Free Republic

The 2004 elections brought a conservative sweep to much of the nation, but Mecklenburg County was not part of it. As a result, our County Commission came back under the control of liberal Democrats and the arrogant and extremist liberal Parks Helms re-assumed his position as chairman of the County Commission. It should be no surprise to any of us that in his first months back in his position, he has worked tirelessly to expand government and raise taxes. But this week, he announced another item on his agenda -- one that calls for economic and social conservatives to respond...

CHARLOTTE, N.C.-- Police say one person is dead and two others are injured after an apartment break-in early Sunday morning on Mereview Court in southwest Charlotte. Police say someone kicked down the door of the apartment and several people were inside. The suspect then fired a gun, hitting one person in the chest. That person was taken to Carolinas Medical Center. Police say someone inside the apartment, who also had a gun, fired a fatal shot that hit the suspect. The suspect died on the back steps. They say another person inside the apartment was hospitalized with stab wounds. Police...

When local Republicans head to the precinct meetings scheduled next week for the Mecklenburg County Republican Party, they might be in for a more raucous affair than usual. Bill Huber has thrown his hat into the ring to challenge current Party Chairman John Aneralla for the key leadership position. Huber said it’s time for the local Republican Party to send a stronger message that resonates traditional Republican principles like low taxes, limited government, and free enterprise. In the wake of November’s election that saw Republicans lose majority control of the board of county commissioners, that message might carry extra weight....

A 31-year-old lesbian Episcopal priest in Charlotte, NC wants to start a ministry for prostitutes. So far, so good.[Kelly] Ayer hopes to open a halfway house in which women could receive medical attention and help with addiction, job skills and mental health issues. Among the issues to be worked through: Studies show that a large number of prostitutes were sexually or physically abused as children, often by family members.Only problem is:The goal would be to serve as a presence for women who don't often have someone good to turn to. The unconditional support of presence, Ayer calls it. There also...

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – The confederate flag flying in Elmwood Pinewood Cemetery in uptown Charlotte should be taken down – that is a recommendation from a committee looking into the flag issue. The confederate battle flag flies above a section of the cemetery dedicated to confederate soldiers. Some were concerned about the image this created for the city. Last month, the community relations committee executive council met to review information gathered on the flag. The information included public feedback and legal research. In a draft report, the committee recommended: The current flag be taken down and placed in a glass enclosed...

More of the cost of Charlotte's light-rail line apparently will be paid from the transit sales tax after the Federal Transit Administration said Friday it will spend no more than $192.9 million on the project. With prices up $38 million in the past few weeks because of higher steel and cement costs, Charlotte hoped the federal government would offer more help. But FTA spokesman Paul Griffo said the department would not commit more money. Increasing the federal contribution would be unfair to other cities that have also seen transit costs rise, Griffo said. The FTA will pay 50 percent of...

James to appear on Fox's 'Hannity & Colmes' Mecklenburg County commissioner Bill James, a Republican, said he has been invited to appear on a live Fox News Channel show to discuss the structure of African American families. James said he will appear at 9 p.m. Tuesday on "Hannity & Colmes." A Republican representing southeastern Mecklenburg, James sparked a furor last month when he said in an e-mail that urban blacks "live in a moral sewer." James later said he could have chosen his words more carefully, and released a 14-point plan he said he hoped could reduce crime, dropout rates...

Vote audit throws results into limbo (NC) Samuelson's in, Rembert's out ... for now RICHARD RUBIN AND CARRIE LEVINE Staff Writers A frenzied retallying of early-voting ballots Thursday edged Democrat Wilhelmenia Rembert out of a Mecklenburg County commissioners seat and added Republican Ruth Samuelson to the board -- for now. After almost 12 hours of checking votes, election officials released new, unofficial results showing three candidates within 91 votes of each other. That's 0.01 percent of all votes cast in the county race. Election officials still can't explain the foul-up. More than 3,200 votes were removed from results released Tuesday...

ALLIES.........And The Misinformed I apologize to my vast e-mail audience for misstating the operational cost of our cute little uptown trolley in last week's e-mail. New figures from the city reveal the cost will be $1.1 million per year, not $750,000. With ridership projections remaining at 100,000, the cost per ride is now projected to be $11.00! The rider will pay $1.00----you, the taxpayer will pay $10.00! Here's a very real example of how it will work: a rider from the uptown area, who chooses to have lunch in the Southend, will pay $1.00 each way and you will subsidize...

May 17, 1954 -- half a century ago -- saw one of the most momentous decisions in the history of the Supreme Court of the United States. Some observers who were there said that one of the black-robed Justices sat on the great bench with tears in his eyes. The case was of course Brown v. Board of Education, and the decision declared that racially segregated schools were unconstitutional. In rapid succession, all kinds of other racial segregation, which were common across most of the South and even in some border states, were likewise declared unconstitutional. This was a reversal...

This July 2003 artist's rendering shows the planned Saks Fifth Avenue store. There's a big hole in the ground at the corner of Park and Gleneagles roads in south Charlotte. Developer Dee-Dee Harris wants to fill it with a glitzy Saks Fifth Avenue store -- and public money. In a rambling plea sent this week to city and state officials, Harris asked for unspecified assistance from government. Without help, she said, her $200 million project might collapse. Construction has stalled for nearly three months. Harris' letter notes that low profit expectations have made private money tough to get. "We read...

www.news14.com Local Muslims react to Iraqi violence4/7/2004 7:57 PMBy: Diana Rugg, News 14 Carolina CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Some local Muslims are angered that U.S. troops bombed an Iraqi mosque Wednesday, killing an estimated 40 people. The Abdel-Aziz al-Samarrai mosque was hit by U.S. aircraft that launched a Hellfire missile at its minaret and dropped a 500-pound bomb on a wall surrounding the compound.The U.S. military said insurgents were using the mosque for a military fire base and that U.S. troops were just returning fire. But Mujahid Idlibi, spokesman for the Islamic Center of Charlotte, said that is not acceptable....

Former recruit: Disk used to cheat Police academy class graduates while inside investigation continues ROBERT F. MOORE AND MELISSA MANWARE Staff Writers The man at the center of a Charlotte-Mecklenburg police investigation into whether some recruits cheated on academy exams says he believes computer disks circulated among the classmates were intended for cheating. Police announced in February that the disks, containing questions and answers to police academy tests, had been passed among recruit classes since 2000. They have been trying to determine whether recruits who went through training in that period thought they were using a study guide or knew...

The cost of building Charlotte's first light-rail line has jumped to $398.7 million, a 7 percent increase from two years ago. The extra $28 million chiefly represents a new bridge over Archdale Drive and higher-than-expected land costs for tracks and parking lots. A preliminary study in 1998 estimated the line could be built for $227 million. But when engineers began drawing up plans, they said in 2000 the cost would be $331 million. It rose to $371 million in 2002 and now to $398.7 million. That estimate now goes to the Federal Transit Administration. "This is the number we intend...

For education and discussion only. Not for commercial use. Council approves $52.5 million for 16 cars The Charlotte City Council ordered its first batch of light-rail trains Monday night, authorizing $52.5 million for 16 cars. Council members pitched their 10-1 vote as a decision that will limit future congestion and provide a much-needed alternative to automobiles. "This is an investment for a generation," said GOP council member Pat Mumford, who chairs the council's transportation committee. "And we need to prepare today because it will never be a better time than today." The light-rail cars will be built by Siemens Transportation...

A Mecklenburg district judge Friday called North Carolina's sodomy law unconstitutional, as he threw out two charges against a man accused of soliciting sodomy last May in a public park. Mecklenburg District Judge Nate Proctor threw out two cases against the defendant, saying the state's law barring anal or oral sex for anyone except married couples was invalidated by a Supreme Court ruling last month that overturned the Texas sodomy law. Proctor's ruling is not binding. It will be up to higher courts to decide whether the N.C. crime-against-nature law should stand after the Supreme Court ruling. Proctor, though, called...