Dog lovers may cast votes online April 1 (starting at 8a.m.) through April 17 (until 5p.m.) for the Top Dog of the 2011 Pedigree® Bark in the Park Dog Festival presented by Food Lion. Go to www.parkandrec.com and click on the Top Dog logo. Judges have chosen three finalists: Zoe and Boss, both German shorthaired pointers; and Bella, a miniature dachshund. Online voting will determine the Top Dog, to be announced April 20. These three finalist photos were chosen based on cleverness and originality from 49 entries. The contest is part of the Bark in the Park Dog Festival, a

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Charlotte Area News wants to expand its coverage by working with area writers to review books with local connections, and review cultural events with multi-day-night offerings. This is mostly for fun and exposure, not money. If you review a book, you keep the book. If you attend an event that provides tickets for reviewers, you get in free. If you can sustain daily or regular output on any locally relevant topic, we’ll consider giving you a regular column. Right now we have a “coming of age” book written by a best-selling Charlotte author which we would like reviewed. We also

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The N.C. Governor’s Highway Safety Program and the N.C. State Highway Patrol are kicking off the “No Need 2 Speed®” campaign. Local law enforcement agencies will join state troopers March 28-April 3 to conduct stepped up patrols and enforcement to catch speeders on North Carolina’s highways. “I urge drivers to slow down and obey the speed limit,” said GHSP director Becky Wallace. “For every 10 miles per hour you drive over 50 mph, you double your chances of dying or being seriously injured.” Officers will focus their efforts on interstates and major four-lane highways across the state. During the No

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BI-LO Charities is offering to match customer donations up to $50,000 made to the American Red Cross to assist the victims of the devastating earthquake and tsunami in Japan last week. “Our hearts go out to families in Japan who are suffering unfathomable loss following last week’s earthquake and Tsunami flood. After the generous support given victims of Nine Eleven disaster and Hurricane Katrina by the Japanese people, we felt it was our turn to open our hearts and offer assistance during this horrible disaster in Japan,” said Michael Byars, President and CEO of BI-LO, LLC. Through a partnership BI-LO

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A Huntersville man will have the opportunity to paddle his way into the Guinness Book of World Records next week. But he won’t employ either a canoe or an instrument of corporal punishment! Comedian and variety entertainer Steve Langley, aka “The Great Fettucini,” has become master of the art of paddle ball. So much so, in fact, that he has been invited to take an all-expenses paid trip to Milan, Italy, April 4-10 to establish a record for that prop on the Guinness-sponsored prime-time television show “Lo Show del Record.” Langleyexpects to establish the record at six paddle balls bounced

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The Big Brew Ha event will feature gourmet breakfast for dinner, complete with all things brewed (coffee, tea and beer) on the top floor of the Mint Museum Uptown on Friday, April 15, 2011, from 7:30 p.m. to 10:30 p.m. Event-goers can win prizes by participating in a balloon pop and the “Brew Pong” Tournament. Proceeds from the event will help fund preservation efforts for St. Peter’s Catholic Church (501 S. Tryon Street), one of the oldest buildings on Tryon Street. Admission is $60; all participants will receive a pilsner glass or coffee mug. Free parking will be provided in

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Warm weather has spread across the Carolinas and spring is in the air, which in Charlotte means its time to kick-start the weekend in style with the Queen City summertime tradition – Alive After Five. Celebrating its 10th Anniversary this year, Alive After Five presented by AT&T returns to uptown Charlotte on Thursday, April 7 at 5 p.m. at Wachovia Plaza, 301 South Tryon Street. The 2011 season kicks off with a performance on the Bud Light Stage by one of Alive After Five’s all-time most popular bands, Liquid Pleasure. The six-piece North Carolina-based band has nearly 30 years of

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The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department is seeking the community’s assistance related to the investigation of a series of events which occurred early in the morning of March 20. Specifically CMPD is interested in speaking to any witnesses who have information regarding these events: · The robbery that took place in the 1400 block of West Trade Street on Sunday, March 20, at approximately 1a.m. · The shooting that occurred in the 1800 block of Garibaldi Avenue involving Officer Brent Harrison and Malcolm Xavier Springs. · The arrest of Malcolm Xavier Springs on Garibaldi Avenue. Detectives with the CMPD returned to Garibaldi

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The 16th annual Neighborhood Symposium will take place on Saturday, April 16 from 8:00 am – Noon at Central Piedmont Community College’s (CPCC) Central Campus, Overcash Building (1206 Elizabeth Avenue). The Symposium is a free event hosted by the City of Charlotte. The theme of the Symposium this year is ‘Connecting Community’ and will feature a new level of community engagement through short neighborhood-led presentations, designed to inspire other neighborhoods to get involved in a neighborhood project of their own. Presentations will be themed around creating a safe environment, involving youth, promoting sustainability and energy efficiency, and engaging community partners.

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The Skin Cancer Foundation’s free skin cancer screening program will be open to the public in the Charlotte area April 9 and 10. The Tour offers FREE, full body skin cancer screenings and the latest skin cancer information to the public. AVEENO® sunscreen samples, coupons and complimentary copies of Fitness magazine are also distributed. Screenings are first-come, first-served. For more information, visit www.SkinCancer.org/Tour/. When: Saturday, April 9, 2011 10:00 AM to 1:00 PM Sunday, April 10, 2011 10:00 AM to 4:00 PM Where: Rite Aid 15221 John J. Delaney Drive Charlotte, NC 28277 Rite Aid 108 South Highway 16 Denver,

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