Local News Roundup: Trump takes NC; Democrats win elsewhere; Charlotte City Council members head to Munich; Charlotte FC faces Orlando City in winner-take-all matchup

North Carolina, like other battleground states, went for Donald Trump in this week’s presidential election. What went right for his campaign and what went wrong for Vice President Kamala Harris?

On the statewide level, Democrats picked up wins in races for governor, attorney general, and superintendent for public instruction, among others. The party also appears to have prevented Republicans from retaining their veto-proof supermajority, despite the fact Democrat-turned-Republican Tricia Cotham appears to have narrowly retained her seat, barring a potential recount.

Outside of the election, as the Carolina Panthers head to Munich, Germany to play the New York Giants, several members of city council are going along. The city says the goal is to learn how Munich solves some of its urban problems, but WCNC reports the bill will cost taxpayers about $80,000.

Finally, Charlotte FC has a chance to advance to the next round of the MLS playoffs with a win against Orlando City on Saturday. The series is currently tied at a game apiece.

GUESTS:

Mary C. Curtis, columnist for Rollcall.com, host of the Rollcall podcast “Equal Time”
Steve Harrison, WFAE political reporter
Mary Ramsey, local government accountability reporter for the Charlotte Observer
Ben Thompson, morning and midday anchor at WCNC Charlotte and host of WCNC’s “Flashpoint”

Local News Roundup: Tracks for the Red Line price tag; back to school; Panthers make roster cuts

After decades of effort, the city of Charlotte has agreed to buy the Norfolk Southern freight rail line. The $91 million purchase will pave the way for a commuter rail line to the Lake Norman area. We’ll go through the details.

Leaders from the Charlotte region headed to Florida this week to see how Miami’s Bus Rapid Transit program works. The region’s new mobility plan includes BRT, but skeptics aren’t convinced it’s a good option here. We hear what they learned.

It’s back-to-school week for Charlotte Mecklenburg Schools, and there’s no shortage of news about education. In addition to teacher shortages leading up to the first day, there’s news that CMS violated North Carolina’s records law by withholding rape and sexual assaults records within the district. And is the district playing favorites with the media by only inviting certain outlets to a briefing?

And last week, the Carolina Panthers won their first game since last December. It was a preseason game, but put an end to a dismal losing streak by the team. Does it mean more wins are in our future? We discuss.

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

GUESTS

Ann Doss Helms, WFAE education reporter
Erik Spanberg, managing editor of the Charlotte Business Journal
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.” Mary is also a contributor to a new book, “We Refuse to Be Silent: Women’s Voices on Justice for Black Men”

Local News Roundup: CMS vacancies as first day approaches; frustration over transit planning; Cooper to speak at DNC; Trump and Vance in NC

We’re just days from the start of classes for Charlotte-Mecklenburg schools, and the system still has hundreds of teacher vacancies. How does CMS plan to address them?

Matthews Mayor John Higdon is still voicing his frustration with the $25 billion mobility plan for the Charlotte region and its plan to provide Matthews with bus rapid-transit service. This comes in the same week that Cornelius commissioners voted to support the new transit sales tax. We’ll bring you up to date.

This week, Democrats from all over the country gathered in Chicago for the DNC, including many representatives from North Carolina. Gov. Cooper was among them. We’ll hear what role he played in support of the Harris/Walz ticket.

Former President Donald Trump and his running mate JD Vance were in Asheboro this week for Trump’s first outdoor rally since the assassination attempt earlier this summer.

And, Charlotte’s newest professional sports team sells out its home opener.

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

GUESTS:

Erik Spanberg, managing editor for the Charlotte Business Journal
Mary C. Curtis, columnist for Rollcall.com, host of the Rollcall podcast “Equal Time.” Curtis is also a contributor to a new book “We Refuse to Be Silent: Women’s Voices on Justice for Black Men”
Mary Ramsey, local government accountability reporter for the Charlotte Observer
Ely Portillo, executive editor at WFAE News

If Mark Robinson is your standard-bearer, you might reexamine your standards

A lot of people now know about Mark Robinson, the Republican candidate for governor in North Carolina. Some national and international outsiders looking in were shocked at his Super Tuesday win. But I always thought the Donald Trump-endorsed Robinson was a shoo-in. That’s the red-versus-blue country we live in, when many times the “D” or “R” label means more than the person wearing it.

Yet, I find myself glancing side to side at my fellow North Carolinians, realizing that with Robinson’s win, they either don’t know much about the man other than his party affiliation, or they know him and approve of what he says and how he says it.

And as loud as he screams his repugnant views, there’s no excuse for anyone within state lines pretending he’s an unknown quantity. I swear you can hear him roar from the beach to the Blue Ridge Mountains.

His voters won’t be able to hide now, though, since national newspapers and cable networks are all doing their “Mark Robinson” stories in the same way gawkers slow down for a better look at a car crash on the side of the road.

So, what exactly has Robinson said to make national media finally notice? Take your pick, since the list of racist, misogynistic, anti-Semitic, Islamophobic comments and personal insults is long.

The civil rights movement that provided the path for Robinson, a Black man, to rise to his current post of lieutenant governor? He has said it was “crap,” called the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., an “ersatz pastor” and a “communist,” and disavowed being any part of the African American community. “Why would I want to be part of a ‘community’ that sucks from the putrid tit of the government and then complains about getting sour milk?” he wrote, employing every offensive stereotype that would be right at home at a white supremacist get-together.

Women? Robinson’s message to a North Carolina church was that Christians were “called to be led by men,” that God sent Moses to lead the Israelites. “Not Momma Moses,” he said. “Daddy Moses.”

Robinson reserves especially toxic rhetoric for members of the LGBTQ community, unapologetically, and often in sermons. “There’s no reason anybody anywhere in America should be telling any child about transgenderism, homosexuality, any of that filth,” Robinson preached in one of them.

And though Robinson has tried to clean up his record with a trip to Israel, the Hitler-quoting candidate wrote in 2018 on Facebook: “This foolishness about Hitler disarming MILLIONS of Jews and then marching them off to concentration camps is a bunch of hogwash.”

There is plenty more, but you get the idea.

Local News Roundup: Pat Cotham out after Super Tuesday upset; Matthews Commission discontinues Zoom comments; Sheriff McFadden at the SOTU address

Super Tuesday in North Carolina ended with upsets (including Pat Cotham losing out on the seat she’s held since 2012), low voter turnout and the end of the line for Nikki Haley. We’ll recap what the primary will mean for the local, state and national vote going forward.

The Town of Matthews decided no more Zoom comments will be included in future meetings after offensive remarks were made last week. We’ll hear what Mayor John Higdon said about the Zoom-bombers.

CATS said this week at the Charlotte City Council meeting that it still plans to move the main bus station uptown underground. We’ll hear what CATS Interim CEO Brent Cagle said about the plans, which aren’t changing despite the Hornets’ no longer participating in the plan to build a practice facility as part of the project.

This week, Mecklenburg County Sheriff Garry McFadden is in the audience for President Joe Biden’s State of the Union address. He’s Charlotte-area representative Alma Adam’s guest for the address, and she said she wants to highlight his efforts to reduce gun violence.

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

GUESTS:

Erik Spanberg, managing editor for the Charlotte Business Journal
Mary C. Curtis, columnist for Rollcall.com, host of the Rollcall podcast “Equal Time”
Joe Bruno, WSOC-TV reporter and host of “The Political Beat”
Ely Portillo, senior editor at WFAE News

Local News Roundup: Myers Park sexual assault trial; Controversial Cotswold Chick-Fil-A plan approved; AG Josh Stein throws his hat into the ring for NC Governor

The trial of a former Myers Park High School student against Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools and the city of Charlotte after an allaged sexual assault started this week. The former student alleges her Title IX rights were violated after she was sexually assaulted in 2015.

Charlotte City Council approves a controversial rezoning on Randolph Road to allow the rebuilding of a Chick-fil-A to become a drive-through-only business. While the decision goes against the 2040 plan, some council members say it’s the best solution to alleviate a traffic nightmare in that area.

Attorney General Josh Stein throws his hat in the ring, announcing he’s running for North Carolina Governor in 2024. He’s the first major candidate to announce in a race that promises to be competitive as the governor’s seat will be open with no incumbent for the first time since 2012.

Now that the Carolina Panthers season is over and a widespread head coach search is on, can Steve Wilks get the top job permanently? We’ll talk about why this hire is getting attention, and get an update on who the Panthers are talking to.

And Bojangles is entering the adult beverage world with an alcoholic version of its famous sweet tea!

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

GUESTS:

Erik Spanberg, managing editor for the Charlotte Business Journal
Mary C. Curtis, columnist for Rollcall.com, host of the Rollcall podcast “Equal Time”
Shamarria Morrison, WCNC reporter
David Boraks, WFAE climate reporter