Charlotte Observer

charlotteobserver.com — Activities begin at noon with a parade, and the three-day festival has caused several blocks of South Tryon Street to be closed.

charlotteobserver.com — As teachers urged the public to rally for Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools raises, Thursday's county budget hearing appears to be attracting far less energy than last year's. Forty people had signed up to speak as of Wednesday afternoon about a budget that features a small tax cut and increased spending for schools, parks, libraries and health services.

charlotteobserver.com — Two of the Carolinas' predominant NCAA Division II athletic conferences are undergoing significant facelifts. Queens and Coker (S.C.) are moving from Conference Carolinas to the South Atlantic Conference in 2013, the SAC announced Wednesday. The shift shrinks Conference Carolinas - one of the country's oldest DII leagues - from 12 to 10 schools and bumps the SAC's membership from 10 to 12.

charlotteobserver.com — http://media.charlotteobserver.com/smedia/2012/05/23/16/23/I7VDF.Em.138.jpeg|215 Examples of healthy food from the Danica Patrick Fit Fuel concession stand at Charlotte Motor Speedway: a veggie burger and fresh vegetable and fruit cups. http://media.charlotteobserver.com/smedia/2012/05/23/16/23/jEPxg.Em.138.jpeg|228 John Crane of Big John's BBQ created the gluten-free BBQ Sundae because his wife has celiac disease.

charlotteobserver.com — Former Charlotte Regional Visitors Authority chief executive Tim Newman was charged Tuesday with driving while impaired.

charlotteobserver.com — Providence Road Baptist Church pastor Charles Worley causes a firestorm in a YouTube video where he suggests gays and lesbians be penned in electric fences so they die.

charlotteobserver.com — Harris Teeter is recalling five flavors of its HT Traders Sorbet because of the possibility of undeclared milk protein.

charlotteobserver.com — Can the barbecue sauce make the cookout? Sure, it can - if the cook makes the right sauce. To celebrate Memorial Day and the kickoff to the summer cookout season, we asked you to enter your recipes in The Great Carolinas Barbecue Sauce Contest, a joint effort of The Observer and the News & Observer.

charlotteobserver.com — What a bunch of jerkys.

charlotteobserver.com — How many ways can you say "build fire - cook food"? Must be a lot. Every summer brings a new stack of books on grilling and barbecue. We took a minute to smoke over some of this year's offerings. Charred & Scruffed Adam Perry Lang (Artisan, $24.95) Lang is a respected New York chef who thinks deeply about all things grill-related.

charlotteobserver.com — GREENSBORO John Edwards has been described many ways throughout his trial, as a philandering husband, an opportunistic political climber and an egotistical, tragic character. But he also is a single father of two school-aged children who lost their mother to cancer almost 18 months ago.

charlotteobserver.com — According to several websites, the pop star will perform Jan. 22 at Time Warner Cable Arena in Charlotte. He also has a scheduled stop Jan. 19 at the Greensboro Coliseum.

charlotteobserver.com — The Oasis All-Star Independent Schools Shrine Classic will have a new home this fall. The game, which was first played in 2005 and features the top senior football players from N.C. and S.C. independent schools, will be held at Mooresville High's Coach Joe Popp Stadium on Nov.

charlotteobserver.com — Charlotte's financially-troubled Museum of History is expected to announce today that it will suspend operations Friday and will be closed to the public through the summer while it works out a new business plan. Dating to 1976, the Shamrock Road museum includes the Hezekiah Alexander House, a rock dwelling built in 1774 that is the oldest surviving house in Mecklenburg County.

charlotteobserver.com — York authorities are searching for two suspects in an armed robbery at a Harris Teeter in Fort Mill on Monday.

charlotteobserver.com — Cornelius police are searching for a suspect in an armed robbery at a Harris Teeter store.

charlotteobserver.com — Stanley Weaver II will always remember his first encounter with a whole, raw chicken. He was standing in the kitchen of his Atlanta home at age 4, watching as his dad prepared dinner. Stanley, who had never seen an uncooked bird, was puzzled. He asked his dad what he was cooking.

charlotteobserver.com — NEW YORK If you're flying this summer, be prepared to kiss your family goodbye at the gate. Even if they're on the same plane. Airlines are reserving a growing number of window and aisle seats for passengers willing to pay extra.

charlotteobserver.com — If you want to cook like a chef, half the battle is having a pantry and refrigerator filled with the right ingredients. Chefs know you can't cook well without the stuff on hand to get the job done.

charlotteobserver.com — Kurt Hogan longed for years to open a pub, a vision he shared with his dad and older brother. Armed with an MBA, a love of the restaurant business and an appreciation for craft beers, the New England native visited Charlotte in early 2011 and decided the artsy North Davidson Street community was a perfect fit for his entrepreneurial dreams. About that same time, the neighborhood, along with the rest of Charlotte, was suffering.