Charlotte Off Topic

[HopHead]

Prepare yourselves, this will be national news.

 

Yup, and it won't be found in the "Good News Report" either..

[cltbwimob]

Oh no. I was really a huge fan of his. I thought his vision for Charlotte was top notch.

[CLTProductions]

He is done for....will definitely be convicted. Time for a new mayor!!

[Matthew.Brendan]

He is arrested. What's the process here? Is he still Mayor whilst in custody? Who becomes the interim mayor?

"Authorities said Cannon took bribes from undercover FBI agents five times – the most recent on Feb. 21 when he took $20,000 in cash in the mayor’s office – and a trip to Las Vegas.

Tompkins said Cannon also accepted from the undercover agents more than $48,000 in cash, airline tickets, a hotel room and use of a luxury apartment in exchange for “the use of his official position,” Tompkins said.

Cannon is the longest-serving elected official in Charlotte, having joined the Charlotte City Council in 1993. He is the region’s highest-ranking official to be charged in a corruption case since former N.C. House speaker Jim Black of Matthews was convicted in 2007."

[michaelef]

He has always been corrupt. There were rumors before he was mayor, about corruption. It's time for someone new. 

[CLTProductions]

He has always been corrupt. There were rumors before he was mayor, about corruption. It's time for someone new. 

Someone new who is MORE likely than not: also corrupt, also a liar, also out for their own interests....its a revolving door of morons.

[ah59396]

Now's our chance to nominate a UP member!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Guest]

Can Mayors telecommute? Cuz I'm game... How much do Mayors get paid? Honestly I'd take bribes too, but hopefully the FBI wouldn't look at the same place twice...

[Matthew.Brendan]

Bribery/corruption AKA politics? Seems like he just pissed off the wrong people.

[jednc]

Bribery/corruption AKA politics? Seems like he just pissed off the wrong people.

Maybe I'm misunderstanding what you mean here but someone doesn't face charges that carry a sentence with the possibility of 50 years in prison and a $1.5 M fine for merely pissing off the wrong people.

[CLTProductions]

Not related to charlotte in anyway, but I thought this was insane....3200ft building ready to begin construction

 

http://www.weather.com/news/science/construction-worlds-tallest-building-kingdom-tower-about-begin-20140327

[ah59396]

Tall buildings in the Middle East have become a pissing contest and nothing more. Kuwait City is getting ready to start construction on a 1km tower as well.

[Matthew.Brendan]

That's really amazing.... Would love to know what is to come of these in say another 100 years.

[CLTProductions]

That's really amazing.... Would love to know what is to come of these in say another 100 years.

A mile high tower sounds terrifying.

[MilZ]

I read an article recently that said they were beginning construction despite the fact that they do not know how the elevators will work on a tower that tall yet. The height is causing whole new sets of challenges.  

[Guest]

I read an article recently that said they were beginning construction despite the fact that they do not know how the elevators will work on a tower that tall yet. The height is causing whole new sets of challenges.

I would BASE jump everyday

[ScottCLT]

Towers in the Middle East are not usually as well thought out as towers in the US. For example, the Burj Khalifa had to have its sewage hauled off by truck for years because they neglected to build the municipal sewage system to it (this is an old article - I think they finally invested in it and got it done)

 

http://gizmodo.com/5857475/without-trucks-the-tallest-building-in-the-world-would-become-the-tallest-mountain-of-poop/all

 

These towers are shiny and glamorous, but the practicality of them is nil. Just a way for one businessman/company/country to show off. So many towers in Dubai are completely empty, but still stand as a shining symbol of the wealth of the person who commissioned it.

 

Infrastructure in Saudi Arabia is horrible. They build roads, sidewalks, etc., but so many times they make no sense. Parking is a joke in Saudi Arabia. They never take it into account. They can build a 50 story hotel or office tower, but then they forget to build a parking garage, so there's a lot that holds 75 cars and no mass transit options in much of the Kingdom. It just blows my mind the oversight that I see everywhere when I go over there.

 

I would have assumed that the Kingdom Tower would be no different, but I was surprised to read that there will be 50 elevators, and over 3,000 parking spaces. We'll see if that plan actually comes to fruition. You know, they might need to make room for a gold bar ATM on every floor (yes, they have these over there) and do away with some of the elevators. I mean, c'mon, what's more important - a gold bar ATM or speedy transport between floors? The gold bar ATM for sure.

[CLTProductions]

Thats what happens with oil money

[15895]

http://www.cnn.com/2014/03/31/travel/kowloon-walled-city/index.html?sr=fb033114densestplace6pStoryGal

Cooler than an akwardly tall skyscraper; the worlds densest "city" of 33,000 people in a city block - Kowloon

Never heard of it. I found it interesting.

[Guest]

http://www.cnn.com/2014/03/31/travel/kowloon-walled-city/index.html?sr=fb033114densestplace6pStoryGal

Cooler than an akwardly tall skyscraper; the worlds densest "city" of 33,000 people in a city block - Kowloon

Never heard of it. I found it interesting.

thankfully it doesn't exist anymore.

[grodney]

Off Topic (and thus on-topic): We've only lived here since '01, but the other evening we were sitting at Queen City Q, marveling at the fact that we can park at 485, take the train uptown, then sit there and pick from 15 local beers before walking a block to the Bobcats game. So different than just those few years ago. I understand I'm part of the "suburban problem" with where I live, but I do appreciate all we have and all that this forum promotes.

[ah59396]

Off Topic (and thus on-topic): We've only lived here since '01, but the other evening we were sitting at Queen City Q, marveling at the fact that we can park at 485, take the train uptown, then sit there and pick from 15 local beers before walking a block to the Bobcats game. So different than just those few years ago. I understand I'm part of the "suburban problem" with where I live, but I do appreciate all we have and all that this forum promotes.

 

Can't agree more.  Things have changed so much in the last 15 years, for the good.  I'm excited to see where the city goes.

[tozmervo]

I have a co-worker that could be a poster child for urban revitalization. She and her husband (late 40s early 50s) lived in Ballantyne for years and hated it. Hated the neighborhood, the commute, the culture, etc. They sold the house and decided to rent in Southend until they figured out what to do (stay in CLT, move to asheville, charleston, etc). They've been in Southend for maybe 7 or 8 months now, and they absolutely love it: fun neighbors, walking to bars and restaurants, short commutes, no yardcare. I think they regret not having made the move years ago, and now they're looking to buy in the center city area. 

[ChessieCat]

Off Topic (and thus on-topic): We've only lived here since '01, but the other evening we were sitting at Queen City Q, marveling at the fact that we can park at 485, take the train uptown, then sit there and pick from 15 local beers before walking a block to the Bobcats game. So different than just those few years ago. I understand I'm part of the "suburban problem" with where I live, but I do appreciate all we have and all that this forum promotes.

 

Amen to that.  Everyone take note of what took place in Uptown this weekend exactly 20 years ago during the 1994 Final Four when the city was forced to create "an instant downtown as permanent as a movie set."  See the following article from the NY Times:

 

http://www.nytimes.com/1994/04/02/us/charlotte-s-downtown-manages-to-stay-up-late-for-tournament.html

 

Cheers to Uptown's permanent transformation over 20 years!!!  So glad that the city center will not "revert back to the somnolent streetscape of abandoned buildings and vacant lots it was at the beginning of the week."   

 

Other article highlights:

-- "It's been called Potemkin Village with a drawl..."

-- "Charlotte is a city of suburbs, a city of malls. We needed to augment what was already uptown..."

-- "We've created the most beautiful downtown of any new city in the United States, but in many ways it's empty and antiseptic..."

-- "Downtown is empty after 5 P.M. There's nothing to do."

--  "Charlotte is nothing more than one large suburban community. People in Charlotte are scared to death of the center city."

Edited April 2, 2014 by ChessieCat

[grodney]

Wow, ChessieCat, thanks for that bit of history. Amazing.