NEWS UPDATES FOR MARCH 2024

In Rowan County early Sunday morning a road rage incident turned into a shooting and vehicle crash along I-85. According to the Rowan County Sherriff's Office, a caller said several vehicles were chasing each other on the interstate when one of the occupants began shooting.

Detectives learned that four cars were involved and that two of them crashed. No injuries have been reported. The sheriff’s office says it determined the incident began as an argument at a car meeting in the Greensboro-Winston-Salem area.

Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police are investigating a homicide on Sunday afternoon in the University area. The department says it happened on University City Boulevard not far from the intersection with Mallard Creek Church Road around 4:30 pm. Officers found 25-year-old Kedrick Brown with a gunshot wound. Paramedics pronounced Brown dead. No arrest has been made in connection with the shooting.

Vice President Kamala Harris is coming to Charlotte this week. The White House says she’ll visit the city on Thursday to discuss climate action and environmental justice along with the head of the EPA, Michael Regan. No other details have been released as of Monday morning.

No. 11 N-C 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 weekend.

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.

Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police are investigating two homicides that happened last night. One happened in a neighborhood near the intersection of Lawyers Road and Idlewild Road.

The other occurred close to the intersection of The Plaza and Eastway Drive.

The department has not released any more information.

Uptown Charlotte will be more bustling than usual Friday. That’s because the annual arts and culture celebration Charlotte Shout! gets underway.

It runs through April 14 and includes over 200 installations, performances and events. It’s free to attend.

The festival is presented by Charlotte Center City Partners, which is an underwriter of WFAE.

Longtime Mecklenburg County Manager Jerry Fox has died. He led the county from 1980 to 2000, and was a key to the growth of Mecklenburg County and building up its workforce. Trivia fact: Mecklenburg County’s Foxhole landfill and recycling center is named for Fox. He was 91.

Trains on the Gold Line streetcar will come more frequently starting Saturday. The Charlotte Area Transit System said the Gold Line will now operate every 20 minutes instead of 30 minutes.

With online sports betting underway in North Carolina this month, just in time for the NCAA basketball tournament, proposition bets are among the most popular elements of legal gambling. So-called prop bets allow participants to wager on things beyond the final score. Anything from how many points a particular player will score to how many rebounds they’ll get. As the UNC Tar Heels prepare to play in the Sweet 16 tonight, forward Armando Bacot was asked during a press conference yesterday about the impact on players.

"It's terrible. Even at the last game, I guess I didn't get enough rebounds or something. So I thought I played pretty good last game, but I looked at my DMs and I got like, over 100 messages from people telling me I sucked and stuff like that because I didn't get enough rebounds. So, I mean, I think it's definitely like a little out of hand but at the same time too, like, I get the point of it, too. Like, if you bet a lot of money on something and you're like, one pick away and somebody messes up, I understand the part of, like, fans being mad. But it's annoying, too, at times," he said.

NCAA President Charlie Baker issued a statement yesterday saying he’d like to ban prop bets to protect athletes and the integrity of the game.

North Carolina Senator Thom Tillis is among a handful of Republicans criticizing former president Donald Trump’s recent comments calling those convicted of crimes in the Jan. 6 attacks on the Capitol patriots. CNN asked Tillis about the statements during Trump’s campaign stops.

"I was the last Senate member out of the chamber on January the sixth. I saw Capitol police officers bleeding, bruised and I saw damage to a certain extent as we were exiting. To call those people patriots is not in my lexicon," he said.

Senators Mike Rounds of South Dakota and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska have also recently been critical of Trump’s comments as he runs for president.

Ally Financial has named a new CEO, five months after the bank's former leader, Jeffrey Brown, announced he was leaving the company. The Charlotte Business Journal reports the bank said Wednesday that it hired Michael Rhodes to become CEO, as well as a member of the board, starting April 29.

Rhodes said he was resigning from Discover Financial on Monday. Detroit-based Ally has more than 11,000 employees with about 2,700 of those based in Charlotte where the company anchors a South Tryon Street office tower. Rhodes will be based in Charlotte.

The Mecklenburg County Sheriff’s office says an inmate died Wednesday after he was discovered unresponsive at the county detention center. A medical emergency was called early Wednesday morning for 42-year-old Renny Mobley. He was taken to Atrium Main where he was later pronounced dead. No other details about the circumstances have been released. The State Bureau of Investigation is looking into the incident.

The Town of Davidson Board of Commissioners has named a new member Ted Stauffer will be the town’s new commissioner.

He was sworn in Tuesday at the Davidson Town Hall and Community Center.

Former commissioner Matt Dellinger resigned in January.

Gov. Roy Cooper continued his crusade for a moratorium on North Carolina’s private-school voucher expansion Wednesday with the release of a new video. But it’s unlikely to sway the General Assembly’s plans to keep expanding Opportunity Scholarships.

Cooper can’t run for reelection because of term limits. The two-term Democratic governor is waging a public-relations campaign during his final year in office arguing that the voucher program undermines public schools.

“Our public schools are at risk, because the legislature is trying to dismantle them. They plan to spend $4 billion of your taxpayer money on private school tuition with no income limit,” Cooper says in the latest video. And he argues that there’s little accountability for private schools that get the money, with some voucher-funded schools pushing "radical agendas."

Last year the General Assembly approved a budget that allots $3.6 billion for Opportunity Scholarships over the next nine years, reaching half a billion dollars a year by 2031. Lawmakers removed the income cap for eligibility.

Supporters say it’s up to parents to choose what kind of academic — and possibly religious — agenda they want for their kids.

Republicans have a veto-proof majority in the General Assembly, and there’s no reason to think they’d reverse their decision to keep expanding vouchers.

Demand for 2024 scholarships is high, and the school choice advocacy group Parents for Educational Freedom in North Carolina says lawmakers should increase spending even faster to meet that demand.

Electric vehicle battery maker AESC is investing another $1.5 billion in Florence County, South Carolina, to build a second battery cell manufacturing facility.

AESC announced plans for the new facility less than a week after the EPA released new federal emissions standards anticipated to increase the manufacturing of electric and hybrid vehicles.

The North Carolina Republican Party elected Jason Simmons as its new chairman Tuesday night.

Simmons replaces Michael Whatley, who resigned from being the state party leader after becoming a co-chair of the Republican National Committee, along with President Trump’s daughter-in-law Lara Trump.

Simmons is currently the party’s executive director, and was endorsed by former President Donald Trump to lead the state party.

The vote of the state Republican Party’s executive committee was 289 for Simmons to 130 for challenger Jim Womack, who chairs the Lee County GOP.

The annual NFL owners’ meeting wrapped up Tuesday in Orlando and new Carolina Panthers Coach Dave Canales was there. During a media session, he said while there are still more roster changes likely, he likes his team’s chances in the NFC South this season.

"If we play good football, if we can get the football right like we believe we can and we can take care of the football and let the numbers take care of themselves. We'll be in the hunt, we'll be in every single game which will give us an opportunity to be in the hunt for the division at the end," he said.

The NFL Draft is April 25.

Aerospace and defense company Duotech is investing $6.5 million to expand its operations in Macon County.

According to Gov. Cooper’s office, the expansion will create 95 jobs averaging over $90,000 a year. The average salary in the western North Carolina county is $42,000.

Duotech provides repair and maintenance services for radar and military aircraft systems.

State officials estimate Duotech will grow the state’s economy by nearly $417 million over the next 12 years.

A federal judge has issued a preliminary injunction preventing Asheville from banning 15 activists from its parks.

The plaintiffs were banned from city parks and recreation facilities for three years after Asheville police charged them with felony littering during a demonstration they staged in protest of the city’s treatment of homeless people. They were also barred from attending city council meetings held in city parks and recreation facilities.

According to the Citizen Times, during the protest held in a park in 2021, the activists demanded that the city provide shelter for Asheville’s growing population of unhoused people.

The ACLU of North Carolina filed a lawsuit against the ban last year, saying the plaintiffs’ rights to freedom of assembly were violated. They also alleged that the ban was ordered without a proper hearing or notice and that city officials were retaliating against the plaintiffs because they criticized the city’s policies.

The injunction requires the ban to be lifted as the ACLU lawsuit proceeds in the courts.

Monroe Police arrested a man Monday who walked into the Walmart store on Roosevelt Boulevard wearing body armor while carrying an assault rifle and two handguns.

Police started getting calls at about 1 p.m. and went to the Walmart where they found Moja Estep, 32, of Monroe. He was arrested without incident.

Estep is charged with going armed to the terror of the people. As of Monday, no bond had been set.

The Charlotte Hornets’ late-season swoon continued last night in Cleveland where they fell to the Cavaliers 115-92. Rookie Brandon Miller led the Hornets with 24 points in their fifth straight loss. He’s now looking forward to a long homestand with the end of the season in sight.

"I know it's gonna be a great eight games, you know, home court advantage,, my home fans that, you know, have been showing up the whole year. So it's just, it's gonna be some great atmosphere games. So, you know, just gotta go in there and play hard as we can just to, you know, pull out wins," he said.

Charlotte has 11 games left in the season. They’ll open the homestand tomorrow night when they take on Cleveland again.

President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris are visiting North Carolina on Tuesday afternoon as campaign season heats up, with the state expected to be a key battleground in the presidential race. They’re expected to focus on healthcare and reproductive rights when they visit the Chavis Community Center in Raleigh.

Charlotte FC got another big home win over the weekend, downing Major League Soccer defending champion Columbus Crew 2-0 at Bank of America Stadium. Charlotte coach Dean Smith said the key now is to be better away from home, where his team is winless so far.

"Columbus crew are the MLS holders that were unbeaten this season and I think we've just drawn a line in the sand what we can do here. But, you know, I don't want to just do it here at the stadium. I want to do it on the road as well," he said.

Charlotte is seventh in the Eastern Conference with two wins, two losses and one draw. They’ll host FC Cincinnati Saturday night.

At the NCAA men’s basketball tournament, the Sweet 16 is set and several teams from the Carolinas will be there.

• Clemson will take on second seed Arizona Thursday at 7 pm in Los Angeles, followed by No. 1 seed North Carolina against Alabama.
• Friday, NC State meets Marquette at 7 pm in Dallas, followed by Duke against Houston.

Michele Morrow, the Republican nominee for North Carolina Superintendent of Public Instruction, on Sunday blamed the media for creating what she called “gotcha moments” when writing about her past social media posts calling for violence.

In one post about former President Obama, Morrow wrote that “we could make some money back from televising his death” and suggested he be killed by firing squad on pay-per-view. She also said she did not want to waste another dime supporting his life.

In response to a question about masks during the pandemic, she wrote she would never wear a mask and that “We need to follow the Constitution's advice and KILL all TRAITORS.”

But in her post Sunday on X, she wrote the dysfunctional media is trying to create “gotcha moments out of old comments taken out of context, made in jest, or never made in the first place.”

She did not apologize or directly address her past comments.

Morrow won a surprise victory earlier this month in the GOP primary over incumbent Catherine Truitt.

She is facing Democrat Mo Green in November.

Three North Carolina School of the Arts students have been recognized by Carnegie Hall as being among the nation’s best. This summer they’ll join that organization’s prestigious National Youth Orchestra of the United States.

After a highly competitive audition process, three high school students made the cut: Michael Stratford from Mooresville, Durham’s Simon Vázquez-Carr, and Gavin Hardy from Winston-Salem. In July they and 100 of their peers from across the country will travel to New York for two weeks of intensive training with leading orchestral musicians.

That’ll be followed by a Carnegie Hall performance under celebrated American conductor Marin Alsop, and a South American concert tour. Senior Gavin Hardy played several audition excerpts, including one from Gustav Mahler’s First Symphony. He says winning the NYO audition involved three months of intensive preparation. And he credits input from his teacher, UNCSA’s Paul Sharpe — recently named winner of the UNC Board of Governors Excellence in Teaching Award.

"Personally, I hadn’t played a lot of the excerpts and the pieces that I’m playing for the audition. So, he’s able to give me a lot of insight into those pieces. We’re able to talk a lot about different bow strokes and what works now compared to what worked 10, 20 years ago. So, having that insight has been very beneficial to play for him and get that feedback," he said.

Hardy says next up for him is deciding which college to attend. He’s already been accepted at the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia. And later this spring he’ll perform on NPR’s "From the Top" program. 

Union County Public Schools are bracing for the end of $90 million dollars worth of federal relief funds that supplemented budgets during the  COVID-19 pandemic. Superintendent Andrew Houlihan told the Union County commission Wednesday night that districts across the nation are figuring out how to absorb the budget cuts.

"These funds have definitely helped us, unfortunately, they are all being sunset,, effective in September and every single school district across the nation is facing what we call the federal funding cliff," he said.

Houlihan said the school system’s priorities will be preserving programs those funds paid for such as supplemental tutoring, hiring a nurse in every school and greater help for immigrant students learning English. Union County schools will present budget details next month for the upcoming school year.

Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools are facing a similar funding cliff.

The Mecklenburg County Sheriff’s Office says Detention Officer Melissa Gordon was arrested on Thursday and fired for providing contraband to an inmate in the Mecklenburg County Detention Center. She had been with the sheriff’s office since January of 2020

She is the second sheriff’s office employee fired in the last week for criminal activity. Deputy James Scott was arrested for violating a domestic violence protective order in Iredell County over the weekend.

The Charlotte-based Atlantic Coast Conference countersued Clemson on Wednesday in Mecklenburg County, arguing that the college is subject to the grant of rights and withdrawal penalty it agreed to as a league member. The conference is also seeking monetary damages.

ESPN reports the move comes one day after Clemson sued the A-C-C in Pickens County, South Carolina, challenging that grant of rights agreement and the $140 million withdrawal penalty – joining Florida State in suing the league in a first step to potentially leave the conference.

Florida State filed its own suit in December in Florida, one day after the ACC preemptively filed its own suit in Mecklenburg County, asking a judge to declare that the agreement "is valid and enforceable" and will remain so through June 30, 2036.

Mecklenburg County Sheriff Garry McFadden said Wednesday that a deputy has been fired after violating a domestic violence protection order. In a press release, the Mecklenburg sheriff’s office says Deputy James Scott was arrested Saturday by the Iredell County Sheriff’s office after the violation.

Scott had been a deputy since September of 2022.

The busy area around Concord Mills could get some upgrades, including a possible connector bridge, to help people get around the city’s prominent corridor faster and easier.

WJZY reports part of the plan includes building a bridge from the Concord Mills mall side on Quay Road over I-85 that would connect to Old Holland Road on the Great Wolf Lodge side headed toward Charlotte Motor Speedway. It would not add a new exit.

Other improvements include possibly adding more walking paths and splitting up the public transit service in the area. This could mean one route going to the rider transit center and a separate route moving up and down Concord Mills Boulevard.

Concord City Council will hold a public meeting on the plan Tuesday night.

The social media app TikTok could potentially be banned following a vote from the U.S. House.

Before last week’s vote, the app prompted users to call members of Congress — and thousands did.

Sen. Thom Tillis said on X that TikTok’s misinformation campaign continues to push people to call. He shared one voicemail he says his office received Tuesday night.

"OK. Listen, if you ban TikTok, I will find you and shoot you. That's people's jobs, and that's my only entertainment," the caller said.
 
Tillis wrote: "The Communist-Chinese aligned company is proving just how dangerous their current ownership is."

The House voted to force TikTok’s Chinese owner, ByteDance, to sell the cellphone app or be banned in the U.S.

Rep. Jeff Jackson voted yes, while his colleague Dan Bishop voted against the ban.

North Carolina’s Democratic leaders in the General Assembly urged Republicans Wednesday to take a cautious approach when considering whether to allow video slot-machine gambling.

GOP leaders have said they don’t plan to consider full-fledged casinos at the short session that starts in April. But they have said they might allow video lottery terminals, or VLTs, under the purview of the state lottery.

While speaking at an event hosted by the Charlotte Business Alliance Wednesday, House Democratic leader Robert Reives said he’s not for or against casinos or VLTs — at this time.

But he said allowing video gambling could undermine later plans to add casinos, which he considers entertainment centers to attract tourists.

“If you have all these opportunities to gamble in your local bars and restaurants and things through VLTs, then why are you going to travel to a casino to gamble?” he said.

Senate Democratic leader Dan Blue urged the legislature to study the issue carefully. North Carolina sports betting went live earlier this month after the General Assembly legalized it last year.

Voters in Fort Mill on Tuesday approved $204 million in school bonds for the district.

Unofficial election results show the measure passed with 64% of the vote. The funding will pay for a new middle school, an early childhood development center, land acquisition, and technology needs for five years.

The Rock Hill Herald reports any leftover bond money could be used to renovate other district facilities.

The maximum tax increase would result in an extra $60 per year cost to homeowners for every $100,000 in home value.

Atrium Health is lifting restrictions for young visitors at its Charlotte area hospitals, and modifying masking policies.

Visitors 12 or younger will be allowed again as of Thursday at 7 a.m.

Masks will also be optional in all Atrium facilities, except in areas such as cancer units, emergency room spaces and other places where patients with low immunity are being treated.

Atrium officials announced the changes as COVID 19 cases across the state are decreasing. North Carolina health officials report that as of March 6, just over 8 percent of emergency room patients had respiratory problems, with less than 5 percent diagnosed with COVID. Hospitalizations of people with respiratory problems have dropped steadily over the past two weeks, as has the amount of COVID virus particles detected in wastewater.

The Charlotte Hornets lost Tuesday night for the third straight time, falling 112-92 to the Orlando Magic on the road. Charlotte trailed by as much as 41 points in losing for the 11th time in the last 14 games. Coach Steve Clifford said both teams got off to a slow start.

"When we broke the lineup there in the first quarter, we got out of whack. So I thought our, you know, to start the game, we weren't scoring, neither were they, we broke the lineup, you know, we get down eight and then their defense was really good and we didn't handle that as well as we should have," he said.

Brandon Miller led Charlotte with 21 points. The Hornets now have two days off before visiting the Atlanta Hawks on Saturday.

In college basketball, Wagner beat Howard Tuesday night in the NCAA men’s tournament. They’ll now face the number one-seeded North Carolina Tar Heels at the Spectrum Center in Charlotte on Thursday at 2:45 pm.

The interim CEO of the Charlotte Area Transit System told Mecklenburg County commissioners Tuesday night that the transit system is moving forward with plans for a multibillion-dollar expansion, but Brent Cagle offered no details on when funding for that plan might come.

The state legislature, county commission and voters would all have to OK a new, one-cent sales tax in Mecklenburg to pay for the rail and bus expansion.

"I think there are good positive conversations going on in the region and in Raleigh, but it remains to be seen, you know, where, where this all heads," he said, in response to a question on the timing and status of approving additional funds.

Cagle said conversations between the city and Norfolk Southern, which owns the future Red Line commuter rail tracks to the north, are ongoing, but there’s nothing to report yet.

CATS hopes to build the Red Line from uptown to Iredell County and the 29-mile Silver Line light rail east and west in future decades.

South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster has signed the so-called "constitutional carry" gun bill into law.

According to local media reports, the bill will allow people to openly carry handguns in South Carolina without training or a permit.

Many local law enforcement agencies were opposed to the bill.

In 2021, a law required state gun owners to complete training to obtain a concealed weapons permit.

The city of Rock Hill plans to sell the site of the failed Carolina Panthers headquarters, and it’s willing to break up the huge property, according to Rock Hill’s mayor and city manager.

The Rock Hill Herald reports the 245-acre site off Mount Gallant Road, along Interstate 77. was supposed to be where the NFL team had its practice fields and team offices. But the project collapsed over money disputes in 2022.

GT Real Estate, the company created by Panthers owner David Tepper to oversee the site, halted construction in March 2022 and filed bankruptcy soon afterward.

The city received the property as part of the bankruptcy settlement completed in December 2022.

Now, the Panthers are making plans to create a practice facility in uptown Charlotte near Bank of America Stadium.

Union County has a new commissioner after a longtime leader resigned last month.

WJZY reports Clancy Baucom is joining the Board of Commissioners and was introduced at the end of Monday night’s meeting.

Baucom is replacing Richard Helms, who resigned last month due to health reasons. Helms was a member of the Union County government for nearly 12 years, after first being elected in 2012.

Helms was one of the dissenting votes to remove fluoride from the county’s water treatment plant in his second-to-last meeting. He noted his resignation came at the advice of his physician and cardiac specialists.

Baucom is the president and general manager for Arbor Fields, a plant nursery north of Marshville. His term will be up for election in November.

Citing bald eagles and traffic, South Charlotte residents asked the Charlotte City Council Monday to reject a rezoning petition that would allow 640 new housing units in between Elm Lane and Rea Road.

Residents wearing green shirts packed the Government Center chamber, asking council members to deny the request by RK Investments.

Garland Green brought a petition that he said had 20,000 signatures. It urged council members to vote no, in part to protect two bald eagles who nest there.

“If 20,000 people signed up from your area how would you feel about the petition?” he said. “You would probably be opposed to it, OK?”

City Council member Ed Driggs, who represents the area, warned residents that the developer already has the right to build roughly 400 units under the city’s Unified Development Ordinance. The City Council passed the new rules in 2022 to make it easier for developers to build more housing to make it more affordable.

City staff has recommended against the rezoning. A vote hasn’t been scheduled on the project.

Charlotte-Mecklenburg police have identified the victim in a shooting that happened over the weekend. On Sunday morning, CMPD officers responded to an assault with a deadly weapon call at Bradford Drive. When officers arrived, they found 31-year old Darien Morrison with multiple gunshot wounds. Paramedics pronounced Morrison dead. CMPD did not say if an arrest has been made or what led to the shooting.

Brackets were revealed Sunday for the NCAA men’s and women’s basketball tournaments. Charlotte fans will get a taste this week when the North Carolina Tar Heels men’s team opens play as a 1-seed at the Spectrum Center Uptown. On Thursday, UNC will face the winner of the game between Howard and Wagner at 2:45 pm.

On the women’s side, undefeated South Carolina is the top seed for the third year in a row. Their first game is Friday at 2 in Columbia where the Gamecocks will meet the winner of Sacred Heart and Presbyterian. South Carolina beat Presbyterian 99-29 back in December.

In the NIT Tournament for teams that didn’t qualify for the NCAA’s, Appalachian State visits Wake Forest Wednesday at 8 pm.

Charlotte FC lost its second straight match over the weekend, falling 2-1 in Nashville. Afterward, coach Dean Smith said it seemed almost like a basketball game.

"One team would break and then their team would break, and that's something I've been really pleased with over the first three games. But for whatever reason, that was lacking.  And as I say, you know, I think once the emotions have calmed down, we can reflect on that on Monday and talk about it and find out what the players were thinking at that time," he said.

Charlotte hosts Columbus Saturday at Bank of America Stadium and the team now has one win, one draw and two losses on the season.

Home sales in the Charlotte region grew in February, according to data from Canopy MLS, rising nearly 27 percent compared to January 2024, as buyers closed on more than 2,800 homes during the month, the largest gain in sales since June 2021.

February sales were nearly on par with sales across the 16-county region a year ago, down less than 1%. The sales included in the report represent single-family, condo, and townhomes.

Prices also rose in February, largely due to increased demand and low supply. The median sales price increased 8.5% year-over-year to $385,000.

Buyer interest was heavy in Matthews and Waxhaw. Overall, Mecklenburg County consistently ranks high with buyers. The city of Charlotte’s properties also received high interest followed by Union County.

Canopy, the local Realtor association, provides monthly reports on residential real estate market activity for the Charlotte region.

A pair of bald eagles is at the center of a rezoning fight that goes before the Charlotte City Council on Monday that will determine whether a developer can build hundreds of new apartments in Piper Glen.

The two eagles nicknamed Piper and Glen live in a tall tree on the TPC Piper Glen golf course and are currently taking care of two newly hatched eaglets.

Nearby residents Chris and Ellie McIntire say the eagles have lived on the golf course for more than a decade, and get their fish from a pond across Red Road in a patch of undeveloped forest.

That’s where a developer wants to build 640 homes — up to 500 of them apartments.

In a March 2023 interview with WFAE, the McIntires said the development could push the eagles out, hurt other wildlife and worsen traffic. Their online petition highlighting the eagles and traffic concerns has roughly 20,000 signatures.

Developer RK Investments has already slashed the number of units by 40%, and promised to preserve the pond and green space.

A representative also told WFAE that RK is trying to help Charlotte’s housing crisis by building more units.

City staff recommend denying the plan, saying it should have fewer apartments and more single-family homes.

A former top executive at Novant Health who said he lost his job because he was a white man is entitled to almost $4 million in lost pay. The Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed that ruling this week. However, it said David Duvall was not entitled to $300,000 in punitive damages.

In 2021, a jury awarded Duvall $10 million in damages, but a federal judge reduced that to $300,000 citing a federal law that caps workplace discrimination cases.

Duvall’s attorneys had argued Novant’s CEO Jesse Cureton knew it was against federal law to fire an employee because of their race or gender as a “highly-educated….executive with a long career in corporate America” – and that firing Duval without warning to diversify Novant’s staff would violate it.

The appellate court ruled that wasn’t enough to establish Cureton personally understood the law and saw a risk that his decision to fire Duvall would go against it.

“The trial and appellate courts concluded that this employer invented and publicized shifting, conflicting and unsubstantiated reasons for my unlawful termination, causing immeasurable damage to my employment, my professional reputation and my career,” said Duvall in a statement.

A Novant Health spokesperson said in a statement the hospital chain is pleased the court reversed the award of punitive damages, but “we are disappointed by the court affirming, and we continue to disagree with, the finding of liability and the award of front and back pay in favor of Mr. Duvall.”

A Charlotte Mecklenburg Police officer has been charged with embezzlement after a person he arrested claimed property was stolen from him. CMPD says the incident happened Thursday and officer Henry Chapman was arrested following an initial investigation.

“This is deeply disappointing for our organization. We hold ourselves to the highest standards, and a violation of that trust is a serious offense,” CMPD Chief Johnny Jennings said in a statement.

Jennings said officers on the scene took "immediate and decisive action" to investigate the situation.

Chapman was hired in 2009 and assigned to the University City Division. He’s on administrative leave pending the outcome of an internal investigation.

A former North Carolina State swimmer is among sixteen female athletes filing a federal lawsuit against the NCAA for allowing transgender women to compete and use locker rooms in college sports.

Kylee Alons and the other athletes say the NCAA violated their right to bodily privacy, Title IX and the Fourteenth Amendment.

This comes after swimmer Lia Thomas became the first openly transgender person to win the NCAA Division I National championship two years ago. The athletes want a judge to declare any transgender woman who has competed in women's competitions to be ineligible and revoke any awards that athlete has won.

Former North Carolina Gov. Pat McCrory, a national co-chairman of No Labels, is resigning from the centrist political organization as it takes steps to launch a presidential ticket. The story was first reported by the Wall Street Journal and has been confirmed by WFAE.

McCrory, a Republican former Charlotte Mayor, started working with the organization in 2023, informed No Labels yesterday that he was resigning as a national co-chairman. The disclosure came as the organization is expected to announce plans today to create a committee to select a presidential candidate in the coming weeks. McCrory declined to elaborate on his decision, saying only that he wanted to spend more time with family after extensive travel for No Labels.

Piedmont Natural Gas, a subsidiary of Duke Energy, has broken ground on a new Charlotte operations center on the city’s northwest side. The facility near I-485 and Mt. Holly Road will include offices, vehicle and equipment storage, and a compressed natural gas station. It will replace Piedmont’s location on Yancey Road south of uptown - an area that has seen a lot of growth.

“Piedmont has called Yancey Road home for decades, and we’ve enjoyed being a fixture of the Lower South End community,” said Brian Weisker, senior vice president and chief operations officer for Piedmont Natural Gas. “However, as the area experienced unparalleled growth and we evaluated our business needs and how to reduce costs to benefit customers, it became clear that relocating to this new space is the best option to serve our customers in the future. This move will allow easy access to I-485 to serve the Charlotte and surrounding communities.”

The utility put its property on Yancey Rd. where the current operations center stands up for sale in December. The new operations center is expected to open next summer.

Shareholders of Six Flags Entertainment Corporation voted this week to approve a merger with Cedar Fair, the company that owns Carowinds.

Six Flags described it as a merger of equals. The two companies have 42 amusement parks and nine resorts across North America. The combined company would be headquartered in Charlotte. Cedar Fair shareholders will not vote on the merger but would still have roughly 51% of control of the combined company. If the Department of Justice approves it, the merger could be completed this year.

Republican Mark Walker is ending his bid to win the GOP primary for North Carolina’s 6th Congressional District.

Walker had initially said he’d ask for a runoff against Addison McDowell, who finished first in the March 5 primary.

But former President Donald Trump wrote on Truth Social Wednesday that Walker has agreed to join his campaign and do outreach to faith groups and minority communities. Walker tweeted he’s “delighted” to accept the position.

Trump had endorsed McDowell in the primary.

The heavily Republican 6th District runs from Cabarrus County to Greensboro. There is no Democrat in the race.

A Harding University High School teacher has been arrested and charged with taking indecent liberties with a student.

Charlotte-Mecklenburg police say they were notified Tuesday that there was a possible inappropriate relationship between 25-year-old Jasmine Wooten and a 17-year-old male student.

Following an interview with the victim and Wooten, CMPD obtained a warrant for her arrest.

Knights View Elementary School will open in south Charlotte in August. That’s the name the Charlotte-Mecklenburg school board approved Tuesday for the school being built on Ardrey Kell Road. A committee of educators, families and community members recommended that name based on the mascot for Ardrey Kell High, which is across the street.

The committee also considered Magnolia Grove and Meadowbrook. Knights View Elementary is among the last of the projects financed by 2017 school bonds to be completed. It will provide relief for three crowded schools nearby.

Two North Carolinians have been installed to lead the Republican National Committee. Michael Whatley is chair of the North Carolina GOP. Members of the RNC voted to install him Friday as chairman of the RNC. And former president Donald’s Trump daughter-in-law Lara Trump is now co-chair. Both candidates were handpicked by the former president.

Charlotte FC has acquired forward Liel Abada from Scottish club Celtic FC as a young designated player. The 22-year old Israeli has signed a contract through 2026 with an option in 2027 and will occupy an international roster slot. During his two year stint he scored 29 goals with Celtic. During a press conference, Dean Smith said he is excited about the new addition.

"You know there's not many English people who don't know about Celtic and range of players because they're they're always in the news and they're on the TV at all. They're they're both two big big clubs and to get a player of his calibre and the consistency that he's had in the last couple of seasons with Celtic is is a big coup for our for ourselves, I believe," he said.

Charlotte goes back the road Saturday to take on Toronto FC. Kickoff is at 2 pm.

Downtown Lincolnton will join several other communities in the area by adding a social district despite some opposition at Thursday night’s city council meeting. The district allows people to purchase alcohol at businesses in it and walk outside on sidewalks.

WJZY reports the four-member City Council was split on whether to approve, with Mayor Ed Hatley breaking the tie.

The district will operate from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Thursday through Saturday. Town leaders said they will review the impacts after a six months.

Mecklenburg County Sheriff Garry McFadden announced changes Wednesday to the way people apply for and renew concealed handgun permits. Cash payments will no longer be accepted, and all renewals will require an in-person visit to begin the process.

In 2022, gun rights groups and a few gun owners sued McFadden accusing him of intentionally delaying the process to get a concealed handgun permit. Some permit holders complained that it took much longer than the timeline set by the state.

South Carolina lawmakers voted Wednesday to pass a bill that would loosen gun laws in the state.

WLTX reports the so-called Constitutional Carry Bill would allow anyone 18 and older who legally owns a gun to carry that gun in public without a government permit or training.

Opponents, like state Senator Margie Bright Matthews, said it’s a bad idea and would lead to more violence.

The bill would also provide free gun training for any adult who wants it. Republican Senate Majority Leader Shane Massey said he believes it will be effective.

"Even though training is not required it is really encouraged in this. I think there’s going to be a lot of folks who would say at first I'm not going to get the training, I'm not going to go through the permit process when they look at the potential consequence of not doing it, I think they’ll do it," he said.

Lawmakers say that provision would cost the state about $5 million a year. Some Republican House members were unhappy about a proposal that would add punishment for people who don't take the training and are convicted of not following the rules about where guns are banned.

Under the bill, there are still places in South Carolina that guns won’t be allowed. Those include daycares, churches, doctors offices and courtrooms.

A half-dozen Mecklenburg County employees asked county commissioners Wednesday night to reconsider rescinding the county’s remote work policy. Starting July 1, all county employees will be required to report to the office five days a week. They had been doing three. Employees like Jason Skeen, an IT manager, said doing away with work-from-home will hurt the county’s ability to recruit workers.

"Cybersecurity’s a highly competitive space for people. We spent over a year recently trying to recruit for two positions and both of those candidates who accepted would not have done so if Mecklenburg County did not have a flexible work environment," he said. "Don't make things harder than they have to be."

Skeen said a prospective employee turned down a job offer Wednesday because of the county’s new in-office policy. Many large, private employers have settled on three days a week in-office as the new norm. County manager Dena Diorio has said workers are more productive when they’re in the office together.

Mecklenburg County employs about 6,000 people.

The city of Greensboro announced Tuesday City Manager Taiwo Jaiyeoba has resigned amid an ongoing saga involving a domestic incident at his house last year.

A report came out in December that three family members including Jaiyeoba were victims of assault, after police were called for a dispute between family members.

The news of his resignation comes just a day after the city announced it would appeal a court ruling to release body camera footage of the incident. Councilmembers released a statement in February after reviewing the video saying Jaiyeoba didn't receive preferential treatment.

Deputy City Manager Chris Wilson will now fill his role in the interim as officials search for a permanent replacement.

Jaiyeoba had been in his position since Feb. 1, 2022.

Previously, he was assistant city manager and head of planning for Charlotte, leading the city's 2040 plan.

Just over 147,000 Mecklenburg residents cast a ballot in Tuesday’s primary election, for a total turnout of 18.7% of registered voters in the county.

That's well below the percentage of voters who turned out in other urban counties. Those figures include:

• Buncombe County: 28.5%
• Durham County: 27%
• Wake: 24.8%
• Forsyth: 24.8%
• Guilford: 23.6%

Out of North Carolina's 100 counties, Mecklenburg ranked fifth from the bottom in percentage turnout.

The Charlotte Hornets lost to the Orlando Magic on Tuesday night, 101-89. It was the fifth straight loss for Charlotte.

Vasilije Micić led Charlotte with 21 points. The Hornets are off until Friday when they visit the Washington Wizards.

Representative Alma Adams has invited Mecklenburg County Sheriff Garry McFadden to be her guest Thursday night for President Joe Biden’s State of The Union address to Congress. Adams said in a press release she asked McFadden to attend to highlight his efforts to reduce gun violence.

WFAE will carry live coverage of the State of the Union starting at 9 pm.

A portion of Old Dowd Road was closed Tuesday afternoon after a Norfolk Southern train collided with a tractor-trailer, Charlotte Fire Department said.

CFD said there were no injuries from the collision and no hazmat concerns.

The truck became stuck on the tracks, firefighters said.

The Charlotte Hornets have hired Jeff Peterson as executive vice president of basketball operations.

The 35-year-old comes to Charlotte after more than four seasons as assistant general manager with the Brooklyn Nets. Before that, he spent seven years with the Atlanta Hawks.

He’ll be introduced at a press conference Wednesday morning

Get ready to settle in for a longer wait tonight to see who wins Tuesday's primary elections. The reason? A change in state law.

In years past, county boards of election were allowed to start tabulating ballots from in-person, early voters a few hours before the polls closed. That head start meant they could release early voting results a few minutes after voting ended at 7:30 p.m.

Poll-watchers are used to early results popping up almost immediately. But the Republican-led General Assembly’s changes to election law last year require county boards to wait until polls close to total up those votes.

The state Board of Elections said that process takes 30-60 minutes, and maybe more in large counties, like Mecklenburg and Wake.

North Carolina Elections Director Karen Brinson Bell warned that since this is the first election under the new law, there’s no way to say exactly how long the results will be delayed. But she said one thing is certain: Candidates, reporters and the public will all be waiting longer tonight to see who wins.

NC Medicaid will now cover an additional treatment for syphilis and congenital syphilis, Extencilline.

This new coverage is being added to address the ongoing national shortage of Penicillin G, the first-line treatment for syphilis.

State Health Director and Dr. Elizabeth Cuervo Tilson said on Monday that congenital syphilis infections are at the highest levels in almost 20 years nationwide.

A woman was fatally stabbed early Monday in uptown, according to Charlotte-Mecklenburg police.

Officers responded to an assault with a deadly weapon call just after 6 a.m. near 400 North Tryon Street, and found 46-year-old Susan Dillehay suffering from a stab wound.

Dillehay was transported to a hospital where she was later pronounced dead.

CMPD said the suspect, 32-year-old Jessica Robinson, was arrested and charged with murder. She was found near the scene by detectives.

The Charlotte Area Transit System said Monday it still plans to rebuild the main bus station uptown underground as part of a new mixed-use office tower, even though the Charlotte Hornets are no longer part of the plan.

The Hornets had considered building a new practice facility inside a proposed new tower across from the Spectrum Center.

But the team now plans to build its practice facility on a city-owned gravel lot that’s next to the arena.

Even without the Hornets, CATS Interim CEO Brent Cagle said plans to move the main bus station on Trade Street underground are moving forward.

“We are working with the developer as they start to narrow down on 30% design,” he said. “(Then) they start to think about what their overbuild looks like.”

Cagle said the developer, White Point Partners, could submit a rezoning for the new tower in a few weeks. The total cost to the city isn't yet clear.