Charlotte Talks Local News Roundup: VP Pence Visits CLT; Huntersville Ed Committee Recommendations

On this edition of the Charlotte Talks local news roundup:

The Huntersville education advisory commission recommends that the town operate its own charter school and split from CMS, a move that one CMS official says is “politically driven. How likely is this outcome?

Vice President Mike Pence was in the Queen City this week for an RNC Kickoff Meeting, as next year’s Convention, which will be held in Charlotte, is getting closer. What was the purpose of this visit, and what have we learned about plans for the 2020 Republican National Convention?

As abortion legislation is passed around the country, rallies are taking place nationwide, and here in the Queen City. We’ll talk about a Charlotte rally where anti-abortion and abortion-rights advocates clashed.

In South Carolina, the House and the Senate have now approved around $120 million in tax breaks to offer to the Carolina Panthers to entice them to move practice fields and the team’s headquarters to the state from North Carolina.

And get ready to start your engines — this weekend is the second “Race Weekend” in a row for Charlotte (we hosted the NASCAR All-Star Race last Saturday, and this weekend is the Coca-Cola 600). What should we know to attend the event or avoid the crowds?

Those stories and much more with Mike Collins and a panel of journalists on the Charlotte Talks local news roundup.

Guests:

Mary C. Curtis, columnist for Rollcall.com and WCCB

Alexandra OlginWFAE Reporter

Glenn Burkins, editor and publisher of QCityMetro.com

Jonathan Lowe, reporter for Spectrum News 

Opinion: What Is the Cost When the Language of Politics Devolves?

Who would have imagined that the term “breeding” to refer to human beings would be making a comeback? Seen through a cynical lens, it is a useful word when, step by insidious step, one wants to deem some people as inherently less — and thus deserving of less — than other Americans.

Opinion: In a Culture War, American Values Lose

Over the weekend, a group of white nationalists returned to Charlottesville, Virginia, faces proudly uncovered and tiki torches in hand, with a message of division.

White supremacist leader Richard Spencer said to applause, “You are going to have to get used to white identity” — and warned of more to come.

The story barely lasted one news cycle, perhaps because, this time, no one drove a car into a crowd of anti-hate counterprotesters and killed a woman.

What you have heard plenty about, the story that has made ripples and had serious repercussions, is Vice President Mike Pence’s staged walkout at a Colts-49ers NFL game in Indianapolis — a political stunt that cost the taxpayers plenty — because he disrespected several players’ support of equality, justice and police accountability.

And no matter the spin, that’s what the pregame protests have been about since former San Francisco quarterback Colin Kaepernick consulted with military veteran Nate Boyer and decided to kneel silently (instead of sit) during the playing of the national anthem.

What Donald Trump Should Have Said to a Civil Rights Icon

Donald Trump is about to become president of the United States of America. But he isn’t acting like it. He tweets in scatter-shot fashion, noticing every real and perceived slight and attacking. Doesn’t he realize that it is politically smart for any leader to think and act strategically, always anticipating many moves ahead, like a master chess player?

Faith Journeys Led Kaine and Pence in Different Directions –

When one reviews the charges and countercharges that have characterized the 2016 presidential election campaign, one topic that’s been left on the fringes is faith. That changed on Tuesday night as two candidates whose faith is central to their political philosophies took to the debate stage.

It’s an argument, at its simplest, on the meaning of justice and mercy, Old Testament and New Testament, and how to live one’s personal faith.