The City of Charlotte is accepting nominations for the 2009 Neighborhood Awards, which recognizes the hard work and accomplishments of neighborhood organizations and residents who strive to improve their neighborhood and the lives of the people who live within them. Awards are divided into eight categories.

To be eligible, neighborhoods and individuals nominated must live within the Charlotte city limits and neighborhoods must be organized for at least six months. Neighborhood projects, programs, activities and events must have been completed during the 2008 calendar year. Fill out your application by Wednesday, April 15 at: http://neighborhoods.charmeck.org.

Awards will be presented at the annual Neighborhood Symposium on Saturday, May 16.

Batteries, light bulbs, motor oil, paint, hair spray, cleaning agents and similar toxic items all have something in common, they're considered Household Hazardous Waste (HHW) and cannot be placed in your garbage rollout cart, recycling bin or scheduled for bulky item collection.

To properly dispose of HHW, take it to one of Mecklenburg County's Full-Service Recycling Centers:

North Mecklenburg Recycling & Yard Waste Center
12300 N. Statesville Road 

West Mecklenburg Recycling Center
8440 Byrum Drive

Hickory Grove Recycling & Yard Waste Center
8007 Pence Road 

Foxhole Recycling & Yard Waste Center
17131 Lancaster Highway 

For more information on HHW and the recycling centers' hours of operation, visit

http://curbit.charmeck.org or www.wipeoutwaste.com.

CATS, in partnership with Google, have developed Google Maps Transit Trip Planner to ease your commute throughout Charlotte. The new program, which is housed on the CATS homepage, integrates Google Maps with CATS route information. Google Transit Trip Planner enables you to enter a specific address or destination name and uses all available CATS route information to plot out the most efficient routes, including a step-by-step itinerary.

Google Transit is available from mobile devices, supports 40 languages and is compatible with screen readers for visually impaired riders. To learn more about CATS and its trip planning services, log onto www.ridetransit.org or call 704-336-RIDE.

The City of Charlotte is committed to work for a more sustainable environment.  But we can't do it alone. It will take the efforts of everyone, and now is the time for you to do your part.

Lean how to get involved by logging onto the City's environment web site.

You can also take the pledge to improve our environment.

The CMPD HOPE Foundation is hosting the 14th Annual Burnette Nobles Memorial Golf Tournament in honor of Officers John Burnette and Andy Nobles. Mark your calendar for Monday, April 20 and reserve your foursome now.

Register by Monday, April 13 at www.cmpd.org or by e-mailing Officer Heidi Kimbell at hkimbell1@cmpd.org. Entry fee includes green fees, golf cart, lunch, snacks/refreshments and a gift bag for each player.

The tournament format is captain's choice "Best Ball" with two shotgun starts (7:30 a.m. and 1:30 p.m.). Trophies will be awarded for both shotguns, to teams placing in 1st, 2nd and 3rd place.

Tournament proceeds benefit the CMPD HOPE Foundation, which provides emergency assistance for CMPD employees in crisis, and the Burnette Nobles Memorial Fund, which provides programs and activities for disadvantaged youth and seniors and assistance for youth Christmas projects.

Register today for Community University. CU is a neighborhood capacity building program dedicated to providing high quality training to Charlotte residents to improve the strength and vitality of neighborhood organizations and the overall quality of community life. Courses are intended to engage, inform and equip participants with the training and assistance necessary to help improve and maintain their communities.

West Boulevard Library
2157 West Boulevard
6:30 – 8:30 p.m. 

Thursday, April 2 – Your Neighborhood Organization: Basics and Beyond
Tuesday, April 7 – Developing Our Future: Mobilizing Youth for Neighborhoods
Thursday, April 16 – Technology Tools for Your Neighborhood
Tuesday, April 21 – Fun with Neighborhood Fundraising 

All workshops are free and open to Charlotte residents.  To register, visit neighborhoods.charmeck.org and click on the CU icon or e-mail neighservs@ci.charlotte.nc.us.

Professional storytellers from the Public Library of Charlotte and Mecklenburg County will read to children in the Eastland Mall food court (5471 Central Ave.) on Saturday, April 4 from 1 to 3 p.m. The Stories from Around the World event is part of the Big Read literacy initiative sponsored by the City of Charlotte's Weed & Seed Program, PLCMC and through the National Endowment for the Arts designed to restore reading to the center of American culture.

Parents will have the opportunity to visit exhibit tables and learn about the importance of literacy, library services, and various City and County programs. Participants will take home free books and other materials while supplies last.

For more information about Stories from Around the World or the Weed & Seed program, call 704-336-8404.

The Government Channel brings you the latest City Source episode on Thursday, April 2 at 7 p.m. The week's episode highlights Councilman Michael Barnes and features a One-on-One interview with Code Enforcement Manager Walter Abernathy. For your convenience, you can view episodes of City Source online at www.charmeck.org by clicking on The Government Channel logo.