One of the people marching Sunday in protests tied to the Democratic National Convention will also be on the floor of the convention in a couple days as a full-fledge party delegate. WFAE's Julie Rose introduces us to a Charlotte man with a split identity: party insider and activist outsider.
Activists from around the region have spent days in a Charlotte warehouse painting and taping signs for today's march. Gautam Desai is right at home among them.
Life is slowly getting back to normal in Tampa after the Republican National Convention concluded Thursday night. Some businesses, restaurants and schools there offered these tips for Charlotte residents about how to handle a national convention coming to town.
The main events were in downtown Tampa, and that area turned into a secure zone on steroids, in the words of Marshall Rainey.
The DNC will keep many workers away from Uptown. For those people who can't stay away, parking will be short. But if you have a monthly parking pass chances are you'll have a space.
Several parking garages will be closed during the DNC. Ben Pai wasn't surprised his usual place isn't available. After all, it's right across the street from Time Warner Arena. But that's not a problem since his employer Bank of America asked him to work from home.
The Charlotte Bobcats’ arena is now fully set up for the Democratic National Convention, and Charlotte-area residents were invited to take a free first look Friday.
The Time Warner Cable Arena looks like it’s ready for a multi-million dollar rock concert.
Head of the convention Steve Kerrigan showed off the main stage Friday morning to middle and high school students from the North Carolina School for the Deaf.
"There’s going to be a podium that comes up right out of the floor, which is going to be amazing," Kerrigan said.
Modern national conventions are often described as being nothing more than “infomercials” for the two major campaigns and political parties.
But for those delegates attending the conventions, it is a chance to show the public who the members of the parties are and what each party stands for.
First, some background on how the delegates got to each party’s convention. Both parties select their convention attendees in a series of elections, usually beginning at the local level and working their way up to the state level.
Official DNC activities kick off with a street festival Monday Uptown. But protest activity will be underway even before then. WFAE's Julie Rose will be following the action in the streets all week and joins Morning Edition Host Duncan McFadyen for a preview.
McFadyen: When and where do we expect to see the largest protests?
Charlotte is adding another hospital just for the DNC. If someone at the convention gets sick, sprains an ankle or worse, the CMC’s Mobile Hospital will be waiting. We meet the man at the head of this emergency preparedness team. Then, a quick look at the history of political conventions which began in 1831. And finally, a rundown on who’s coming to Charlotte, what we’ve done to accommodate them and we ask “are we making too much of all this?”
