Local News Roundup: Bomb threats and lockdowns at schools throughout the region; Actors Theatre to close; Gaston County Schools payroll problem continues; CATS drivers vote on agreement

CATS drivers vote on a new contract this week that would get them “significant pay raises”. The tentative agreement could make a positive change for the drivers and the problems CATS has been experiencing with a bus driver shortage for the last several months. We’ll dig into the details of the first vote.

Actors Theatre of Charlotte plans to close its doors next month after 30 years of bringing professional local theater to Charlotteans. We’ll talk about why they’re closing and what led to the decision.

Payroll problems continue for some Gaston County school employees. Officials from the system acknowledged that the problems have been going on for months. School Board Chair Jeff Ramsey says they’re committed to fixing the problem.

Around the region, from Mooresville to Cabarrus county schools and several Charlotte-Mecklenburg schools, bomb threats and lockdowns at multiple schools have students, employees and families on edge.

And “unruly behavior” by minors at Carowinds causes the amusement park to close early last week and now, a new policy for all minors to be accompanied by a chaperone.

Mike Collins and our roundtable of reporters delve into those stories and all the week’s top local and regional news on the Charlotte Talks local news roundup.

GUESTS:

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”

Ann Doss Helms, WFAE education reporter

Danielle Chemtob, investigative reporter with Axios Charlotte

Local News Roundup: 2022 primary delayed, CMS and county meet, pedestrian bridge planned

The Charlotte-Mecklenburg school board called an emergency meeting to discuss retention bonuses for employees this week in the hopes that it will help in the effort to keep area schools staffed. The bonuses could be up to $2,500 for full-time staff and up to $1,250 for part-time staff.

CMS board members had a joint meeting with the Mecklenburg County Commission this week, where some members on each side showed a willingness to work together better after contentious relations in the past. And some were not so willing. We’ll about what happened at the meeting.

North Carolina’s top court delayed the March 2022 primary due to remapping lawsuits.

Mecklenburg County has approved $38.5 million in incentives for Atrium Health’s planned “innovation district” in Dilworth. That’s after Charlotte City Council approved $36 million in incentives for that project in November. We’ll talk about the 6-2 vote and the discussion about the importance of the project.

And a new connection between uptown Charlotte and South End that will help make the city more walkable is in the works. A pedestrian bridge over Interstate 277 will solve a major connectivity problem in the city, but the project will take much longer than previously thought.

Guests:

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

Katie Peralta Soloff, reporter for Axios Charlotte

Joe Bruno, WSOC-TV reporter

Ann Doss Helms, WFAE education reporter

Opinion: It’s the Action of Youth That Shames Lawmakers

It was partly partisan politics that drove protesters and counterprotesters in the global “March for Our Lives” on Saturday. Many who traveled to Washington or their town squares demanded action on school safety, gun control and more.

But to Washington lawmakers, of both parties and on either side of the gun issue, who just managed to pass a $1.3 trillion omnibus bill to keep the government running that same week and may not pass any other major legislation for the rest of the year, it was a rebuke.

That day had to feel bigger than a one-time event driven by the violence that has touched too many young lives. “These kids,” whether you praise or curse them, were actually doing something, and acting more grown-up than the adults.

Charlotte Talks News Roundup: Facebook Data, School Safety, CMS Segregation

The Facebook data scandal finds its way to North Carolina. Republican senator Thom Tillis used the company at the center of the uproar, Cambridge Analytica, to target voters, as did the state Republican Party.

Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools Superintendent Clayton Wilcox offers a glimpse at post-Parkland security measures, as state lawmakers begin examining school safety.

A new report labels CMS the most racially-segregated school system in North Carolina, and says income-based segregation in the district is up sharply.

Mike Collins leads a discussion on the week’s news with our reporters roundtable.

GUESTS

David Boraks, reporter, WFAE

Glenn Burkins, editor and publisher, Q City Metro

Mary C. Curtis, columnist, Roll Call (@mcurtisnc3)

Ann Doss Helms, education reporter, The Charlotte Observer 

What North Carolina Schools are Doing to Protect Students

CHARLOTTE, NC– Another day, and unfortunately, another school shooting, this time in St. Mary’s County, Maryland. The circumstances change, but the tragedies continue. In Wake County this week, three schools were put on lockdown after threats. And a UNCC student was arrested for making threats.

And all this is before the March 24 “March for Our Lives,” scheduled in WashingtonDC., to rally for gun control and school safety measures, and organized in spirit and action by students in Parkland, Fla., after a shooting at their high school killed 17 last month.

Other marches will be happening across the country and around the world.

So, what are North Carolina schools doing? Are they taking cues from actions in other states?