1 00:00:04,879 --> 00:00:07,160 Speaker 1: What's going on? Thank you so much for listening to 2 00:00:07,200 --> 00:00:09,640 this podcast. It is heard live every day from noon 3 00:00:09,679 --> 00:00:12,480 to three on WBT Radio in Charlotte. And if you 4 00:00:12,560 --> 00:00:16,719 want exclusive content like invitations to events, the weekly live stream, 5 00:00:16,760 --> 00:00:19,239 my daily show prep with all the links, become a patron, 6 00:00:19,320 --> 00:00:22,640 go to dpeakclendarshow dot com. Make sure you hit the 7 00:00:22,640 --> 00:00:25,160 subscribe button. Get every episode for free right to your 8 00:00:25,160 --> 00:00:27,719 smartphone or tablet, and again, thank you so much for 9 00:00:27,760 --> 00:00:35,240 your support. Mecklenburg County Commissioners gave the green light for 10 00:00:35,439 --> 00:00:38,560 a referendum to be put to us we the voters, 11 00:00:39,079 --> 00:00:41,479 on whether we would like to raise the sales tax 12 00:00:42,759 --> 00:00:45,679 by one percent to take it from seven and a 13 00:00:45,719 --> 00:00:48,840 quarter to eight and a quarter. It'll raise billions of 14 00:00:48,880 --> 00:00:54,719 dollars over decades, and it will be used for Forty 15 00:00:54,719 --> 00:00:57,000 percent of it will be used for roads, but that 16 00:00:57,039 --> 00:01:03,320 includes sidewalks and street lights, forty percent for rail, and 17 00:01:03,520 --> 00:01:08,159 another twenty percent for other transit related things like micro transit, 18 00:01:08,200 --> 00:01:11,719 which is basically government run Uber. I have concerns about 19 00:01:11,719 --> 00:01:14,760 that because now you are going to be putting Uber 20 00:01:15,319 --> 00:01:17,959 out of business. Lift out of business, right, like, why 21 00:01:18,000 --> 00:01:20,799 would people pay the full cost of those rides when 22 00:01:20,799 --> 00:01:25,519 they can get gov code to come to. However, chances 23 00:01:25,519 --> 00:01:30,000 are the micro transit government service probably won't be as 24 00:01:30,319 --> 00:01:33,879 efficient and probably won't be running all of the regular 25 00:01:33,920 --> 00:01:37,640 hours that Uber and Lyft do. I don't know, We'll 26 00:01:37,640 --> 00:01:41,599 see how it works. Look, I'm a I would prefer 27 00:01:42,079 --> 00:01:47,040 there be micro transit versus buses seriously, because like the 28 00:01:47,120 --> 00:01:50,840 cost per rider is probably cheaper. You got buses that 29 00:01:50,920 --> 00:01:52,680 ride around, they have very few people on them, Like, 30 00:01:52,719 --> 00:01:54,840 get rid of that bus service and just run taxis 31 00:01:54,920 --> 00:01:56,359 or something. But I would say, do it as a 32 00:01:56,439 --> 00:02:00,040 voucher program. Give people a card, you know, do so 33 00:02:00,079 --> 00:02:03,599 it means testing, So you get a preloaded card and 34 00:02:03,640 --> 00:02:07,359 you could use that, or you can buy cards and 35 00:02:07,400 --> 00:02:10,840 then use those cards for your Uber and Lyft drivers. 36 00:02:10,879 --> 00:02:12,520 I would say that's a better way to do it 37 00:02:12,520 --> 00:02:16,439 as a voucherized kind of a program. But what do 38 00:02:16,520 --> 00:02:22,159 I know. I mentioned also that there was a presentation 39 00:02:22,319 --> 00:02:25,360 made like twenty years ago talking about how a lot 40 00:02:25,400 --> 00:02:30,479 of our roads have been designed and you know, particularly 41 00:02:30,719 --> 00:02:34,960 here in the in the southeast where you know, we 42 00:02:34,960 --> 00:02:36,919 have a long there's a long history, you know, two 43 00:02:36,960 --> 00:02:41,080 hundred plus years, well three hundred, four hundred years, and 44 00:02:41,159 --> 00:02:43,080 how did these roads come about? A lot of them 45 00:02:43,120 --> 00:02:47,439 were built based on animal paths, because the hunters followed 46 00:02:47,479 --> 00:02:50,960 the animals, and then the trading paths. There was already 47 00:02:50,960 --> 00:02:53,000 a path here, so let's go ahead and follow this path, 48 00:02:53,039 --> 00:02:55,199 and then it takes you to this town. And so 49 00:02:55,759 --> 00:02:58,240 then when you know, the automobile comes along, they just 50 00:02:58,280 --> 00:03:01,800 pave those roads. And so a lot of the you know, 51 00:03:01,919 --> 00:03:04,240 road planning quote unquote was done by animals, and Dave 52 00:03:04,280 --> 00:03:07,719 wanted to know if he can read more about that history. Look, 53 00:03:07,759 --> 00:03:09,439 I just remember the story that was told to me 54 00:03:09,520 --> 00:03:15,800 during this presentation, this discussion about road planning twenty years ago. 55 00:03:16,680 --> 00:03:18,759 So I know I do not have a source for 56 00:03:18,840 --> 00:03:22,280 you on that. I also heard that, like, for example, 57 00:03:22,520 --> 00:03:27,800 why are our roads as wide as they are? Because 58 00:03:27,800 --> 00:03:29,759 you go overseas, you go to other countries and they've 59 00:03:29,759 --> 00:03:34,199 got different sized roads, like real like you know, cities 60 00:03:34,199 --> 00:03:36,199 that have been around for thousands of years whatever, they 61 00:03:36,280 --> 00:03:38,240 got these tiny little roads and all of that right, 62 00:03:38,719 --> 00:03:43,120 because they built up before the automobile. But why does 63 00:03:43,159 --> 00:03:46,599 the automobile, Why is it as wide as it is, 64 00:03:46,840 --> 00:03:49,800 which dictates how wide you build the roads? How did 65 00:03:49,800 --> 00:03:54,879 that come about? Well, Initially you had the roads built 66 00:03:55,199 --> 00:03:59,759 to the horse and carriage. You see where this is going, right, 67 00:04:00,400 --> 00:04:07,280 So how wide is a horse And that's how wide 68 00:04:07,280 --> 00:04:09,879 you built the road because the ruts would dig it 69 00:04:09,919 --> 00:04:11,759 in and so you knew where the road was. Right. 70 00:04:11,759 --> 00:04:13,560 So then when you come in and you're finally going 71 00:04:13,599 --> 00:04:16,160 to put cobblestone down or pavement down, you do it 72 00:04:16,199 --> 00:04:20,600 over this existing road. And that's based on literally the 73 00:04:20,639 --> 00:04:23,879 width of a horse's ass. That's so there you go. 74 00:04:23,959 --> 00:04:30,160 That's how we ended up. Anyway, Now, one of the 75 00:04:30,319 --> 00:04:34,639 problems in any of these types of projects, or because 76 00:04:34,680 --> 00:04:36,240 by the way, part of the other deal is the 77 00:04:36,279 --> 00:04:42,360 state legislation that allowed for this vote. It also creates 78 00:04:43,480 --> 00:04:49,120 a transit authority. This is part of the Pave Act. 79 00:04:49,800 --> 00:04:54,360 It does not specifically carve out seats for public transit users, 80 00:04:54,560 --> 00:04:56,519 which is what a lot of the people who were 81 00:04:56,519 --> 00:04:59,319 speaking at the County commission meeting were demanding. They want 82 00:04:59,680 --> 00:05:04,279 they want riders, users of the system to have a 83 00:05:04,439 --> 00:05:10,439 voice on the governing authority, the transit authority. This is 84 00:05:10,480 --> 00:05:13,160 going to be this According to a story WBTV by 85 00:05:13,279 --> 00:05:17,120 Naomi Coles, the specifics of how to spend a large 86 00:05:17,120 --> 00:05:20,560 portion of the funding would be decided by a tightly 87 00:05:20,639 --> 00:05:25,279 controlled twenty seven person group. I don't know what the 88 00:05:25,319 --> 00:05:29,879 tightly controlled adjective refers to, because it's appointed. You get 89 00:05:29,920 --> 00:05:35,040 appointments by Again, this is twenty seven total seats. You 90 00:05:35,160 --> 00:05:38,560 have two that are appointed by the General Assembly, one 91 00:05:38,600 --> 00:05:42,800 appointed by the governor, twelve appointed by the City of Charlotte, 92 00:05:43,199 --> 00:05:47,279 six appointed by the County Commission, and then another six 93 00:05:48,560 --> 00:05:51,920 appointed by each of these six quote unquote small towns. 94 00:05:51,959 --> 00:05:57,639 The other municipalities in Mecklenburg County Huntersville, Cornelius, Matthews, Minhill, Davidson, Pineville. 95 00:05:58,920 --> 00:06:03,360 So that's the makeup of this authority, right. They're all appointments, 96 00:06:03,360 --> 00:06:06,519 but there's twenty seven members on the body. They cannot 97 00:06:06,560 --> 00:06:12,439 be current elected officials, they cannot be lobbyists. Two appointments, 98 00:06:12,959 --> 00:06:16,480 one from the Charlotte designation and one from the Mecklenburg 99 00:06:16,560 --> 00:06:21,759 County designation, would be reserved for quote otherwise qualified people 100 00:06:21,879 --> 00:06:27,079 who are also active users of cats. But if you 101 00:06:27,240 --> 00:06:31,639 can't find anybody qualified to fill those seats, then it 102 00:06:31,720 --> 00:06:36,240 releases the commission of that requirement. And that's not enough. 103 00:06:36,279 --> 00:06:40,240 According to Robert Dawkins of Action and See, which has 104 00:06:40,319 --> 00:06:44,480 been opposed to this plan. They're not opposed to mass transit, 105 00:06:44,560 --> 00:06:47,360 they're just opposed to this plan. And what Dawkins said 106 00:06:48,279 --> 00:06:51,759 is what I see as an unhealthy alliance for six 107 00:06:52,000 --> 00:06:55,639 spots which will always make you able to run the board. 108 00:06:57,439 --> 00:07:00,879 So I don't know who those six spots are. He says, 109 00:07:01,160 --> 00:07:03,360 that's the three people that will get appointed by the 110 00:07:03,360 --> 00:07:06,399 folks in the General Assembly. But that's not true. Only 111 00:07:06,439 --> 00:07:10,399 two are actually coming from the General Assembly. One is 112 00:07:10,439 --> 00:07:13,639 from the governor, but he counts that as three for 113 00:07:13,680 --> 00:07:18,759 some reason. And then the three corporate appointments and then 114 00:07:19,560 --> 00:07:24,920 two small business people. Okay, because that is they laid 115 00:07:24,920 --> 00:07:27,120 out like you got to have some small business representation, 116 00:07:27,720 --> 00:07:31,399 corporate representation, that sort of thing. So okay. But even 117 00:07:31,439 --> 00:07:35,240 if I take mister dawkins math at face value and say, okay, 118 00:07:35,600 --> 00:07:38,399 you have six members on that body, and you think 119 00:07:39,040 --> 00:07:41,480 he says, you put them all together and they're going 120 00:07:41,519 --> 00:07:45,920 to always be able to run the board. But I'm 121 00:07:45,959 --> 00:07:49,199 at a loss to understand how six members control twenty 122 00:07:49,240 --> 00:07:52,839 seven or twenty one others. How does six members of 123 00:07:52,839 --> 00:07:58,480 a twenty seven member board control that board? So look 124 00:07:58,680 --> 00:08:01,720 piece of Advice to Action n C and Robert Dawkins, 125 00:08:03,040 --> 00:08:04,519 I think you have to come up with some better 126 00:08:04,639 --> 00:08:07,439 arguments because this does this one doesn't make any sense. 127 00:08:07,839 --> 00:08:11,160 One of the biggest issues has always been whether it's 128 00:08:11,240 --> 00:08:14,720 consolidation of the local government. You know, because I've heard 129 00:08:14,759 --> 00:08:17,360 you know, this has been debated for decades. Get rid 130 00:08:17,399 --> 00:08:19,399 of the County Commission, there's no need for them anymore, 131 00:08:20,879 --> 00:08:22,759 and just consolidate into Charlotte. 132 00:08:22,839 --> 00:08:23,040 Speaker 2: Right. 133 00:08:23,920 --> 00:08:25,680 Speaker 1: Of course, the county won't do that because they don't 134 00:08:25,680 --> 00:08:28,000 want to give up their power and whatever. So the 135 00:08:28,079 --> 00:08:31,199 other problem, though, is that whenever you comprise a body 136 00:08:31,360 --> 00:08:33,720 and you're looking at the six small towns and then 137 00:08:33,759 --> 00:08:37,679 you're looking at the City of Charlotte, you have seven municipalities. 138 00:08:38,159 --> 00:08:41,039 Charlotte has way more people. So any kind of way 139 00:08:41,080 --> 00:08:46,679 that you design these boards or authorities or commissions, you're 140 00:08:47,240 --> 00:08:52,200 you're always running the risk of creating a perpetual majority 141 00:08:52,320 --> 00:08:54,919 vote for either the City of Charlotte if you do 142 00:08:54,960 --> 00:08:59,039 it by population or square mileage or something, or amount 143 00:08:59,080 --> 00:09:02,240 of money being confiscated through taxes and diverted into the 144 00:09:02,279 --> 00:09:06,440 commission or agency. So if you were to wait it 145 00:09:06,559 --> 00:09:09,720 in some way per capita or something, Charlotte's going to 146 00:09:09,799 --> 00:09:12,279 have the run of the roost, right, they're going to 147 00:09:12,320 --> 00:09:16,519 be able to veto or vote against anything else that 148 00:09:16,559 --> 00:09:19,480 comes from the small towns. So the small towns never 149 00:09:19,519 --> 00:09:22,799 want to be a part of that because they're then 150 00:09:22,960 --> 00:09:27,360 abdicating power and control. Okay, well, if you go the 151 00:09:27,360 --> 00:09:29,120 other direction, can we find a way to make like 152 00:09:29,159 --> 00:09:31,559 the empower the small towns. Well, then the city of 153 00:09:31,639 --> 00:09:33,320 Charlotte won't go in on that because they're like, we 154 00:09:33,360 --> 00:09:36,240 have more people, we spend more money, whatever, So they 155 00:09:36,240 --> 00:09:39,559 don't want to abdicate control and power either. It's always 156 00:09:39,559 --> 00:09:42,320 a problem with these types of things. And so this 157 00:09:42,399 --> 00:09:46,960 twenty seven member authority is, you know, the intent is 158 00:09:47,000 --> 00:09:50,679 to try to get at that balancing between the towns, 159 00:09:50,759 --> 00:09:53,639 the city, the county, with some input from the state. 160 00:09:56,559 --> 00:09:59,080 The idea is you have basically a team of rivals. 161 00:09:59,080 --> 00:10:01,440 It sounds like, so I'm not really sure if this 162 00:10:01,519 --> 00:10:04,360 is the best argument for action, and see to oppose it. 163 00:10:04,919 --> 00:10:06,720 All right, if you're listening to this show, you know 164 00:10:06,799 --> 00:10:08,799 I try to keep up with all sorts of current events, 165 00:10:08,799 --> 00:10:10,879 and I know you do too, And you've probably heard 166 00:10:10,879 --> 00:10:14,960 me say get your news from multiple sources. Why, Well, 167 00:10:15,000 --> 00:10:17,720 because it's how you detect media bias, which is why 168 00:10:17,759 --> 00:10:20,960 I've been so impressed with ground News. It's an app, 169 00:10:21,159 --> 00:10:24,320 and it's a website, and it combines news from around 170 00:10:24,360 --> 00:10:26,799 the world in one place, so you can compare coverage 171 00:10:27,039 --> 00:10:29,759 and verify information. You can check it out at check 172 00:10:29,960 --> 00:10:34,200 dot ground, dot news slash pete. I put the link 173 00:10:34,240 --> 00:10:37,360 in the podcast description too. I started using ground News 174 00:10:37,399 --> 00:10:40,080 a few months ago and more recently chose to work 175 00:10:40,120 --> 00:10:42,159 with them as an affiliate because it lets me see 176 00:10:42,200 --> 00:10:46,039 clearly how stories get covered and by whom. The blind 177 00:10:46,039 --> 00:10:48,840 spot feature shows you which stories get ignored by the 178 00:10:48,919 --> 00:10:52,639 left and the right. See for yourself. Check dot ground, 179 00:10:52,840 --> 00:10:56,519 dot news slash pete. Subscribe through that link and you'll 180 00:10:56,519 --> 00:10:59,679 get fifteen percent off any subscription. I use the Vantage 181 00:10:59,679 --> 00:11:03,200 plan to get unlimited access to every feature. Your subscription 182 00:11:03,320 --> 00:11:06,000 then not only helps my podcast, but it also supports 183 00:11:06,000 --> 00:11:11,120 ground News as they make the media landscape more transparent. Alrighty, 184 00:11:11,200 --> 00:11:13,080 this is from David. Let me get to the text line. 185 00:11:14,200 --> 00:11:17,679 David writes in Hi, Pete, this is David from Matthews. 186 00:11:18,039 --> 00:11:21,000 Why trust the people that run the trains? Remember a 187 00:11:21,039 --> 00:11:23,120 couple of years ago when the trains were jumping the 188 00:11:23,200 --> 00:11:26,519 rails because they hadn't done the proper monthly maintenance to 189 00:11:26,600 --> 00:11:32,639 the cars, and it was oversight and abuse and neglect. 190 00:11:33,320 --> 00:11:36,960 Yeah right, that's like that's the problem here is like 191 00:11:37,519 --> 00:11:41,639 you guys have been running a system that has had 192 00:11:41,679 --> 00:11:44,200 a whole bunch of problems already, and now maybe with 193 00:11:44,279 --> 00:11:47,480 the new transit authority, you create this transit authority and 194 00:11:47,480 --> 00:11:50,360 now maybe some of this stuff gets fixed now. I also, 195 00:11:51,519 --> 00:11:53,440 you know, I got a little bit of PTSD coming 196 00:11:53,440 --> 00:11:55,720 out of you know, New York Low those many years ago. 197 00:11:55,759 --> 00:11:58,639 I mean, I've been down in the Carolina since nineteen 198 00:11:58,720 --> 00:12:02,600 ninety two. But there's always problems with these transit authorities 199 00:12:03,840 --> 00:12:06,039 and eventually, like the one up there, I forget what 200 00:12:06,120 --> 00:12:08,080 it's called. I think it's just the MTA. I think 201 00:12:08,080 --> 00:12:13,000 they call it. It's Jersey, New York. Maybe Connecticut is 202 00:12:13,000 --> 00:12:15,919 in there, and it's like the Port Authority or something 203 00:12:15,960 --> 00:12:18,879 like that. I don't even remember. But like it's basically 204 00:12:18,919 --> 00:12:24,039 it's it's its own, like unaccountable government. I don't want that. 205 00:12:26,000 --> 00:12:31,600 David also adds Lama, You're welcome regarding the sales tax 206 00:12:31,600 --> 00:12:36,480 for light rail. Here's another Texter. Get the federal money first, 207 00:12:36,519 --> 00:12:38,840 then come to the voters. For the one sent sales tax. 208 00:12:38,879 --> 00:12:40,720 I am sixty three years old. I don't have thirty 209 00:12:40,759 --> 00:12:43,159 years to pay that penny. If I was thirty three, 210 00:12:43,200 --> 00:12:45,120 I still wouldn't have thirty years to pay that penny. 211 00:12:46,679 --> 00:12:50,320 So you can't get the federal money because it's a match. 212 00:12:50,480 --> 00:12:55,399 You can't get the grant until you lock down state 213 00:12:55,480 --> 00:12:59,879 and local funding sources. That's that's my recollection of how 214 00:12:59,879 --> 00:13:05,799 the process works. Roger says, Pete, give our city officials 215 00:13:05,799 --> 00:13:09,399 some credit. They have a proven record with properly spending 216 00:13:09,399 --> 00:13:12,879 on our money on the light rail repairs and bulletproof 217 00:13:12,960 --> 00:13:19,600 vests for bus drivers. Yes, that's right. How do I get? 218 00:13:19,879 --> 00:13:22,240 Harry wants to know how he gets a supervisor's job 219 00:13:22,279 --> 00:13:28,080 with the city. I don't know. And then, uh wait, 220 00:13:28,200 --> 00:13:30,879 hang over this thing. Sorry the text line. I'm reading 221 00:13:30,879 --> 00:13:33,919 this thing and it bounces, so I'll start reading something 222 00:13:33,960 --> 00:13:36,159 and then it bounces out of my screen. So I'm sorry, 223 00:13:37,960 --> 00:13:41,279 So where was I here? Don't forget the new v 224 00:13:41,320 --> 00:13:48,440 A t AKA the tariffs on imports, says Jefferson, and 225 00:13:48,759 --> 00:13:51,159 Kevin says, when I just tuned in, at first, I 226 00:13:51,159 --> 00:13:53,600 thought you were talking about the new US tariffs. I 227 00:13:53,600 --> 00:13:55,200 fear those are going to do the same thing. The 228 00:13:55,200 --> 00:13:58,840 Meckelberg tax increase will do drive up cost on all products, 229 00:13:59,080 --> 00:14:00,960 even those coming from inside the US are going to 230 00:14:01,000 --> 00:14:03,000 go up because companies are going to raise the prices 231 00:14:03,759 --> 00:14:07,200 to increase profit. It's not a matter of increasing their profits, Kevin. 232 00:14:07,240 --> 00:14:12,080 It's a matter of maintaining their profit margin. Okay, they're 233 00:14:12,080 --> 00:14:14,320 not going to raise It's not that you raise the 234 00:14:14,320 --> 00:14:17,080 prices to make more money. It's that you raise the 235 00:14:17,120 --> 00:14:22,120 prices to offset your losses that you're now incurring. As 236 00:14:22,120 --> 00:14:24,000 long as they are cheaper than the foreign goods, that's 237 00:14:24,039 --> 00:14:29,320 all that matters to consumers. Somebody wants to know what 238 00:14:29,399 --> 00:14:33,720 the name of the Oh, did you already answer them? 239 00:14:33,720 --> 00:14:37,080 On the bumper music? Somebody did? I think having Charlotte 240 00:14:37,120 --> 00:14:40,120 spend the money as it's supposed to because I'm reading 241 00:14:40,120 --> 00:14:45,600 the feed. I'm not reading that other screen. Having Charlotte 242 00:14:45,600 --> 00:14:47,759 spend the money as it is supposed to and not 243 00:14:47,799 --> 00:14:50,320 being able to divert money is what Braxton Winston was 244 00:14:50,360 --> 00:14:52,960 referring to having their hands tied. I did not hear 245 00:14:53,120 --> 00:14:56,200 this from Rodney. I did not hear Winston's comments. Former 246 00:14:56,519 --> 00:14:59,919 Mayor pro ten Braxton Winston he's part of the action 247 00:15:00,039 --> 00:15:04,360 and see opposition to this plan. I did not hear 248 00:15:04,960 --> 00:15:09,279 the comment that Rodney's referring to. Aaron says, let us 249 00:15:09,320 --> 00:15:14,559 know the let us know that weather also plays a 250 00:15:14,600 --> 00:15:17,480 big part in road construction. If things are too cool 251 00:15:17,600 --> 00:15:20,120 or too hot, things can happen. The weather has to 252 00:15:20,159 --> 00:15:23,559 be like in between. Basically, oh, let him know. That 253 00:15:23,679 --> 00:15:26,960 was to the caller Tony who called in at the 254 00:15:27,039 --> 00:15:30,200 end of the last hour complaining about, you know, the 255 00:15:30,279 --> 00:15:32,360 length of time it takes to do the road projects, 256 00:15:32,559 --> 00:15:35,879 which a lot of that is also regulatory, but also 257 00:15:35,960 --> 00:15:43,200 shifting of cruise around, you know, working on different projects. Scott, 258 00:15:43,279 --> 00:15:44,759 I'll see there it goes. It just bounced out on 259 00:15:44,799 --> 00:15:48,679 my screen again. Scott says, why don't the items that 260 00:15:48,720 --> 00:15:52,759 are causing the issue get charged? The tax cars? Well, 261 00:15:52,799 --> 00:15:57,440 they are, they are charged, but actually the cars aren't 262 00:15:57,440 --> 00:16:00,000 causing the issue. The people are calling causing the issue. 263 00:16:00,200 --> 00:16:03,720 I always say this, people complain about traffic. You are traffic. 264 00:16:04,720 --> 00:16:09,279 You okay, me, we are traffic. Those cars aren't driving 265 00:16:09,320 --> 00:16:11,639 around on their own, even if they were autonomous, they 266 00:16:11,679 --> 00:16:14,639 still got people in them, right, Those are people in 267 00:16:14,679 --> 00:16:19,000 those cars. So that's why you tax the people, one 268 00:16:19,000 --> 00:16:20,639 of my And by the way, this goes to something 269 00:16:20,639 --> 00:16:23,039 that former Governor Jim Martin told me years ago, which 270 00:16:23,120 --> 00:16:26,000 was this old saying, see that man behind the tree, 271 00:16:26,120 --> 00:16:29,200 go tax him, don't tax me. And that is the 272 00:16:29,279 --> 00:16:31,399 driving philosophy on like all of this stuff, which is 273 00:16:31,440 --> 00:16:32,919 I don't want to pay any more taxes, but I 274 00:16:32,960 --> 00:16:36,360 want this stuff, so go tax them. One of my 275 00:16:36,399 --> 00:16:39,039 customers is large. This is from Kevin again, one of 276 00:16:39,039 --> 00:16:42,039 my customers, large enough to handle anything the city needs. 277 00:16:42,799 --> 00:16:45,000 But he has said Mecklenburg and the City of Charlotte 278 00:16:45,039 --> 00:16:48,440 is miserable to work with. He stays away from them specifically. 279 00:16:48,600 --> 00:16:51,240 Lots of other cities and municipalities are much easier to 280 00:16:51,240 --> 00:16:54,320 work with. Well, get this, there is no cap on 281 00:16:54,360 --> 00:16:59,120 the amount of comments and recomments and recomments that the 282 00:16:59,120 --> 00:17:02,759 city can do four projects. So if I'm building a 283 00:17:02,799 --> 00:17:04,920 project and I go to the city for my permits 284 00:17:06,240 --> 00:17:09,640 and they make a bunch of notes, They're like, you 285 00:17:09,680 --> 00:17:11,920 got to do this, do that, correct this, change that, 286 00:17:12,519 --> 00:17:14,119 and I do all of the things that they said, 287 00:17:14,200 --> 00:17:18,839 I then have to resubmit for the permit. And then 288 00:17:18,880 --> 00:17:21,319 instead of just going through and saying, okay, we listed 289 00:17:21,319 --> 00:17:24,519 four things, you did all those four things you're approved, 290 00:17:25,240 --> 00:17:27,359 they do they do a whole different review, a whole 291 00:17:27,359 --> 00:17:30,079 new review. So you address the four things they asked for, 292 00:17:30,279 --> 00:17:33,200 and then they find other stuff, and then you got 293 00:17:33,200 --> 00:17:34,799 to you got to take it back, you got to 294 00:17:34,839 --> 00:17:38,279 re review, You bring it back to them again, and 295 00:17:38,599 --> 00:17:40,680 that process can go. You can go back and forth 296 00:17:40,720 --> 00:17:44,759 with the city forever. There's no limit on how many 297 00:17:44,799 --> 00:17:50,240 times they can re review, which is kind of nuts, right, 298 00:17:50,400 --> 00:17:53,160 Like if I submit a project, here are my plans, 299 00:17:53,960 --> 00:17:56,240 and you approve them, except or you say you got 300 00:17:56,240 --> 00:17:58,880 to do these four changes. I make those changes, that 301 00:17:58,920 --> 00:18:01,640 would tell me now I'm proved. I don't think you 302 00:18:01,640 --> 00:18:03,240 should be able to then go back and say, Okay, 303 00:18:03,240 --> 00:18:05,960 good job on those four things. Here's five more. Here's 304 00:18:06,000 --> 00:18:08,559 a great idea. How about making an escape to a 305 00:18:08,599 --> 00:18:12,119 really special and secluded getaway in western North Carolina? Just 306 00:18:12,160 --> 00:18:14,759 a quick drive up the mountain and Cabins of Ashville 307 00:18:14,839 --> 00:18:18,599 is your connection. 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Call her 323 00:19:09,960 --> 00:19:13,279 text eight two eight, three six seven seventy sixty eight 324 00:19:13,599 --> 00:19:15,720 or check out all there is to offer at Cabins 325 00:19:15,759 --> 00:19:19,279 of Ashville dot com and make memories that'll last a lifetime. 326 00:19:19,839 --> 00:19:21,599 Let me jump over to the phones here and get 327 00:19:21,720 --> 00:19:24,319 Jerry on the program. Hello, Jerry, how are you? 328 00:19:25,279 --> 00:19:25,599 Speaker 2: Uh? Oh? 329 00:19:25,640 --> 00:19:30,880 Speaker 1: Turn down the radio, Jerry, okay, okay, okay, Pete, I'm Okay, 330 00:19:30,920 --> 00:19:31,519 are you okay? 331 00:19:32,519 --> 00:19:35,079 Speaker 2: Yeah, good, I'm good. Thank you, yeah, thank you had 332 00:19:35,119 --> 00:19:38,079 great show as usually, Thanks sir, Hey Pete. The city 333 00:19:38,279 --> 00:19:42,119 is a mess. It is more dangerous than ever. And 334 00:19:42,440 --> 00:19:45,079 I know this isn't news, but I just think we 335 00:19:45,200 --> 00:19:47,880 need to talk about it more. My goodness. 336 00:19:48,599 --> 00:19:50,599 Speaker 1: Well, I mean, I think the CMPD put out their 337 00:19:50,599 --> 00:19:54,400 crime stats that showed the crime was down. They were 338 00:19:54,440 --> 00:19:56,319 touting it. I forget if it was a specific was 339 00:19:56,319 --> 00:19:58,240 it murder that was down a little bit or something, 340 00:19:58,319 --> 00:20:01,039 but they were touting their crime stats a couple of 341 00:20:01,039 --> 00:20:03,680 weeks ago saying that it was lower. And I mean, 342 00:20:03,680 --> 00:20:05,720 this is one of the things like like, yes, there 343 00:20:05,759 --> 00:20:09,559 is crime in Uptown. Absolutely. My wife works in Uptown. 344 00:20:09,640 --> 00:20:12,759 I go up there pretty regularly to you know, meet 345 00:20:12,759 --> 00:20:14,759 her at the office and that sort of thing. I'm 346 00:20:14,759 --> 00:20:18,119 in uptown. My doctor's in Uptown. So I am uptown 347 00:20:18,880 --> 00:20:22,440 enough to see what has become of Uptown. And it's 348 00:20:22,559 --> 00:20:25,759 way more, you know, busier, a lot more people than 349 00:20:25,839 --> 00:20:29,400 you know, twenty five years ago. No doubt, crime is definitely, 350 00:20:29,680 --> 00:20:33,000 you know, worse than than it was in recent years. 351 00:20:33,079 --> 00:20:37,319 But historically speaking, and this is the case across America, 352 00:20:37,759 --> 00:20:43,160 violent crime has been declining for decades. Did you know that? 353 00:20:44,240 --> 00:20:47,920 Speaker 2: Yeah, the thing that you know, I know, there were 354 00:20:47,960 --> 00:20:50,440 several restaurants, several I think there was a half a 355 00:20:50,440 --> 00:20:53,599 dozen or so restaurants that they came out this week 356 00:20:53,680 --> 00:20:57,839 said that, you know, business just wasn't there. Yeah. I'm 357 00:20:57,880 --> 00:21:01,880 in the food service business, and and I just feel 358 00:21:01,920 --> 00:21:04,720 like people are afraid to go uptown. 359 00:21:04,480 --> 00:21:08,279 Speaker 1: I well, yes, you are correct. So therein lies the 360 00:21:08,839 --> 00:21:12,839 conundrum is that if there is a perception that it's 361 00:21:12,960 --> 00:21:17,319 dangerous that keeps people away. You're absolutely right, and that 362 00:21:17,480 --> 00:21:22,039 perception is driven by high profile, you know, violent acts, 363 00:21:22,079 --> 00:21:25,160 that sort of thing, but it's also driven by the 364 00:21:25,359 --> 00:21:28,720 large vagrancy problem, the homeless problem. 365 00:21:29,119 --> 00:21:30,400 Speaker 2: And absolutely right. 366 00:21:30,440 --> 00:21:35,400 Speaker 1: And so when people see and look again, Christy works 367 00:21:35,480 --> 00:21:39,839 up there every day, and I hear stories virtually every day, 368 00:21:40,160 --> 00:21:43,440 people passed out on the sidewalk, screaming at each other, 369 00:21:43,519 --> 00:21:47,319 screaming at passers by, screaming at nobody. You know, it's 370 00:21:47,359 --> 00:21:51,519 just it. It does not feel safe, even if the 371 00:21:51,599 --> 00:21:52,880 crime stats don't show that. 372 00:21:53,799 --> 00:21:57,680 Speaker 2: Pete, you obviously have some concerns because your wife lives 373 00:21:57,759 --> 00:21:59,839 up there. I'm sure, I mean because your wife works 374 00:21:59,880 --> 00:22:05,640 up there. Yeah, I mean through throughout the day. You 375 00:22:05,680 --> 00:22:07,440 probably think about that from time to time. 376 00:22:07,480 --> 00:22:10,920 Speaker 1: I'm sure, yeah, yeah, absolutely, Yeah. 377 00:22:11,440 --> 00:22:13,960 Speaker 2: You know, I just thought of something. I'm giving my 378 00:22:13,960 --> 00:22:16,680 my daughter some football tickets to go to the game tonight. 379 00:22:17,279 --> 00:22:18,920 But there's no way I would let her go up 380 00:22:18,960 --> 00:22:20,960 there with with a girlfriend. She's going up there with 381 00:22:21,039 --> 00:22:23,279 her with her boyfriend. There's no way I would let 382 00:22:23,319 --> 00:22:25,759 her go up there with another gal. There's no way. 383 00:22:26,039 --> 00:22:27,000 I just wouldn't do it. 384 00:22:27,400 --> 00:22:32,319 Speaker 1: Yeah. Again, that's the perception of the perception of not 385 00:22:32,400 --> 00:22:36,200 being safe. And how does the city combat that. I 386 00:22:36,240 --> 00:22:39,960 would say, you probably need more police presence on the 387 00:22:40,000 --> 00:22:42,480 streets so people feel safer. 388 00:22:43,480 --> 00:22:48,359 Speaker 2: How about how about a police chief that that, uh, 389 00:22:48,640 --> 00:22:51,319 maybe we had a better that maybe had a little 390 00:22:51,319 --> 00:22:53,720 better persona than what he's projected. 391 00:22:53,960 --> 00:22:56,880 Speaker 1: Maybe. Yeah, I mean, you know, it comes from the top. 392 00:22:57,000 --> 00:22:59,480 So yeah, I mean, like all of these things are 393 00:22:59,559 --> 00:23:04,079 choices and priorities that local leaders have made, and you know, 394 00:23:04,240 --> 00:23:07,079 voters will suffer it as long as they continue putting 395 00:23:07,119 --> 00:23:09,799 the same people back into office. Jerry, I appreciate the call, Buddy, 396 00:23:09,799 --> 00:23:11,960 good to hear from you. Thank you all right, man, 397 00:23:12,039 --> 00:23:14,680 have a great weekend. Let me get back to the 398 00:23:14,720 --> 00:23:19,759 text line. Here because it's kind of blowing up. One 399 00:23:19,759 --> 00:23:22,640 of my customers is large enough to handle anything the 400 00:23:22,680 --> 00:23:24,960 city needs. Oh, I already wrote that. I read that one. 401 00:23:25,279 --> 00:23:27,720 Here's another one. I'm fifty seven years old. I grew 402 00:23:27,759 --> 00:23:30,000 up in Atlanta, moved to Charlotte in my late twenties. 403 00:23:30,279 --> 00:23:34,559 When Marta expanded in Atlanta, there was a correlated spike 404 00:23:34,640 --> 00:23:37,920 in crime along the new routes that largely never dissipated. 405 00:23:38,359 --> 00:23:41,119 This drove a lot of families even further out into 406 00:23:41,160 --> 00:23:44,400 the new suburbs away from the rail system. Ultimately it 407 00:23:44,440 --> 00:23:48,559 makes drive times even longer. Oh and Atlanta's projections from 408 00:23:48,599 --> 00:23:53,119 Marta never panned out either. Yeah, that's another thing too. 409 00:23:53,160 --> 00:23:59,920 Here the ridership numbers, you know, like that's the project 410 00:24:00,359 --> 00:24:05,359 on the cost they never meet the what is sold. 411 00:24:06,000 --> 00:24:07,680 In fact, I got a story in here also about 412 00:24:07,680 --> 00:24:10,279 the NASCAR Hall of Fame. I remember when that whole 413 00:24:10,279 --> 00:24:16,920 thing got built. Those visitor projections are way off, and 414 00:24:17,279 --> 00:24:21,319 people like me back then said this is probably not 415 00:24:21,440 --> 00:24:25,640 going to be an accurate prediction. This is from Brian 416 00:24:25,680 --> 00:24:27,759 who says, I'm a degreed engineer that has worked on 417 00:24:27,880 --> 00:24:30,960 large capital projects for the past thirty years. That last 418 00:24:31,000 --> 00:24:34,000 caller said there was an abundance of design engineers and 419 00:24:34,039 --> 00:24:35,759 he was wrong. Not the last caller, but in the 420 00:24:35,799 --> 00:24:40,759 last hour caller Tony said that it was infinite and 421 00:24:40,799 --> 00:24:42,519 you are correct. There are only a few firms in 422 00:24:42,559 --> 00:24:45,240 the US that could handle the design and construction of 423 00:24:45,279 --> 00:24:51,279 a light rail system. This is from Rodney. Tony apparently 424 00:24:51,319 --> 00:24:54,680 doesn't that's caller Tony doesn't understand. The firm has to 425 00:24:54,720 --> 00:24:57,079 have the money to do the work because the state 426 00:24:57,119 --> 00:24:59,559 will not give you an advanced payment. There's also a 427 00:24:59,599 --> 00:25:02,200 list of on tractors the state picks from, and you 428 00:25:02,279 --> 00:25:08,599 have to meet certain qualifications. Bucky says, before any more 429 00:25:08,880 --> 00:25:12,160 spending on light rail, is the existing system repaired? Is 430 00:25:12,160 --> 00:25:15,359 it running at full speed? I do not know. It's 431 00:25:15,400 --> 00:25:17,559 a good question. Remember they had to they had to 432 00:25:17,599 --> 00:25:21,880 reduce all of the train speeds because the failure to 433 00:25:21,960 --> 00:25:27,920 maintain the trucks underneath the wheelbase, you know there. They 434 00:25:27,920 --> 00:25:29,480 were like, if you go too fast, like the thing 435 00:25:29,559 --> 00:25:33,799 could fall off and derail. With regard to rail, it'd 436 00:25:33,799 --> 00:25:35,640 be a great idea to do a deep financial dive 437 00:25:36,079 --> 00:25:38,559 into the Chicago system and how much waste and abuse 438 00:25:38,559 --> 00:25:43,720 in that system versus ridership actually using the system. Steve says, 439 00:25:43,720 --> 00:25:45,680 what happened to the good old days when private business 440 00:25:45,720 --> 00:25:47,599 donated to pay for these things for a tax? 441 00:25:47,680 --> 00:25:47,799 Speaker 2: Right? 442 00:25:48,000 --> 00:25:49,480 Speaker 1: Well, they can still do that if they want to. 443 00:25:50,720 --> 00:25:52,519 I'd say, what happened to the days when the private 444 00:25:52,559 --> 00:25:55,359 sector actually operated this stuff? But oh no, you can't 445 00:25:55,359 --> 00:25:57,880 do that, because when someone built a toll road, everybody 446 00:25:57,920 --> 00:26:04,319 lost their minds. Right, arena deal taxes, ask Glenn Wheeler. 447 00:26:04,559 --> 00:26:09,799 George says, Lynn Wheeler passed away, So you mentioned the 448 00:26:09,799 --> 00:26:13,759 pay of engineers. I've always loved Chu Choo trains. Ever 449 00:26:13,839 --> 00:26:17,000 been to tweet see, says Joey? I have not. When 450 00:26:17,039 --> 00:26:19,519 will the residents of South Charlotte, who rarely receive any 451 00:26:19,519 --> 00:26:23,559 positive impact from these initiatives, rebel and vote against these items? 452 00:26:23,720 --> 00:26:25,720 We pay tons of taxes but a very little, if 453 00:26:25,720 --> 00:26:28,039 any transit service in our part of town in this case, 454 00:26:28,079 --> 00:26:30,200 throwing Matthews in Minhill as well, since they're on the 455 00:26:30,240 --> 00:26:32,880 short end of the stick regarding not getting light rail. 456 00:26:34,039 --> 00:26:37,640 Now that's a fair point too. You know, stories are powerful. 457 00:26:37,680 --> 00:26:40,799 They help us make sense of things, to understand experiences. 458 00:26:41,039 --> 00:26:43,319 Stories connect us to the people of our past while 459 00:26:43,359 --> 00:26:46,759 transcending generations. They help us process the meaning of life 460 00:26:46,839 --> 00:26:50,720 and our stories are told through images and videos. Preserve 461 00:26:50,839 --> 00:26:54,200 your stories with Creative Video. Started in nineteen ninety seven 462 00:26:54,240 --> 00:26:56,960 in mint Hill, North Carolina. It was the first company 463 00:26:57,000 --> 00:27:00,759 to provide this valuable service, converting images, photos and videos 464 00:27:00,880 --> 00:27:05,200 into high quality produced slide shows, videos and albums. The trusted, 465 00:27:05,319 --> 00:27:08,319 talented and dedicated team at Creative Video will go over 466 00:27:08,400 --> 00:27:11,200 all of the details with you to create a perfect project. 467 00:27:11,319 --> 00:27:14,480 Satisfaction guaranteed. Drop them off in person or mail them. 468 00:27:14,480 --> 00:27:16,839 They'll be ready in a week or two. Memorial videos 469 00:27:16,839 --> 00:27:21,160 for your loved ones, videos for rehearsal, dinners, weddings, graduations, Christmas, 470 00:27:21,319 --> 00:27:25,480 family vacations, birthdays, or just your family stories all told 471 00:27:25,519 --> 00:27:29,240 through images. That's what your photos and videos are. They 472 00:27:29,240 --> 00:27:32,079 are your life told through the eyes of everyone around 473 00:27:32,119 --> 00:27:34,400 you and all who came before you, and they will 474 00:27:34,400 --> 00:27:37,759 tell others to come who you are. Visit creative video 475 00:27:38,000 --> 00:27:43,359 dot com. The Texter before the break said, when will 476 00:27:43,400 --> 00:27:47,160 the residents of South Charlotte rebel? There was actually an 477 00:27:47,200 --> 00:27:53,000 attempt about twenty years ago to create a new town 478 00:27:54,799 --> 00:27:58,319 in Balentine, not balant They wouldn't call it Valentine. I 479 00:27:58,319 --> 00:28:00,720 think it was pitched as Providence because there is no 480 00:28:00,799 --> 00:28:06,599 Providence North Carolina, and that idea got kicked around from 481 00:28:06,599 --> 00:28:10,000 the local movers and shakers down in that part of 482 00:28:10,039 --> 00:28:13,880 the city. They wanted to secede out of the City 483 00:28:13,920 --> 00:28:16,359 of Charlotte and become their own town. It did not 484 00:28:16,440 --> 00:28:21,160 go anywhere, but it has been discussed in the past. 485 00:28:22,519 --> 00:28:25,640 One Texter says, I enjoy the show. My question is 486 00:28:25,640 --> 00:28:28,559 what keeps Raleigh from keeping more of our money since 487 00:28:28,599 --> 00:28:30,960 we are going to create our own local fund. So 488 00:28:31,119 --> 00:28:34,880 Raleigh much just might just say, hey, they got it covered. 489 00:28:37,759 --> 00:28:42,440 I'm not sure I follow Usually with these deals, you 490 00:28:42,519 --> 00:28:45,200 get a chunk of money from Dot, a chunk of 491 00:28:45,200 --> 00:28:47,160 money from the local, and then a chunk of money 492 00:28:47,160 --> 00:28:52,759 from the Feds. So another Texter says, I can't afford 493 00:28:52,799 --> 00:28:56,319 this county anymore. They increased my city tax, they increased 494 00:28:56,319 --> 00:28:59,519 my county tax, They almost tripled my property value so 495 00:28:59,519 --> 00:29:02,039 they could get more revenue on those taxes, and now 496 00:29:02,079 --> 00:29:07,039 they're increasing the sales tax again. It's unaffordable and unlivable. 497 00:29:09,440 --> 00:29:14,039 Another one asks what happened to the violence interrupters? Yeah, 498 00:29:14,079 --> 00:29:16,799 I don't know. Maybe they have been interrupting violence. I'm 499 00:29:16,799 --> 00:29:22,559 not sure. Maybe they haven't. Yeah, Kirk says, talking about 500 00:29:22,559 --> 00:29:25,359 all this transit stuff reminds me of Keith Larsen's likening 501 00:29:25,400 --> 00:29:28,640 the subject to the Wizard of Oz. The traffic, congestion, pollution. 502 00:29:28,799 --> 00:29:31,039 Oh my, he used to say that because those were 503 00:29:31,039 --> 00:29:34,720 always the arguments why we needed to build the trains. 504 00:29:36,920 --> 00:29:41,359 Steve in China Grove, whoa whoa China Grove. Decades ago, 505 00:29:41,440 --> 00:29:44,599 when light rail was in its infancy, insinuations were made 506 00:29:44,599 --> 00:29:47,640 the project could actually pay for itself. Hasn't been long 507 00:29:47,720 --> 00:29:51,200 enough to turn profits? No, I thought that argument was 508 00:29:51,880 --> 00:29:54,519 some people tried to make that argument that I believe, 509 00:29:54,599 --> 00:29:56,680 if memory serves correctly, I think I did a whole 510 00:29:58,559 --> 00:30:02,279 package of stories about no interviewed different cities. It never 511 00:30:03,200 --> 00:30:10,079 pays for itself. Never, It's always subsidized. It does not 512 00:30:10,160 --> 00:30:16,880 make a profit. Couldn't those profits finance the newly proposed project, 513 00:30:17,200 --> 00:30:23,799 saving Mecklenburg citizens a lifetime of added taxes? Double rim shot? Please, 514 00:30:23,920 --> 00:30:25,319 I don't know if you get a double. I don't 515 00:30:25,400 --> 00:30:29,559 even know if you get won for that, Steve. They 516 00:30:29,599 --> 00:30:32,400 mentioned the runaway Texas Democo that during the news break. Okay, 517 00:30:32,400 --> 00:30:36,160 I'm not going to that's off topic. Thirty years ago 518 00:30:36,160 --> 00:30:38,519 I got married. You would not be caught dead uptown, 519 00:30:38,680 --> 00:30:41,519 No pun intended after five o'clock because of safety issues. 520 00:30:41,519 --> 00:30:43,359 Then it became a great place to go. And now 521 00:30:43,359 --> 00:30:45,839 it feels like it's back to what it was thirty 522 00:30:45,880 --> 00:30:50,319 to thirty five years ago. Yeah. Look, as one who 523 00:30:50,319 --> 00:30:52,359 has been here now long enough to have seen the 524 00:30:52,480 --> 00:30:58,160 arc of growth and dynamism and excitement and people getting 525 00:30:58,240 --> 00:31:02,680 lured back to Uptown, restaurants opening, it's all activated. There's 526 00:31:02,680 --> 00:31:05,279 stuff going on. But also keep in mind that a 527 00:31:05,279 --> 00:31:07,319 lot of people don't like that. They don't want to 528 00:31:07,359 --> 00:31:09,279 live in the city. They don't care about living in 529 00:31:09,279 --> 00:31:11,240 an urban environment, but that a lot of people do. 530 00:31:12,519 --> 00:31:15,039 But cities are expensive, and they are noisy, and they 531 00:31:15,039 --> 00:31:20,400 are crowded. That is what cities are. So I worked 532 00:31:20,480 --> 00:31:23,279 up Town for the better part of thirty years. Always 533 00:31:23,319 --> 00:31:25,960 felt safe until recently. A friend and I used to 534 00:31:26,000 --> 00:31:28,240 walk and one time a homeless man threatened us and 535 00:31:28,279 --> 00:31:30,039 told us I'm gonna kill somebody. I'm just warning you, 536 00:31:30,039 --> 00:31:32,559 I'm gonna kill somebody. Another time, my grandson and I 537 00:31:32,599 --> 00:31:34,799 were leaving Discovery Place and we didn't hardly get out 538 00:31:34,839 --> 00:31:37,400 the door before a homeless guy approached me asking for money. 539 00:31:37,640 --> 00:31:40,200 I felt very vulnerable, especially since I had a child 540 00:31:40,200 --> 00:31:42,920 with me, so I gave him five dollars just to 541 00:31:42,920 --> 00:31:47,960 get him off my case. But I shouldn't have. Yeah, 542 00:31:47,960 --> 00:31:56,119 I mean, that's the thing. It's perception of insecurity, and like, 543 00:31:56,359 --> 00:31:58,599 the only way to change that is to make people 544 00:31:58,680 --> 00:32:03,480 feel more safe. So how do you do that? You 545 00:32:03,599 --> 00:32:08,200 remove the things that are making people feel unsafe. And 546 00:32:08,240 --> 00:32:12,079 the main thing that makes people feel unsafe, well two 547 00:32:12,400 --> 00:32:17,920 number one random mass shootings and parks at major events. Right, 548 00:32:18,680 --> 00:32:20,440 you got a bunch of people together, and so you 549 00:32:20,480 --> 00:32:23,119 get gang beefs that come from other neighborhoods. They bring 550 00:32:23,160 --> 00:32:25,039 it into Rome or beard In Park and they start 551 00:32:25,400 --> 00:32:29,000 fighting each other. Like that's a big one obviously, But 552 00:32:29,079 --> 00:32:32,480 the main one is the vagrancy problem. That's the big 553 00:32:32,519 --> 00:32:37,839 one that is contributing to the perception of insecurity in uptown. 554 00:32:39,240 --> 00:32:42,480 I mentioned the NASCAR Hall of Fame. They're asking for 555 00:32:42,559 --> 00:32:45,359 more money twenty five million from the City of Charlotte. 556 00:32:48,599 --> 00:32:51,359 Attendance and revenue are both on the rise, they say, 557 00:32:51,960 --> 00:32:54,119 but it's still nowhere near what it was projected to 558 00:32:54,160 --> 00:32:58,039 be when it originally opened. The Hall of Fame started 559 00:32:58,039 --> 00:33:02,039 facing attendance and revenue problems soon after opening in twenty ten. 560 00:33:02,079 --> 00:33:05,759 According to Mary Ramsey's piece at the Charlotte Observer, officials 561 00:33:05,799 --> 00:33:10,599 back then projected eight hundred thousand visitors in the first year, 562 00:33:11,359 --> 00:33:17,160 four hundred thousand in the second year. Actual attendance two 563 00:33:17,279 --> 00:33:20,319 seventy two two hundred and seventy two thousand in the 564 00:33:20,319 --> 00:33:22,480 first year, which then dropped to one hundred and ninety 565 00:33:22,480 --> 00:33:25,559 seven thousand. Look, I've been to the NASCAR Hall of 566 00:33:25,559 --> 00:33:32,920 Fame twice, once to actually, you know, go through it, 567 00:33:33,519 --> 00:33:36,440 and then another time there was an event there and 568 00:33:37,839 --> 00:33:41,440 it's cool, but it I don't know if it has 569 00:33:41,480 --> 00:33:45,680 the replayability, you know what I mean, Like, unless you 570 00:33:45,720 --> 00:33:50,599 are really into NASCAR history. Once you drive the simulated car, 571 00:33:51,039 --> 00:33:56,079 once you walk along the the you know, the the 572 00:33:56,400 --> 00:34:01,160 racetrack tarmac, which is cool, when you visit the gift shop, 573 00:34:02,400 --> 00:34:05,559 maybe you change you do one of the pit crew 574 00:34:05,759 --> 00:34:08,000 drills where you change a flat tire kind of thing. 575 00:34:08,800 --> 00:34:13,400 Like once you do those things, everything else is kind 576 00:34:13,440 --> 00:34:16,239 of like, Oh, here's Fireball Roberts, you know, fire suit 577 00:34:16,440 --> 00:34:20,679 or whatever. And I like, again, for a NASCAR fan, 578 00:34:20,760 --> 00:34:24,159 that's probably great, but I'd also don't know, like, what 579 00:34:24,280 --> 00:34:25,920 is it that keeps them coming back? 580 00:34:26,280 --> 00:34:26,480 Speaker 2: Right? 581 00:34:27,119 --> 00:34:29,639 Speaker 1: What keeps them coming back to that Hall of fame 582 00:34:30,000 --> 00:34:32,039 when they're in town for the Coca Cola six hundred 583 00:34:32,119 --> 00:34:40,840 or something or the All Star Race. Revenue is up 584 00:34:41,440 --> 00:34:45,400 and exceeds expenses now according to the Charlotte Regional Visitors Authority, 585 00:34:45,440 --> 00:34:49,840 which is good. That's good, but it is nowhere near 586 00:34:49,880 --> 00:34:57,360 what it was originally intended to attract, much like you know, 587 00:34:57,800 --> 00:35:01,519 much like these transit systems. And I will say though, 588 00:35:01,639 --> 00:35:03,679 that this is paid for with the two percent tax 589 00:35:04,079 --> 00:35:07,079 on hotel motel, the occupancy tax, so at least this 590 00:35:07,119 --> 00:35:09,800 isn't like a sales tax hit or a property tax 591 00:35:09,920 --> 00:35:14,119 hit for us. This is generated by the hotel motel, 592 00:35:14,239 --> 00:35:17,920 you know, the occupancy tax. So at least there's that. 593 00:35:19,639 --> 00:35:21,960 All right, that'll do it for this episode. Thank you 594 00:35:22,039 --> 00:35:24,000 so much for listening. I could not do the show 595 00:35:24,039 --> 00:35:26,559 without your support and the support of the businesses that 596 00:35:26,639 --> 00:35:29,719 advertise on the podcast, So if you'd like, please support 597 00:35:29,719 --> 00:35:31,400 them too and tell them you heard it here. You 598 00:35:31,440 --> 00:35:34,079 can also become a patron at my Patreon page or 599 00:35:34,159 --> 00:35:37,760 go to thepetecleanershow dot com. Again, thank you so much 600 00:35:37,800 --> 00:35:44,239 for listening, and don't break anything while I'm gone.