News About Town: The Environmental Advisory Board presented at Monday's Board of Commissioners meeting. EAB Board Chair Gordon Miller provided several updates to Commissioners, including the introduction of an EAB created a pamphlet for builders and landowners with suggestions for more environmentally friendly development. Some examples include strategically planted trees, re-use of rainwater, and on-site composting.

News Around Town:  One of my favorite events of the year is coming up tomorrow - Mecklenburg County Soil and Water Conservation District's annual Tree and Seedling sale.  The 48th annual event will be held  on Saturday, February 2nd from 9-12 at 1418 Armory Drive in Charlotte. These are all native (bare-rooted) plants, and the costs range from $2 to $5 each.   It's past the deadline to pre-order plants, but at this time they have quantities of each.  Since the event benefits the entire county, show up early to get first dibs on your favorites!  
Need a rain barrel?   It's your lucky day since they'll have 60 and 80 gallon rain barrels for sale.
For more information and species list, please visit www.MecklenburgConservation.com.   (Submitted by Debbie LeBlanc Foster)

One Good Thing: On January 22 we posted how to have road signs replaced or potholes fixed. As someone who lives on a state-owned road and had noticed a missing speed limit sign, I took the opportunity to use the NCDOT website to report the need for a replacement. I reported the issue online (January 21). I found the form was straightforward and easy to use. After submitting, I received an email with a tracking number. Occasionally I wondered when the sign would be replaced but gave the system time to work. As of yesterday the new sign was up. The process worked smoothly and efficiently.