Enlarge Gerald Terrell, Tim McLeod and Elsie Garner discuss ways the community can respond to budget cuts.

Posted: March 30th, 2010 Greg Lacour

Mecklenburg County’s recent decision to cut hours and services across its library system brought home an unpleasant truth to residents: Government revenue has shriveled in the recession, and public officials are having to decide what we’ll all have to do without.

That in mind, Crossroads Charlotte on March 30 hosted “A Community Responds: Cuts, Closures and Access,” an information and discussion session that drew about 75 people to First Presbyterian Church uptown.

The purpose was to present people with the facts about Mecklenburg County’s declining revenues and accompanying cuts in service, then allow participants to ask questions and contribute ideas about how individuals and the community at large can cope with what presenters called, “the new normal.”

It’s not pretty. County Budget Director Hyong Yi, Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools Chief Academic Officer Ann Clark and library system Director Charles Brown laid out specifically how deep the revenue losses have been and how severe the expected cuts will be in the coming fiscal year and beyond. (Yi’s and Brown’s presentations are available for download here.)

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Posted: December 22nd, 2009 Brant Aycock

The Charlotte Post is the first of what we hope will be many media outlets to announce our upcoming Xchange, which is entitled Xchange Sermons. The event is co-sponsored by Crossroads Charlotte and Mecklenburg Ministries. To read more click HERE.

Posted: September 25th, 2009 Ayofemi Kirby

The Crossroads Correspondents will be previewing restaurants for the Oct. 8 Taste of the World. For more info and to make a reservation, click here

Jerusalem

3145 N. Sharon Amity Road

Owner: Yahia Baghdadi

Chef: Abu Khaled

At merely 50 square miles wide, and found near the southernmost region of the Judean mountains, Jerusalem is the spiritual center to more than 15 billion people within the world’s most populous faiths.

With the richness found where cultures converge, Jerusalem offers a sampling of the region’s best traditions.

For those seeking a taste of the Middle Eastern city in Charlotte, its no surprise that they can find it at Jerusalem, Yahia Baghdadi’s restaurant off Sharon Amity.

He pays homage daily to his spiritual home – serving healthy, fresh food and offering genuine camaraderie to guests.

“Now, I’m bringing home back here,” Baghdadi said. “I have people who come here every day and if they don’t, they feel like something is missing."

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Posted: September 20th, 2009 Crystal Dempsey

Video and Text by Tonya Jameson

They work in clay, seeds, acrylic and whatever else moves them to create art.

They are young and old, white and black.

Some have lived in Charlotte forever. Others are preparing to leave.

They are the emerging artists who will use their talents to incorporate Crossroads Charlotte themes into art during Festival in the Park.

The dozen or so artists met Sept. 17 to learn more about the Crossroads Charlotte initiative and to be inspired for their pieces.

Some of the artists were old friends, but many met for the first time during the training at the Carole A. Hoefner Center (610 E. 7th St.).

They easily fell into conversation about the good and the bad of Charlotte. For example, we have Southern hospitality, but we rarely acknowledge strangers. We are a city of transplants, but we try too hard to conform.

“I want to find what’s different,” said Carlleena Person, an abstract painter. “That’s how you build community.”

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