Who is Donnie Hoover?

Blame musicmax, he got me curious.

Recall that District Court Judge Donnie Hoover reduced the bond for accused McClure home invasion ring-leader Matthew Morgan.

Morgan is now out walking the streets of Charlotte despite multiple felony arrests — some while he was out on bond previously — and even though police say they found the handguns and the duct tape used in the McClure assault in Morgan’s residence.

So who is the judge who thought it a good idea to turn Morgan loose last Friday after Morgan spent a little over a month in jail on his latest felony charges?

Short answer, among the raft of liberal Democrat judges the Obama wave elected in Mecklenburg County last November. Longer answer, a Mike Easley appointee who was the choice of local high-powered defense attorneys for a slot on the bench.

State campaign records indicates a slew of local attorneys contributed to Hoover’s campaign, including state Rep. Nick Mackey, who chipped in with $250 in cash in July 2008. Also well represented among donors, current and former CMS employees. Hoover’s wife Josephine is a long-time CMS veteran who currently teaches math at Carmel Middle School. Bail bondsman Larry Macklin of G&L Bonding Company also contributed $750.

Other Hoover contributors of note including WGIV executive director/owner Frank Neely ($300), the Mecklenburg County Bail Agents PAC ($500), and county commissioner Dumont Clark ($100).

Short-Attention Span Hump Day

Boom boom, a lot going on. Let’s hit it:

• Never been happier to be the ex-owner of a 1999 Ford Windstar.
• Jon Stewart takes CNN apart for fact-free reporting. And we’ll leave it there.
• Did ya know that a white panel van packed full of illegal aliens is actually transporting 18 “undocumented immigrants?”
• Cabarrus County builders are challenging the county’s impact fee (not an impact fee) in court. Fees (not a fee) are now over $8600 per lot.
• Both the Panthers and the Tar Heels make an appearance when Malcolm Gladwell asks the question, How different are dogfighting and football? What Gladwell finds should trouble all football fans.
• Lindsey Graham still at large: “We’re not going to be the party of angry white guys.” ‘Cause a party of sniveling peckerwoods is electoral gold.
• Another Mecklenburg County judge screws the community. He is not named Bill Belk.

This is Cream.

US Airways drops Wichita

From Phoenix. And, no, US Airways never served Wichita from Charlotte, which is in itself an issue.

When America West bought US Airways back in 2005, there was a lot of speculation that the combined airline would soon “connect the dots”, link cities, especially in the middle of the country, to both the east (US Airways) and west (America West) portions of the combined system.

At the time of the merger, America West flew to six markets in the Central Time Zone from Phoenix that US Airways didn’t serve: Austin, San Antonio, Oklahoma City, Omaha, Des Moines, and, yes, Wichita. These should have been low-hanging fruit. The markets were known, the airline had name recognition, and the cities close enough to Charlotte, the merged carrier’s biggest hub, that regional jets could fly the routes.

Four years later, the dots still aren’t that connected. CLT-Austin and CLT-San Antonio flights finally did start last year. Omaha and Des Moines though are both closer to Charlotte than Phoenix — and still only have serve to PHX. (US Airways ended all service to Oklahoma City last year.)