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Charlotte Talks With Mike Collins

Local News Roundup: School Boards Make Masks Optional; NC Sees Impact Of Delta Variant; CMS Board Gets An Earful

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Chris Miller

On the heels of new federal guidance on face masks in schools, Gov. Roy Cooper said new recommendations for North Carolina public schools would be issued "soon." But two Charlotte-area school boards, Union Countyand Rowan-Salisbury, preempted the governor by voting to make masks optional.

It took longer than other counties to get there, but Mecklenburg County reached the 50%mark for residents receiving at least one COVID-19 vaccine. The milestone coincided with an increase in new coronavirus cases and hospitalizations in the Charlotte area because of the delta variant.

For the first time in more than a year, the Charlotte-Mecklenburg school board met the public in person and was bombarded with opinions on how race is discussed in schools, and heard from current and former Myers Park High School students about the handling of sexual assault allegations.

Our roundtable of reporters will have more on those and other stories.

GUESTS

Joe Bruno, WSOC government reporter (@JoeBrunoWSOC9)

Ann Doss Helms, WFAE education reporter (@anndosshelms)

Jonathan Lowe, Spectrum News 1 anchor and reporter (@JonathanUpdates)

Erik Spanberg, Charlotte Business Journal managing editor (@CBJspanberg)

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A veteran of Charlotte radio news, Chris joined the "Charlotte Talks" staff in January 2016, but has been listening to WFAE since discovering the station as a high schooler.