Local News Roundup: COVID-19 Cases Continue To Surge With Vaccines On The Way; A New Curfew; CMS Returns To Remote Learning

Friday, Dec. 11, 2020

On the next Charlotte Talks local news roundup …

Gov. Roy Cooper imposes a statewide curfew of 10 p.m. beginning Friday as numbers for COVID-19 spike, and in Mecklenburg County, trends reach new highs. We’ll give a local and regional update on the coronavirus and what the new curfew means for businesses.

Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools opts to go back to remote learning until January in an effort to limit the spread of COVID-19 in the area. We’ll talk about the school board vote and what it will mean for all students, especially those about to take exams.

The Department of Health and Human Services has released the list of hospital systems that will receive the first shipment of a coronavirus vaccine. The state expects about 85,000 vaccine doses from Pfizer, which are going first to health care workers and residents in adult care facilities.

And Charlotte Moves recommended last week that the city put a 1-cent sales tax hike on the ballot for next year’s election. The tax would fund several transportation projects in Mecklenburg County. But for that to happen, legislators in North Carolina would need to authorize the increase and approve a referendum. We’ll hear what some of those legislators say about the proposal and its chances.

Those stories and more as Mike Collins and our roundtable of reporters delve into this week’s top news 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” and contributor at WCCB-TV

Steve Harrison, WFAE political reporter

Annie Ma, education reporter for the Charlotte Observer