News
Lunch Break (1/12/16): City council officially supports toll lanes with 7-4 vote
PostedByRyan Pitkin
on Tue, Jan 12, 2016 at 11:30 AM
Charlotte City Council, which carries the most weight in an upcoming vote on whether to continue with the construction of toll lanes on I-77 and elsewhere, voted 7-4 to direct their representative on the Charlotte Regional Transportation Planning Organization to support the lanes and continue as planned. Claire Fallon, Al Austin, LaWana Mayfield and Kenny Smith all voted against the toll lanes. More than 40 residents addressed the council, many of whom live in north Mecklenburg outside of Charlotte, which is the area to be most effected by the lanes. The CRTPO vote is scheduled for Jan. 20, and will most likely pass with the support of Charlotte City Council. (Steve Harrison, Charlotte Observer)
A student was reportedly struck by a car in front of Garinger High School this morning. Witnesses says the female student was grazed by a car at around 7 a.m. and CMS officials said the accident broke her arm. According to CMPD, the driver was later arrested for hit-and-run after saying he panicked and left the scene. (WSOC Staff) Four years ago, Creative Loafing covered the danger students face in front of the school on a daily basis following the death of senior Brittany Palmer.
The Alabama Crimson Tide completed a fourth quarter comeback last night to beat the Clemson Tigers in the College Football Playoffs championship. The final score was 45-40. The championship is the fourth in seven years for Alabama and head coach Nick Saban. Clemson will still have star quarterback Deshaun Watson on the team next year, as they look to return to the playoffs and finish the deal. (Tom Ensey, Regional News Network via WBTV)
A note from Pure Pizza owner Juli Ghazi that hangs above the unisex restroom is garnering an overwhelmingly positive response on social media, as she confronts the misconceptions about unisex restrooms with multiple examples of why they are logical and necessary. The note, which was photographed at Pure Pizza's new location on Central Avenue in Plaza Midwood list examples of the customers who will be helped by a unisex restroom, such as parents with disabled children or single parents with opposite sex children, among other uses, including for those in the LGBTQ community. The unisex restroom issue became a controversial in 2015 during the city council debate around a non-discrimination ordinance that would let transgender people use the bathroom of their choice. (Elizabeth Thomas, WCNC) Last July, Creative Loafingspoke with Ghazi in the lead up to the new location's opening about some of the other ways her business does things differently.