Charlotte City Council

Were Chiquita's Bananas Good For Charlotte?

Julie Rose — Tue, 21 May 2013 21:29:27 +0000

Chiquita will hold its annual shareholders meeting in Charlotte for the first time Thursday. It's a sign the company's relocation from Cincinnati is complete – and it's an opportunity to take a look at what Charlotte taxpayers got for the generous tax incentives they gave Chiquita.

Elevation Church Seeks Approval For Ballantyne Expansion

Julie Rose — Mon, 20 May 2013 13:29:44 +0000

One of Charlotte's fastest growing evangelical congregations is moving north – and south.

Elevation Church got approval from the town of Cornelius last month for a $5 million renovation of the old Palace Theater to house its Lake Norman worshippers.

On Monday night, the church will seek Charlotte city approval to build a new $20 million facility in Ballantyne, bringing its total outposts in the region to nine.

Carlee Is The Streetcar's New Champion

Julie Rose — Tue, 14 May 2013 13:58:53 +0000

The future of the streetcar in Charlotte depends on the city's ability to get more federal funding, says City Manager Ron Carlee. To be precise, Carlee proposes Charlotte pursue a grant for half the $126 million price tag to undertake the next 2.5 mile stretch of streetcar extending to the east and west of Uptown.

The city council's reaction to the proposal was tepid.

Panthers Get Special Access To Closed Council Meetings

Julie Rose — Tue, 07 May 2013 09:00:00 +0000

Most of the Charlotte City Council's debate and deliberations about spending tax dollars on a renovation of Panthers' Stadium happened behind closed doors. That's pretty common when a city is hashing out economic incentives. But this case stands out because the Panthers were given unprecedented access to the council's process.

City-Funded Study Gives Momentum to Airport Authority Measure

Julie Rose — Fri, 26 Apr 2013 19:14:36 +0000

The effort to turn the Charlotte airport over to an independent authority has more momentum now that a city-funded study recommends that action. City leaders who commissioned the $150,000 report still urge caution - an idea that elicits laughter from the chief sponsor of legislation to change the airport’s management structure.

Streetcar Debate Sidelined As Council Focuses On Rest of City Budget

Julie Rose — Thu, 11 Apr 2013 13:31:47 +0000

The Charlotte City Council learned Wednesday the price of its inaction on a capital investment plan. What they could have done last year by increasing the property tax rate 3.6 cents will now require an increase of more than 4 cents – and that doesn't even include the controversial streetcar.

Veteran Journalists Challenge City's Secret Meetings With Panthers

Julie Rose — Wed, 03 Apr 2013 13:34:46 +0000

A group of former Charlotte reporters from the 1970s are taking the city to court over its decision to negotiate behind closed doors for tax money to renovate Panthers' stadium.

These same journalists and their lawyer sued the city for violating the state open meetings law in the early 1970's – and won. As a result, Superior Court Judge Frank Snepp placed the city under a permanent injunction against breaking the law.

Charlotte City Manager Ron Carlee And Mayor Anthony Foxx

Wed, 03 Apr 2013 04:00:00 +0000

April 1 marked the beginning of Ron Carlee's tenure as Charlotte City Manager, the first person from out of town to hold the position in more than 30 years. Mr. Carlee brings experience both as a former county manager (Arlington Co., Virginia) and as the COO of the International City/ County Management Association, where he was able to see the operations of cities all over the world. We'll sit down with Mr. Carlee and Mayor Anthony Foxx to talk about how he plans to tackle the city budget, transit and the streetcar debate, the airport situation, and the day-to-day operations of the city, when Charlotte Talks.

New City Manager Ready To Deal With Challenges Simultaneously

Julie Rose — Tue, 02 Apr 2013 13:50:38 +0000

It's day two on the job for Charlotte City Manager Ron Carlee who was sworn in Monday night. But Carlee says he's actually been working for several weeks to get his arms around the many hot button issues facing the city right now.

CMPD Citizens Review Board Now Under Review

Julie Rose — Tue, 02 Apr 2013 13:41:37 +0000

A board established to review citizen complaints against Charlotte police is now under review itself by the city council.