CLT Blog

Street scenes outside the NRA convention.

Charlotte hosted the 2010 National Rifle Association Annual Meeting (NRAAM) over this past weekend. The NRA reports that up to 70,000 people visited the convention.

On Friday afternoon, crowds slowly began to file out of the arena after Sarah Palin’s speech. There were no guns to be seen; the only hostlers were those for cell phones. Several tour buses were parked along Trade Street, their diesel engines idling. In front of the coaches stood women holding signs reading, “To Charlotte Convention Center.” The buses slowly filled and departed on their three block trek from the arena to the convention center.

Uptown’s streets are the heart of Charlotte’s political voice. Anybody who has anything to say, to celebrate, or to protest, can do so publicly here. I love to photograph the honesty seen on the streets. Rallies for an against everything from taxes, to war, to human rights, to religion – every side of every issue seems to be represented by Sharpie on poster board at some point. Sometimes it is best to let the images speak for themselves without trying to offer commentary.

BREAKING NEWS: It is Spring in Charlotte. Plants add color to the gray of Uptown as trees and flowers bloom. Skateboarders and jazz bands return to street corners. Some photos of springtime life in the QC.

Several local blogs are campaigning to name the Carolina Raptor Center’s newest baby eaglet “Noah,” after Charlotte’s Lance Corporal Noah M. Pier, a Marine who was recently killed in Afghanistan.

Cedar Posts first posted a story about the naming of the eaglet Tuesday, saying:

More than 800 names were submitted in WCNC’s “Name the Eaglet contest” and the Carolina Raptor Center has narrowed the list down to five names including “Noah”.

Cedar Posts can’t imagine a tribute to a fallen Marine more fitting than the naming an Eagle in his memory. What a wonderful day it will be, when we all can watch “Noah” take flight, to soar over the country that Lance Corporal Noah M. Pier gave his life to defend.

This morning, Bill Fehr also posted the story of the eaglet naming on his blog. Fehr, a local bicycle messenger, blogger, and Gulf War veteran, recently blogged about his experience meeting Lance Corporal Pier’s family at the visitation.

Vote here for one of the five finalists for the name of the new baby eagle. According to the website, the deadline to submit your favorite name is Monday, March 8 at 12 p.m. EST.  The winning name will be announced Monday, March 8 on WCNC.com and NewsChannel 36.

photo: James Willamor; view this photo on Flickr

The UNC Charlotte Center City building in First Ward has reached about half of its planned twelve floors. The building will be part of a larger First Ward development including a park and underground parking.

A light rail vehicle travels over snow covered tracks in South End.

photos: James Willamor; view this video on Vimeo

One hundred, twenty-six photos of Charlotte taken in 2009, more or less in chronological order. The majority of the photos were taken for CLT Blog and Crossroads Charlotte. The song is Brand New, released in 2009 by Charlotte area artists One Big Love. A list of events and people featured in the slideshow is after the break.
Read more…

photo: James Willamor; view this photo on Flickr

A laundromat on Sharon Amity between Central and Albemarle.

Here’s today’s Charlotte Photo of the Day, taken last Friday from Cordilia Park near NoDa (it’s actually in Villa Heights, people). I have a story behind this photo that I’ll tell later.

photo: James Willamor; view this photo on Flickr

Cordelia Park in Villa Heights.

In honor of Veterans Day, a photo of a North Carolina Air National Guard C-130 taking off at Charlotte-Douglas. Notice the corkscrew-shaped moisture vapor on the props.

photo: James Willamor; view this photo on Flickr