T-Mobile USA, Inc. has announced that the company is doubling the theoretical peak download speed of its 4G network in Charlotte and Raleigh, as well as surrounding areas. In addition to these cities, T-Mobile announced its faster HSPA+ 42 network is now available in 54 additional markets to reach more than 170 million people in 152 markets. T-Mobile expects that in addition to customers experiencing speeds twice as fast as T-Mobile’s current 4G network on compatible devices, customers will also enjoy increased network capacity and reliability. Offering a compelling 4G experience across a broad lineup of devices, America’s largest 4G

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To commemorate the tenth anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, Mecklenburg County Park and Recreation and local nonprofit agency Hands On Charlotte are partnering to raise money to build an 11-acre park in Charlotte’s Lincoln Heights neighborhood during the week leading up to Sunday, Sept. 11, 2011. “We are very excited to partner with Hands On Charlotte to make this park a reality,” said Jim Garges, director of Mecklenburg County Park and Recreation. “The master plan for our department is to have a park within six blocks of every home. This is a major step in realizing that goal.” Hands On

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24 Hours of Booty, Inc., which runs the Official 24-Hour Cycling Event of LIVESTRONG and the only national 24-hour road cycling charity event in the country, and the Carolina Panthers are teaming up to fight cancer. Through the partnership, Panthers mascot Sir Purr is fielding the Carolina Panthers Keep Pounding Team for the 10th Annual 24 Hours of Booty presented by Levine Cancer Institute on July 29-30 and is asking for the public’s support as he builds momentum for his cool-cat cycling team. Leading up to the 24-hour charity cycling event, Sir Purr will host “Ride with Sir Purr” at

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Reviewed by Jessica Stafford It is said “behind every great man, there stands a great woman,” a statement no less true when it comes to the first office of the country. In “The First Ladies: From Martha Washington to Mamie Eisenhower, An Intimate Portrait of the Women Who Shaped America,” Feather Schwartz Foster gives readers a taste of the impact that the First Ladies have had throughout the years. From Martha Washington to Mamie Eisenhower, we discover details that affected the presidency for better or for worse. Among these influential women, are the North Carolina educated Sarah Polk as well

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Mecklenburg County government offices and agencies will be closed on Monday, July 4, for Independence Day and open on a normal schedule Tuesday, July 5. This includes all units of the Department of Social Services, the Tax Office, Elections Office, the Register of Deeds Office, and the Land Use and Environmental Services Department. The Department of Social Services Care Line (704-336-CARE or 704-336-2273) operates 24 hours a day, seven days a week to receive reports of suspected abuse or neglect of children and elderly or disabled adults. The Health Department will be closed on Monday, July 4. Mecklenburg County Substance

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Last Thursday night, Charlotte Bobcats fans got a glimpse of the future when the team selected Bismack Biyombo and Kemba Walker in the first round of the 2011 NBA Draft. Now those fans will have an opportunity to meet the two newest members of the Bobcats Thursday, June 30, during Alive After Five. Biyombo and Walker will join Big Pat, the voice of the Bobcats, and members of the Ladycats on the Pavilion at EpiCentre stage. Alive After Five attendees will have the opportunity to mingle, take pictures and get autographs as well as win prizes such as Bobcats t-shirts,

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Metro Division Officers with the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department have arrested Shadarius Thompson, DOB: 09/08/1990. On May 23, 2011, at approximately 6:15 p.m. officers responded to a residential breaking and entering call at a home in the 900 block of State Street. The victim advised officers that he returned home to find his front door kicked in and several items stolen from his home which included electronic equipment and jewelry. The victim was also able to provide officers the serial numbers of the items taken during the crime. Officers entered the serial numbers of the property into the system and received

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A NO SWIMMING advisory was issued after approximately 267 gallons of sewage discharged to Lake Norman during the afternoon of June 21, 2011 at Town Harbour Road in Cornelius. The spill was caused by a broken valve in a sewer line on Windy Point Drive off Town Harbour Road. The discharge was stopped by Charlotte-Mecklenburg Utilities and repairs to the lift station have been completed. Water samples collected by Charlotte-Mecklenburg Storm Water Services staff on June 22, 2011 revealed elevated bacteria levels at 300 colonies/100 ml. in the cove adjacent to Town Harbour Road resulting in the issuance of this

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Charlotte Motor Speedway will add another fabulous first to its legacy on July 9 when the world’s largest HDTV airs a live simulcast concert by American Recordings artists, the Avett Brothers, from the legendary Red Rocks Amphitheatre in Morrison, CO. The simulcast will give local Avett Brothers fans the opportunity to view the live show on Charlotte Motor Speedway’s massive 80-foot-by-200-foot HDTV. The speedway will also supply concert-grade speakers for the event, to turn the infield area in front of the HDTV into a one-of-a-kind concert venue. “The speedway has been a hometown landmark for us our whole lives and

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Summer is officially upon us and that means Sundays at EpiCentre are about to sizzle with the return of SOAK Sundays. The first SOAK Sunday of the 2011 season takes place this Sunday, June 26, beginning at noon. SOAK Sundays are high-energy parties on the rooftop Pavilion at EpiCentre featuring first-class entertainment, including prominent national and local DJs as well as bikini fashion shows, plus delicious food, import specialty and craft beers at Biergarten, superior customer service and leisure activities such as ping-pong tables, a bocce ball court, corn hole, limbo, twister and more. The 2011 SOAK Sunday calendar spans

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