Red, White and Boom!

Clear Channel and Scott Clark Toyota are teaming up again to bring Red, White and Boom! Uptown on July 4. 96.1 The Beat, WRFX 99.7 The Fox, Lite 102.9, 96.9 Kat Country and 106.5 The End will host evening viewing parties at the Crowne Plaza Hotel rooftop and Dilworth Grill.

In addition, US Airways will be presenting Family Fun Fest at Memorial Stadium along with WLYT (Lite 102.9) and WKKT (96.9 Kat Country) as host radio stations. Family-friendly activities will run from 6:00 p.m. until 10:00 p.m. There will be stadium and grass seating to watch the fireworks. The event is alcohol-free but there will be food and soft drinks on sale.

The fireworks are being staged from the Central Piedmont Community College campus. Some streets around the campus will close between 7:00pm to accommodate the fallout zone, so expect traffic in that area to be heavy. Streets will reopen immediately following the show.

The “Red, White and Boom!” fireworks show will be approximately 20 minutes long. The show begins at 9:30pm (weather and fire department clearance permitting). The show will be staged to a music track that will be played live at all viewing venues and will be simulcast on all five Clear Channel Radio stations.

Parking in the Neighborhoods:
There will be an influx of vehicles parking in and around center city and our neighborhoods to watch the fireworks. While we know that you welcome these visitors to your neighborhoods, we also recognize that the event may bring too many visitors for your parking accommodations. If emergency vehicles cannot navigate your streets or if your driveway is blocked and you need to access it, please call 911 and they will contact Park It to address.

Zero Tolerance:
We also want to ensure a safe and secure environment for those attending this event. CMPD, in partnership with CFD, MEDIC and the Mecklenburg County Sheriff’s Office, has developed a comprehensive operational plan. Emergency personnel will be deployed at fixed and mobile locations based on anticipated need. While officers will understand the celebratory atmosphere, any behaviors which threaten the safety of others will not be tolerated. Officers will enforce violations of the ordinance forbidding open containers of alcohol, blocking City streets and sidewalks and the possession of illegal fireworks, among others. Please help us maintain a safe, family friendly event by reporting behaviors that threaten this environment. (Call 911 to report incidents or concerns.)


Enforcing Curfew
CMPD officers will be enforcing the Youth Protection Ordinance that requires children under the age of 16 (unless accompanied by a parent or guardian) to be home by curfew. Since the Fourth falls on a Wednesday, the curfew is 11 PM (it does not change because of the holiday). If a child is out past 11:00 and the police get involved, parents need to plan on picking up the child at the Police Department. Parents can receive citations, too, so for everyone's safety, especially our kids, let's make sure they are either home or with a responsible parent or guardian.

Center City Partners along with our public safety partners wish you a happy July 4th holiday. We look forward to a safe event as we celebrate Independence Day in true patriotic fashion.


Darlene Heater
Charlotte Center City Partners
Neighborhood Liaison

Help Wanted

Many areas of the Center City still need Block Captains. The following information is contained in the CMPD Neighborhood Watch Pamphlet.

BLOCK CAPTAINS – THE BLOCK CAPTAINS ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR GETTING THEIR NEIGHBORS INVOLVED IN THE NW PROGRAM.

• DISTRIBUTE INFORMATION RECEIVED FROM THE CHAIRPERSON VIA TELEPHONE, EMAIL OR NEWSLETTER
• CREATE A BLOCK MAP WITH THE CURRENT INFORMATION OF THEIR NEIGHBORS (I.E.: NAME, ADDRESS, TELEPHONE AND EMAIL ADDRESS)
• KEEP TRACK OF ANY MEDICAL PROBLEMS OR UNIQUE CIRCUMSTANCES THEIR NEIGHBORS HAVE
• COORDINATE ALL ACTIVITIES FOR THEIR BLOCK AND NEIGHBORS THEY ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR
• GREET ANY NEW NEIGHBORS THAT MOVE INTO THEIR COMMUNITY AND EDUCATE THEM ON THE NW PROGRAM
• SERVE AS A LIAISON BETWEEN THE CHAIRPERSON AND THE NEIGHBORS THEY ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR

We need your help in making Uptown the safest neighborhood in the city. Please go to the Neighborhood Watch Map to sign-up as a Block Captain today.

Suspicious Activity

This information was received from the Center City Safety group:

There have been recent reports concerning suspicious men who are photographing mass transit facilities and buses in the Center City.


There have been recent reports concerning suspicious men who are posing as delivery drivers of a nationally known company and photographing businesses and the delivery truck itself.


Please pass on to all security personnel to be especially watchful for suspicious people photographing infrastructure, suspicious delivery drivers and delivery trucks. If any activity of this type is noted, please call 911 promptly and obtain as much description as possible.

Be On The Look Out

We have received a tip that the individual below may be active in the Uptown area. Please be careful if you encounter him.

Click here for prior arrests.

Third Ward Crime Stats - Last 30 Days

Larceny from auto - 14
Larceny (other) -5
Hit and run - 4
Missing person (age 16 and over) -3
Auto theft- 2
Commercial burglary - 2
Other crime charge - 2
Residential burglary - 2
Aggravated assault (gun) - 1

Charity Football Game

The Charlotte Cobras football team will be taking on The Georgia Extreme in a charity football game to raise funds for the families of fallen CMPD officers Jeff Shelton and Sean Clark. All funds raised from this event will go to the officers' families.

June 16, 2007

Memorial Stadium

7:15 P.M.

For ticket information, please contact Officer John Collins at jcollins@cmpd.org.

Click here for the CMPD press release.

First Ward Crime Stats - May 7 through June 2

47 reported incidents in First Ward

• Larceny (other) - 13
• Entertainment District related - 12
• Larceny from auto - 10
• Non-aggravated assault - 7
• Hit and run - 5
  
  We had a purse snatching that occurred at 200 N. College Street the suspect was not caught.

From Pat McCrory: Caravan Update -- Lobby the Legislature to Fight Crime

Dear Caravan to Raleigh for Public Safety Participants:

Our efforts this past February to lobby the General Assembly continues to pay off, as the Senate version of the State Budget increases funding for the criminal justice system by 10%. Now is the time to continue to let our friends in Raleigh know that we want to see a final State budget that includes the increased funding for the criminal justice system.

Specifically, I am asking you to do four things:

Write or email Senate Pro Tem President Marc Basnight (D-Dare) at marcb@ncleg.net and thank him for his leadership in getting additional money to support the criminal justice system, particularly court positions, included in the Senate budge proposal. Let him know in very strong terms that you support an increase in court fees and that it is long overdue. Also state that you want the proposed $30 million in new revenue for the criminal justice system to stay in the criminal justice system and be directed to those areas with the most case backlogs. (You can copy your email to Senator Basnight to all Senators by emailing (ncsenatemembers@ncleg.net)

Write all the members of the State House of Representatives (nchousemembers@ncleg.net) and urge their support for the Senate budget proposal to increase funding for the state criminal justice system.

Other information you might want to include in your emails: NC ranks #1 in the number of criminal filings per 100,000 population, yet NC is 49th in the number of judges at 1.2 per 100,000 population. Mecklenburg County has 9% of the state’s population, yet we have 20% of the violent crimes and 15% of the property crimes in the State. We have got to address the revolving door issue of arrestees, as 57% of the 41,000 people arrested in Mecklenburg County in 2005 have been arrested at least two or more times since 1996. Also, there are 144 murder suspects in the Mecklenburg County jail awaiting trial, yet the DA can only prosecute about 12 murder trials a year.

Contact Representative Ronnie Sutton (D-Robeson) at rons@ncleg.net and ask him to move the Gang Legislation out of his House Committee to secure passage of the gang legislation this session. Offer to testify before the House Judiciary III Committee to help people understand why passing the gang legislation is so important (if you are comfortable making such an offer).

Let them know there is a sense of urgency to pass the gang bill now, since it was not passed last year. Gangs have become a statewide issue where they are infiltrating our schools and neighborhoods to recruit other members, they are a big part of the drug problem and gang members are callous in wanting to kill others. Many gang members are children who are committing adult crimes. The Police need more resources to combat gangs. Let them know you support, among other provisions, a bill that:

1) Defines a “criminal street gang” as three or more persons participating in one or more types of felonious behavior 2) Specifies criteria when a person will be considered a “criminal street gang member” 3) Defines ”criminal gang activity” as a person who has participated in the commission of two or more selected felonies in the last three years (drugs, robberies, etc.) 4) Makes it unlawful to threaten a person or their family if that person quits a gang 5) Enhances penalties for a conviction of certain offenses that benefits a street gang 6) Declares that property used to facilitate gang activity is contraband and subject to seizure and forfeiture proceedings under current law (14-2.3 Forfeiture of Gain Acquired Through Felonies) 7) Applies to Juveniles at least 12 years old because 567 gang crimes were committed by Juveniles under the age of 16 last year in Mecklenburg County.

Thank you for your time to continue the momentum we started in February. Our efforts have had an impact, but we can’t take for granted that we will see more money for the criminal justice system or that gang legislation will finally get passed this session.

Please copy all the members of the Mecklenburg Delegation on your emails (emails addresses below). If you want to contact any other state legislators or leaders, you can get their information at www.ncleg.net.

We cannot take a summer break and let up on our efforts. Please continue to fight for this issue and contact the legislators.

Warm regards,

Pat McCrory
Mayor

Mecklenburg Delegation emails:

beckyc@ncleg.net
Beverlye@ncleg.net
Charlied@ncleg.net
Danielc@ncleg.net
Drews@ncleg.net
Eddieg@ncleg.net
Jimb@ncleg.net
Jimg@ncleg.net
Malcolmg@ncleg.net
Martha@ncleg.net
Petec@ncleg.net
Rick@ncleg.net
Robertp@ncleg.net
Ruths@ncleg.net
Thomt@ncleg.net

Some Good Advice

I found these two items on the WSOC TV web site. Do not leave items in plain view in your vehicle. If you do the chances of them "walking away" increase. Closing the garage door can keep your things safe as well.

Personal responsibility and common sense. Enough said.

CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Thousands of people will pack into Center City this weekend for the Taste of Charlotte, and police are keeping a close eye on the crowds.

Last week during Speed Street, there were some car break-ins and vandalism.

CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Garage doors up, blinds left open and doors that aren't locked: Police say all are clear invitations for thieves to break into your home while you're on vacation this summer.