Charlotte.com: Eye
News, sports and entertainment from Charlotte.com

• Stay hot on the trail of the artists
  If you want to know the next hot spot in a city, follow the artists. They're always on the forefront of the urban frontier.I can't remember where I gleaned that piece of wisdom. It could have been a movie. Or in a magazine article on urban development.But for the most part, I found that nugget to be true -- whether it's New York, San Francisco or Charlotte.Area 15 is an artists' colony housed in a warehouse in Optimist Park.Eye staffer Amy Rainey talked to Area 15's artists and organizers about what they're doing and how they're investing socially and economically in the neighborhood between Uptown and NoDa. (Read her report on pages 26-27.)And speaking of art, I didn't make it to the first Plaza Central Art Crawl in October, but I'll be there on Saturday, Dec. 8.Besides visiting my fave Plaza Midwood spots, I am looking forward to checking out the arts and crafts bazaar in the old White Rabbit space at 1401 Central Ave.More details on page 23.Hope to see you there. From the Editor Crystal Dempsey
• Most popular Uptown office sign: `No vacancy'
  The Uptown office vacancy rate plunged to less than 1 percent recently when the Shaw Group signed a lease for 117,000 square feet.That's believed to be the lowest rate among U.S. cities and the lowest in modern history in Charlotte's center city, real estate analysts say.What does that mean?"It's hard to see this as anything shy of a just a wonderful affirmation for the central business district and our center city," said Charlotte Center City Partners President Michael Smith.The vibrancy of the center city and its ability to attract and retain jobs resonate with companies seeking a place to do business, he said.But for the short term, they won't find much space available.Shaw Group will occupy seven floors in the 32-story, approximately 337,000-square-foot former Interstate Tower at Trade and Tryon.Analysts say that was the largest remaining block of space in the center city for lease."Other than that, the only large space I know of is the 85,000 square feet in the EpiCentre project," said broker David Dorsch of Colliers Pinkard.That 310,000-square-foot retail-office-entertainment complex is scheduled to open by early next year at Trade and College streets on the old convention center site.More space could become available as leases expire and tenants relocate, but Dorsch doesn't expect a substantial change until the first of a half-dozen new office towers is completed in 2009.Charlotte Center City Partners estimates that office construction in the works Uptown will yield more than 4 million square feet by 2010.That would increase office capacity by roughly 28 percent, enough to accommodate about 18,000 more workers, Smith said.Increased density would improve the chances of attracting more retail and services and contribute to environmental friendliness in the urban core, he said."You can park once and go to most of your meetings by walking, go to lunch without a car, enjoy entertainment options after work and then make one trip home," Smith said.Charlotte Center City Partners has projected that the Uptown work force will grow from about 65,000 currently to 100,000 by 2030.The Shaw Group also announced plans recently to add 556 jobs over five years to its existing Charlotte payroll of 950.
• CRIME NEWS
  A thief now has all the items he (or she) would need to impersonate a female flight attendant. A Texas-based flight attendant had her luggage stolen from the lobby of a hotel near the Charlotte-Douglas Airport. Inside the luggage were her passport, Federal Aviation Administration card, flight attendant manual and uniforms.More central Charlotte crime:• A man's wallet was stolen while he was a patient at Presbyterian Hospital on Oct. 29. With the wallet went the man's credit card, $160 and $2,400 in Hong Kong currency. The credit card has been used several times since.• A whippet dog wearing a pink collar was stolen from a home on Dublin Road in west Charlotte.• Catalytic converters were stolen from four company vehicles at a business on Monroe Road between Nov. 24 and 26. The thief also broke into a Ford van and stole a navigation system.• All the makings of a baby-shower gift basket were stolen from Bellini, a baby furniture store on Kings Drive: a diaper bag, two stuffed bears, other stuffed animals and a wicker basket.• A $3,500 air compressor was stolen from outside a business near Wilkinson Boulevard.• A car parked at the Merchandise Mart was broken into Nov. 28. A purse, cell phone, credit cards and $170 were stolen.• More than $1,700 was stolen from a woman's checking account after someone used her debit card at ATMs throughout Charlotte.• Someone vandalized the Circle K on Morningside Drive, spraying several colors of spray paint on the front and side of the building.• Someone spray painted a fence at a home on 37th Street in NoDa the night of Nov. 26.• Thieves loaded a Park Road business' $9,000 riding lawnmower onto a trailer and drove off with it.• An IBM laptop, Fossil watch, credit cards and $200 in cash were taken from a car parked on Morehead Street on Oct. 30.• A bicycle was stolen from the backyard of a home on Parkway Avenue.What to do before you go shopping• Clean out your wallet/purse of unnecessary items (Social Security cards, old receipts, etc.). Make copies of items you do carry.• Check the store's return policy and make certain the receipt indicates it's a gift. That should allow for an extended time for a return.• Make your purchases with credit cards. If you shop at a store with its own cards, use them. It will be easier to deal with if problems occur.• Don't sign the credit cards. Instead write "check ID" in the signature line and insist clerks check yours.• Use checks before cash: it's easier to track purchases. Write information on the check detailing who the purchase is for, etc.• Use debit cards sparingly; there is little you can do to protect the money connected to them. NEVER let store clerks leave your sight with your card.• Regardless of how you pay for gifts, always keep the receipts separate until you get home.
• More offices, parking for E. Morehead
  A Charlotte developer is seeking to rezone the former McEwen Funeral Service site on East Morehead Street for a multi-story office building.Insite Properties LLC wants to develop an approximately 160-foot-tall structure that would include 180,000 square feet of leased space.Insite Principal Jay Blanton said the developer envisions five to six stories of offices atop five to six stories of parking.The proposed building would be similar in height to a 13-story condo high-rise Pinnacle Properties is developing on Royal Court near East Morehead and Euclid Avenue.Nearby, the nine-story Addison, a 1920s vintage apartment building at Morehead and McDowell streets, was converted to offices in the late 1990s.Real estate experts consider the East Morehead corridor a desirable office market because of its proximity to both the Uptown business district and the Dilworth neighborhood.
• IN BRIEF
  More lanes to speed lines at securityGood news, travelers: Charlotte/Douglas International is taking steps to shorten the wait to pass through security at the airport.Plans call for a new security checkpoint lane to open around New Year's Day, and officials hope to add five more lanes in the next year or two -- nearly a 50 percent increase to 19 lanes, said Jerry Orr, the airport's aviation director.Orr said those flying out of the airport should notice a difference immediately.Recent statistics show Charlotte has become the nation's fastest-growing major airport. -- april betheaGood news for homeownersHousing prices in Charlotte and Seattle enjoyed the biggest gains over the last year, according to data released recently -- rare good news from a sector widely battered elsewhere in the country by foreclosures and swooning home valuations.Charlotte and Seattle tied with an increase of 4.7