Local News Roundup: COVID-19 numbers rise; City Council recommends esports venue for Eastland Yards; CATS Gold Line changes; Beyoncé in Charlotte

COVID-19 numbers are on the rise in the area as cases and hospitalization numbers in the county are on a slight uptick.

Charlotte City Council’s Economic Development Committee votes to back a proposal for a new proposal at the Eastland Mall site that would bring esports, a concert venue and soccer fields.

We’ll bring you a Charlotte Area Transit System update as the city will soon have a new management system to run the bus system (currently the city contracts with RATP Dev.). CATS is also cutting back on its Gold Line service as the agency struggles to fill vacancies on its staff.

A 900-pound longhorn bull captivated our attention this week by evading authorities in West Charlotte. Will it be caught by show time?

Aaron Rodgers and the Jets are in town this week, first for joint practices with the Panthers, and this weekend, for a pre-season game. How do we look?

And Beyoncé, otherwise known as “Queen Bey,” takes on the Queen City. We’ll give highlights of her Wednesday night concert.

Mike Collins and our roundtable of reporters delve into those stories and more, on the Charlotte Talks local news roundup.

GUESTS:

Mary C. Curtis, columnist for Rollcall.com, host of the Rollcall podcast “Equal Time”
Steve Harrison, WFAE’s political reporter
Shamarria Morrison, WCNC reporter
David Boraks, WFAE’s climate reporter

Local News Roundup: CATS goes off the rails, political maps back at NC Supreme Court, ‘Banktown’ reacts to SVB collapse

On the Local News Roundup, the Charlotte Area Transit System goes off the rails. At least one Lynx train did in a derailment last year that officials are just now hearing about. They also discovered that every train car in the fleet needs repairs and until that happens, trains will be slowing down.

North Carolina’s voter maps are back in front of a now-Republican-controlled State Supreme Court. They’re rehearing a case at the request of the legislature.

Meanwhile, the legislature calls Gov. Roy Cooper’s budget “unrealistic.”

And we look at possible reverberations here from the collapse of a Silicon Valley bank.

Our roundtable of reporters fills us in on those stories and more.

Guests

Steve Harrison, WFAE’s political reporter

Erik Spanberg, managing editor for the Charlotte Business Journal

Mary C. Curtis, columnist for Rollcall.com, host of the Rollcall podcast “Equal Time”

Danielle Chemtob, investigative reporter with Axios Charlotte

Local News Roundup: Bomb threats and lockdowns at schools throughout the region; Actors Theatre to close; Gaston County Schools payroll problem continues; CATS drivers vote on agreement

CATS drivers vote on a new contract this week that would get them “significant pay raises”. The tentative agreement could make a positive change for the drivers and the problems CATS has been experiencing with a bus driver shortage for the last several months. We’ll dig into the details of the first vote.

Actors Theatre of Charlotte plans to close its doors next month after 30 years of bringing professional local theater to Charlotteans. We’ll talk about why they’re closing and what led to the decision.

Payroll problems continue for some Gaston County school employees. Officials from the system acknowledged that the problems have been going on for months. School Board Chair Jeff Ramsey says they’re committed to fixing the problem.

Around the region, from Mooresville to Cabarrus county schools and several Charlotte-Mecklenburg schools, bomb threats and lockdowns at multiple schools have students, employees and families on edge.

And “unruly behavior” by minors at Carowinds causes the amusement park to close early last week and now, a new policy for all minors to be accompanied by a chaperone.

Mike Collins and our roundtable of reporters delve into those stories and all the week’s top local and regional news on the Charlotte Talks local news roundup.

GUESTS:

Nick Ochsner, WBTV’s executive producer for investigations & chief investigative reporter

Mary C. Curtis, columnist for Rollcall.com, host of the Rollcall podcast “Equal Time”

Ann Doss Helms, WFAE education reporter

Danielle Chemtob, investigative reporter with Axios Charlotte