Sept. 9, 2025 The Belmont Center conference room was eerily quiet for a Tuesday morning. It was primary election day, one of the few Tuesdays when the Forum's facilitators could sleep in or jog off to a quiet park. But coffee was brewing, and an agenda was on the table. As facilitators trickled ... Continue Reading →
Facilitators comment on Forum, their roles & Sarah Stevenson
Jan. 21, 2025 Forum facilitators this morning sat down at the presenters' table. and offered their reflections on why they volunteer reliably at the Forum, what their particular focus is in sustaining the group, and what it means to them. Some have been at the forum only a few years. One has been ... Continue Reading →
A gathering place to experience the joy of being
Sept 17, 2024 A cookout for a small group of friends some years ago has grown into a westside event for neighbors to experience "joy, belonging and togetherness." Listen in as Applesauce Group Executive Director Winston Robinson explains what's behind the event Saturday from 2-9 p.m., and what's ... Continue Reading →
Applesauce Group: Creating safe places for fun & learning
April 23, 2024 In spring 2020, Charlotte native Winston Robinson got to thinking: Aside from supporting his family, what would he be remembered for if COVID ended his life, too? Earlier in his life, he’d sold stylish clothes out of his college dorm room. He’d organized an annual cookout for some ... Continue Reading →
Open Forum
Oct. 24, 2023 It was a small crowd that attended or listened to this morning's Forum. But a wide variety of issues were aired. If there was news made, it might have been that a last-minute inform-the-voters effort is under way to shore up support for the school bonds. The District 6 City Council ... Continue Reading →
Sarah Belle Mingo Stevenson, 1925-2023
Page initiated Sept. 26, 2023 Sarah Belle Mingo Stevenson was born Oct. 26, 1925. She died Sept. 26, 2023. A Charlotte Observer remembrance is here. Other media reports included those from WFAE, the Charlotte Post, WSOC-TV, WCNC-TV, WBTV, Queen City News and QCityMetro, More on Stevenson’s life ... Continue Reading →
Sharing data to prompt change in residents’ lives
May 9, 2023 Sherri Chisholm returned this morning with a new staff backed by a refreshed "council" of community and business advisers, and gave an update on an earlier visit on behalf of Leading on Opportunity. Charlotte leaders were embarrassed when a 2014 Harvard study led by Raj Chetty ... Continue Reading →
Event to mark Tommie Robinson’s first 75 creative years
March 28, 2022 Since the Forum moved its meetings to the Belmont Center in 2016, Tommie Robinson was the ageless gentlemen planted firmly in the left front corner of the room. His attendance was so regular, his questions so reliably probing, that facilitators opening each question-and-answer ... Continue Reading →
Developer’s story plays out in Beatties Ford Road corridor project
Nov. 9, 2021 In other hands, a rundown strip shopping center might turn into a less rundown strip shopping center. In Chris' Dennis's hands, Chase Bank is a major tenant, a portion of the building has been set aside for a yet-to-be-announced art presence, and the South Carolina native who's been ... Continue Reading →
Open Forum explores ambulance charges, westside equity issues
Nov. 12, 2019 Tera Long led a discussion of how MEDIC has proposed garnisheeing wages to ensure payment of emergency services and transport – when the better course may be to ensure emergency health care access to all by boosting the county subsidy for emergency services. Winston Robinson led a ... Continue Reading →