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monsoon

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I think in general; if you're a city within a state in the southeast, prepare for battle with your state legislature.  Atlanta has been at arms for decades with Georgia, and they share the same damn street.  The south still has very strong "ethics" based around individualist belief patterns.  Even with the recent flood of Yanks heading south.

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Even with the recent flood of Yanks heading south.

I think its time to retire the assumption that yankees moving south are a progressive or liberalizing influence. My observations is that these folks are overwhelmingly conservative (e.g. many of them led the transit tax repeal refferendum). The ones who choose to move here frequently make their decision based on our (Ballantyne, Highland Creek etc.) conservative, single-family, auto-oriented environment that is much cheaper here. There are certainly execptions to this rule, but Bob Rucho is an excellent example. I do believe that the continued migration of family-aged people here is only going to make the South more conservative and suburban IMO. Charlotte (and Southern) politics were much more  progressive back before the second great northern aggression (e.g. CMS's well respected system of bussing that was dismantled by these immigrants).

Edited by kermit
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Even with the recent flood of Yanks heading south.

I think its time to retire the assumption that yankees moving south are a progressive or liberal influence. My observations of yankees who have moved south since 2000 is that they are overwhelmingly conservative. The migrants who move south are self-selected as the ones who want to live in a conservative, single-family, auto-oriented environment. Their are certainly execptions, but just look at Bob Rucho for an example of this process. Continued migration is only going to make the South more conservative and suburban IMO. We were much more progressive back before the second great northern aggression.

Eh, I don't know if I agree with that. There's been a constant influx of transplants since the late 90s or early 2000s. Mind you, the Democrats had great success during the previous decade, and North Carolina voted for a Democratic president, the first in over thirty years. NC was also very close to doing the same in 2012, and will remain a battleground state for the next election and beyond.

We have to consider that the main reason the GOP have such a stronghold on NC is through the extreme gerrymandering redistricting that took place in 2011, which was the result of a surge among conservative voters, and low turnout among the Dems, in part to a Democratic incumbent president. Using the same maps from the 2000s, the Democrats would have likely had control of the GA in 2012, but would have still lost it in 2014. Regardless, many of the red counties in the state have been declining in population since the last census, and the prime blue areas in the metro areas have been growing (though the blue counties in the "black belt" have also declined). You have exceptions like Union and Iredell Counties, which have become havens for conservatives. But even many of the conservatives in those areas are more fiscal than social, at least in my observations.

The courts have been cracking down on wrongfully drawn maps across the country, and even NC's maps are in danger of being overturned. Charlotte has a super-majority of Democrats on its city council. Wake, for the first time in a long time, was finally able to get a majority on its county commissioners (before the counties were redrawn to tilt the balance back towards the GOP). NC is more liberal than it's ever been, it just needs a fair system to better represent the people. Also, we have to remember that although the Democrats had power in this state for over a century, prior to 1965, they were a conservative party. Not nearly as bad as the surrounding states, but the Dems back then were in same role as the Republicans are now.

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I don't get the impression that SC treats its urban areas poorly, at least not based on what I read.  Of course, I could be not reading the right articles, or maybe local news outlets in SC do not publish as much about state politics as NC outlets do, so it could be a matter of selection.

At any rate, Eric Frazier wrote a good editorial today that I think captures the essence of the problem with NC's legislature (primarily the Senate).  Although I could add to his article a mound of examples of NC legislative shenanigans, power grabs, and general buffoonery, his article is a good quick read that really sums up why I think greater Charlotte would thrive much more if it were under the auspices of SC's legislature rather than NC's.  I doubt I would have ever made such a claim prior to the current NC legislature's rise to power.

http://www.charlotteobserver.com/opinion/opn-columns-blogs/eric-frazier/article27535384.html

 

 

-

Edited by cltbwimob
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I think its time to retire the assumption that yankees moving south are a progressive or liberalizing influence. My observations is that these folks are overwhelmingly conservative (e.g. many of them led the transit tax repeal refferendum). The ones who choose to move here frequently make their decision based on our (Ballantyne, Highland Creek etc.) conservative, single-family, auto-oriented environment that is much cheaper here. There are certainly execptions to this rule, but Bob Rucho is an excellent example. I do believe that the continued migration of family-aged people here is only going to make the South more conservative and suburban IMO. Charlotte (and Southern) politics were much more  progressive back before the second great northern aggression (e.g. CMS's well respected system of bussing that was dismantled by these immigrants).

I don't think they're overwhelmingly conservative but they are not a great liberalizing influence, IMO. The explosion of Roman Catholic and evangelical churches, the population boom in suburban Cabarrus, Iredell, York and Union counties, and the demand for charter schools in our area all suggest conservatives to me. Although we are a huge jobs magnet, people go where they are the most comfortable. I lived in New Jersey for a number of years and those northeasterners were no one's liberal. I think many of them have come here.

 

WRT Bob Rucho (ick): he handily survived a primary challenge! I regret to say that he is my state senator and there are many transplants from elsewhere in his district. So south Charlotte denizens, by and large, are conservative, though my precinct at least voted against Amendment 1 in 2012.

Edited by Silicon Dogwoods
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http://www.charlotteobserver.com/news/politics-government/article28034311.html 

 

McCrory has said he will veto the sales tax redistribution bill. Hopefully he has more support than he did for the other things he vetoed because if it gets overridden, it is going to be painful for Charlotte and the other cities in the state.

McCrory gets it:

“Redistribution and hidden tax increases are liberal tax and spend principles of the past that simply don’t work,” McCrory said in a statement. “More importantly, this bill will cripple the economic and trade centers of our state that power our economy.”

We cannot hurt the cities that separate us economically from other southern states to help dying towns survive. Those towns are anchored by people on welfare and the elderly collecting social security. When the elderly die, all you have left is the people on welfare. What do you do then? Those towns are done for either way. Throwing each of them a few million dollars per year does not change their future. It only hurts Charlotte, Raleigh, Greensboro, Asheville, Durham, etc.

 
 
 

fudge this guy from Union County:

Joining those local officials was a senator from Union County, one of the winners in the proposed redistribution. “We are reclaiming the dollars we’re spending in Charlotte,” Republican Sen. Tommy Tucker told a packed news conference.

Union County is a wealthy county that prides itself on shunning commercial development in favor of a rural feel. If your towns need money, how about you charge people a real tax rate instead of a few cents per hundred dollars of valuation. By taking from Charlotte, you're just going to spare the people in wealthy suburbs like Weddington, Waxhaw, Wesley Chapel, Indian Trail, etc from getting a small tax increase while those that own property in Charlotte are going to get it instead. Don't shun commercial development and then complain when you aren't getting your fair share of tax revenue.

 

The cities already subsidize the hell out of the other parts of this state because they're generating most of the revenue that goes into bond packages.

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Does anyone have any idea why the building at 400 E. Trade sits completely empty?  With a little sprucing up on the inside those four or five spots would be a perfect little taste of that retail we all want so bad.  The outside actually looks pretty good.  There is a for lease sign in one of the windows so I would imagine someone would want to set up shop there.  It's buildings like this that I wish dotted the landscape more frequently.

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^ 400 E. Trade. 

I'm no expert in commercial retail locations , but my guess would be the foot traffic of the less desirable that seem to congregate around that corner and the entire CTC for that matter.

With that said, If retail were to ever be placed in those buildings, you could perhaps set your operating hours between 10:00am and say 6:00pm during non-arena events and later hours when the Hornets play or a concert ensues...e.t.c.

Just my thoughts !

Edited by UPNoDa
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On 400 E. Trade street, I understand the building is most likely beyond repair, or too expensive to fix. I want to see a building inspection to see for sure but the building certainly has seen better days.

The saddest part is you can see that fine granite now exposed after being painted over by the state, which is like allowing a five year old to take a crayon to a Porsche. I hope who-ever gets the salvaging rights will put that granite to good use.

On Pat McCrory, he's running interference for the cities thank god. The problem is the urban areas are all democratic and the rural areas are mostly republican. He's panning to the wrong crowd, even if it makes economic sense. If he's sticking to his principles (or economic sense) then I respect that man.

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I don't like posting in the good news thread unless there is good news but this is fairly interesting. Ally Financial Is starting to do there earning calls from Charlotte according to the Observer. Some of you have been speculating an expanded presence from them

 

 

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Oh my god, Google is now aggregating human location data to show when businesses are busy and not.  Same thing they've been doing with vehicle location data to provide traffic for years, but now at the human/business level, per hour, per day.  Wow.

Screenshot_2015-07-30-10-54-02_zpsj5b7jzScreenshot_2015-07-30-10-54-07_zpshj5ytc

 

 

And if you didn't know, Google Maps now provides a personal timeline for you, in case you forgot where you were.

Screenshot_2015-07-30-10-56-15_zpspnpuvz

 

Technology, man.

 

Edited by grodney
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On 400 E. Trade street, I understand the building is most likely beyond repair, or too expensive to fix. I want to see a building inspection to see for sure but the building certainly has seen better days.

The saddest part is you can see that fine granite now exposed after being painted over by the state, which is like allowing a five year old to take a crayon to a Porsche. I hope who-ever gets the salvaging rights will put that granite to good use.

On Pat McCrory, he's running interference for the cities thank god. The problem is the urban areas are all democratic and the rural areas are mostly republican. He's panning to the wrong crowd, even if it makes economic sense. If he's sticking to his principles (or economic sense) then I respect that man.

very confused:400 e trade st

Edited by archiham04
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Oh my god, Google is now aggregating human location data to show when businesses are busy and not.  Same thing they've been doing with vehicle location data to provide traffic for years, but now at the human/business level, per hour, per day.  Wow.

Screenshot_2015-07-30-10-54-02_zpsj5b7jzScreenshot_2015-07-30-10-54-07_zpshj5ytc

 

 

And if you didn't know, Google Maps now provides a personal timeline for you, in case you forgot where you were.

Screenshot_2015-07-30-10-56-15_zpspnpuvz

 

Technology, man.

 

This could incriminate a lot of husbands/boyfriends... "Hey honey, yea, we left the bar a couple hours ago and are just hanging out at Jeff's house"... Whoops!

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Yeah and it's visible from any browser...not just your phone.  So all he/she needs is your google password.  (The individual location history has been available for a couple years at least.  The new add is really the "busy times" for businesses, and a more user-friendly presentation of the location data.)

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very confused:400 e trade st

Thats the correct building archiham. I think that maybe two different structures are being discussed here because 400 E. Trade actually doesn't look bad at all on the outside. Yeah, the inside certainly could use some love but otherwise the building appears pretty solid. I agree that the loitering across the street may cause a new business owner to stop and pause for a second, but I honestly don't think it would be enough of a hindrance to cause four or five, most likely, very affordable storefronts to remain empty for so long. Despite the bad rep the CTC has these vacant spots are in a very good location esepically with a gold line stop literally outside.

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^How are they tracking people?  Is it only from people with Android phones or anyone with Google Maps?

Yeah, google uses location services in Android to aggregate the "anonymous" data for traffic and busy times, and your "private" personal data for your own timeline of location history.

I don't know if apple/i-phone have a similar location services thingy, and if they use it in any way.

 

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Yeah, google uses location services in Android to aggregate the "anonymous" data for traffic and busy times, and your "private" personal data for your own timeline of location history.

I don't know if apple/i-phone have a similar location services thingy, and if they use it in any way.

 

Is this data only collected for Android phones that keep the Location feature on?  I always keep mine off and never turn it on unless I want to drive to a new location, and I always press "disagree" when it asks if I want to let Google collect "anonymous" data...

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Is this data only collected for Android phones that keep the Location feature on?  I always keep mine off and never turn it on unless I want to drive to a new location, and I always press "disagree" when it asks if I want to let Google collect "anonymous" data...

I'm not even half an expert, but my understanding is that the location data is collected only if you agree to have it enabled on your phone.  (Note that I'm GUESSING they can collect location info even if your GPS isn't on (by using wifi).  But as long as you press disagree, supposedly they're collecting nothing.)

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I'm not even half an expert, but my understanding is that the location data is collected only if you agree to have it enabled on your phone.  (Note that I'm GUESSING they can collect location info even if your GPS isn't on (by using wifi).  But as long as you press disagree, supposedly they're collecting nothing.)

Cool, thanks

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Why can't I see the popular times thing? :(

image.jpg

most likely because you are stuck on iOS. =(

Is this data only collected for Android phones that keep the Location feature on?  I always keep mine off and never turn it on unless I want to drive to a new location, and I always press "disagree" when it asks if I want to let Google collect "anonymous" data...

why?

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