Headlines for week ending: Sunday, February 21 2010

(2.19.10) Expensive dinner was ABC's idea, state says
RALEIGH — The state ABC Commission on Thursday fined liquor company Diageo $6,000 for paying for a lavish dinner in November for the Mecklenburg ABC board chairman and a group of staff members. The commission also blamed the Mecklenburg board’s former Chief Executive Officer, Calvin McDougal, for coming up with the idea, saying he proposed the dinner, not Diageo. McDougal, who resigned last month, said that was “categorically and without a doubt untrue.”

(2.19.10) Recovery or not, some jobs gone forever
CHARLOTTE — Despite some hopeful signs, the Charlotte area’s economy won’t outpace unemployment anytime soon, economists warn. Some jobs are gone forever, and those that will replace them could leave the region’s lowest-skilled and least-educated workers struggling to catch up, experts say. “The question is, are growth levels adequate enough to get us out of the hole we’re in? It doesn't look like it,” said John Quinterno of South by North Strategies Ltd., a Chapel Hill economic research firm.

(2.18.10) Mecklenburg County may strip some info online
CHARLOTTE — Mecklenburg County’s online property records are a hit with residents trying to track bad landlords, delinquent taxpayers or home values. But the county is considering stripping the site of one of its most easy-to-use features: searching by name. Law enforcement officials worry that criminals seeking revenge could find police, prosecutors and judges.

(2.18.10) State gets little stimulus, but new bridge on track
CHARLOTTE — The federal government gave North Carolina only a fraction of the stimulus dollars it wanted to widen Interstate 85 and replace the aged Yadkin River Bridge, but state officials vowed Wednesday to find enough money for a new bridge. The entire $330 million project received only $10 million in federal stimulus dollars, a decision that left state officials “extremely disappointed.”

(2.17.10) Mecklenburg faces budget gap of at least $15.9 million
CHARLOTTE — Mecklenburg County is facing a budget shortfall of up to $62.8 million for 2010-11, early estimates show, and leaders warned Tuesday that cuts would be especially difficult because of deep reductions already made in the past year. Budget Director Hyong Yi outlined three budget scenarios for county commissioners, forecasting shortfalls of at least $15.9 million.

(2.16.10) Project will ease drive from Catawba County to Charlotte
CHARLOTTE — Road work will make it faster to reach Charlotte’s airport from Catawba County when crews complete another stretch of N.C. 16 early next year. Shaving 15 or more minutes off the airport drive is a big step in bringing more jobs to Catawba County, said Scott Millar, the county’s economic development chief. Millar is getting ready for the N.C. 16 opening by shopping for land that could be developed as a technical or industrial park.

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