Community Corner

🌱 Patch AM: Where to catch Uptown Charlotte’s only announced New Year’s Eve fireworks

Coming up: K-Pop Demon Hunters Dance + Sing A Long Party on the Charlotte Patch calendar

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Good day Charlotte! We're here again with what you need to know today. Grab a cup of coffee and read on. ☕️️

In today's newsletter:

  • Where to catch Uptown Charlotte’s only announced New Year’s Eve fireworks
  • How Charlotte’s new CMPD chief plans to curb light rail violence
  • Why a car behind a north Charlotte church has neighbors worried

Also on today's calendar: Scrooge The Musical! Pay What You Can Night! and 9 more events.

Find out what's happening in Charlottefor free with the latest updates from Patch.

Today's riddle: I once read a book about anti-gravity. 🤔 (Answer below!)

Weather forecast:

Find out what's happening in Charlottefor free with the latest updates from Patch.

  • Friday: Sun and some clouds, with a high of 54 and low of 30 degrees.
  • Saturday: Mainly cloudy, temps: high: 58, low: 40.
  • Sunday: Sunny; breezy in the p.m., with a high of 44 and low of 19 degrees. ⛄️ Brr!

📰 News we're reading

1. CLT New Year's Eve to be held at Truist Field's Light the Knights Festival (charlotteonthecheap.com) — Uptown Charlotte’s official CLT NYE celebration will light up Truist Field on December 31 with fireworks at midnight, music, and access to the Light the Knights Festival. Local families can choose basic admission or ticket bundles that include ice skating and tubing, plus a complimentary champagne or cider toast to ring in 2026.
   

2. CMPD Chief Patterson addresses light rail violence, staffing challenges in 1-on-1 interview (wsoctv.com) — Charlotte’s new police chief, Estella Patterson, is pledging to tackle light rail violence and long-standing staffing shortages at CMPD to make the city safer. In a one-on-one interview, she outlines plans to boost recruitment, improve morale, and deepen cooperation with Charlotte Area Transit System while emphasizing transparency and community engagement as she returns to lead the department she first joined in 1996.
   

3. Community awaits answers after body found in car on north Charlotte church property (wbtv.com) — Charlotte-Mecklenburg police are investigating after finding a body in a car behind a north Charlotte church, a vehicle matching that of missing Charlotte mother Frezja Baker. The body has not been officially identified, but concerned relatives and neighbors have been searching since her Dec. 4 disappearance. Police are asking anyone with information to contact CMPD or Crimestoppers.
   

4. Charlotte homeowner honors D.C. plane crash victims, including figure skaters from Boston (wwlp.com) — A Charlotte homeowner in Ballantyne has turned her holiday decorations into a moving tribute to 67 victims of a D.C. plane crash, including figure skaters from Boston. Each victim’s name appears on an angel or on the “ice,” and the display is helping connect grieving families online while keeping loved ones’ memories alive.
   

5. NC asylum seeker arrested by ICE was hospitalized. His family fought to see him. (charlotteobserver.com) — An asylum seeker from Raleigh was detained during a routine check-in at Charlotte’s Department of Homeland Security office, then hospitalized at Atrium Health Pineville after a medical emergency. His family struggled for days to get information or see him until advocacy from Siembra NC and local officials, including Mecklenburg commissioners and a former Charlotte council member, preceded ICE’s decision to release him.
   

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💬 Chatter

What your neighbors are talking about on social media

  • Something small but very heartwarming happened today, and I wanted to share it.
    Today I was working for one of my regular clients, whom I have visited many times. Once before, she treated me to some incredibly delicious donuts… (Nextdoor Solis Waverly)
  • UPDATE: HE IS HOME!!
    I am so happy. My neighbor saw the flyers I put up and let me know he was tucked away on her back porch. We managed to surround him and put him in a… (Nextdoor Foxcroft East)
  • Tempur Sealy International, Inc. posted a job opening for Material Handler in Charlotte. Apply here.
  • The Cleaning Authority, LLC posted a job opening for Maid No Nights No Weekends in Charlotte. Apply here. You can search for other jobs near Charlotte here.

Ok Charlotte! So now you're in the loop about what's happening today. Thanks for reading, and see you in your inbox next time! Oh -- and if you like what you're reading, invite a friend to Patch AM!

-- The Patch AM Team

P.S. The answer to today's riddle: I couldn’t put it down.
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