch@cms.k12.nc.us

Other board contacts are on the CMS website. Please share with every North Meck parent, student, and alum you know.

Is there a cool event going on in the Area i missed? Curious as to why they'd be coming into CLT

I accidentally threw my AirPods away while I was in a rush to change at work and Javier from the Johnson group (cleaning company) literally went dumpster diving and found my AirPods. Like I am genuinely in shock rn he wouldn’t take my money. I’m already planning on baking him something but I need to find who to contact from his job. Someone please help me!!!

I’m freshly homeless due to falling for a rental scam and only have enough for a few more nights in a hotel, but will be on my own starting Monday. Are there any safe places I can park my car to sleep in it where I won’t be at risk of getting towed or broken into?

I have a planet fitness membership but they’re only 24/7 Tues-Thurs, so I need somewhere for all the other days. Im not sure how many weeks I’ll be in my car for, but it’ll be less than a month.

My first thought is maybe the Atrium emergency room parking deck, since it’s relatively cheap to park there, open 24/7, and I can go inside the hospital if I need to use the restroom. I’m open to all suggestions

Not sure what flair to use but we recently found these kittens stuck in the storm drains near our residence. There are four and mom is likely hanging around nearby. We are working on getting them out but have not had any luck with animal control or the fire department. Our main priority right now is trying to find someplace for them to go after we get them out but many of the shelters are at capacity or are not responding to our calls. If anyone has any helpful info please let me know. We are trying to get them someplace safe before it rains overnight and we cannot bring them into our place as they may pose a risk to our animals.

I am looking for anyone who is interested in doing rock climbing either outside or at Inner Peaks!

The weather is getting nice and I don't have many people to consistently go outside with, or the gym!

Founders Hall was a mall. The stores were OK: 25 years ago, an Express (chain store for women), Jos. A. Bank, a bookstore, etc.

Uptown could certainly support more retail, but Founders Hall, the premier retail location, now has almost no stores and is marketed as an event space.

What happened? Did Covid just remove the customer traffic that those stores had? I assume that Bank of America intentionally got rid of the stores, but why?

Hi everyone! 👋

I run a local book club here in Charlotte called The Blue Chapter, formerly A Little Charlotte Book Club, and have been doing so for the last two years! With so many people moving into the city and heading into a new year, we'd love to invite more Charlotteans to join our book club!

The group is in their 20's and 30's primarily but we're open to all ages! We meet once a month, usually the last weekend of the month or the weekend prior depending on holidays. We have events, and sometimes meet outside of club just to hang out! We don't have a specific genre we read, we usually have a different theme each month! Our readers are welcome to nominate a book each month and we vote collectively for the selection!

If you enjoy reading (even ebook and audiobook), and this sounds like something up your alley, we'd love to have you! We're accepting request to join forms through our website: the blue chapter dot com , and you can find more info like our current read there as well!

Looking forward to meeting you and reading together! 📚

YugiOh is one of my favorite card games of all time. Every year or two, theres always something that brings me back into the game. I’ve been told that there are places here in Charlotte that have a community of active players.

Are any of you aware of those shops?

new-ish to area and have an older VW Toureag SUV (2008) where the digital display and radio are both (not at same time....but within a few months) started to act up. may be related? maybe not. radio less an issue than the display since I can't even see odometer anymore

the car has nearly 230k miles so am clearly not trying to put too much into it. but more so just trying to eek out another year to 18 mos until some college expenses pass by for kids 😜

any independent shops that you'd recommend? assume if I go to dealer it's suddenly a 400$ diagnosis to pull my dash apart and then all sorts of
"could be this....could be that" levels of trial and error

my ideal would be an indy shop says "let's drop a used dash display from a junkyard in and you are good" which a dealer would never go for. Ideas?

I'm all ears. Thanks !

where is the Deaf community in charlotte? are there events i can go to so i can immerse myself in the culture as i’m learning ASL?

I am a UNC Charlotte student looking to work as a server somewhere in Charlotte or around (I live in Gastonia so anywhere from Gastonia to Pineville to Harrisburg is fine).

I have no experience as a server and I am trying to find somewhere that would let me gain experience as a server that I can get decent tips! Let me know if you guys have any recommendations!

Where can I find the fanciest chocolates to gift someone? I miss the chocolate counter at Dean and Deluca if anyone remembers what I'm talking about. The couple of chocolatiers I've found via Google only work events or special orders. Help is so appreciated!

Looking for recommendations of organizations which would allow for my team at work to do something in the office. We have a year-end luncheon and would like to add in another couple hours to do something to give back to the community here in Charlotte.

Things we have already done:

Project Linus - making blankets for children 0-18 who are seriously ill/in need

Color A Smile - Writing uplifting messages for those who are experiencing loneliness, illness or other challenges.

DIGIBRIDGE- building science kits for STEAM learning

There would be about 30 people in attendance.

🙏 thanks!

"MATTHEWS – All Aboard Charlotte has approached leaders in Matthews and Monroe about a proposal to extend passenger rail service beyond anything currently funded.

At one point, a one-cent sales tax in Mecklenburg County was viewed as a viable funding solution to extend rail toward Union County, but the state legislature placed a cap on how much of that revenue could be used for light rail. This forced regional leaders to prioritize projects, and the proposed LYNX Silver Line segment from Charlotte to Matthews did not make the cut.

Evan Schultheis, of All Aboard Charlotte, informed Matthews leaders of another alternative. The group recommends establishing commuter rail from Charlotte Gateway Station to Monroe using the CSX railway right of way.

We believe that the CSX line between Charlotte and Monroe is underutilized and that CSX would be amenable to a trackage rights agreement for passenger service with the right incentives," Schultheis told town commissioners Oct. 13 during public comments.

His organization has created a 120-page proposal on the idea.

"Our proposal suggests having nine stops and double-tracking the line to run hourly commuter train service similar to the future Red Line," Schultheis said. "We further propose half-hourly service during rush hours.

"The project could be built in two phases. All Aboard Charlotte estimates a first phase, from Charlotte Gateway Station to Matthews, would cost $900 million in 2027 dollars. An extension to Monroe would add $300 million in 2027 dollars.

"This would also lay the groundwork for future service to Wilmington, a service that was once hosted by the Seaboard Railway and has been mentioned as a future passenger line by NCDOT," Schultheis said.

Schultheis requested time during an upcoming meeting to formally present the proposal. He encouraged town leaders to discuss it with the Metropolitan Public Transportation Authority and CSX. 

All Aboard Charlotte is a chapter of the Carolinas Association for Passenger Trains. Learn more about the organization at allaboardcarolinas.org/charlotte-chapter."

There's an interview with All Aboard Charlotte President Jim Fetchero tonight at 11 on WSOC (Channel 9). EDIT: https://www.wsoctv.com/news/local/all-aboard-charlotte-reveals-passenger-rail-proposal-using-csx-tracks/D4TTLIQMAFEDPGL3LGZWBBNF3U/

Worker said someone rented out the stadium for a private event and didn’t know who was coming

Another vintage recording! NBC 6 Charlotte (WCNC-TV) 6 News at 6, originally broadcast on Wednesday, November 24, 1999 (the evening before Thanksgiving).

As always, please let me know what you think! I hope you enjoy 😊

Stories and segments include:
• Rae Carruth and Cherica Adams shooting investigation
• NC State fires head football coach Mike O'Cain
• Thanksgiving holiday travel coverage
• "To Grow On" segment from Rock Hill, South Carolina (Oakdale Elementary students and Catawba Indians discussing the first Thanksgiving)
• Steve Beuerlein interview
• Carolina Panthers vs. Atlanta Falcons preview
• UNC Charlotte basketball highlights
• Weather forecast with Terri Bennett

News anchors: Allen Denton and Sonja Gantt
Weather: Terri Bennett
Sports: Chuck Howard
Reporters include Maria Kotula and Glenn Counts.

Preserved from an original VHS recording.

I was picking up a family member from the airport tonight and went inside the terminal to meet them. As I entered, I saw paramedics (who had just arrived) performing CPR on a gentlemen. It took me a moment to register what was happening in front of me. I could hear and see the panicked voices, along with a woman wailing.

It had been about 15 minutes since I saw what was happening to when I picked up my family member, and saw they were still performing CPR on him. The faces of everyone looked eerily calm and stoic, almost as if they knew he was gone. I can't get it out of my head, and I truly cannot imagine what his partner/wife was going through in that moment as she sobbed.

Does anyone have an update on this man, and if they were able to get his heartbeat back?

Sending love to the man, his family, and all of the first responders, and airport staff.

Anyone planning to do the crawl tonight in NoDa? Looking for a group to go to a few places and rack up some points. The long sleeve CLT shirt is calling my name.

Flexible on where to start, I live right next to Heist Brewery! I’m 26M, living in NoDa for two years now.

https://explore.charlottesgotalot.com/qr/UP9DJX934N