Local

  At first blush, there’s a lot about the power struggle over Charlotte’s airport that makes no sense. After all, both sides in the debate agree the airport has done extraordinarily well under the city’s control. So what’s happened?

A mysterious death, for one.

And WFAE has reviewed internal airport documents that cast doubt over much of what we thought we knew about that incident.

Most of the state’s counties, including Mecklenburg, are no longer included in a bill that would give counties the authority to build, own, and maintain schools.  The bill passed out of a senate committee Wednesday, only giving nine counties the option to take over ownership of schools from local school districts.  Those counties include Rowan, Wake and Harnett.

Senator Ron Rabin of Harnett County said county commissions are more equipped to handle business deals. 

A meeting of the Mecklenburg County Board of Commissioners Tuesday turned into a series of heated exchanges between commissioners with accusations of ethics violations, sexism and racism. It was the board’s first public meeting since it fired county manager Harry Jones.

  Former Mecklenburg County District Judge Bill Belk, already banned from holding judicial office, now faces possible punishment from the North Carolina State Bar.

On Aug. 23, Belk will appear before the bar’s Disciplinary Hearing Commission on charges he lied during a 2009 investigation into his possible misconduct while he sat on the bench.

Margaret Cloutier, the bar’s deputy counsel, said Monday that Belk faces disciplinary action ranging from warnings, reprimands and censure, to suspension of his law license and disbarment.