Charlotte City Council passed its $3.6 billion budget, but tensions remain around a number of issues. The city has voted to extend the contract of interim City Attorney Anthony Fox, but not without reservations from some members of the council.
Meanwhile, City Council member Tiawana Brown tells WSOC-TV an email claiming she isn’t running for reelection should have not been released and she still plans to run despite being under federal indictment. Plus, interim City Attorney Fox plans to open an investigation into comments made by City Council member Victoria Watlington about “illegal and immoral” acts in city government, but Watlington says she won’t participate unless a third-party investigator is involved. We break it all down.
While protests were held across the country this week against ICE deportation raids in cities such as Los Angeles, North Carolina state lawmakers have sent two bills to Gov. Josh Stein’s desk that strengthen the state’s relationship with ICE and ban immigrants from receiving benefits if they are in the country illegally.
Also in Raleigh, the North Carolina House Transportation Committee has advanced a bill that would allow Mecklenburg County residents to vote on whether to allow a sales tax increase to pay for a transit bill. We learn what this means for the immediate future of the project.
And in minor league hockey, the Charlotte Checkers open the Calder Cup Finals this weekend against the Abbotsford Canucks.
Those stories and more on the Charlotte Talks Local News Roundup.
GUESTS:
Julian Berger, WFAE race and equity reporter
Joe Bruno, WSOC-TV reporter
Steve Harrison, WFAE political reporter
Mary Ramsey, local government accountability reporter for the Charlotte Observer
Erik Spanberg, managing editor at the Charlotte Business Journal
