Tasnim Shamma

  Welcome to “A Trifling Place,” a podcast dedicated to exploring the ins-and-outs of Charlotte.

Influential anti-tax advocate Grover Norquist made several stops in North Carolina yesterday. He visited the capitol to show support for Republican proposals to overhaul the state’s tax system, and ended the day in Huntersville. 

About 50 people showed up at the Northstone Country Club in Huntersville on Thursday night to hear Grover Norquist speak about his vision to eliminate the income tax. He repeated one number over and over again.

"The goal is to get to zero," Norquist says. 

The Cleveland County Sheriff's Office is launching a new program this summer that will allow inmates in Cleveland County to volunteer with local nonprofits.  

Boston-based Northeastern University opened its Center City campus in January 2012 with eight masters programs. Now, the University is adding seven masters degrees and two doctoral degrees. The programs were approved two weeks ago by the UNC Board of Governors.

Bank of America held its annual shareholders' meeting in Charlotte today. CEO Brian Moynihan began the meeting highlighting the company's financial gains. He says the company has seen large growth in deposits and credit card accounts and has helped close to 2 million homeowners avoid foreclosure. He says internally, the company has been able to reduce costs to more quickly increase payouts for its shareholders.

US Airways mechanics and technicians now have enough signatures to call for a union vote. At a news conference in south Charlotte, they announced that nearly 3,000 mechanics and technicians signed a petition to hold an election to be represented by another union, the Teamsters. Mechanics complained about low wages, high insurance premiums and poor representation by their current union, The International Association of Machinists. Luis Martinez is a lead mechanic for US Airways in Charlotte.

Iron Man 3 – one of the most expensive films to ever come out of North Carolina – hit theaters Friday. It received $20 million in state incentives and lawmakers are now debating a bill that would remove the state's film tax credit – the same credit that brought the Iron Man 3 production to the state.

The X-Games may have a three-year run in Charlotte. ESPN announced that Charlotte is one of four cities being considered to host the summer X-Games for three years, starting in 2014. It's a four-day event with multiple extreme sports including BMX freestyle, skateboarding and motorbike competitions. Josh Frazier, the owner of the South End clothing and skateboard shop, Black Sheep, says the event would show a different side to the city.