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INSIDE ▼ Injunction halts TV station merger
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– 2026
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PAGE 2A Friday, April 24, 2026 • Vol. 26 • No. 16
thecharlotteweekly.
@southcltweekly
WHAT'S INSIDE
Too much? Lawmakers examine property taxes, 2A
Clean plates Inspectors evaluate area restaurants, 1B
Police Chief Estella Patterson said the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department will coordinate with city and county departments, businesses, property owners and event organizers to ensure officers are visible in public spaces in the warmer months. Photos courtesy of CMPD
Concert Series Towns offer outdoor music gatherings, 2B
Staying visible, proactive
Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department chief encouraged by first-quarter crime data by Justin Vick justin@charlottemediagroup.org
Healing poetry Author explores grief in new book, 3B
CHARLOTTE – Police Chief Estella Patterson points to an assault investigation last month in the Cotswold area to convey how collaboration helps keep the community safe. Officers with the CharlotteMecklenburg Police Department responded to a call in the 100 block of South Sharon Amity Road, where they found a woman who had been stabbed in a grocery store parking lot. CMPD asked for the community’s help in identifying the suspect from surveillance. Tips led to the arrest of Marvina Marie Hardy, who is awaiting extradition to face charges of assault with a deadly weapon with intent to kill and inflicting serious injury and battery of an unborn child. “It really demonstrates the power of true community collaboration,” Patterson said. Such collaboration has contributed to lower first-quarter crime statistics. The
quarter spans from Jan. 1 to March 31. Patterson said she was encouraged by reductions in key crime areas, including a 23% reduction in overall crime, in year-over-year comparisons. CMPD is also reporting decreases in violent crime, property crime, robberies, burglaries, aggravated assaults, vehicle thefts and larceny from autos. “These reductions are only made possible by the collective efforts of proactive policing strategies and also daily engagement of our residents, businesses and organizations who work alongside us,” Patterson said. One notable concern was the number of homicides increasing from 16 in the first quarter of 2025 to 22 in the first quarter of 2026. Patterson said 11 were situations where the suspect knew the victim. The relationship was unknown in four cases. Two cases were traffic-related. “It is important that we acknowledge that these homicides are not just numbers,” Patterson said. “They represent lives
Crime Data The Charlotte Mecklenburg Police Department shared a snapshot of crime in the first quarter of 2026 compared to the first quarter of 2025: • Violent crimes: 1,108 offenses in 2026; 1,357 offenses in 2025. • Homicides: 22 in 2026; 16 in 2025. • Aggravated assaults: 853 in 2026; 1,037 in 2025. • Rapes: 38 in 2026; 41 in 2025. • Robberies: 195 in 2026; 263 in 2025. • Property crimes: 6,778 in 2026; 8,820 in 2025. • Residential burglaries: 279 in 2026; 396 in 2025. • Commercial burglaries: 394 in 2026; 726 in 2025. • Larcenies from automobiles: 1,705 in 2026; 2,573 in 2025. • Vehicle thefts: 1,019 in 2026; 1,536 in 2025. • Arsons: 45 in 2026; 41 in 2025.
“Crime is down. Our strategies are working and our partnerships across the city have never been stronger.” – Sgt. Edwin Morales, CMPD’s Central Division
see CRIME DATA, Page 3A
Part of Manor Theatre redevelopment reaches city council by Justin Vick
justin@charlottemediagroup.org
CHARLOTTE – While no one spoke against the redevelopment of Manor Theatre during an April 20 public hearing, Charlotte City Council Member Kimberly Owens said she has heard concerns from neighbors. Plans are to develop buildings with residential uses on top of ground-floor retail. “The neighbors that I’ve talked to are very concerned about this project and about it setting the standard for what else happens on
Providence Road,” Owens said. City council is only able to review a portion of the project. The parking lot behind the Manor Theatre is zoned differently from the rest of the property, so developers are trying to rezone it so they can incorporate more “unified, higher-level design standards across the site,” according to Bridget Grant, land consultant with Moore & Van Allen. “By rezoning our back portion of the site to (Neighborhood Center), we’re able to put residential units where there
is currently only allowed to be parking for residential uses,” Grant told the council. Parking would be at ground or subterranean levels. Charlotte-Mecklenburg Historic Landmarks left feedback on the proposal, given the historic significance of Manor Theatre. The movie theater operated for seven decades before closing during the pandemic. The historic group recommended the petitioner include the entire parcel in the rezoning so the redevelopment could be considered holistically.
Owens asked Grant if there was any appetite for doing that. Grant replied that the UDO increased design standards significantly and they were relying on the strength of the UDO. Grant later explained that the development team already has the zoning in place to build a mix of residential buildings with groundfloor retail. The current zoning of the back lot also allows for structured parking. “We believe it’s better for us to have residential units with atgrade or subterranean parking in that location, in proximity to the
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adjacent residential that’s there,” Grant told the council. Owens relayed concerns she had heard from neighbors about how future widening of Providence Road will affect Squirrel Park across the street from the project. “I think there’s a deep appreciation for the fact that Providence Road, an NCDOT road, is not really a great commute experience for many folks,” Owens said. “I am unaware of any immediate plans to widen it, but the concern that has been see THEATER, Page 3A