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5. Pat McCrory
The gubernatorial candidate is mutating from the putatively centrist Republican to Bush Lite right before our eyes.
In his seven terms as mayor, McCrory has done an admirable job positioning himself as a centrist in a majority-Democrat city, all while (in recent years, at least) setting his sights on higher offices that will require him to bed down with every corporate fat cat from here to Crawford, Texas.
The reach-across-the-aisle technique that's been a political necessity in Charlotte may be a distant memory when McCrory hits Raleigh.
McCrory recently slammed Perdue for deceptive ads that implied he wanted the state to be one big heap of steaming dung and trash. But given three bills to cite to The News & Observer of Raleigh as examples of legislation he would have vetoed, he picked the Solid Waste Management Act of 2007.
The widely supported act kept mega landfills out of the state -- in effect, kept North Carolina from turning into, as some bloggers wrote, Mount Trashmore. It just so happened that a big campaign donor was -- you guessed it -- a landfill industry bigwig. McCrory doesn't even mind campaigning with McCain and Bush -- and he even gushes over Sarah Palin, palling around at pizza parlors with her ("I'm having pizza with the future vice president," he said. "Is that not an experience or what?") and telling Brotha Fred that she's "even hotter in person," and looking quite unstatesmanlike while he's doing it.
The surprising thing? So far, McCrory's mutation seems to be working. He's locked in a tight race with Lt. Gov. Beverly Perdue for the governor's office -- this in a year when a Democrat may even win N.C.'s 15 electoral votes. Sheesh.
6. Bouncers in Charlotte
The huge bouncer at Amos' (if you've spent time there, you know who I'm talking about) is one imposing dude. It pays to be on his good side. But a fearsome physique isn't what makes a bouncer scary. The unofficial Charlotte bouncer uniform -- bald head, black shirt -- can be misleading. Many who wear it are unassuming guys, just checking IDs and rousting belligerent drunks for a paycheck. They sure as hell won't be mistaken for Roadhouse's Dalton, but they get the job done. Then there's the smaller subset of bouncers: the over-steroided buffoons who see their jobs as a grand mission to act out their UFC fantasies.
7. Jeff Katz
As rewarding as the life of a radio host can be -- just ask Rush Limbaugh about that -- one thing it's not is secure. You've got to keep listeners entertained without crossing the line enough to get canned after some outcry. And Katz, WBT's afternoon host, has seen that firsthand.
Last year, some local Muslims urged a boycott of Katz's show, accusing him of hateful comments against their religion and inciting fear, hatred and ignorance. That controversy may not have gained traction, but other imbroglios have.
In 1996, a Sacramento station fired Katz for urging listeners to ram their cars into illegal immigrants who try to cross into the United States from Mexico. Katz had said that drivers should be awarded "sombrero bumper stickers" that could be redeemed for a meal at Taco Bell, the San Francisco Chronicle reported.
Two years after arriving in Charlotte, Katz seems content to bellow about Barack Hussein Obama and the cover-up over how the candidate paid for his student loans.
8. Mac Everett
When the board members at the United Way of Central Carolinas were feeling the heat over Gloria Pace King's queenly compensation package, leaders called on former Wachovia executive Malcolm "Mac" Everett, who has a lengthy resume of community service, to step in and clean things up.
The board immediately promised a slate of measures aimed at mending fences with United Way donors, including appointing a review panel headed by attorney Robert Sink to put together a public report on the process that led to the compensation controversy and recommend a more transparent process. Only one problem: The agency offered -- this apparently was not a number arrived at after much arm twisting -- to pay the presumably comfortable retired executive $20,000 a month at the same time it agreed to pay King's $290,000 annual salary for the next two-and-a-third years.
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Calendar
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Harlem Globetrotters 2024 World Tour presented by Jersey Mike's Subs @ Bojangles' Coliseum -
Queen Charlotte Fair @ Route 29 Pavilion
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Open Mic Comedy Nights with Craig Collin @ Carolina Beer Temple.
- Mon., May 6, 6:30-9 p.m., Mon., May 20, 6:30-9 p.m., Mon., June 3, 6:30-9 p.m. and Mon., June 17, 6:30-9 p.m.
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NEW WINDOW GALLERY-Pat Rhea-ACRYLIC PAINTINGS-April 05-30 2024 VALDESE, NC 28690 @ New Window Gallery/Play It Again Records
- Through April 30, 12 p.m.
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TheDiscountCodes
- Mondays-Sundays. Continues through Dec. 31
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The 10 Scariest People In Charlotte 1
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Beauty Industry Trends To Look Out For In Charlotte In 2022
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Charlotte Pride and Trans and Queer People of Color Collective clash on Pride Week priorities 2
Disagreements over representation, policing in lead-up to Pride
