Charlotte, NC: One of the top 20 largest cities in the United States, featuring Swiss cheese roads and an interstate interchange, I-485 at I-77 on the southside, so poorly planned even Ghandi would give his fellow travelers the finger during rush hour traffic.

Road-building decisions will be based on data and North Carolina's long-term transportation goals, not whether a board member has pushed a project, new state Transportation Secretary Gene Conti said Wednesday.

Following through on Gov. Bev Perdue's demand that politics be taken out of road construction choices, Conti and his chief deputies rolled out a new process that seeks more input from the public and accountability for completing jobs and meeting goals.

Perdue ordered members in January to stop voting on individual road projects. Over the years, some members have been accused of placing too much influence on getting roads on the state's transportation funding blueprint or projects built to benefit themselves.

Read the rest of this Charlotte Observer article here.

Riverdance

Ovens Auditorium

March 3, 2009

The Deal: Riverdance, a production specializing in Irish step dancing and traditional Irish music tapped its way into Charlotte last night for an opening night performance at Ovens Auditorium.

The Good: The show featured a number of dance moves from an array of talented tappers. This included traditional step dancing with all the extra ingredients, from jumping splits to twists. Highlights included "Firedance," which featured a stunning performance by The Riverdance Flamenco Soloist, Rocio Montoya, a dance round about during "American Wake," and "The Russian Dervish" dance by The Moscow Folk Ballet. But, that's just to point out a few. Through the course of the night, which included one intermission, The Riverdance Irish Dance Troupe performed a set of spirited dance moves. At one point during the performance a tapping stand-off even went down between traditional Irish tappers and some more modern tappers. Along in the stand-off a musician playing the fiddle took on a musician playing the saxophone. Both groups/musicians were impressive, taking on a series of fast paced moves. In addition, traditional Irish songs were played by a skilled back drop of musicians, some of which were even sung in Gaelic language.

The Bad: Not much of anything. At one point, during one of the softer songs I became a little distracted by various people in the crowd coughing. People: If you're sick, stay home!

The Verdict: Check it out, especially if you're into dance or anything related to Ireland. Riverdance will take you on what feels like a journey through Ireland via talented dance moves and traditional Irish melodies.

Points for thinking outside of the pen. Boos for potentially endangering people's health, though it's unclear how the new chicken-poo electric plant will affect minorities more than the rest of the population. Last time I checked, lots of different kinds of people lived in rural areas.

Opponents of burning chicken droppings as a renewable energy resource are lobbying state lawmakers in a bid to derail three proposed power plants that would use manure for fuel.

The opposition has grown to include the state NAACP, which says that building the proposed power plants in rural areas would expose blacks and poor people to arsenic and other pollutants.

The criticism presents another public relations hurdle to Fibrowatt, the Pennsylvania company that has spent the past decade exploring the state for development. Fibrowatt promotes itself as a clean energy company but has met opposition in several states where it has proposed the plants.

Read the rest of this Charlotte Observer article here.

How screwed up are we as a society? We entice young men and women to join the military with tens of thousands of dollars in signing bonuses, pat them on the back and tell them that they're courageous and patriotic, then, once they return home, we turn our backs on them. WTF is wrong with us?

If you've got something to say about this giant pile of steaming nonsense, you need to attend this meeting: Catawba Valley Community College in Hickory and in Salisbury on March 30th.

The VA Medical Center in Salisbury has begun town hall meetings to drum up veteran support for a plan to eliminate emergency room and acute services the hospital in 2013.

The Department of Veterans Affairs originally planned to shut the ER at the Salisbury Hospital last year, but outrage from patients and employees pushed the change back to 2013. Meantime, hospital administrators are working to convince veterans it will be a positive change, since they'll be treated at private hospitals closer to home.

Read the rest of this WFAE.org article here.

I thought Ken Lewis looked a little, well, un-human in his Financial Times interview yesterday.

Remember when economists poked fun at Ronald Reagan's voodoo economics? Well, now they are dead serious about so-called "zombie banks" - financial giants like Citigroup and Bank of America whose debts are greater than their assets, with stock worth less than zero, and they're only able to stay alive by devouring federal bailout bucks. Those banks, in turn, are terrified by talk that the government might come in and nationalize them. Well, some critics ask, why not? Given all this, I wanted to talk to a man with a clear-eyed perspective on the worldwide economic impact of this banking crisis.

Robert Johnson was once the Chief Economist of the Senate Banking Committee under the chairmanship of that fiercest of budget pit-bulls, the late Wisconsin Senator William Proxmire. Johnson became a Managing Director at Soros Fund Management, and now serves on a United Nations Commission recommending reforms of the international monetary and financial system. ...

Given what we know is happening around the world, are you scared?

Johnson: Yes I am.

Moyers: What scares you the most?

Read the rest of this AlterNet.org transcript, from the Feb. 27 edition of PBS' Bill Moyers Journal, by clicking here.