(By Ann Doss Helms, ahelms@charlotteobserver.com) A controversial bill that would let Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools launch performance pay without teacher approval passed the N.C. House 72-42 today.Rep. Ruth Samuelson, R-Mecklenburg, who introduced the bill, has said she wanted to get it through the House, then "park" it so backers and opponents can try to work out differences. It could be revised and sent to the Senate anytime before June 2012, she said.
N.C. House passes bill to alter CMS teacher pay
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Charlotte man sent to prison for at least 34 years in sex case
(By Cleve R. Wootson Jr., cwootson@charlotteobserver.com) A Charlotte man will spend more than 34 years in prison after being convicted of abducting and having a sex with a Massachusetts teenager he met on the Internet.Kareem Kirk, 38, was sentenced Wednesday to 34 to 41 years in prison for felony child abduction and four counts of felony statutory sex offense.
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Mortgage review urged at Bank of America
(By Rick Rothacker, rrothacker@charlotteobserver.com) A shareholder advisory firm is backing seven out of eight shareholder proposals up for a vote at Bank of America Corp.'s annual meeting next month, including one that would require a review of mortgage operations.ISS Proxy Advisory Services also recommended shareholders vote against director Charles Rossotti, deeming him a non-independent member of the audit committee because the bank does business with a law firm where an immediate family member is a partner.
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Mortgage review urged at BofA
(By Rick Rothacker, rrothacker@charlotteobserver.com) An advisory firm on Thursday backed seven out of eight shareholder proposals up for a vote at Bank of America Corp.'s annual meeting next month, including one that would require a review of mortgage operations.ISS Proxy Advisory Services also recommended shareholders vote against director Charles Rossotti, deeming him a non-independent member of the audit committee because the bank does business with a law firm where an immediate family member is a partner.
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Ramped-up DNC effort gets under way in May
(By Jim Morrill, jmorrill@charlotteobserver.com) Preparations for next year's Democratic National Convention will ramp up next month with local staff hirings and the expected arrival of the party's convention organizers.On Thursday, Mayor Anthony Foxx named former Mecklenburg commissioner Dan Murrey as executive director of Charlotte's host committee. Murrey will oversee a staff that will work with a team from the Democratic National Committee. It's also expected to hit the ground in May.
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Change floated for choosing Superior, appellate judges
(By Lynn Bonner, lynn.bonner@newsobserver.com) A trio of lawyers, including a former Supreme Court Chief Justice, pitched a new way of picking judges to a skeptical group of state senators.Armed with stories of questionable candidates and recent scandals, N.C. Bar Association officers asked a Senate committee Thursday to consider a system that the proponents said would make electing judges less of a crap shoot.
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Appeal details CMPD firing
(By Cleve R. Wootson Jr., cwootson@charlotteobserver.com) A Charlotte-Mecklenburg police officer was fired for lying to protect a fellow officer who killed a young woman while speeding in his police cruiser, court documents say.The department suspended Officer Rodd Pickler without pay last summer and recommended he be terminated after an internal review found that Pickler had been untruthful, improperly used evidence and wrongfully intervened in the investigation of Officer Martray Proctor's crash, the documents say.
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41 years later, brave son and soldier comes home
(By David Perlmutt, dperlmutt@charlotteobserver.com) The bronze plaque planted in the ground has marked Donnie Shue's grave in Concord since 1979. It's been empty all that time, awaiting the body.Unknown to his family, Shue was killed a decade earlier on Nov. 3, 1969, a fearless 20-year-old Army Green Beret on a secret, dangerous mission during the Vietnam War.
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Tornado survivors in Deep South had minutes to seek refuge
(By Michelle Williams, Associated Press)
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Charlotte dad defends bringing gun to elementary school
(By Jeff Counts, NewsChannel 36) The father arrested for bringing a gun into the parking lot of a southeast Charlotte elementary school says he was simply trying to protect his family."I hope any father would do what I did," said Michael Willis. "I would do anything to protect my daughter."
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CMS confirms layoff notices sent
(By Eric Frazier, efrazier@charlotteobserver.com) Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools officials confirmed Friday that they've sent out layoff notices to employees in four departments this week.Superintendent Peter Gorman had sent an email to all 18,200 CMS employees telling them the letters would be going out soon. On Friday, CMS said letters went out to employees in the departments of curriculum and instruction, human resources, auxiliary services and accountability.
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Building a neighborhood by doing the neighborly thing
(By Mark Price, msprice@charlotteobserver.com) It could be likened to the urban version of an old-fashioned barn raising, minus the barn.Instead, the people of northeast Charlotte's Bridlewood community are joining forces once a month to mow, trim trees and remove debris for their elderly, disabled, sick and widowed neighbors.
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As tax bases fall, counties brace for tough budgets
(By April Bethea, abethea@charlotteobserver.com) Many residents across the Charlotte region face another year of cuts to schools, parks, libraries and other services - even as county governments may ask them to pay more in taxes.It will be the third year with cuts or tight spending after the recession.
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Teen biker reaches 150 mph evading police near Myrtle Beach
(By Vicki Grooms, The (Myrtle Beach) Sun News) A motorcyclist who was involved in an early morning police chase Thursday died early Friday, making him the third motorcyclist to be killed in a crash within a week and the second to die while trying to evade police.Bradley Musselmann, 18, of Waterway Village Boulevard in Myrtle Beach, was pronounced dead Friday morning at Grand Strand Regional Medical Center, according to Horry County Coroner Robert Edge. Musselmann died from injuries sustained in the crash. A woman who was his passenger survived.
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Illegal immigrant is grateful for a second chance
(By Franco Ordoñez, fordonez@charlotteobserver.com) Abel Moreno is home and humbled.He's the illegal immigrant who won praise a year ago for helping Charlotte stop a rogue police officer who had been sexually assaulting women.
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Body recovered from Broad River identified as missing teen
(By Joe DePriest, jdepriest@charlotteobserver.com) A family spokesperson confirmed to WSOC Channel 9 Saturday morning that a body found in the Broad River is that of missing 14-year-old Nathan Beck.The spokesperson said an autopsy performed Friday evening identified the body as Beck's. His family now is making funeral arrangements.
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For Ronald McDonald House, the wait is over
(By Mark Price, msprice@charlotteobserver.com) Nine years and $9 million dollars.That's what it took for Charlotte to get a Ronald McDonald House for families who've brought children long distances to the Levine and Hemby hospitals.
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Where birds fly offers clues to man
(By Bruce Henderson, bhenderson@charlotteobserver.com) Last of a three-part seriesEach December a hardy flock of birdwatchers scatters across Mecklenburg County for the National Audubon Society's Christmas Bird Count, which has tracked bird movements for more than a century.
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Struggle to fathom a shocking crime
(By Elizabeth Leland, eleland@charlotteobserver.com) Two women, grieving from opposite sides of a murder, are searching to understand and reconcile why one woman's husband is dead and the other's son is accused.In Rock Hill, Wanda Sterling doesn't dispute what police have charged: that her son Chauncey went looking to rob someone mid-morning on Good Friday, spotted Robert Barber walking alone through a residential neighborhood in south Charlotte and shot him during a hold-up.
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NATO strike kills Gadhafi's son but leader escapes
(By KARIN LAUB, Associated Press) Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi escaped a NATO missile strike in Tripoli on Saturday, but his youngest son and three grandchildren under the age of 12 were killed, a government spokesman said.The strike, which came hours after Gadhafi called for a cease-fire and negotiations in what rebels called a publicity stunt, marked an escalation of international efforts to prevent the Libyan regime from regaining momentum.
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