Supersizing in Dilworth

Our sister neighborhood continues to deal with growth issues, as do we. The Observer checks in with a piece headlined: "Smaller houses vanish as property values rise."

Restaurant rezoning

Not much detail, but this appeared in The Observer today:

City Council approves plans for restaurant expansion at Pecan, Gordon

Charlotte City Council on Monday approved plans for a restaurant at Pecan Avenue and Gordon Street in the Elizabeth neighborhood. Robert Nixon asked the city to rezone .19 acres to allow the expansion of the building at Pecan Avenue and Gordon Street by 11,132 square feet. The expansion would add a second floor in several areas as well as rooftop seating. The site was last used as a nightclub, but is vacant now.

The Independence disaster (continued)

The paragraph that stuck out to me in this Observer article about Eastside residents losing patience with what's happening (or not happening) with Independence Boulevard was the one that began:

In the 1980s, the state began widening Independence Boulevard to ease traffic between Matthews and the center city.

Why should Charlotte neighborhoods have to be cleaved in two and forced to deal with the abomination that Independence has become just so people who choose to live far away from downtown can get downtown quicker? Why?

If you want to see what the people who brought us this mess have up their sleeves next, there will be an "informational workshop" in the Activity Center Room at Eastland Mall Tuesday from 5 to 8 p.m. The end result: East Independence will be a freeway from downtown to Conference Drive. I guess it's too late to tear it up.

Chilling

In case you missed this report from the Crime Dudette:

Breaking and Entering: 2200 block of Kenmore; Monday, the victim and her daughter were home at approximately 7 a.m. when the daughter left to go to school. An unknown suspect entered the residence through an unlocked door. The victim was upstairs when the suspect entered the residence. When the victim came downstairs she saw the suspect. The victim began screaming, got into a physical altercation with the suspect, bit the suspect, at which time the suspect ran out of the house. The victim could not advise if the suspect had a vehicle or left on foot. The suspect is described as a white male, 5-10, thin build, wearing a dark jacket and hat.

This is a reminder that we live in a big city. Like birds on a lawn, we need to keep one eye out for the cats. We have to be ever vigilant, for ourselves and our neighbors.

Elizabeth church picks Elizabeth pastor

Looks like Elizabethan John Cleghorn's commute will be a little shorter now. Cleghorn is giving up the gilded halls of Bank of America downtown for the pastor's office at Caldwell Memorial Presbyterian Church -- in our 'hood, 'natch. Congratulations, John.