OK, Battle of the Hoods Round 2 is officially over — and for the second year in a row, the winner is ... NoDa!

NoDa garnered an overwhelming majority of the votes, but the folks at CL would like to say "thanks" to everyone who voted.

In the coming weeks, we'll be presenting the NoDa Neighborhood Association with a brand-new "Hood of the Year" plaque and also a few prizes, too. Be sure to check this blog for an exact date for this presentation.

Anyway, thanks again for making this another successful battle!

To go along with our special Battle of the Hoods: Round 2 edition of this year’s Urban Explorer’s Handbook, Creative Loafing is once again giving you, dear readers, the chance to vote and pick Charlotte’s greatest neighborhood.

Let your voice be heard by finding your favorite hood in the list below and selecting it as the best. Now, if you don’t like any of the neighborhoods on our list, feel free to write in your own choice as a comment below the poll.

Vote as many times as you’d like (hell, even encourage your friends and/or form teams to vote, too). We’ll let folks cast “ballots”— until March 24. After that we’ll determine a winner and present a representative (of our choice) from the No. 1 hood with a sexy plaque to display, a write-up in our newspaper and bragging rights for the rest of the year. Be sure to check this space and the print version of Creative Loafing often to see which hood wins the big prize.

NoDa won last year’s award. Who will win this year? Here’s your chance. May the best hood win!

I live in Charlotte and for the most part, I think the city has the potential to be a cool place. But damn! Why does it seem that the Queen City is always trying to be Atlanta North?

First of all, I love Atlanta. My best friend lives down there and I spent many college spring breaks in the A, going to Club 112 and what not. But the traffic SUCKS!

Interstate 285 is a parking lot during rush hour. At least I-485 is only a parking lot at exit 60-something. But, I digress. After college, I even moved down to Georgia. It only took five months and 10 days for me to realize, that wasn't the place for me. Granted, I was in Covington, Ga. not the city of Atlanta. At that time Covington was a hick town that was still high on the fact that In The Heat Of The Night filmed there. (Gag me with a spoon.)

When I came back to Charlotte, I was happy to be out of the horrible traffic of ATL and its surrounding areas. But now a days it seems as if Charlotte is trying so hard to be Atlanta. Poorly planned street projects, a transit system that doesn't serve the entire community. And then there's this from the Charlotte Observer:

Southpark = Atlanta's Buckhead?

SouthPark leaders want area's name to have national recognition

NICHOLE MONROE BELL

nbell@charlotteobserver.com

Lessons for SouthPark from Atlanta's Buckhead

SouthPark leaders are continuing to work on a plan to increase awareness of the area nationally, and hope to have a solid direction by the end of the year.

In the meantime, the SouthPark chapter of the Chamber of Commerce has been closely examining the success of Buckhead, a prestigious community in Atlanta.

Ultimately, the chamber hopes to make SouthPark as well known as Buckhead, which includes some of Atlanta's wealthiest neighborhoods, the governor's mansion and a part-time residence for singer Elton John.

Eric Bass, chair of the SouthPark chamber, pointed to similarities between the communities. Buckhead, like SouthPark, is a destination for high-end retail shopping and upscale homes.

Bass said he also was interested to learn that Buckhead leaders help boost the community's reputation by offering a variety of service programs for needy residents. One example, Bass said, was partnering with local churches to help the homeless.

Bass said SouthPark leaders are also beginning to learn the importance of geographically defining the region. While SouthPark is loosely defined as the area surrounding SouthPark mall, even the chamber has no specific definition of the community's borders.

"In Buckhead, people want to claim they are in Buckhead, but you have to protect the name," Bass said.

For the next few months, the SouthPark chamber plans to set up meetings with other community leaders in the area. Also, they're working to establish solid contact with residential communities and government officials.

In March, the chamber kicked off a SouthPark information campaign with a computer kiosk at SouthPark mall. The kiosk, in the mall's center court, was the first of seven such displays planned for throughout the city.

The kiosks include pamphlets and a computer that takes users to the chamber's SouthPark chapter Web page.

Really, SouthPark? You can't define your own community without riding Atlanta like a rodeo show?

CDC: 228 cases of illness related to tainted tomatoes: Since mid-April cases of salmonella poisoning in 23 states have been related to contaminated raw red plum, red round and red Roma tomatoes. Many stores and restaurants have taken these tomatoes off their shelves and menus.

Full story: CNN.com

'Uncharted territory' as city floods in Iowa: Cedar Rapids, Iowa, is under water as the Cedar River continues to rise. More than 10, 000 people have been evacuated from their homes while 176 patients have been moved from a Cedar Rapids hospital. The river was at 30.9 feet early this morning and is expected to crest at 31.8 feet. A flood in 1993 caused the river to crest at 19.27 feet and was considered the worst flood in recent history.

Full story: MSNBC.com

'Don't panic-buy' motorists urged: Shell tanker drivers in the United Kingdom are striking for a pay increase. Officials have warned the public that some gas stations may run out of fuel, especially since almost one in ten stations receive Shell gasoline.

Full story: BBC News

Soriano hopes return from injury takes less than six weeks: Chicago Cubs' Alfonso Soriano plans to do therapy every day and see how his broken hand feels after two weeks. His injury comes just after recovering from a calf injury.

Full story: ESPN.com