Articles

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Got milk? Got land? N.C. farms dwindle
   October 17, 2012
Crystal Cockman
Many people are surprised to learn that agriculture is the No. 1 industry in the state. However, North Carolina is losing farmland faster than any other state – and the number of dairy farms is down dramatically. Read more


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Charlotte neighborhoods sow green vision
   October 17, 2012

Eleven Charlotte neighborhoods have developed plans that organizers say will chart a better – and more sustainable – course for the future. Neighborhoods as diverse as a condominium tower in Myers Park to suburban commuter areas to lower-income urban neighborhoods will receive grants to help them achieve their vision. Read more


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Gaston County: healthy and ahead of its peers
   October 16, 2012

Public health is something every community strives for.  In our region, Gaston County is no exception.  Gaston County has recently experienced a reduction in the percent of adults who are obese by raising awareness of the importance of prevention and keeping individuals healthy. Read more


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Reduce, reuse, recycle: Mecklenburg snags an “A-” in waste
   October 10, 2012

Recycling rates are rising, and per capita disposal rates in landfills are down substantially, says Mecklenburg County’s 2012 State of the Environment Report. The report rates all four indicators of waste reduction as “good” and getting better.   Read more


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Big changes loom for health care: Are we ready?
   October 9, 2012

Remember the Y2K or “Millenium Bug” that was supposed to hit on Jan. 1, 2000? Planes were going to fall from the sky, banks would close and we’d never be the same, because none of our computers would boot up that morning. Health care faces its own Y2K milestone moment. Jan. 1, 2014, is coming, and fast. Are providers ready? Read more


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Why is restoring NoDa’s textile mills so hard?
   October 5, 2012

In any other time, the request might not have been so hard. But a nonprofit developer’s plea for $2.3 million in city money from federal grants to restore a historic NoDa textile mill came after a lingering economic downturn, and after the city had already put $6.7 million into the property. Why is it so hard to restore an important piece of city history? Well, it’s complicated ... Read more


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Downtown Salisbury honored as one of America’s 10 Great Neighborhoods
   October 3, 2012

Downtown Salisbury has been named one of “10 Great Neighborhoods” for 2012 by a national planning organization. The town remained vibrant through the decline of the textile industry by maintaining its historic character and promoting agri-tourism and an authentic North Carolina experience through culture, arts and food rooted in its picturesque setting. Read more


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Hitting the streets, with parks
   October 3, 2012

PARK(ing) Day is an international event in which people reclaim, temporarily, spaces created for cars – parking spaces – and transform them into spaces for people – parks. Charlotte celebrated the event this year in South End. Read more


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Mecklenburg’s 2012 green space assessment: Fair to middling
   October 3, 2012

Melissa Currie
Mecklenburg County is not on track to meet its 2008 goals for acquiring nature preserves and open space, and the trend is continuing downward, according to the 2012 State of the Environment Report. Greenways and parks are rated just “fair.” Read more


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The sting of invasive species: When fire ants attack
   October 2, 2012
Crystal Cockman
We talk quite a bit in the conservation community about invasive species and the threats they pose to habitats and ecosystems. Here's one species we have to deal with on a far too regular basis – the fire ant. Read more