Report: I-485 finish faces obstacles

Internal correspondence from the N.C. Department of Transportation raises doubts about the state's ability to fast-track construction on the last piece of Charlotte's outerbelt – something Gov. Bev Perdue pledged in late February ... A month after Perdue said Interstate 485 construction would begin in 2009, a DOT official wrote that the state couldn't afford to start the last outerbelt segment this year. The only way to finish I-485 ahead of schedule would be to take money from other Charlotte

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Who has designs on Design Center site?

(By Doug Smith, dsmith@charlotteobserver.com) The vacant Home Depot Design Center building in midtown Charlotte has caught the eye of some big name stores, local real estate brokers say ... Whole Foods, Kohl's, Costco Wholesale, Sam's Club, BJ's Wholesale Club and Wal-Mart are among the names they say have checked out the location on Charlottetowne Avenue, where the Metropolitan mixed-use development has replaced Midtown Square shopping center ... Home Depot, which closed the 127,653-square-foot

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Job Fair Thursday In University City

The job fair is from 9:30 a.m. until 1 p.m. Thursday ...

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Toshiba jobs will add to city's energy wave

(By Bruce Henderson, bhenderson@charlotteobserver.com) Charlotte's bid to expand its energy hub gained new credibility Tuesday as a nuclear-power unit of electronics giant Toshiba announced nearly 200 jobs averaging six-figure wages ... Toshiba joins a wave of power-plant design, engineering and construction firms that have located or expanded in Charlotte over the past two years. More than 30 new nuclear reactors are proposed nationwide, including six in the Carolinas ... Toshiba America

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U.S., Mecklenburg Co. Preparing For Swine Flu Pandemic

The head of the Homeland Security Department said the United States is preparing as if the swine flu outbreak is a full pandemic ...

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Mecklenburg County Says Citizens Owe Millions In '08 Taxes

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CMS is star of national magnet meeting

The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools' magnet academic programs are in the spotlight this week, with more than 1,000 educators in Charlotte for the 27th annual Magnet Schools of America National Conference ... The educators are meeting at the Charlotte Convention Center and at two uptown hotels through Wednesday. The conference opened Sunday ... "We have been planning for the conference for more than a year," said Robbie Kale, director of magnet programs for CMS. "Our local committee wanted to make

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Man killed on Charlotte ball court

What started out as a pickup game of basketball on a warm Sunday ended tragically in southwest Charlotte, with one man dead and a teenager in serious condition ... Charlotte-Mecklenburg police say they were called to Boulevard Homes off West Boulevard after shots were fired at the public housing complex's basketball court ... Amico Elmaldrich Martin, 26, died shortly after arriving at Carolinas Medical Center. Sixteen-year-old Kadarus Donell Cunningham was in serious but stable condition at CMC

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Delinquent taxpayers owe Mecklenburg $26.7 million

Mecklenburg County is owed more than $26.7 million in delinquent taxes for 2008, with many people citing the poor economy as the reason they weren't able to pay their bills on time ... An advertisement appearing in Sunday's Observer listed more than 28,800 overdue tax bills for land, buildings and business equipment in Mecklenburg, as well as personal property including boats or airplanes ... Click here for a searchable database ... State law requires local governments to publish the ads as a

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Police Chase Ends In Fatal Crash

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