NEWS UPDATES FOR APRIL 2024

The Charlotte Checkers won their opener in the American Hockey League playoffs last week, but lost the next two games to the Hartford Wolfpack over the weekend and were knocked out of the post season with Sunday's 3-1 loss.

A potential compromise to legalize medical marijuana in North Carolina this year could include new regulations for CBD and hemp-derived products, according to the state Senate’s top Republican.

WNCT reports Senate leader Phil Berger said it’s still a priority to get his chamber’s medical marijuana bill passed, though the House has resisted taking action on it.

Berger said as part of an agreement with the House, he would be open to taking up one of that chamber’s bills that would put new regulations on hemp-derived consumable products, requiring a license to sell them and banning them from school grounds.

"We'd certainly like to deal with not just CBD but medical marijuana and maybe there's a way we can work something out on that," Berger said.

During last year’s session, Speaker Tim Moore said there wasn’t enough support among House Republicans to bring the medical marijuana bill to the floor. He recently told reporters it’s unclear whether that’s changed.

By the time all the wheeling and dealing was done in the NFL Draft over the weekend, the Carolina Panthers filled some gaps and added depth to the roster, though some holes remain. New head coach Dave Canales noted that with the addition of free agents on the offensive line the team has boosted the skill level around last year’s top draft pick, quarterback Bryce Young.

"I feel like we really took advantage of some of those spots to bring a bunch of talent into our roster, you know, specifically talking about the offense, just looking position, you know, with, with a running back, a receiver and a tight end, you know, it's skill-wise, just really bringing a little bit of juice there," he said.

The team is moving offensive lineman Austin Corbett to center but still needs depth at the position. The team is signing undrafted free agents ahead of training camp this summer in uptown Charlotte.

One firefighter was taken to a hospital and another was treated at the scene after crews responded to a house fire in Steele Creek early Friday morning.

WCNC reports it happened in the area of Buckie Court , not far from the Piedmont Prairie Trail at the McDowell Nature Preserve.

The firefighter taken to a hospital has non-life-threatening injuries.

The Charlotte Fire Department said its crews were assisting Mecklenburg County units with the fire, which was soon brough under control.

The Charlotte 49ers have named Tomeika Reed as the ninth head women’s basketball coach. Reed spent six years at Jackson State University and won five consecutive regular season titles in the Southwestern Athletic Conference.

The hiring comes after longtime coach Cara Consuegra accepted a job at Marquette University.

The Carolina Panthers traded their way into the first round of the NFL draft Thursday night to select receiver Xavier Legette 32nd overall. The 220-pound South Carolina Gamecock brings a physical presence to the team. After the pick, he told reporters he can do more than catch.

"Being able to have the ability for them to move me around within the offense and then move me around on special teams as well, and I feel like that I could bring a whole lot to the team," he said.

Round two of the NFL Draft is Friday.

The Charlotte Area Transit System is seeing riders gradually return — with one exception.

Interim chief executive Brent Cagle told the Metropolitan Transit Commission on Wednesday that ridership is up on both the local bus system and the Blue Line light rail compared with a year ago even though it’s still down from before the pandemic. For buses, the number of riders increased 7% in March; on the light rail, ridership was up 10%. 

But the Gold Line street car continues to struggle, with ridership down more than 11%. Cagle said more frequent trains, coming every 20 instead of every 30 minutes, and more reliable service should help. 

"So we do believe that as people start to better understand that the headways have now been reduced, so better service, we will start to see those declines in the gold line decrease and ultimately turn into increases," Cagle said.

CATS has started public meetings on extending the streetcar by another 6 miles in the coming year. There’s one next Tuesday on YouTube. 

Two of four lanes are shut down on Highway 74 westbound in Monroe Thursday morning as crews work to repair a water main break after utility workers punctured the line during work Wednesday. The water line itself has been repaired but now parts of the street are being fixed at the site near Sunset Drive. NCDOT estimates it could take until Friday at 5 pm for the lanes to be reopened.

The NFL Draft starts Thursday night in Detroit but, barring a trade, the Carolina Panthers won’t make a pick until Friday. The team traded this year’s first round pick away last year to move up and select quarterback Bryce Young. New General Manager Dan Morgan said during his pre-draft press conference that players added to the roster during the off season mean the Panthers won’t have to be desperate for a particular player in the draft.

"I feel we addressed a lot of needs in free agency and I think that will, you know, set us up nicely during the draft to, you know, allow us to draft the best player available," he said.

The Panthers currently have the 33rd and 39th picks in the draft – both in the second round.

The Charlotte Area Transit System is looking for ways to make the Gold Line Streetcar more reliable as it plans a possible extension along Beatties Ford and Central Avenue through Plaza Midwood.

Since the 2.5-mile streetcar phase two opened in 2021, the Gold Line has been plagued by vehicles parked in its path as well as streetcars getting stuck in traffic. Ridership is lower than projected.

But CATS is still planning to build another six miles of the Gold Line, should voters approve a one-cent sales tax increase to pay for a $13.5 billion transportation plan.

Streetcar senior project manager Jim Fatula said CATS is looking for ways to make the streetcar more reliable.

That could mean building the rails on the inside lanes that are away from parked cars. It also could mean giving streetcars priority when moving through intersections with streetlights.

“Our focus is going to be on run time and reliability,” he said. “It’s definitely the feedback that I’ve received. I think people are telling us we love the service, it’s a clean service. The cars are great, the stops are great, we just need to get there more frequently.”

CATS is holding a public meeting on the Gold Line on Thursday evening at the indoor pavilion at Veterans Park on Central Avenue from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m.

CMPD has arrested a 17-year old in connection with the shooting of 21-year-old Abijah Barkley. The suspect was charged with murder and is in custody of the North Carolina Department of Juvenile Justice. As a juvenile, he was not identified by name. On March 9, officers responded to an assist medic with a suspected overdose call at Fairwood Avenue. When officers arrived they found Barkley with a gunshot wound and he died at the hospital.

The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools board held a hearing Tuesday night to hear from the public about Superintendent Crystal Hill’s proposed budget for the upcoming year.

That proposal includes more than $660 million from Mecklenburg County, an increase of more than $63 million over this year’s $597 million allocation.

Carol Gray Adler, with the League of Women Voters, said CMS should focus on retaining staff, especially experienced and effective educators.

"We are alarmed by the increasing rate of veteran teachers deciding to leave CMS retention of veteran teachers whose nuanced knowledge of students' curriculum and a variety of instructional approaches is critical," she said.

The additional money in Hill’s budget would fund raises for hourly workers, increasing the local supplement for teacher pay, hiring maintenance and support staff for two new schools, new tablets and laptops, and modernizing payroll and financial systems.

Mario Sansotta, a substitute teacher, said the budget should include more funding to keep subs in the classroom, doing a tough job.

"Not anyone can just leap into a substitute role and perform it effectively. Substitutes are challenged and charged with maintaining students for focused assignments, being respectful and maintaining class order," he said.

The board will vote on Hill’s budget proposal at a special meeting on Tuesday, April 30. CMS will then take the approved budget to county commissioners in May.

North Carolina Chief Justice Paul Newby is naming a new chief district court judge for Mecklenburg County, replacing Judge Elizabeth Trosch.

In a statement to the media, Trosch wrote that Newby told her earlier this week that he wants a “different direction in leadership for Mecklenburg.” Judge Roy Wiggins will be the county’s new chief district court judge, as of May 1.

Newby, as chief justice, can replace chief district court judges — who administer district courts and set key policies — anytime.

Trosch said she is “confident that I have left the office better than I found it.”

She said her office has worked to make the court system more efficient, and cited a reduction in pending felony cases from more than 6,700 during the pandemic to about 2,700.

Trosch’s tenure has been marked with controversy over the court’s bail policy, with Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police arguing that bail is often set too low and violent defendants get back on the streets quickly. That policy was started under Regan Miller, who was chief district court judge before Trosch.

Charlotte has seen a surge in crime in recent years, much of it from juveniles.

Newby is a Republican. Trosch and Wiggins are both Democrats.

Central Piedmont Community College will open a new associate-degree program in artificial intelligence technology in August, with the start of the 2024 fall semester.

Central Piedmont is the second North Carolina community college to offer an artificial intelligence degree program.

The curriculum will cover machine learning, chatbots and generative AI, chatbot programming, artificial intelligence programming, system analysis and design and AI applications in various industries.

Central Piedmont will welcome as many as 50 students to the program this fall.

Davidson College has signed a 20-year deal with a large-scale solar installation in western Kentucky. The project will provide power to communities in the central United States and help Davidson College reach its carbon reduction goals.

Davidson, Wake Forest, and Elon are joining forces with six other universities in Pennsylvania to sign a Power Purchase Agreement with NextEra Energy Resources, a company that builds renewable energy infrastructure. 

The 20-year agreement will help fund the construction of a 150-megawatt solar farm in Kentucky. The solar farm would generate power for the surrounding community. Meanwhile, Davidson College would purchase monthly renewable energy certificates on top of their Duke Energy electrical bill. 

Davidson set a 2026 goal to reduce campus emissions by 50% from 2008 levels. The college has reduced campus emissions by 10% already and plans to apply these renewable energy certificates to close most of that gap. 

The solar farm is expected to begin operation in 2026, the same year Davidson will need to meet its carbon reduction goal.

Frontier Airlines says it will begin nonstop service from Charlotte Douglas International Airport to Miami International Airport on July 5, this year. The Miami flight will be offered three times a week.

This new route is in addition to five others that have launched from CLT this month, and three more launching in May and June. Altogether, Frontier will serve a total of 15 destinations from CLT.  

The state treasurer's office is seeking any good ideas to keep weight loss medications available to state health plan members.

The board that makes health insurance coverage plans for 740,000 state workers curtailed the use of GLP-1 medicines like Wegovy, made by drug manufacturer Novo Nordisk. While effective, these drugs are too expensive, says state treasurer Dale Folwell, who oversees the plan.

"If we had continued on the path we were going on. The individual premiums were going to double. Even though we have less than 5% of the people on our plan who are consuming this drug," he said.

The state board hoped Novo Nordisk would reduce prices for Wegovy, which can run more than $1,300 per month per patient. But that hasn't happened yet, and so the treasurer's office is now seeking proposals for any good idea that would keep these medicines available at a lower price.

State lawmakers start their 2024 legislative session Wednesday with a top goal of making tweaks to the state’s $30 billion annual budget. However, much more, from immigration to medical marijuana, could also be on the agenda.

The budget lawmakers passed last year contained raises for teachers and other state workers — 7% spread over two years, which was lower than advocacy groups had pushed for. They’ll be looking for an extra boost in the second year of the budget plan, which begins in July.

Those efforts are expected to run into competition from other recipients of state funding. Republican leaders have said the state’s Medicaid division as well as a private school tuition voucher program could both use hundreds of millions of dollars more. Several groups plan to push for additional funding for child care programs to replace hundreds of millions of dollars in federal child-care funding that’s ending in June.

The North Carolina Chamber of Commerce, a powerful pro-business lobbying group, considers child care issues a top legislative priority.

But lawmakers will have some extra money to spend. The Office of State Budget and Management released a report last week indicating the state will have a more-than $1 billion surplus for the 2024-25 budget with revenue of $34.4 billion, instead of the $33.4 billion they had originally planned for.

Charlotte FC’s streak of 13 games unbeaten at home ended Sunday with a 3-nil loss to Minnesota United. The Crown dominated time of possession but couldn’t convert any of its eight shots on goal. Coach Dean Smith spoke after the match.

"You know, my job is now to lift the players because it's, you know, a small step backwards. But, you know, I've got enough belief in this group that they'll come back from it," he said.

Charlotte faces New York City FC Saturday night at Yankee Stadium. Charlotte is one spot behind New York at ninth in Major League Soccer’s Eastern Conference

Monday is Earth Day, and Charlotte City Council is set to vote on toughening its policies to require more energy efficiency in municipal buildings.

Under Charlotte’s revised Sustainable Facilities Policy, new city-owned buildings would be required to be all-electric, except for emergency backup generators. New municipal buildings could no longer use fossil fuel-burning water heaters, furnaces and boilers.

Instead, they would use geothermal heating and cooling systems. And they would have to incorporate so-called smart surfaces like cool pavement and roofs. The city would also be required to periodically evaluate completely electrifying its existing buildings, and use more solar. City staff estimate they can reduce carbon emissions from Charlotte-owned buildings by more than 71%.

The spring homebuying season is off to a tough start in Charlotte. WFAE’s Ely Portillo reports that prices are rising, mortgage rates are still high and sales are down.

The average price of a home in the 16-county Charlotte region rose 8.5% in March compared with the same month a year ago, to about $480,000. In Mecklenburg County specifically, the sale price averaged $573,000. Mortgage rates hovered near 7%. At the same time, Canopy, the Charlotte regional Realtor association, said the number of homes sold dropped more than 12%. 

One reason for the high prices even as sales fall: Low supply. The number of houses on the market remains far below historical norms. 

Charisma Southerland, the Realtor association’s president, said Charlotte’s supply of homes for sale is "unhealthy and critically low. "

Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police said an unloaded gun was found at Devonshire Elementary School in east Charlotte. CMPD was notified around 8 am Friday morning by school staff that a student brought a gun on school property. Staff found the student and took the gun from a student before they entered the school building.

North Carolina House Speaker Tim Moore has named Republican Tricia Cotham chair of the House Education Appropriations Committee. Cotham will oversee education appropriations, which accounts for is the largest share of the state budget. Cotham was a former teacher and assistant principal of East Mecklenburg and Independence High Schools. She rocked North Carolina politics last year with her flip from Democrat to Republican.

North Carolina Disability Rights sued the state’s Department of Health and Human Services Thursday in federal court, saying that long waits for mental health care violate the civil rights of incarcerated people.

Devonte Watson was incarcerated in 2022 for assaulting a law enforcement officer, but a court found he doesn’t have the mental capacity to assist in his defense.

While state law requires him to get care so his case can move forward, he was held in a Cleveland County jail for 600 days before he got a bed in a state psychiatric hospital.

NC Disability Rights has sued DHHS, which operates North Carolina’s psychiatric hospitals. It said long waits violate the civil rights of those with mental illness. The suit also alleges the long waits violate the Americans for Disability Act and the Rehabilitation Act.

Waton’s story was part of a WFAE film, “Fractured,” about long waits for mental health care in jails and prisons.

The complaint says part of the problem is that North Carolina doesn’t have enough available beds. It says that, since 2022, defendants with mental disabilities wait an average of nearly five months to be placed at any of the state’s three psychiatric hospitals.

DHHS says the current wait time for a bed is 159 days, which is just over five months. And it’s said it’s working to reduce waits by allowing some defendants to get their mental capacity restored while still in jail.

A ten person in-jail restoration unit is already up and running in the Mecklenburg jail, and the state says another unit will soon start operation in Wake County.

The ACLU joined the lawsuit, asking a federal court to make the state come up with a plan to reduce wait times.

North Carolina's election system needs more funding according to state Elections Director Karen Brinson Bell. WRAL reports she told legislators on Wednesday a system upgrade for the state's election software, which dates from 1998, has not been fully funded. The General Assembly returns next week to work on budget adjustments for the upcoming year.

Bell compared the current system to an old Atari video game in the age of smartphones. She said it needs to be modernized to keep elections smooth and secure and the elections board also needs more staff to help the county offices. Bell said artificial intelligence concerns include unintended consequences of people using AI platforms in place of more traditional internet searches. She said she did a test, asking five AI platforms to describe the state’s new voter ID laws

"Of the five platforms that were tested, four had some bit of inaccurate information. Some were completely wrong," she said.

Bell said bad actors could potentially use AI to spread misinformation to voters. She added North Carolina has seen 60 county elections directors leave office since 2019, due in part to rising levels of harassment aimed at elections officials. This year, approximately one in every three counties statewide will have its elections led by someone who has never handled a presidential election before.

Three Charlotte firefighters were injured Thursday morning battling a two-alarm fire northeast of Uptown. It happened just after 2:30 am at a home on Grimes Street, between North Graham and North Tryon streets. The Charlotte Fire Department says it took an hour to get the fire under control. Chief Reginald Johnson spoke to WBTV.

"At approximately 2:58 we did have a Mayday from the firefighters. Evacuation shortly thereafter and we end up having three firefighters that have non-life threatening injuries. They have been transported to CMC Main and we are making sure that they're being well taken care of in that aspect," he said.

Johnson said three residents and a pet were able to escape the house uninjured.

There’s no word yet about what started the fire.

In a surprise move, Charlotte Regional Business Alliance CEO Janet LaBar announced her resignation Wednesday evening.

LaBar was named the organization’s first CEO in 2019, shortly after the Charlotte Chamber and the Charlotte Regional Partnership merged to create the Charlotte Regional Business Alliance. The organization functions as the Chamber of Commerce for the 14-county region in and around Charlotte. LaBar came to Charlotte from Portland, Oregon, where she held a similar position.

The Alliance didn’t give a reason for LaBar’s departure, and said she’ll stick around for a month to help with a smooth transition while the group searches for a replacement.

A student at a Concord charter school is dead after a shooting incident Tuesday. The city of Concord says it started at about noon at Valor Preparatory Academy off Weddington Road. A Concord Police officer was called to the school to assist a private security officer during a meeting with the student, a parent and administrators. When the meeting ended, the parent and student left the building, but the parent returned to retrieve an item left behind.

During that time, the student accessed a handgun inside the vehicle. When the parent returned, the student had an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound. The student was taken to Atrium Health Cabarrus and later pronounced dead. Identities have not been released.

The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department is conducting a criminal investigation that resulted in the arrest of CMPD Lt. Warith Muhammad.

Muhammad has been charged with one count of felony financial transaction card fraud and one count of felony conspiracy.

Investigators determined that the incidents occurred outside of work and did not involve the functions of his job.

Muhammad turned himself in Wednesday and was processed overnight.

He’s on unpaid administrative leave pending the outcome of the internal investigation.

Muhammad was hired in 2010 and is currently assigned to the Central Division.

In 2017, Muhammad was investigated after he struck a car while driving a CMPD vehicle off-duty. The other driver was killed. CMPD said speed and impairment weren't factors, and the other driver pulled out in front of him.

An updated vision plan for the SouthPark area calls for $250 million worth of new infrastructure, including more walking and bike trails, less car-centered development and even connections for pedestrians under the area’s namesake mall.

Two years after the city authorized a special tax district to fund SouthPark Community Partners, the group released its new vision plan Tuesday. The emphasis is on shifting from a suburban, auto-dependent 1970s-style development to an urban, mixed-use one.

The plan calls for upgrading Symphony Park, finishing the SouthPark loop multiuse path, launching a free neighborhood shuttle, bike valet parking and a pedestrian path through the mall’s underground parking garage to connect Carnegie Boulevard and Fairview Road.

The plan is meant to spark conversations, SouthPark Community Partners says. One big one will be: how to pay for it. You can see the plan online at southparkCLT.org.

The North Carolina Court of Appeals ruled Tuesday that Gov. Roy Cooper’s decision to shut down bars during the COVID-19 pandemic violated the state constitution. The court sent the case back to a trial court.

In May 2020, Cooper’s administration allowed restaurants to reopen under certain conditions, while keeping most bars closed.

Cooper said his decision was based in part on “data and science.”

Nearly 200 bar owners sued.

The court ruled in favor of Cooper at the original trial. The state presented news articles saying there was a higher risk of infection from being in bars.

The appeals court of three Republican judges, however, wrote that a news article is not a scientific study. It added that the unequal treatment of bars was “illogical and not rationally” related to the state’s stated objective of slowing the spread of COVID-19.

The ruling was not a full victory for bar owners. The appeals court dismissed the bar owners’ argument that the shutdown was an unconstitutional taking of their property.

Piedmont Lithium says the state approved its mining permit two and a half years after it applied, bringing the company one step closer to starting its mining operation in Gaston County.

WCNC reports people in Cherryville have been pushing against the proposed lithium mine over environmental concerns.

Piedmont Lithium is promising hundreds of jobs and billions of dollars in economic impact if the mine is approved. Demand for lithium has surged in recent years for electric vehicle batteries. The company’s CEO, Keith Phillips, said in a statement Monday that the mine would help the U.S. speed toward a cleaner energy future.

Piedmont still needs to obtain more permits and go through the official rezoning process with Gaston County.

Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police held their first quarter public safety briefing Monday, and officials said despite a slight reduction in overall violent crime, Charlotte has seen a 31% increase in homicides this year.

CMPD officials said aggravated assaults and rapes fell in the first quarter this year, as overall violent crime was down about 1%. But there were 34 homicides compared to 26 at the same time last year. CMPD Deputy Chief Zeru Chickoree said one bright spot for the department is that they have arrested a suspect in a large percentage of cases.

"The homicide unit has already cleared 70% of our cases. This year, our five year average, which we report out typically at the end of the year in 2023 was as high as 80%. The national average is just over 50%," he said.

Property crime rose 4% in the first quarter, driven mainly by an increase in vehicle thefts and commercial burglaries. Police said four out of every five auto theft suspects arrested in Charlotte have been juveniles.

Charlotte City Council voted Monday night to allow a huge new development in Ballantyne.

The plan at the Cato Farms site on Tom Short Road will include more than 900 new residences and a CMS middle school.

More than 3,500 residents signed a petition opposing the plan — mostly because of traffic concerns — but City Council members said more housing and more schools are needed in the fast-growing part of Charlotte.

Council member Ed Driggs, who represents the area, said turning down the rezoning plan from developer Childress Klein and CMS wouldn’t accomplish anything.

"What would happen if this got denied tonight is that some other plan would be submitted, and we would be here all over again. It would probably be a lot like this one. So I don't think there's anything to be gained from turning this down," he said.

Driggs voted for the plan, along with most of the other City Council members. Dimple Ajmera was the lone no vote.

Two retired deputies will face the current sheriff’s wife in the June Republican primary for York County’s top law enforcement job and by Wednesday, there could be more. The Rock Hill Herald reports Republican candidates have until Wednesday to file for York County sheriff after the county party reopened filing last week. Multiple candidates means the possibility of a runoff after the June 11 Republican primary. If no candidate gets more than 50% of the vote on June 11, there would be a runoff of the top two vote-getters on June 25, according to York County Elections director Alan Helms.

Republican filing was reopened because current Republican Sheriff Kevin Tolson filed for the seat March 18, but withdrew from the race after his wife, Beth Bryant Tolson, filed as a Republican for the seat on the last day of filing on April 1.

Union County Public Schools are going for a school construction bond referendum to the November ballot.

During a meeting last week, the Union County Board of Education approved the $39 million dollar request to cover renovating Forest Hills High to accommodate the planned East Union Middle School, and design work for the Parkwood High School replacement.  However, Assistant Superintendent for Administration and Operations Colon Moore warned the board that the bond won't cover the actual cost of building the new Parkwood High.

"Construction cost for a new high school now is, is upwards of $110, $115 million. By the time the inflation kicks in, it would be, by the time we, we would build, it would be a little bit more," he said.

The bond will go to the board for approval, and if it is approved, to voters in the upcoming election. It's a fraction of the amount Mecklenburg County approved last year in its record-setting $2.5 billion bond.

Charlotte City Council is set to vote Monday  on a plan that would allow nearly 1,000 new residences in fast-growing Ballantyne. But it’s stirred up opposition from some neighbors.

The 125-acre Cato Farms site on Tom Short near Ardrey Kell Road is mostly open space and trees, with just three houses. That could soon increase by a factor of 300, under a plan from developer Childress Klein and Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools. They’re proposing to build 917 apartments and townhouses, as well as a new middle school.

The zoning committee and city planning staff both recommend approving the project, which they say would provide much-needed housing and relief to overcrowded nearby schools. But neighbors have said they’re worried about traffic and the impact of multifamily housing. A petition against the plan has more than 3,200 signatures.

Avian influenza has been detected in a North Carolina dairy herd. It’s the first time the virus has impacted the state’s livestock.

Until this week, Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza, also known as HPAI, had been detected in cattle in just six states: Texas, Kansas, Michigan, Idaho, New Mexico, and Ohio. North Carolina joined the list after a dairy cow that had been moved to the state from one of the impacted herds in Texas tested positive for the disease. Heather Overton with the North Carolina Department of Agriculture & Consumer Services says the state is now taking steps to contain the virus.

“North Carolina has spent years developing how to handle HPAI and poultry. This is new, and we're working with our state and federal partners to develop protocols,” she said.

Avian Flu outbreaks were reported at nine North Carolina poultry farms in 2022. This year, the disease was detected at two turkey farms in the state. Overton says the affected cattle herd is now in isolation and movement of cattle from other impacted states has been suspended. And she says the virus does not affect the safety of pasteurized milk products in the state. The risk to the general public from avian flu remains low, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Just two human cases of the virus have been reported in the United States this year.

A Charlotte-area state Senate race is still in doubt after state officials voted Thursday to overturn a ruling by the Mecklenburg County Board of Elections. The Charlotte Observer reports the State Board of Elections voted 4-1 to grant Lucille Puckett, the second-place finisher in the Democratic primary for Senate District 41, a hearing in her protest against top vote-getter Caleb Theodros. Puckett filed her protest with the county last month, claiming Theodros did not properly establish residency in the district.

The county board voted unanimously to deny her a hearing, saying she didn’t have enough evidence. But the state board said she had enough probable cause to be heard by the Mecklenburg board. No date has yet been set for the hearing

The new District 41 stretches from west Charlotte to Plaza Midwood.

The Charlotte Area Transit System says it’s going back to the drawing board when it comes to the Red Line commuter rail. At a virtual meeting Wednesday night, officials planning for the long-delayed project said they’ll reassess everything from proposed station locations to how often trains will run to what kind of fuel they’ll run on.

"Pretty much every element of the design has gone through changes over the last 15 years. We just can't dust off the old project and try to build that project," said CATS project manager Brian Nadolny.

The city of Charlotte said last year that Norfolk Southern, owner of the freight rail tracks where the Red Line would run, is finally willing to talk about letting passenger trains use its tracks. To make the Red Line happen, CATS needs an agreement with Norfolk Southern and a funding source. Officials hope to have a new design and cost estimates partially complete by early next year.

Next week, in person meetings are scheduled for Huntersville, Davidson and Cornelius. Two years ago, the city estimated the Red Line would cost $674 million.

The Charlotte Hornets beat a team battling for playoff spot Wednesday night on the road, downing the Atlanta Hawks 115-114. Tre Mann had a career-high seven steals and a key blocked shot at the end. Brandon Miller scored 27 points for Charlotte — currently tied for the third worst record in the NBA, with two games left in the season and a better chance of getting the top draft pick in the NBA if they stay there.

Charlotte Mecklenburg Police are investigating a deadly overnight shooting north of Uptown. It happened at about 1 am Thursday when officers responded to an assault with a deadly weapon call on Fontana Avenue between Statesville Avenue and I-77. They found a victim with a gunshot wound who was pronounced dead at the scene. No other details have been released.

The EPA has set standards for six forever chemicals, including PFOA, PFOS, GenX, PFNA, and PFHxS.

More than 300 water systems in North Carolina have been contaminated with PFAS levels higher than the new EPA water standards, including 42 municipal water systems.

Potential health impacts include increased risk of some cancers, hormone interference and low birth weights.

Jean Zhuang, a senior attorney at the Southern Environmental Law Center, said water contamination in the Cape Fear River Basin has devastated communities downstream of Chemours subsidiary DuPont’s facility.

"It’s going to provide our communities that have suffered a long time from this toxic contamination a lot of relief to know that there will be these baseline protections," Zhuang said.

The water standards will guide state regulators in how they issue permits. Public utilities will have five years to comply.

"In the meantime, our state should begin using its existing Clean Water Act authority to stop any industrial pollution that’s already getting into our drinking water sources," Zhuang said.

Stricter permitting could reduce PFAS contamination before it reaches drinking water, where cleanup is much harder and more costly.

Mecklenburg County Sheriff Garry McFadden said he doesn’t think the county’s main jail is being inspected fairly by the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services. This comment comes after a state inspector criticized the jail over inadequate supervision and intimate deaths in recent years. Like many other public agencies, the Sheriff's Office has been dealing with a high vacancy rate. During a press conference at the jail Wednesday morning, McFadden said the report could drive potential hires away.

"Spin in it the way they spun it, it is a negative is negative connotation. And I'm very, I'm very offended about it and that's why I'm gonna continue to speak out about it. We're not gonna let it rest. If the FBI has to investigate it, they should," he said.

McFadden said he'll request an outside investigation. In a statement to WFAE, the state said it's confident in its inspectors and added "We take all concerns by those we serve seriously and will review appropriately."

Davidson adopted the town’s first Climate Action Plan at last night’s meeting of the town board of commissioners. The plan aims to move Davidson and its community toward carbon neutrality.

The Town has partnered with Blue Strike Environmental to create the plan. Davidson’s Commissioners adopted a goal of achieving carbon neutrality by 2037 and community-wide carbon neutrality by 2050.

Duke Energy will conduct tests on its outdoor warning sirens at the Catawba and McGuire Nuclear stations on Wednesday. It’s part of regularly scheduled maintenance to make sure equipment works properly. The testing is scheduled between 11 am and 1 pm.

Sirens within 10 miles of each station will sound for up to 30 seconds. The tests will be performed in cooperation with emergency officials in York, Gaston and Mecklenburg, Iredell, Lincoln and Catawba counties, who are responsible for sounding the sirens.

Charlotte Mayor Vi Lyles said in a letter today that the city does not intend to change how it spends money from tourism taxes.

City Council members LaWana Mayfield, Renee Johnson and Victoria Watlington said at a committee meeting last week the city should consider using tax revenue from hotel/motel and prepared food and beverages for needs that aren’t necessarily tourism-specific. They suggested Charlotte follow Asheville’s lead, which has used tourism taxes to pay for greenways.

The discussion upset Charlotte hotelier and chairman of the Charlotte Regional Visitors Authority Vinay Patel, who said he would lobby the General Assembly to repeal tourism taxes if the city did that. And Lynn Minges of the state’s Restaurant and Lodging Association warned council members on Monday not to go down that path, suggesting the city could be sued.

In response, Charlotte Mayor Lyles wrote Minges a letter Tuesday. She said the conversation was just that — a conversation. She added that it does not indicate any change in city policy.

Charlotte’s tourism taxes are mostly used for the Convention Center, as well as stadium and arena upgrades for the Carolina Panthers and Charlotte Hornets.

The Catholic Diocese of Charlotte announced Tuesday that longtime Bishop Peter Jugis is retiring due to health limitations, and Pope Francis has appointed Father Michael T. Martin, of Atlanta, as his successor.

Martin has deep roots in Catholic education, having served as a teacher, coach and school administrator in Baltimore, New York and Durham. He arrives at a time of record enrollment in the diocese’s 20 schools.

Jugis, 67, led the Charlotte Diocese for 20 years. It includes more than 500,000 Catholics in 46 counties.

The town of Fort Mill is asking for a review of state roads in front of 20 schools, as well as reduced speed limits, in response to the recent death of a school crossing guard who was hit by a vehicle.

The Rock Hill Herald reports 61-year-old crossing guard Stanley Brucker was hit by a vehicle three weeks ago while directing traffic at one of two entrances that serve Fort Mill Elementary and Fort Mill Middle schools. Brucker later died at a local hospital.

Monday night, the town unanimously approved a resolution that asks the South Carolina Department of Transportation to review “signage, signals and any other safety measures at all school sites” within the school district. In addition, the request asks that speed limits on state roads serving schools drop to 25 mph. Most schools, including many along Fort Mill Parkway or Springfield Parkway that bypass the town, are on 45 mph roads now.

Charlotte Douglas International Airport says it’s working on new security measures to remove people without homes who are sleeping in the main terminal.

Airport director Haley Gentry said people have used the airport as a shelter for years.

But she said more people are doing it now, in part, because the airport’s main terminal has recently been expanded.

"What was the game-changer for this year was that we had so much more pre-security (square) footage. We had more visitors this year," she said.

Gentry said the airport is working on new language to make it easier for police to remove people who are sleeping in the terminal. She hopes those new rules will be in place by June.

"Safety and security is our No. 1 priority at the airport. And we always approach these situations with that in mind," Gentry said.

Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police are investigating a deadly shooting near North Graham Street. On Sunday evening, officers responded to a call for an assault with a deadly weapon at Druid Hills Way. When officers arrived they found a person with a gunshot wound.

That person was transported to the hospital and pronounced dead. An arrest has not been made and CMPD did not release the name of the victim, or any details of what led to the shooting.

Charlotte City Council will vote Monday on putting one busy Charlotte road on a diet.

The Matheson Avenue bridge over the freight rail yard in NoDa is a narrow but popular spot for photos, with clear views of uptown’s skyline. Now, Charlotte plans to reduce Matheson Avenue from four lanes to two between North Tryon Street and Jordan Place.

The reduced space for cars means more space for people walking and riding bikes, including on the bridge. Charlotte will add bike lanes and wider sidewalks.

The project will cost almost $13 million and be completed in 2027.

Monday’s solar eclipse will dim the skies around Charlotte, but don’t expect anything too dramatic.

Charlotte is hundreds of miles east of the path of totality, where the sun will be completely blocked by the moon except for the glowing corona ring. We can expect a bit more than 80% of the sun to be covered, which will turn it into a bright crescent. Expect the dimming to be more like a cloudy afternoon than the sky turning black.

The eclipse will start a few minutes before 2 p.m. and peak just before 3:15 p.m. — about 3:11 pm, to be exact.

Even though the sun will be dimmed, you still shouldn’t look at it without eclipse glasses. If you don’t have any, try looking down instead of up … you’ll be able to see crescent-shaped shadows.

Four months after the Charlotte Art League’s entire board of directors resigned, the nonprofit arts organization has sworn in a new board that it hopes will lead the group into a “new chapter of success.”

The new six-person board includes local arts leaders and nonprofit professionals. They will immediately face some large, pressing issues. The Art League received a notice of eviction in February after it fell behind nearly $200,000 dollars in rent.

Three previous board members told WFAE they resigned after losing confidence in the organization’s executive director, Jim Dukes.

District attorneys urged state leaders Thursday to pause the rollout of the new online court record system called eCourts because of ongoing issues they’re facing. It’s an initiative from the North Carolina Judicial Branch to modernize the state’s court system with the latest technologies, moving the court system to digital and cloud-based technology.

WNCN reports during an oversight hearing, the district attorneys told lawmakers about how the system has slowed them down and led to errors with things like court dates. Mecklenburg County District Attorney Spencer Merriweather was among those pushing for a pause.

"In my district, which must confront the largest volume of criminal cases, grave challenges remain," he said.

Merriweather said one attorney used to be able to handle about 80 misdemeanor cases during a three-hour session. Now, it takes two attorneys to get through half the caseload. The state has rolled out eCourts in phases. That began with Wake, Johnston, Harnett and Lee counties. Mecklenburg County launched in phase two.

The North Carolina Board of Education unanimously denied Ridgeview Charter School's appeal to remain open and try to improve student test scores. On Thursday the board upheld the state Charter Schools Review Board's decision to cut off public funding and close Ridgeview at the end of this school year. That means about 270 K-8 students will have to find new schools in August.

Ridgeview opened in 2019 to serve some of Gastonia's most disadvantaged students, and was disrupted by the pandemic during its first year. School leaders said they just need more time to make academic improvements. But state charter school officials, the charter review board and the Board of Education all said the reading, math and science scores have been so low for the past two years they can't justify continued funding.

If you like offensive fireworks in baseball, Truist Field is apparently the place to be this week. The Charlotte Knights are in the midst of a six-game homestand to open the season and Wednesday night they lost to the Norfolk Tides 26-11. In the first two games of the 2024 campaign, the two teams have combined for 59 hits and 53 runs. The two teams will play again Thursday in uptown Charlotte at 7 pm.

Just hours after learning head coach Steve Cliford would be stepping down at the end of the season, the team lost its fourth straight game Wednesday night, falling to the Portland Trailblazers 89-86. Brandon Miller led the team with 21 points. Before the game, the three-time NBA Rookie of the Month said he’ll miss playing for the man players simply call “Cliff.”

"I don't think it changes anything, you know, just love playing for Cliff. I know he's a, you know, a great coach. So just, you know, having him as my, you know, first NBA coach, I think that's a good thing, you know, that he has all the experience. So I just love playing for Cliff," he said.

Team executives anticipate Clifford will move into an advisory role for the Hornets next season. Charlotte is back in action Friday night, hosting the Orlando Magic with six games left in the season.

On Thursday at the Charlotte Motor Speedway, leaders from the motorsports industry and the state said a major new automotive trade show is coming to Charlotte next year. Officials said the High Performance Expo will highlight the aftermarket automotive industry, major manufactures and the latest auto technology. Concord Mayor William Dusch said the convention will highlight the region's growing auto racing economy.

"As mayor, I've observed firsthand how Charlotte Motor speedway and motor sports in general have been adept and continue improvement through innovation and growth to our community,"

HPX will be held at the Charlotte Convention Center in uptown in June of 2025.

The Charlotte Hornets will begin the search for a new head coach soon, as the team says head coach Steve Clifford will step down at the end of the season.

Clifford told his assistant coaches and players on Wednesday that he'll be leaving the court, but he's expected to work in an advisory role with the team’s front office next year. Clifford was the team’s coach from 2013-2018 and led the team to two playoff appearances. He returned in 2022.

He led Charlotte to 241 wins, the most in franchise history. Clifford will coach the team for the final seven games of this season.

It's been a disappointing final act for Clifford in Charlotte, with the Hornets right now holding the third-worst record in the NBA's Eastern Conference.

Unemployment rose slightly in Mecklenburg County in February, the state commerce department said Wednesday.

The most recent available numbers show Mecklenburg County at 3.8% unemployment, up a tenth of a percentage point from the same month a year ago. In the Charlotte region, Union County has the lowest unemployment rate at 3.1%, while Anson County has the highest, at 4%.

Still, unemployment remains low statewide, at 3.7%. There are a few notable exceptions. Hyde County, on the east coast, has the highest rate, at 9.7%. The counties running southeast along the South Carolina border to the coast have rates between 4.6% and 6.6%, while the state’s rural northeastern counties are experiencing unemployment rates generally around 5 to 6%

The newest player for Charlotte FC, Israeli Liel Abada, made his debut with the team Saturday night, and he had a press conference Tuesday.

Charlotte paid $8 million for his services after the 22-year-old reportedly wanted out of the deal with the team in Glasgow following protests at the stadium there in support of Palestinian rights in Gaza as the war continues. He didn’t directly answer a question about that, but acknowledged talking to other players about the atmosphere in Major League Soccer.

"I spoke with the Israeli player that played in the MLS, and he told me that the league is really good. You know, the league. It's improved a lot. And, I really was interesting to come here. And, and yeah, I said, I got so many support from Charlotte from the people in the club, from the fans, from the players and," he said. "I really feel, really feel good here."

Abada scored 20 goals and 22 assists in two seasons with Glasgow Celtic.

Charlotte FC goes on the road Saturday to take on the New England Revolution.

The North Carolina Board of Elections has released more information from the March primary, detailing the impact of the state’s new photo ID law.

In the primary, 174 Republican and 171 Democratic ballots were not counted because the voters who cast them didn’t have photo ID. 

For Republicans, that works out to 1 rejected ballot for every 4,107 GOP voters who came to the polls. For Democrats, it was 1 rejected ballot for every 3,205 voters.

The rejection rates were similar based on race. One in every 4,700 white voters couldn’t cast ballots because they didn’t have photo ID, compared with 1 in every 3,600 Black voters.

The March primary was the first statewide election under the new law.

 The NAACP has sued over the state’s photo ID law, claiming it disproportionately impacts voters of color. A trial is set for May in federal court in Winston-Salem. 

Investment management giant Vanguard said Tuesday that it's buying a defunct headquarters building in University City that was supposed to be the new home of insurance company Centene. Hopes for Centene were high four years ago, when the company announced it was relocating from St. Louis and bringing more than 3,200 employees. It was one of the biggest economic development deals ever announced in North Carolina.

But Centene got a new CEO and canceled its Charlotte plans in 2022, saying the vast majority of its employees were now working remotely. The property included 700,000-square-feet of brand new office space on almost 100 acres, all of which sat empty.

Vanguard says it will consolidate its 2,400 regional employees at the new building next year. A deed filed Tuesday shows Vanguard paid $117 million for the site.

Starting this week, North Carolina's health insurance plan for state workers will no longer cover expensive new weight loss drugs.

State Treasurer Dale Folwell said North Carolina State Health Plan officials tried to negotiate a deal with manufacturers of drugs like Wegovy. But he said they weren't willing to accept proposed solutions to reduce the cost.

"Every single one of those was rejected. Even the simplest ones, like, let's take the BMI from 28 to 35, so that this drug can be prescribed for the people who most needed. So none of that happened," he said.

Folwell says state employees would see their monthly insurance premiums double if the Health Plan continued to cover the costly drugs.

Flags across the state are being set at half-staff on Tuesday in honor of a Lexington firefighter.

Gov. Roy Cooper ordered all U.S. and North Carolina flags to be at half-staff after Capt. Ronnie Metcalf was killed in the line of duty last week during a house fire.

He served with the Lexington Fire Department for 19 years.

The Charlotte Hornets lost for the third straight game Monday night, falling to the Boston Celtics, 118-104. Continuing injuries meant the team started 6-foot 7-inch forward Grant Williams at center, and he scored 23 points against his former team.

"When you go against them, you understand what it was like to get to that level, to be able to win at that rate every single night and to get guys best because we had a decent game. You know, it's not like we played terribly on the offensive end but we've got to do a better job of honing on that side of the basketball, too. And it shows that we have a ways to go, but I'm excited for this, this team and when we get all our guys and a full deck to play against them next year," he said.

Miles Bridges led Charlotte with 26 points and 11 rebounds. The Hornets have seven games left in the season.

Just four months after Medicaid expansion went live in North Carolina, Gov. Roy Cooper said Monday that over 400,000 state residents have enrolled. That number represents more than two-thirds of the 600,000 people North Carolina expects to enroll over the next two years. Since Dec. 1, the state has enrolled an average of more than 1,000 people per day in Medicaid expansion – a pace faster than other states that have expanded Medicaid. In a video, North Carolina Health and Human Services Secretary Kody Kinsley highlighted prescriptions and emergency care.

"It's amazing because people aren't just getting covered. They're getting care. Over a half a million prescriptions have been filled. Tens of millions of dollars supporting individuals to see a provider and most importantly, the peace of mind that they have, knowing that if they need a prescription, they can get it filled. And if they end up in the emergency department, they're not going to end up in debt," he said.

Many people who have enrolled through Medicaid expansion are young adults between the ages of 19 and 29 and work part-time or full-time. New enrollees also disproportionately live in rural communities.

For the new enrollees, Medicaid has already provided more than 700,000 prescriptions for things like heart health, diabetes and other illnesses, and covered more than $11 million in claims for dental services since the launch.

Independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said Monday that his campaign has collected enough signatures to get on the November ballot in North Carolina.

According to campaign officials, Kennedy racked up over 23,000 signatures. If the state Board of Elections validates the signatures, North Carolina will be the fifth state in which Kennedy has received enough votes to gain ballot access.

Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police say there's no evidence of a shooting at Romare Bearden Park Sunday night, despite reports of one. CMPD said officers responded to what they call multiple fights and arrested several juvenile suspects. One firearm was recovered from the park.

If you’re looking for a stress reliever, Charlotte Douglas International has you covered.

Airport officials said they’ve added a new member to its volunteer Canine Crew of four-legged friends that help anxious travelers: Kiwi the miniature horse.

If you’re traveling, you can find Kiwi, a trained therapy horse, in the terminal.

A 25-year-old man was shot and killed Sunday afternoon in the University area, police said.

The shooting happened on University City Boulevard, not far from the intersection with Mallard Creek Church Road, about 4:30 p.m.

Officers at the location found Kedrick Brown with a gunshot wound, according to Charlotte-Mecklenburg police. He was pronounced dead by paramedics.

CMPD homicide detectives are investigating. No arrest has been made.

A road rage incident led to a shooting and multi-vehicle crash in Rowan County early Sunday, police said.

According to the Rowan County Sheriff's Office, a caller said several vehicles were chasing each other on Interstate 85 when one of the occupants began shooting.

Detectives learned that four cars were involved and that two of them crashed. No injuries were reported.

The sheriff’s office said the incident began after an argument at a car meeting in the Greensboro-Winston-Salem area.

Vice President Kamala Harris is coming to Charlotte this week.

The White House announced that Harris and Michael Regan, head of the EPA, will visit the city on Thursday to discuss climate action and environmental justice.

No other details were released as of Monday morning.

No. 11 NC State beat No. 4 Duke on Sunday night, 76-64, in the men’s NCAA tournament to advance to the Final Four.

It’s the first Final Four appearance for NC State since 1983. They play No. 1 seed Purdue this Saturday.

The NC State women’s team is also advancing to the Final Four, after beating Texas.

It’s the women’s team’s first Final Four trip since 1998. They’ll now face the No. 1 South Carolina Gamecocks.