Archives for August 2024

Local News Roundup: Tracks for the Red Line price tag; back to school; Panthers make roster cuts

After decades of effort, the city of Charlotte has agreed to buy the Norfolk Southern freight rail line. The $91 million purchase will pave the way for a commuter rail line to the Lake Norman area. We’ll go through the details.

Leaders from the Charlotte region headed to Florida this week to see how Miami’s Bus Rapid Transit program works. The region’s new mobility plan includes BRT, but skeptics aren’t convinced it’s a good option here. We hear what they learned.

It’s back-to-school week for Charlotte Mecklenburg Schools, and there’s no shortage of news about education. In addition to teacher shortages leading up to the first day, there’s news that CMS violated North Carolina’s records law by withholding rape and sexual assaults records within the district. And is the district playing favorites with the media by only inviting certain outlets to a briefing?

And last week, the Carolina Panthers won their first game since last December. It was a preseason game, but put an end to a dismal losing streak by the team. Does it mean more wins are in our future? We discuss.

Mike Collins and our roundtable of reporters delve into these stories, and more, on the Charlotte Talks local news roundup.

GUESTS

Ann Doss Helms, WFAE education reporter
Erik Spanberg, managing editor of the Charlotte Business Journal
Nick Ochsner, WBTV’s executive producer for Investigations & chief investigative reporter
Mary C. Curtis, columnist for Rollcall.com, host of the Rollcall podcast “Equal Time.” Mary is also a contributor to a new book, “We Refuse to Be Silent: Women’s Voices on Justice for Black Men”

Local News Roundup: CMS vacancies as first day approaches; frustration over transit planning; Cooper to speak at DNC; Trump and Vance in NC

We’re just days from the start of classes for Charlotte-Mecklenburg schools, and the system still has hundreds of teacher vacancies. How does CMS plan to address them?

Matthews Mayor John Higdon is still voicing his frustration with the $25 billion mobility plan for the Charlotte region and its plan to provide Matthews with bus rapid-transit service. This comes in the same week that Cornelius commissioners voted to support the new transit sales tax. We’ll bring you up to date.

This week, Democrats from all over the country gathered in Chicago for the DNC, including many representatives from North Carolina. Gov. Cooper was among them. We’ll hear what role he played in support of the Harris/Walz ticket.

Former President Donald Trump and his running mate JD Vance were in Asheboro this week for Trump’s first outdoor rally since the assassination attempt earlier this summer.

And, Charlotte’s newest professional sports team sells out its home opener.

Mike Collins and our roundtable of reporters delve into these stories, and more, on the Charlotte Talks’ local news roundup.

GUESTS:

Erik Spanberg, managing editor for the Charlotte Business Journal
Mary C. Curtis, columnist for Rollcall.com, host of the Rollcall podcast “Equal Time.” Curtis is also a contributor to a new book “We Refuse to Be Silent: Women’s Voices on Justice for Black Men”
Mary Ramsey, local government accountability reporter for the Charlotte Observer
Ely Portillo, executive editor at WFAE News

Looking to the future, with a nod to history at the DNC

It is fitting that President Joe Biden was the opening night star at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago. He is the party’s past and present; and the policies he touted in his presidency, the appointments he has made, have shaped the future of the country.

The man from Delaware got his moment in the sun after offering a path to his vice president, Kamala Harris, putting his stamp on the 2024 ticket after outsmarting pundits and poohbahs. Those fantasizing about mini-primaries and an open convention while publicly and not so gently nudging Biden’s exit, stage right, got it wrong, underestimating Scranton Joe and not for the first time.

The president got his chance to place front and center the accomplishments of his administration, which are plenty. He must have smiled when Republican nominee Donald Trump recently tried to steal the spotlight by taking credit for a Biden administration cap on insulin prices. So, he set his record straight.

Purple Ballot: NC perspectives on the Democratic National Convention

The Democratic National Convention is underway in Chicago this week.

In the latest edition of our Purple Ballot series, co-host Jeff Tiberii sits down with a panel of reporters and political analysts to discuss the Democratic Party’s platform, key issues, and campaign strategies leading up to the election.

We’ll also follow the North Carolinians on tap to speak at this week’s convention, including Governor Roy Cooper.

Guests

Colin Campbell, Capitol Bureau Chief, WUNC

Mary C. Curtis, columnist, Rollcall.com and host of the Rollcall podcast “Equal Time”

Mitch Kokai, senior political analyst, John Locke Foundation

Abby Vesoulis, reporter, Mother Jones

Local News Roundup: Debby wreaks havoc in NC; Diorio to retire; Truist to sponsor PGA at Quail Hollow; and more

On the next Charlotte Talks Local News Roundup …

Tropical Storm Debby began wreaking havoc on the Charlotte area Thursday with flash flooding, power outages, flight delays and cancellations. A state of emergency is in effect for North Carolina. The weather is also behind the cancellation of campaign stops by Kamala Harris and JD Vance.

Longtime Mecklenburg County Manager Dena Diorio has announced that she’s retiring next year. Diorio made the announcement Thursday, saying she plans to leave her position by July 2025.

We have an update to a story we discussed back in June in which two Mecklenburg County Commissioners blocked a Pride proclamation from being put on the commission’s meeting agenda for procedural reasons. The commission voted this week on Pride proclamations. We’ll bring you up to speed.

Truist Bank, headquartered in Charlotte, is the new sponsor for the PGA Championship at Quail Hollow Club starting in 2026. We learn more.

If you’re a soccer fan in Charlotte you got BIG news this week with the announcement that Charlotte FC has signed Tim Ream, a Premier League defender who is also on the U.S. men’s national team, to its roster. What will this mean for Charlotte FC?

The Carolina Panthers announced this week that quarterback Bryce Young will sit out the first preseason game Thursday against the New England Patriots. The starter in the quarterback role will instead be Jack Plummer. Why this move? We discuss.

Mike Collins and our roundtable of reporters delve into those stories and more, on the Charlotte Talks local news roundup.

GUESTS:

Steve Harrison, WFAE’s political reporter
Joe Bruno, WSOC-TV reporter and host of The Political Beat
Erik Spanberg, managing editor of the Charlotte Business Journal
Mary C. Curtis, columnist for Rollcall.com, host of the Rollcall podcast “Equal Time.” Mary is also a contributor to the new book “We Refuse to Be Silent: Women’s Voices on Justice for Black Men”

The Olympics Meet the Culture Wars: Imane Khelif and Lin Yu-Ting have been pulled into the long, ugly history of sports sex testing

How Imane Khelif and Lin Yu-Ting—two women boxers fighting in the gender category they were assigned at birth—became the targets of trans panic and subject to another round of “but is she woman enough?” at the Olympics.

Guest: Rose Eveleth, reporter and host of the podcast Tested, from NPR and CBC.

Why It Had to Be Walz: What is the Minnesota governor bringing to the ticket?

How Minnesota Governor Tim Walz slipped past VP-favorite Josh Shapiro and joined Kamala Harris on the Democratic ticket.

Guest: Guest: David Faris, associate professor of political science at Roosevelt University and author of The Kids Are All Left and It’s Time to Fight Dirty.