tuthdoc

I finally flew into CLT a few months ago for the first time (we've been driving from NY for our other visits) and I have to say that the airport was nice. Managable, friendly, pretty up to date and pretty convenient. Would be nice to have more mass-transit options. How about a monorail down the center of 485 with light rail "spokes" to uptown! Seriously, in regards to the original question, here's what i don't understand. CLT is the number 2 banking center of the country. NY is number 1. With all the business travel that I would imagine is going on for all of those headquarters, why hasn't there been a need for expansion, increased number of flights and introduction of a low-cost carrier to CLT? Flights to and from CLT are VERY expensive? ANyone know? R

It sounds like the biking population is exploding there (along with the general population) and that's a great thing. The weather is great for biking and I hope to commute by bike when I can. I've been debating on whether or not to add a shower to my office plans but due to ADA rules it may become too expensive a proposition. I will be right across from the Siskey Y though so maybe??? I would encourage bicyclists to get as active as they can while there is still "room" to grow. Where I am now, it is too expensive for the county to buy back land for the right of way that bike lanes would require. Hopefully, the powers that be are setting aside appropriate right of ways not just for extra auto lanes but for future bike lanes as well while it's still affordable to do so. Greenways are an excellent idea but are even better if they actually lead to somewhere useful and not just a "fun" ride. Are there any greenways that can serve double as a commuting corridor? Lastly, to all those p*ssed off car people: Rules and regulations aside, if you blink for just a moment and are careless or unlucky enough to hit a bicyclist, you may be thinking about the consequences for the rest of your life. The law will not be on your side no matter how careless you may think the biker was and you will be guilty until proven innocent. I know this because an employee of mine was making a left turn at a busy intersection at dusk. She hit a father and teenage son biking from the opposite direction. Neither bike had reflectors and were set up for racing but both were wearing helmets. They were riding side by side instead of single file, may or may not have yielded at the light etc. etc. None of this matters. The father had a broken pelvis and the son multiple fractured bones and needed pins and screws in one leg. He's since had several surgeries from what I understand. This was seven years ago. Not only can she still remember every second of the accident but she continues to pay $4000 a year for car insurance in assigned risk. Moral: leave plenty of space, always look twice and respect others on the road. In an accident, your car or truck will "win" and you'll have to live with what happens regardless of whose legally at fault. Ryan

OK - like I said, most of us have no idea what's really going on. Here is an article on $13m which is now being given to J&W as NC education subsidies. To make a long story short, the law was changed to allow this gift even though J&W is not headquartered in NC. Again, always a great idea to support schools and giving students the subsidies directly is even better. However, now it is easy to understand why Easley blocked an additional $5-6m with this in the works. At this point, I would say that NC has fulfilled it's obligation, however, Black still wants to appropriate the additional money to fulfill his promise. Maybe time for J&W to thank the taxpayers for their support and accept the $13m as payment in full??? Jeeeez... Here's the article http://www.charlotte.com/mld/charlotte/new...cs/11304939.htm

I don't think any of us will ever really know - that's what makes politics what it is today. It's unpredictable everywhere and not always in the constituents' best interest. As far as the media goes, I don't think their political coverage ever goes particularly deep enough. Don't get me wrong, I'm not some kind of conspiracy theorist. It just seems that the media doesn't probe too deeply when it doesn't suit their angle or there's no blood involved. Most Americans would probably change the channel anyway. As far as Black goes, I don't really know the guy so it's all conjecture. It seems to me like he was cut loose when the "slush fund" controversy came up and now this was just a good excuse to "take a stand" against the issue. Honestly, they are all at fault. I just think it could have been resolved much more efficiently. It was a great opportunity for compromise. Instead, it's an office park. Hopefully Trinity will stick to its word and do what it can to help the school grow. On the other hand... It's great to have found a forum where all of this can be shared, isn't it?!!

Does anyone have any updated information or pictures about this project?

On that point, I would agree. However, the school is there - they came to Charlotte on a promise and, by all intentions, they are a "good neighbor". I can't think of a situation where investing in a school campus has been detrimental, economically or otherwise, to a community. The Carolina Journal describes the sale as "outmaneuvering" the legistative process. The land sale was turned into one big peeing contest with intent to show Black that he can't just throw money around. OK. Now, the land has been sold under market value, J&W would still like to expand but now will likely not have any foreseeable options and, unless J&W receives some sort of restitution down the line, I think a fine institution is being undermined. Who exactly won here?

Not living there yet, I have been trying to keep up with this story for a while but it is certainly difficult. I have to say that IMO this deal smells. The following is just my opinion, mind you, but anyone can look at the public records to see the facts. Easley had the opportunity to write off $8m of debt for $5.5 in a land swap deal with J & W. Would any of you pass on the chance to save $2.5m for your kids??? OK - even if for some reason the cash was needed right now, the last minute way in which things were done knocked other developers out of the loop that were ready to buy for $7m or more. Essentially, the change in deadline to the 21st from the 31st killed open bidding on the project because other developers could not get their cash for the downpayment that fast. So, at that, the Gov cost the taxpayers $1.5m. That's a lot of money to give away just to beat a deadline on a deal that had so many contingencies it could have been postponed anyway. There's probably more to the story that we'll never know and details that maymake this deal make perfect sense. As an aside, do you know that Mr. Allen aka Trinity donated $8000 to the Gov's campaign in 2004? Do you know that that amount is as much as Bank Of America PAC donated? That's quite a bit of funding... How convenient is it that a major campaign contributor was able to get contested property at an extreme dioscount in a last minute gov't maneuver. His downpayment was in place (the only one bidding to my knowledge) and, best of all, the final use of the property will be "renovated office space". How unique, creative and beneficial for the city... Sorry to be a downer but it was very disappointing to see this happen.