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The commuter rail line would connect Uptown Charlotte and the town centers of Huntersville, Cornelius and Davidson, extending to Mooresville.

MECKLENBURG COUNTY, N.C. — There's renewed hope for the Red Line, the proposed commuter train that would connect Uptown Charlotte to northern Mecklenburg and southern Iredell counties.

The Red Line plan is more than 20 years in the making, leaving many people frustrated that the project's development isn't as rapid as the transportation it would provide. Starting Wednesday, CATS will host public meetings to gather public input and to share more insight on the project.

The goal of these meetings is to give residents the opportunity to give feedback about what they want, or don't want, with the Red Line. CATS officials will also give updates on the status of the project.

Regardless, town leaders say a resolution is needed.

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“I kind of joke that I hope that I can use the Red Line before I have a walker,” Huntersville Mayor Christy Clark said.

The proposed project would have 10 stations where people could park and ride. The 25-mile track would run through the future Charlotte Gateway Station in Uptown, as well as Huntersville, Cornelius, Davidson and Mooresville.

Credit: CATS

Clark said the project is not falling off track.

“There is movement forward, and I am hopeful for the first time,” Clark said. “I know this is the farthest we have come with Norfolk Southern.”

Norfolk Southern owns the tracks and would need to jump on board for the commuter train to actually happen. The company has shared its willingness to work with Charlotte and surrounding communities over the past year. That was initially viewed as the biggest hurdle to making the Red Line a reality.

The Red Line is expected to help ease traffic congestion along Interstate 77, allowing people who drive into Charlotte for work a more comfortable option than sitting in traffic. Supporters of the plan also say it would drive economic development along the route.

“It would encourage developers and businesses to establish here,” Clark said. “The more we revitalize this downtown, the more people we will have living around here and the better those businesses would do here.”

Mooresville Mayor Chris Carney agrees there are pros to the project.

“You’d love a way for someone to get into Charlotte without having to get on 77," Carney said. “I would love to go to dinner and a ball game, those are all awesome ideas.”

Carney added that there are also cons, saying certain things that come with the Red Line might not be good for Mooresville. Of those concerns, Carney pointed out the possibility of more apartment development and even more traffic on the town's secondary roads as people drive into Mooresville to catch a ride into Charlotte.

Carney wishes town leaders were a bigger part of the conversations surrounding the project so they could be up to speed on how it will pan out.

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“Is there really funding associated with this? Is there a timeline that we are talking about? Is it 30 years out? Is it 10 years out?” Carney questioned. “Plus, the commuter rail, it’s a 150-year-old technology. So it will be interesting to see if that really gives us what we need or if we need to look at other options that would be better.”

Davidson Mayor Rusty Knox wasn't available for an interview but issued the following statement to WCNC Charlotte:

“Finding a resolution to the Red Line issue in north Mecklenburg is crucial to the effectiveness of the larger transit plan. Until we learn more and have a tangible agreement from Norfolk Southern, we’ll remain hopeful.”

Charlotte Mayor Vi Lyles issued the following statement:

“For the past two decades, the Red Line has been a key part of the transit vision adopted by City Council and the Metropolitan Transit Commission (MTC). The city has been following through on what has been contemplated for more than 20 years as rail for Davidson, Cornelius, Huntersville and north Mecklenburg has always been an important part of our region’s transit vision. The city is continuing its discussions with Norfolk Southern regarding access to the rail corridor which would be used for the Red Line.”

There are in-person and virtual meetings within the next two weeks. The public will also get more info on a timeline and proposed station locations.

CATS Hosts Public Meetings for Red Line Commuter Rail

The Charlotte Area Transit System (CATS) will host four public meetings with opportunities to learn about the Red Line commuter rail.

Davidson, Mooresville & Cornelius

Huntersville, Davidson and Cornelius

Charlotte

It seems as if former administrators of Archbishop Curley High School are carving out quite a niche in the southeastern United States.

Conventual Franciscan Father Michael T. Martin became the first graduate of the Northeast Baltimore High School named a bishop and the second former principal of the school to take the reins of one of the region’s major dioceses.

On April 9, Pope Francis accepted the resignation of Bishop Peter J. Jugis, 67, from the pastoral governance of the Diocese of Charlotte, N.C., for health reasons and appointed Father Martin, 62, as his successor.

Bishop-designate Martin, a Baltimore native, is a member of the Conventual Franciscan Province of Our Lady of the Angels and currently serves as pastor at St. Philip Benizi Church in Jonesboro, Ga.

He will be ordained and installed as the fifth Bishop of Charlotte May 29 at St. Mark Catholic Church in Huntersville.

“I am amazed and humbled that the Holy Father has faith in me to call me to serve the people of Western North Carolina,” Bishop-designate Martin said in a statement published on the Diocese of Charlotte’s website. “I am excited to get to know you and to listen to the ways in which together we can respond to the call of the Holy Spirit to be disciples of Jesus.”

The diocese introduced Bishop-designate Martin at a news conference Tuesday morning.

He follows in the footsteps of Archbishop Gregory J. Hartmayer, a former Curley principal who is the Archbishop of Atlanta.

“I have known Father Martin as a student, teacher and colleague. He is a devoted priest and will be a good shepherd for the Diocese of Charlotte,” Archbishop Hartmayer said.

Father Martin is a graduate of the now-closed Most Precious Blood School in Northeast Baltimore and a 1979 graduate of Archbishop Curley High School.

The news was greeted with joy at Archbishop Curley.

“It’s exciting news,” said Archbishop Curley President Conventual Franciscan Father Donald Gryzmski. “It’s an honor that Pope Francis has chosen one of our own to be a bishop. I think the appointment says a lot about how Curley prepares leaders.

“I’m sure his time here prepared him well, because he also involved himself heavily in the archdiocese,” he said.

Father Martin was ordained in 1989 after entering the Franciscan novitiate in Ellicott City. He returned to Archbishop Curley in 1994, serving as admissions director and religion teacher while also coaching basketball for two seasons.

In 1996, he was named principal of his Sinclair Lane alma mater at age 32. Promoted to president in 2001, he led a $7 million capital campaign and helped rebuild the school’s enrollment back to nearly 600 students after the school struggled in that area in the early 1990s.

He also served on several committees for the Archdiocese of Baltimore, including the Blue Ribbon Committee on Catholic Schools.

He left Baltimore to serve as director of Duke University’s Catholic Center from 2010 to 2022. In 2022, his order assigned him to ministry in the Archdiocese of Atlanta.

He rejoins Archbishop Hartmayer as a former Archbishop Curley administrator now leading a major diocese in the southeastern United States. Archbishop Hartmayer, who served at Curley from 1979 to 1988, was installed as archbishop of Atlanta in 2020. He taught at Curley for six years before serving as principal from 1985 to 1988.

Archbishop Hartmayer, also a Conventual Franciscan, said Bishop-designate Martin is a devoted priest and will be a wonderful shepherd for the Diocese of Charlotte.

“I believe Pope Francis has made an excellent choice for the Church of Charlotte,” said the archbishop, who also leads the Catholic Church’s three-state province of Georgia and the Carolinas. The newly named bishop “is a man who is deeply in love with Jesus, and he is a faithful son of St. Francis of Assisi,” the archbishop said in a statement.

“He comes to the Diocese of Charlotte with many gifts and a wealth of experience, and a love for God’s people. I believe he will be a bishop who listens and leads,” he added.

Bishop Jugis said it has been a delight to meet and talk with his successor.

“As difficult as it is for me to leave this position that I love, I am confident that God has a plan in bringing us Bishop-elect Martin, and I will do everything I can to support his ministry,” he said.

“It has truly been the joy of a lifetime to serve as bishop for the people of our diocese,” he continued, “and I believe Bishop-elect Martin will find that to be true for him as he gets to know the faithful of our diocese and sees firsthand our many ministries that are dedicated to sharing the love of Christ in our communities.”

During the past 20 years, Bishop Jugis has led the diocese through unprecedented growth, particularly in its vocations program and schools.

The Diocese of Charlotte covers 20,470 square miles in the state of North Carolina, and has 546,370 Catholics out of a total population of more than 5.5 million.

Bishop Jugis, who headed the Charlotte diocese since 2003, is 67, eight years younger than the age at which canon law requires bishops to submit their resignation to the pope. A native of Charlotte, he was appointed the fourth bishop of the diocese by St. John Paul II Aug. 1, 2003. He was ordained a bishop and installed as Charlotte’s shepherd Oct. 24, 2003.

The resignation and appointment were publicized in Washington April 9 by Cardinal Christophe Pierre, apostolic nuncio to the United States.

At Curley, Father Grzmyski said the appointment was announced to the faculty and staff in the morning with plans to relay the news to the student body later in the day.

“It never hurts to hear the word ‘Curley,’” Father Grzymski said of the school’s notoriety in ecclesiastical ranks.

OSV News contributed to this story.

Email Gerry Jackson at gjackson@CatholicReview.org

Copyright © 2024 Catholic Review Media

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Harris highlighted the Biden's administration's fight against climate change as the White House bolsters its campaign efforts in North Carolina.

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CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Vice President Kamala Harris made another trip to Charlotte Thursday to discuss the White House's historic investment in climate action under the Biden administration.

Harris was joined by EPA Administrator Michael Regan, who is a native North Carolinian. Gov. Roy Cooper, Rep. Alma Adams and Mayor Vi Lyles were also part of Thursday's event. This week's stop marks the fourth trip to North Carolina for Harris this year. Harris and President Joe Biden were in Raleigh last week to promote the expansion of Medicaid, lowering prescription costs for seniors and expanding the Affordable Care Act.

During her remarks, Harris addressed maternal mortality rates in the U.S., saying 45 states have moved to expand Medicaid to include 12 months of post-partum care instead of two months. She also discussed abortion rights and the impact anti-abortion legislation has had on millions of American women.

In Charlotte on Thursday, Harris announced the winners of $20 billion in awards that will fund tens of thousands of climate and clean energy projects nationwide. The investment is part of the EPA's Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund, which is a $27 billion program funded through President Biden's Inflation Reduction Act, according to the White House.

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All eight grant recipients are nonprofit lenders that Harris said will ensure the money goes to the right clean energy projects in their communities.

Self-Help is a nonprofit lender in Charlotte that has helped renovate nearly 50 homes in Grier Heights to be more energy efficient. The group is getting a cut of the grants to expand its mission to 30,000 homes nationwide.

On Thursday, Harris visited Grier Heights to see the project's work firsthand. She said reducing monthly energy costs, especially in disadvantaged communities, changes lives.

One man told her the money he saves from the renovations can now be used to pay for childcare and build generational wealth.

"He said he and his spouse can now put aside at least $50 a month for each of their sons for their savings account," Harris explained during her speech. "So, let’s think about what this means. Yes, we talk about cutting energy costs, but when we talk about real people and their dreams and aspirations, this is a big deal."

Experts believe the Tar Heel State will be a pivotal battleground in November's general election.

Biden is expected to face former President Donald Trump in a rematch of the 2020 election. Both candidates have won enough primary elections to receive their respective parties' nominations. It will be the first presidential election rematch since the 1950s.

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They claimed the private school wrongly expelled their students after raising concerns about the culture and curriculum after George Floyd's killing.

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CHARLOTTE, N.C. — North Carolina's Court of Appeals upheld a dismissal earlier this week regarding a lawsuit filed against Charlotte Latin School over changes made to its curriculum in the wake of George Floyd's killing in 2020.

Two parents sued the school in 2022, claiming their children were expelled after meeting with administrators about the curriculum in 2021. The opinion said the parents claimed the private school made a shift in providing reading materials, lessons, environment, and staff training after a 2020 video series and letter from the head of school was sent to families, alumni, and staff that focused on a "political agenda".

The parents were part of a larger group called Refocus Latin, which asked to meet with the school's board to discuss concerns about the changes. They met with the board in 2021 to express concerns and share a slideshow. Refocus Latin's presentation claimed the video series was false propaganda, that certain materials were "unpatriotic", and that the school's culture was "replacing American customs and values with 'Wokeism'".

The day after an August 2021 meeting, the board chair said neither they nor Charlotte Latin's administration would be responding to a presentation shared by Refocus Latin and that no further dialogue would be held. Further, the group was asked to speak directly to the school administration.

However, the slideshow presented by Refocus Latin was then sent to other parents. The school head met with faculty urging them to direct parent complaints or concerns to him.

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The parents who filed the suit claimed one child's teacher made comments pushing a politically progressive agenda and wouldn't let him lower his mask to drink water or use the bathroom on request. When they met again with Charlotte Latin leadership in September 2021, the teacher denied this. The head of the school terminated the contracts for both children, and they had to leave after the meeting.

The suit, filed in April 2022, claimed Charlotte Latin's termination of the enrollment contracts was fraudulent or unfair, that school leadership misrepresented the educational opportunities and curriculum, caused emotional distress to the family, breached the contracts, and defamed the parents. The school filed for dismissal in July 2022, which was granted by the Mecklenburg County Superior Court in October 2022. Days later, the parents filed their appeal.

Two of the three judges on the appeals court ruled in favor of the school. Judge Carolyn Thompson wrote the majority opinion and said Charlotte Latin didn't breach the enrollment contracts because of "the plain and unambiguous language" in them, which allowed the school to terminate at its discretion. An amicus brief was also filed by both the North Carolina Association of Independent Schools and the Southern Association of Independent Schools that said independent private schools have the right to define their culture, which may land anywhere along an ideological spectrum. The majority agreed with the brief, saying the suit could have chilled speech at private schools if allowed to proceed.

The court also said the parents renewed their children's enrollment contracts each school year and did so despite knowing about the cultural shifts happening at Charlotte Latin. It also said the termination of their children's contracts wasn't an act of retaliation, that school leadership didn't commit fraud against them, that the school didn't deceive them, and that the school terminating the enrollment agreement did not negligently cause stress to the children.

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Another conclusion the court made was that Charlotte Latin's head of school and the board didn't defame the parents when characterizing the presentation shared by Refocus Latin in an email sent to families, faculty and staff after the September 2021 meeting. The parents said the head of the school falsely claimed them to be making "racist accusations" about students and faculty. During that meeting, the school head said the parents of Refocus Latin, including the two who filed suit, "believed that the school 'accepts students and hires faculty because of their color' and that students and faculty of color 'are also not up to the merit of the school.'" The email the following day said school leadership rejected an assertion "that diverse students and faculty have not earned their positions and honors" and that the belief that diversity harms school excellence was wrong.

The court pointed to a slide in the presentation that said, among other concerns, that parents were worried that diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) practices were "superseding optimizing evaluations for admitting most qualified students and hiring most qualified faculty". The court said leadership's characterizations of the presentation were not materially false because of this.

Judge John Arrowood concurred in his own separate opinion. He specifically said the case was about "basic contract interpretation", and that a threat to the right to freely contract in North Carolina would "embolden parents who disagree with their children's private schools on divisive social issues" to file otherwise meritless suits. In one example, Arrowood wondered about the possibility of parents enrolling a child in a private Christian school with the intent to challenge the school's religious practices as an example.

Judge Julee Flood dissented, however, claiming the ruling was "premature" and the case demanded further fact-finding. She also said it was not in the court's ability to determine at this stage whether Charlotte Latin was justified in terminating the enrollment contracts. She would have remanded

A town nestled in the North Carolina mountains is small — but it makes a big impression.

So much so, Brevard ranks No. 9 on a list of “best small towns in the South,” according to results published April 10 from USA Today’s 10Best.

The website — which creates travel-related rankings — said it made the latest list after asking travel experts and editors to choose the top Southern destinations that had fewer than 25,000 residents. It presented the finalists to readers, who could vote for their favorite towns up to one time per day over the course of a month.

In the resulting list of readers’ choice award winners, Brevard was the only place in North Carolina to land a spot in the top 10. The town received nods for its downtown shopping and proximity to outdoor attractions.

“You’ll find plenty of retail therapy to satisfy your credit card, along with several museums to explore the area’s history,” 10Best wrote in its report. “Beyond those bustling streets, you can hike your way to 250 waterfalls, conquer the mountain biking trails, and ascend to new heights while rock climbing.”

Brevard — a roughly 30-mile drive southwest from Asheville — is no stranger to earning wide acclaim. Earlier in April, the town of about 7,700 people made it onto Money magazine’s list of the “50 Best Places to Live in the U.S.” as it was praised as an “under-the-radar gem.”

Though Brevard made its mark, North Carolina destinations missed out in 10Best’s other small-town categories, including the top coastal towns and college towns. The website in the past has said it doesn’t share the number of people who vote in its contests.

For the Southern rankings, award winners were chosen from the following 17 places: Alabama, Arkansas, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, West Virginia and Washington, D.C. 10Best used a U.S. Census Bureau map to define the region, the website told McClatchy News in an email.

The highest-ranking destination was Starkville, Mississippi. Rounding out the top five: