WCNC Charlotte Flashpoint

This week on Flashpoint, WCNC Charlotte's Ben Thompson talks to former Charlotte Mayor Jennifer Roberts and former N.C. Supreme Court Judge Bob Orr about the North Carolina Trusted Elections Tour, which is working to restore faith in our election system. It's a pilot program created by the Carter Center in North Carolina and several other states. The group is holding town halls in the state's fourteen congressional districts this fall, touting the integrity of the state's elections. 

In Charlotte, a town hall is scheduled for Tuesday, Sept 13th, at 6:30 p.m. at UNC Charlotte's McKnight Hall. In Belmont, a town hall is scheduled for Wednesday, Sept 14th, at 6:30 p.m. at Gaston College, Kimbrell Auditorium. And in Albemarle, a town hall is scheduled for Thursday, Sept. 15th, at the Albemarle Neighborhood Theatre. Each meeting will feature key speakers with backgrounds in election security, election law, and election administration. 

READ MORE: https://www.wcnc.com/article/news/politics/flashpoint/nc-trusted-elections-tour-to-charlotte-promising-secure-elections/275-035c8557-d3f0-4869-ab03-a4d906e27c2a

This week on Flashpoint, WCNC's Ben Thompson talks to outgoing Charlotte city council member Larken Egleston and current city council member Tariq Bokhari about the passage of the UDO and Affordable Housing. Later, Ben continues his conversation with outgoing Charlotte city councilmember Larken Egleston and current city council member Tariq Bokhari about transit. 

Charlotte City Council is also slated to welcome a new city council on Tuesday, September 6 during a swearing-in ceremony. The new council includes mostly familiar faces with a few new names. In recent years, council tackled a number of controversial issues including the Unified Development Ordinance, the Charlotte 2040 comprehensive plan, pandemic response, and transit. 

READ MORE: https://www.wcnc.com/article/news/politics/flashpoint/charlotte-city-council-swears-in-new-members-on-tuesday-september-6-flashpoint/275-96188c90-5a54-4785-8bd8-765ecdd0275f

This week, students and educators across the Charlotte area return to school. WCNC's Ben Thompson spoke to a CMS teacher and a district board member about the start of a new school year. They worry this year's pay raise may not be enough to keep and retain teachers.

"A lot of our veteran teachers are still struggling because their pay raise is smaller. The pay raise is heavily weighted at the earlier entry points for teachers and the newer teachers," Cheek said.

Longtime teachers like Justin Parmenter have watched colleagues leave for more lucrative positions outside of teaching.

"We've got people who are seeing, you know, greener grass on the other side of the fence and leaving," Parmenter said.

READ MORE: https://www.wcnc.com/article/news/politics/flashpoint/charlotte-cms-teachers-start-school-year-amid-staffing-and-salary-challenges/275-289d313d-030d-4675-a570-e685a2e04258

On this week's episode of Flashpoint, WCNC's Ben Thompson talks with Clark Simon, the President of Charlotte Pride about why holding pride in Charlotte remains more relevant than ever.

Charlotte Pride returned this weekend after a two-year hiatus, and organizers say its message of diversity and acceptance for the LGBTQ community has never resonated more. Recent rulings from the US Supreme Court, including the reversal of federal abortion rights, have led some in the LGBTQ+ community to worry about federal protections.

"I think it's more important than ever to reaffirm the majority of Americans' opinions that gay marriage should be legal, it is legal," Simon said. 

All of this and more on a new episode of Flashpoint, only on WCNC Charlotte.

READ MORE: https://www.wcnc.com/article/news/politics/flashpoint/more-important-than-ever-charlotte-pride-festival-kicks-off-20th-anniversary/275-9b5d0be9-63de-49f6-b4f0-32c39c0b53e1

This week on Flashpoint is all about growth. WCNC Charlotte's Ben Thompson talks to Kelly O'Brien, the Chief Advocacy and Strategy Officer for the Charlotte Regional Business Alliance about the alliance’s Q2 Growth Report.

Later, Ben talks to North Carolina Secretary of State, Elaine Marshall about the growth of new businesses in NC over the second quarter.

All of this and more on Flashpoint, only on WCNC Charlotte.

This week on Flashpoint, WCNC's Ben Thompson talks to Mecklenburg County Health Director, Dr. Raynard Washington about the county’s response to monkeypox. Mecklenburg County still has a long waitlist for those who want the Monkeypox vaccine, despite a shipment of 2,000 doses earlier this week.

But there's good news. Washington said he expects his department will be receiving routine shipments of the vaccine going forward.  

Ben and Dr. Washington later address the latest with COVID in Mecklenburg County.

READ MORE: https://www.wcnc.com/article/news/politics/flashpoint/monkeypox-vaccination-waitlist-mecklenburg-county/275-0a65b8c3-be2f-43e9-83d8-cb475884c8fa

On this week's episode of Flashpoint, less than one after Charlotte's general election, WCNC's Ben Thompson talks to Charlotte city councilwoman, Dimple Ajmera about her win on Tuesday and about being the night’s top vote-getter. Later, Ben talks to Charlotte city councilman, Tariq Bokhari about his win on Tuesday and what’s next.

Before a new city council is sworn in in September, Charlotte's current council has one remaining heavy lift on their agenda: a vote on the city's Unified Development Ordinance.

In Charlotte's recent municipal elections, republicans ran heavily against the UDO, a sweeping set of regulations designed to guide the city's future development.  With the exception of district six councilman Tariq Bokhari, every republican in a contested race lost. And Bokhari won by the slimmest of margins.

"I'm going to view that as the community's voices spoken here. And I'm gonna vote no, but move on," Bokhari said.

READ MORE: https://www.wcnc.com/article/news/politics/flashpoint/elections-charlotte-city-councilmembers-look-to-vote-on-controversial-zoning-law/275-664f814c-8f85-4010-9d98-5364fd1e9d72

This week on Flashpoint, WCNC's Ben Thompson talks to Catawba College Professor Michael Bitzer about Charlotte as well as the upcoming Senate race.

Voting data from the second week of early voting showed democrats were over-performing when it came to voting, republicans were right on track, and unaffiliated voters were lacking when it came to getting to the polls.

Charlotte is increasingly dominated by democrats and unaffiliated voters, and Bitzer said that can create voter apathy.

"When you don't have a competitive two-party system, that often affects turnout," he said.

READ MORE: https://www.wcnc.com/article/news/politics/flashpoint/abysmal-turnout-fewer-than-10-percent-of-voters-expected-to-cast-ballots-in-charlotte-election/275-f364ccfe-9394-4b42-9845-eba0260b7e44

This week on Flashpoint, WCNC Charlotte's Ben Thompson talks to Charlotte city councilmen, Tariq Bokhari and Larken Egleston, about their last five years on council as well as the latest with not getting a social district in Charlotte.

Egleston lost a primary election race in May for an at-large seat on council and finishes his term in September. He said council made progress on transit, affordable housing, and public safety, but admitted there was plenty of work to do for the next council.

"Those aren't issues you ever really solve. You just keep making progress. And I think we've done that on all the fronts," he said.

In addition, Tariq Bokhari and Larken Egleston discuss CATS issues, the silver line, and the UDO vote.

READ MORE: https://bit.ly/3OQREbc

This week on Flashpoint, WCNC's Ben Thompson talks to NC Congresswoman Alma Adams about the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade. Adams argues the impacts will be the most severe in marginalized communities.

"Black and brown women, those will be impacted the hardest I believe. Those who live in rural areas, those who have lower incomes and can't afford to cross state lines for care. Young people. LGBTQ people and women in abusive relationships," she said.

Later, Ben talks to Davidson political science professor, Susan Roberts about the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade

Experts say the real impacts will be seen in the weeks and months to come. In the meantime, women across the country will be left with a confusing patchwork of laws.

READ MORE: https://bit.ly/3uj77Zp