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Not very social, is it?

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mecklenburg, mecklenburg's

Published May 9, 2010 at 6:59 p.m.

The city of Charlotte wants to use Facebook and Twitter to get its news out to the public ... But, unlike Mecklenburg County and most large N.C. cities, Charlotte doesn't want people talking back publicly on its pages ... City officials fear they'll be sued on free-speech grounds if they delete the kind of nasty comments commonly hurled in online forums. Instead, they say they'll let only city staff view citizens' comments - which Facebook's privacy settings allow - and they'll encourage people

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Breakaway just a Braxton away

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carolina panthers, mecklenburg's, panthers

Published Aug. 18, 2009 at 2:52 a.m.

The first time Providence High's Brandon Braxton remembers trying football, the sport his father played for six years in the NFL, he wasn't very good at it ... “I was really very timid,” said Braxton, who counts snowboarding and kayaking among his hobbies. “I wasn't always good.” ... Flash forward a few years and Braxton has developed into a 6-foot-2, 185-pound receiver with breakaway speed ... National recruiting Web site scout.com ranks Braxton, who transferred from Cleveland

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New jail pushes up against other costs

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mecklenburg, mecklenburg's

Published Aug. 15, 2009 at 6:40 a.m.

Even as the local crime rate and jail population fall, Mecklenburg County leaders will present a plan next month to build a $200 million, 1,700-bed jail in north Charlotte ... Sheriff Chipp Bailey said he hopes construction on a new six-story jail, to be built next to two other detention centers on Spector Drive, could start next fall and be completed by 2014 ... But whether the county can meet that goal will be up to county commissioners, who would have to approve the project and are struggling

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Fort Mill OKs smoking curbs

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mecklenburg, mecklenburg's, unc

Published June 12, 2009 at 5:43 a.m.

Public places in the town of Fort Mill will be smoke-free, effective Aug. 1 ... Citizens will be prohibited from lighting up a cigarette in public places, but smoking will be allowed in private clubs ... The measure to prohibit public smoking within the town – with the exception of private clubs such as the Veterans of Foreign Wars and the American Legion - was unanimously approved Monday by the Fort Mill Town Council ... Officials in York County and neighboring Rock Hill have already adopted

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Atkinson released from jail

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mecklenburg, mecklenburg's

Published June 4, 2009 at 9:59 a.m.

Gary L. Wright ... gwright@charlotteobserver.com ... Carlen Atkinson is out of jail ... The Lake Wylie, S.C. woman is charged with three counts of murder in connection with a fatal wreck on N.C. 49 and had been jailed on $900,000 bond, which her lawyers predicted would be difficult for her to pay ... Atkinson, who has 15 speeding convictions, was released from Mecklenburg's jail at 8:56 p.m. on Wednesday ... In setting her bond last week, Mecklenburg Superior Court Judge Bob Bell expressed

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Plans for rentals at Berewick dropped

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mecklenburg, mecklenburg's

Published May 16, 2009 at 2:56 p.m.

A developer has dropped plans to bring low-income rental apartments to Berewick, one of Mecklenburg's largest subdivisions, after homeowners protested the project ... Peter A. Pappas planned to partner with the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Housing Partnership to build 108 apartments, with rents ranging from $320 to $700. They were targeted to workers such as teachers and police officers earning 60percent or less of the area's median income ... “There was some concern that was expressed by the

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Baseball is striking out with many black athletes

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bobcats, mecklenburg, mecklenburg's, panthers, unc

Published May 15, 2009 at 11:25 p.m.

Mallard Creek High's Mikal Hill is a rare sight these days: a dominant African American high school baseball player ... Hill is a 5-foot-11, 180-pound sophomore shortstop who committed last fall to South Carolina. A lead-off hitter, he runs a 4.4-second 40-yard dash and is a switch-hitter, capable of producing from both sides of the plate ... Before Friday's N.C. 4A first-round playoff game at Greensboro Grimsley, he was hitting .357 with nine RBIs ... Hill, the only black player on the team,

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New project seeks to improve schools

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mecklenburg, mecklenburg's

Published May 3, 2009 at 5:53 a.m.

A new project in Charlotte is designed to create advocates for Mecklenburg's lowest-performing public schools ... Three west Charlotte organizations last week became the first hosts for Achieve Together, a volunteer service project organized by The Lee Institute, a nonprofit leadership development organization ... Groups of concerned citizens met for the first of five weekly community circles at Friendship Missionary Baptist Church, Johnson C. Smith University and Philip O. Berry Recreation

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