John Locke Foundation: Charlotte

Charlotte
Headlines

Census: Mecklenburg sees surge in minority children

CHARLOTTE — Mecklenburg County appears to be mirroring a growing national trend that shows ethnic and racial minorities make up more than half of the children born in the United States, according to U.S. Census Bureau data released Thursday. Combined, black, Hispanic and Asian children younger than 5 years old make up 58 percent of the children in Mecklenburg County.

Va. governor: McCrory’s a good bet to take state’s top job

CHARLOTTE — Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell became the latest high-profile GOP governor Thursday to boost Pat McCrory’s gubernatorial bid, saying North Carolina is “at the very top of the list” of states where Republicans stand a good chance of taking the governor’s mansion away from Democrats.

15 NC candidates request primary runoffs

RALEIGH — The May primary has come and gone, but congressional hopeful Richard Hudson can’t take down his yard signs just yet. He still has hundreds of blocks to walk in the North Carolina sun. Hudson secured the most votes, 32 percent of the state’s unofficial total, for the Republican nomination in the state’s 8th Congressional District. Scott Keadle brought in the second most in the five-man race with 22 percent.

Bill ending new-car inspections dies

RALEIGH — Remember that proposal from House Republicans to stop making new-car owners get safety and emissions inspections until the cars were more than three years old? Forget it. As has happened in the past when legislators tried to ease North Carolina’s inspection requirements, the new proposal was killed Wednesday after a lot of phone-calling and letter-writing by garage owners who make their living from car inspections.

Charlotte's Greatest Hits

Black got sweetheart deal

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.

Questions about Black settlement

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.

Black settlement may not add up

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.

Fat CATS

Colleen Calvani writes that the Charlotte Area Transit system will scale back some routes in an attempt to counter three major decreases in funding.

McCrory’s failure

Jeff Taylor argues that Pat McCrory failed to carry Mecklenburg County because he failed to move its conservatives.

Lynx And Exploding Pipes

Jeff Taylor says there may be another factor to blame for CMUD’s recent series of water leaks.

Research

By the Numbers: What Government Costs in North Carolina Cities and Counties FY 2010

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.

Raleigh Convention Center: Throwing good money after bad

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.”

First Annual North Carolina County Privatization Survey

County governments all over North Carolina are saving money by privatizing services. In an effort to assist in the exchange of information about these activities, the John Locke Foundation conducted a survey of all 100 counties asking county managers to tell us about governmental activities that they currently supply privately. We also asked them if they had problems in the past with a privatized activity that had caused them to return the activity to government provision.

A Quarter-Million More for Montgomery? Secretive county seeks a third tax increase in three years

Montgomery County commissioners have raised the property tax by nine cents over the last three years, from 58 cents to 67 cents per $100 valuation — a 15.5 percent increase. Now the commissioners want voters to approve a quarter-cent sales-tax increase worth an estimated $250,000.