The Meck Deck
Comment and analysis on all things Charlotte
Wednesday, May, 16 2012
Posted May 15th, 2012 at 10:47 PM by Michael Lowrey
I realize that the target demographic isn’t exactly at the top of the social-economic ladder and the product is inherently absurd — bad odds at a no-skill activity — but does anyone spend more money to make and air dumber ads than state lotteries? And is the State of North Carolina really so desperate as [...]
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Posted May 14th, 2012 at 9:55 AM by Michael Lowrey
It seems that Charlotte City Council may consider imposing some sort of ban or limit on using cell phones while driving. Three quick points: 1. As JLF president John Hood recently wrote on Chapel Hill’s ban on using a cell phone while driving, regulation makes sense only if the benefits exceed the cost, not whether [...]
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Posted May 13th, 2012 at 7:53 PM by Michael Lowrey
I’m not one of those people who considers North Carolina a natural battleground state in 2012, so I’ve always thought the Democrats decision to hold their national convention here a bit of a headscratcher. Recent events make the decision look even more questionable. And the main-stream press is starting to notice. The Associated Press had [...]
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Posted at 4:26 PM by Michael Lowrey
No, not people named Samuel or Samantha, of which there will certainly be a fair number here for the Democratic National Convention, but rather surface-to-air missiles. The British are considering deploying them in London to help protect the Olympics. They are know to be deployed in Washington, DC. So the idea that they might make [...]
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Posted May 11th, 2012 at 10:21 PM by Michael Lowrey
An example of how badly things can go wrong for a city hosting a major sports franchise. The Wall Street Journal reports on how the city of Glendale, Arizona is subsidizing the NHL’s Phoenix Coyotes to the tune of $12.9 million a year from now through 2033, in a deal so poor for the city [...]
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Charlotte's Greatest Hits
As jailed former state House Speaker Jim Black mounts a campaign for early release, critics contend that the state justice system did favors for Black regarding the settlement of his $1 million fine.
Wake County officials say imprisoned former House Speaker Jim Black satisfied a $1 million fine by surrendering some Mecklenburg County real estate, but questions remain about the real market value of the property.
Imprisoned former House Speaker Jim Black used undeveloped land with a tax value of less than $150,000 to pay off an outstanding $500,000 state fine.
Colleen Calvani writes that the Charlotte Area Transit system will scale back some routes in an attempt to counter three major decreases in funding.
Jeff Taylor argues that Pat McCrory failed to carry Mecklenburg County because he failed to move its conservatives.
Jeff Taylor says there may be another factor to blame for CMUD’s recent series of water leaks.
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Research
County and municipal governments provide many key services while taking in billions of dollars in revenue, but finding comparative data is hard. That's why this report provides information of how much local government costs in every city and county in North Carolina.
This report examines 52 contracts signed by the Raleigh Convention Center for the period of July–December 2011 and is a follow-up to the September 2008 John Locke Foundation report “The New Raleigh Convention Center: A taxpayer-funded money pit.”
County governments all over North Carolina are saving money by privatizing services. In an effort to assist in the exchange of information about these activities, the John Locke Foundation conducted a survey of all 100 counties asking county managers to tell us about governmental activities that they currently supply privately. We also asked them if they had problems in the past with a privatized activity that had caused them to return the activity to government provision.
Montgomery County commissioners have raised the property tax by nine cents over the last three years, from 58 cents to 67 cents per $100 valuation — a 15.5 percent increase. Now the commissioners want voters to approve a quarter-cent sales-tax increase worth an estimated $250,000.
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