The Meck Deck
Comment and analysis on all things Charlotte
Monday, March, 10 2014
Posted March 7th, 2014 at 11:24 PM by Michael Lowrey
Both Staples and Radio Shack announced store closings this past week. CNN Money offers up a short but highly informative explanation of what’s up with these and other retail store closings. A key point: Part of the problem for stores is that there is just too much retail space in many markets. There are about […]
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Posted March 6th, 2014 at 6:58 PM by Michael Lowrey
In fact, the UPoR headline is “likely dead.” Is this somehow surprising? Yes and no. No, in that the proposal by Brett Hesse’s group never really got over the giggle test, especially with its reliance on turning the site in part into a pricey tourist trap. Government entities are capable of massive denial though, so […]
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Posted March 5th, 2014 at 2:29 PM by Michael Lowrey
My JLF colleague Dan Way offers up the latest on the Catawbas attempt to build a casino. Or, as Dan reports, two, one on each side of the state border. Because of the local interest, here’s the article in full: RALEIGH — While the Catawba Indian Nation awaits a ruling from the U.S. Department of […]
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Posted at 4:41 AM by Michael Lowrey
So reports the Fayetteville Observer: The home of the nation’s airborne forces may lose the only Fort Bragg unit capable of hauling paratroopers long distances. An Air Force plan divulged in budget documents released Tuesday calls for retiring the force’s aging C-130H fleet. On Fort Bragg, 12 C-130H planes constitute the entire 440th Airlift Wing […]
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Posted March 3rd, 2014 at 11:22 AM by Michael Lowrey
To the Greensboro News & Record, available here via the Winston-Salem Journal (the two papers are now owned by the same company) about his time at Duke Energy. The tease from the story: Gov. Pat McCrory worked at Duke Energy for 29 years. That’s what his resume says. Other than a few short sentences about […]
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Charlotte's Greatest Hits
As jailed former state House Speaker Jim Black mounts a campaign for early release, critics contend that the state justice system did favors for Black regarding the settlement of his $1 million fine.
Wake County officials say imprisoned former House Speaker Jim Black satisfied a $1 million fine by surrendering some Mecklenburg County real estate, but questions remain about the real market value of the property.
Imprisoned former House Speaker Jim Black used undeveloped land with a tax value of less than $150,000 to pay off an outstanding $500,000 state fine.
Colleen Calvani writes that the Charlotte Area Transit system will scale back some routes in an attempt to counter three major decreases in funding.
Jeff Taylor argues that Pat McCrory failed to carry Mecklenburg County because he failed to move its conservatives.
Jeff Taylor says there may be another factor to blame for CMUD’s recent series of water leaks.
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Research
Policymakers in the many local governments of North Carolina face a host of important challenges. This issue guide offers solutions to problems that confront North Carolinians at municipal and county levels. The common thread in these recommendations is freedom. By increasing individual freedom, local governments can foster the prosperity of all North Carolinians and keep open avenues to innovative solutions from enterprising citizens.
Cronyism is an umbrella term covering a host of government activities by which an industry or even a single firm or speculator is given favors and support that they could not attain in market competition. This report explains what opens government to cronyism, gives a brief rundown of recent examples of cronyism in North Carolina, and offers several possible reforms.
County and municipal governments provide many key services while taking in billions of dollars in revenue, but finding comparative data is hard. That's why this report provides information of how much local government costs in every city and county in North Carolina.
This report examines 52 contracts signed by the Raleigh Convention Center for the period of July–December 2011 and is a follow-up to the September 2008 John Locke Foundation report “The New Raleigh Convention Center: A taxpayer-funded money pit.”
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