Lion Pride not letting guns tarnish West Charlotte High legacy

For nearly a century, West Charlotte High School has been a pillar of the westside community.

It was at the epicenter of the historic integration of Charlotte schools in the ‘60s and ‘70s, and it has produced many of the city’s change-makers and leaders. But lately, with nine guns found on campus over a three-month period, concerns about safety threaten to overshadow the school’s long legacy of greatness.

West Charlotte isn’t the only school where guns have been found, and where students, teachers and parents have turned attention to security. But its community members are fiercely protective of the school and its reputation — their school has a legacy they want to build on, and one that’s easy to attack, they say.

Lion Pride, they call it, and it’s very much alive.

Staffing crisis at Meck jail

In a letter to Mecklenburg Sheriff Garry McFadden last month, Chris Wood, North Carolina’s chief jail inspector, said he found an alarming number of job vacancies within the uptown jail that presented “an imminent threat” to the safety of inmates and staff. Wood‘s recommendation: Reduce the jail population to under 1,000 — a nearly 30% cut — so it can be managed by available staff.

As of Tuesday morning, the state’s largest detention facility housed 1,375 adult inmates — but it’s operating with more than half of its 470 jail positions unfilled, including 180 officers, the Sheriff’s Office told the Observer.

The jail’s most recent COVID-19 outbreak also had sickened 133 inmates and 23 members of McFadden’s staff, as of Monday.

Courthouse officials, including judges, met with McFadden to discuss the jail situation, but there doesn’t appear to be a quick fix. Multiple counties contacted by the Observer said they weren’t in a position to take any inmates from Mecklenburg.

The town that says ‘no’

When you think of Cornelius, what comes to mind?

Lakefront town. Swimming beaches on Lake Norman. Quiet neighborhoods.

How about traffic congestion, a flurry of new apartments going up and overcrowded schools?

Those are a few reasons town leaders took the unusual — but not unheard of — step late last month to pause all approvals of new multifamily residential projects.

The northern Mecklenburg County town of 31,412 people has been growing at a fast clip over the past decade, adding more than 6,500 residents for an increase of 26%.

Town leaders say the pause gives them a chance to review land use regulations in order to better manage the growth and allow infrastructure to catch up.

But, not everyone agrees that so-called moratoriums on building are the most effective tool to address complex issues such as traffic.

Making CLT feel like home

The front office at Charlotte FC, which makes its Major League Soccer debut next month, is assembling an especially global roster, even by league standards. Not all teams use their eight allotted international roster slots, but Charlotte FC plans to fill at least 11.

Many of those players will come from Spanish-speaking countries. Enter Elena Lemus.

Lemus is Charlotte FC’s player liaison, meaning she’s responsible for assisting the club’s athletes navigate their transitions to a new Southern city, including the language barrier, housing preferences, bank accounts and even nail salons (for their wives and girlfriends).

For Lemus, her role is personal. A Guatemala native, she understands what arriving in the U.S. without knowing English means. She saw the need for a similar support system firsthand as a player on the women’s soccer team at Sterling College in central Kansas.

Quick hits

▪ Observer readers donated more money ($227,822) to the paper’s Empty Stocking Fund this holiday season to help local families in need than in 2019 ($156,000), the year before COVID-19 prompted unprecedented giving. To donate online: EmptyStockingFundCLT.org.

▪ Zillow ranked Raleigh No. 3 and Charlotte No. 5 in the top 10 hottest U.S. real estate markets for 2022. Florida’s Tampa Bay area was ranked No. 1 overall for 2022, according to Zillow’s estimates.

▪ After half a year on exhibit in Charlotte, the Immersive Van Gogh at Camp North End closed last weekend with a record of more than 1,600 performances, 300,000 tickets sold and $400,000 for local artists, organizers said. The exhibit of Vincent Van Gogh’s work combines moving images and music.

Things to know

Some of the headlines from the Observer’s new service journalism team. Look for these stories at CharlotteObserver.com:

▪ Headed to a college basketball game in North Carolina? Here are COVID-19 policies to know

▪ Charlotte stores struggle to keep OTC medicine on shelves amid COVID surge

▪ Looking for authentic N95 or KN95 masks? Here’s where to find them in Charlotte and online

▪ Need to get to the hospital? Charlotte Medic says try Uber or Lyft instead of ambulance

They said it

“Build a city that’s equitable, sustainable and livable.”

City planning director Taiwo Jaiyeoba’s advice for his successor. Jaiyeoba’s last day is Jan. 21, and he will become Greensboro city manager on Feb. 1.

Compiled by Rogelio Aranda