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kermit

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kermit last won the day on June 27 2020

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Megalopolis

Megalopolis (10/14)

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  1. Last night’s announcement to reduce research overhead payments (the part of grants that pay for university operations, things like lab construction and maintenance) from 50% to 15% in NIH grants will remove roughly $800 million from UNC Chapel Hill’s annual budget (if this same policy is applied to all federal research grants). A similar revenue decline will impact duke. Laboratory research can’t happen without overhead payments. The annual revenue hit is around $33 million at UNCC. https://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/notice-files/NOT-OD-25-068.html
  2. ^ the loss / reduction of federal research funding will be an even bigger blow for the Triangle. I have not seen any plans for restoring NIH funding, but halving NSF funding has been discussed. This can potentially cut faculty positions in half in the Triangle Universities. (And eliminate 2/3 or more of grad students -- most of which are funded from federal grants)
  3. They are Sanborn Maps (made for fire insurance pricing). I accessed it via UNCC library, but I think Char Meck library also has online access? If I read correctly the 1929 map was the most recent year available from my access point I think the last updates to these maps were in the mod 1950s so Char Meck may be different? Dod the stamp look industrial/label like? Perhaps 230 Morehead was a lumber yard? That said, lumber yards do show up on Sanborns.
  4. Wow, I thought this would never happen! The ATT fortress building at 200 N Caldwell has sold and the new owner is talking about repurposing, buyer specializes in reuse but transaction is described as sale/leaseback (of a portion of the property?) Is this badly needed New momentum for the First Ward? https://www.bizjournals.com/charlotte/news/2025/02/06/uptown-office-building-sale-reign-capital-at-t.html
  5. From the 1929 Map. 230 Looks like a mostly vacant lot so I don't think this is any help. May be able to check an earlier map later.
  6. According to UNCC, corporate funding accounted for less than 6% of the University's research dollars in 2022 (I am too lazy to look for 2024 data, but I am sure its not substantially different): https://inside.charlotte.edu/news-features/2022-01-20/research-funding-hits-58-million-setting-unc-charlotte-record/ I didn't say UNCC _is_ a residential community college, I said it would effectively become one if federal research dollars don't come back. This statement isn't pointed specially at UNCC, this would be true of every University without a multi-billion dollar endowment.
  7. ^ Unfortunately that means absolutely nothing during a time when federal research funding of every variety has been shut down. If the money doesn't come back, the entire UNC System effectively becomes a giant (but very expensive) residential community college.
  8. Looks like the republicans in Raleigh are in no hurry to fund WNC recovery. https://www.yahoo.com/news/north-carolina-lawmakers-propose-next-215721765.html
  9. From today's poll of NHL players in the Athletic: https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6109298/2025/02/05/nhl-player-poll-best-worst-facilities-bettman/ FWIW: I grew up in Durham, played youth hockey, been to 12 NHL arenas, but never visited Lenovo center due to its cow pasture vibe -- I didn't realize that the players shared that view.
  10. Related to the above, the BBC reports that reducing urban speed limits to 20mph in Wales has significantly reduced pedestrian fatalities in the first year that data are available. In a withering counterpoint to the increases in personal safety resulting from the reduced speed limits in urban areas the opposition party said: https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c78w1891z03o
  11. Call me old fashioned but IMO only organizations who are contributing to the cost of transit expansion should have a hand in designing it. The NCGA passed legislation after the BLE funding was complete which limits state contributions to any new transit to a token amount — it is already legislatively guaranteed that the NCGA is not paying for any significant amount of expanded transit within Charlotte and truncating the Red Line inside Meck guarantees zilch for that line as well [state funding is more likely for projects that span multiple counties]. I am increasingly uncomfortable with this willingness to dismiss transit as merely a “real estate development tool”. For transit to be effective in this land dominated by cars, transit MUST create changes in land use. I don’t see any other way for us to move away from sprawl. The transit system that Dunn is alluding to is a device to move people from the burbs to office towers that will simply maintain status quo (i.e. very inefficient) land use and reinforces car culture. The Blue Line clearly catalyzed a bunch of RE development, which greatly improved walkability and density. That sort of change is exactly what is necessary to create sustainable cities, without it we are just doomed to be more like Dallas. At this point my vote is to increase the sales tax by the 1/4 cent we are already allowed and just build a crapton on bike infrastructure and sidewalks. Give the state the middle finger -- what HAVE they done for us since the BLE FFGA was signed in 2011? [this is an honest question, I can't think of a single thing the state has done for urban Charlotte since then despite (arguably) contributing more than 1/3 of the state's tax revenue]
  12. Trying to look on the brightside here. The musk’s administrations insistence on using transit funding as a cudgel (more for places w high birth rates, none for sanctuary cities, etc.) suggests that there will be some transit funding after all. Color me skeptical, the odds I see are for zero new FFGAs being issued for transit projects over the next 2 years. [Or maybe Jacksonville FL and Oklahoma City get heavy rail subways] https://usa.streetsblog.org/2025/02/04/tuesdays-headlines-are-a-sanctuary
  13. Put a station anywhere on the Blue Line and run trains at 5 minute or less frequencies to get riders to CTC etc. How about here (off ramp parcel) at College and Morehead? (I dunno, I am just spitballingj
  14. given all of the federal chaos, is there really a need for any of us to submit our taxes this year? If your goal is to dismantle / shrink the federal government seems like the IRS is where you would start. Regardless of actual motivation, I have a hard time imagining that there is anyone actually paying attention at the moment.
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