Top Stories for Aug. 14, 2024
Mecklenburg County provides this weekly rundown of top stories from the Board of County Commissioners meetings and the Public Information Department’s newsroom. The Board’s next regular meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, Sept. 4 at 6 p.m. The agenda will be available online and the meeting can be viewed on MeckTV.
1. One Year in the Ella B. Scarborough Center: Mecklenburg County is celebrating the one-year anniversary of the opening of the Ella B. Scarborough Community Resource Center. To mark the occasion, residents are invited to “Saturdays on Stitt”, Aug. 17, 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., 430 Stitt Road, Charlotte. It’s a community celebration with books, school supplies, a pop-up market, free entertainment—and information about the many services they can find in OnePlace at the Ella B. Scarborough Center. They include Medicaid, Food and Nutrition Services, Child Support Services, Women, Infants, and Children (WIC), Veterans Services, employment assistance, and much more.
2. Child Support Month: The Board of County Commissioners has proclaimed August as Child Support Awareness Month. Mecklenburg County has operated Child Support Services since July 2010. Child Support Awareness Month has been recognized nationally since 1995 to demonstrate the importance of child support as a sustainable means of financial support and well-being for our nation's children. In Mecklenburg County, there are more than 58,000 children and custodial parents who receive more than $48.7 million in child support annually, through the efforts of Mecklenburg County’s child support professionals, which provide food, housing, and clothing to these families.
3. Carolina Ascent Descends on Memorial Stadium: Mecklenburg County’s historic American Legion Memorial Stadium will host Carolina Ascent FC for the opening of a historic season on Saturday, Aug. 17. Carolina Ascent FC is the only women’s professional sports team in Charlotte-Mecklenburg. The team will play its home soccer matches at the iconic stadium, which seats 10,500 fans and offers a striking gametime view of the Charlotte skyline. Memorial Stadium first opened in 1936 and honors Mecklenburg County soldiers who fell in World War I. Carolina Ascent’s opener on Saturday against DC Power FC will make even more history as the first-ever USL Super League match.
4. Improving Fred Alexander: Park and Recreation is reopening Fred Alexander Park this week after extensive improvements. New amenities at the 6-acre park include outdoor workout equipment, game tables, and a pump track. Swings and a half basketball court were added to the existing playground and full court. The reopening celebration will be held on Friday, Aug. 16, 5 p.m. to 7 p.m., at 1832 Griers Grove Road in Charlotte. Staff from West Charlotte Recreation Center will give away backpacks, Trips for Kids will hand out helmets, and the Tarheel Trailblazers will demonstrate the pump track. Renovations were carried out with funding allocated by the Board of County Commissioners to improve ten Mecklenburg County parks. Learn more about Park and Rec improvement projects.
5. It’s a SNAP at the Farmers Market: SNAP/EBT and the SNAP Double Bucks program will now be accepted at the Charlotte Regional Farmers Market, 1801 Yorkmont Road in Charlotte. It’s the area’s largest farmer's market. Customers should go to the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Food Policy Council table, swipe their EBT card, receive wooden tokens to use as cash, and shop at participating SNAP-qualified vendors. Customers can also double their EBT dollars up to $50 per EBT card. This is a pilot program available every other Saturday from Aug. 10 through Oct. 19, 9 a.m. – 1 p.m. The program is a partnership among Mecklenburg County Public Health, Charlotte Regional Food Policy Council, and the Charlotte Regional Farmers Market.