Lisa Miller

The so-called “Charlotte curse” has been broken.  Former Charlotte Mayor Pat McCrory is now Governor-Elect McCory. He beat Democrat Walter Dalton tonight.  

County Manager Harry Jones has upheld the firing of Mary Wilson, who oversaw Mecklenburg County’s Department of Social Services.  That comes after an employee panel heard Wilson’s appeal of her termination.  

CMS Superintendent Heath Morrison wants to halt plans to merge two creative arts magnet schools.  Students at University Park and First Ward elementaries have been in limbo the past two years.  In 2010, the school board voted to close University Park along with ten other schools to save money and, then, merge it with First Ward. 

Some child advocates are unhappy with Governor Bev Perdue’s decision to add thousands of pre-kindergarten slots because it’s at the expense of other programs that impact children like foster care.  It also transfers money from the AIDS Drug Assistance Program.

A couple weeks ago, Perdue announced the state was restoring some of the cuts to its pre-kindergarten program.  She planned to shuffle money around to add an extra 6,300 spots.  Groups that work with children applauded the move. 

Charlotte Mecklenburg School parents will be getting their first glimpse at a new report card this week for kindergarten through second grades.  There are some big changes. 

The old report cards were one page.  They focused on reading, writing and math. For example, a section under math graded if a student applies measurement concepts.  But the new report cards go much further. 

The Gaston County District Attorney says he’ll dismiss all pending cases that hinge on the testimony of four law enforcement officers who were indicted in a federal stolen goods investigation.  Locke Bell says his office is reviewing 83 cases to see whether they depend on those officers’ testimonies.  Speeding tickets and DWIs would fall into that category. 

“If the officer’s testimony is necessary, then I will dismiss the case because I will not call any of these officers and have them put their hand on the Bible and swear to tell the truth,” says Bell. 

The Mecklenburg Republican Party had to do some quick revisions to its 2012 Voter Guide last week.  The group sent out a press release, saying it received some "troubling information" regarding a candidate for the Soil and Water Conservation Supervisor and "disavowed" any connection with the candidate.

The release doesn't mention the name of the candidate, but it was likely Doug Hanks.  Hanks is a private conservation officer who says he created a privately-managed redwood reforestation project in the Blue Ridge Mountains.

A Duke University study has found high levels of coal ash contaminants in rivers and lakes downstream from coal-fired power plants. Mountain Island Lake, which provides drinking water to the Charlotte area, is one of the lakes tested that show the highest amounts of arsenic.  

The study tested 11 North Carolina lakes and rivers, and it found smaller ones like Mountain Island had the highest levels of coal ash toxins.