Charlotte Blogs

Local singer Robin Rogers’ career has spanned decades and her life contains amazing chapters, such as her runaway teen years and a long bout with drug and alcohol problems.  She has lived in our region for almost two decades and her music is coming to the attention of more fans.  We’ll also visit with two members from Central Piedmont Community College’s venerable summer theater program.
Guests
Robin Rogers – Musician
Tom Hollis – Chair of Drama, Artistic Director of CPCC’s Summer Theater Program
Dawn Anthony – Actress and Singer
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Illiteracy rates are on the rise in Mecklenburg County.  Today, our panel of experts examines the causes for this rise and disscusses some of the programs and resources combating the problem.
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Unemployment has made a record leap in the wrong direction.  That’s not news to the thousands of Carolinians who now find themselves where they thought they’d never be — without a job.  Today we talk about employing the unemployed because a third of companies surveyed recently said they still plan to add employees over the next year.  Tune in and find out what they’re looking for.
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The ethnic food series is back today on Charlotte Talks with Mike Collins.  We’ll explore the wildly popular Mexican food scene.  There are many Mexican restaurants in town, but what constitutes authentic Mexican food?  And what are the differences between the cuisine in northern Mexico and the southern part of the large country?  One of our guests has traveled extensively in Mexico to meet some of its chefs.  We’ll find out what he learned and talk about some favorite Mexican food recipes.
Guests
Frank Scibelli – Owner, Cantina 1511
Peter Reinhart – Chef-on-Assignment, Johnson and Wales University
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On Charlotte Talks, we’ve had several conversations about the health of our tree canopy and ways to preserve it.  That preservation is done through a web of legislation, with each city in Mecklenburg County protecting its green space through tree ordinances.  We’ll learn about those tree ordinances and whether they provide a bulwark against a rising tide of development.
Guests
Doug Shoemaker – Research Analyst, Center for Applied Geographic Information Science, UNC Charlotte
Lauren Blackburn - Davidson Town Planner
Laura Brewer – Senior Urban Forestry Specialist, Certified Arborist, City of Charlotte
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Most of us use search engines every day without knowing how they work or that they are watching our search behaviors.  The science of search engines has led to the discovery of a form of bias in their function.  A local entrepreneur who understands this science has invented a new way to search and a search engine that caters to African Americans called RushmoreDrive.com.  We’ll meet him and other search engine experts.
Guests
Johnny C. Taylor - President and CEO, RushmoreDrive.com
Bob Gebert  – Vice President of Technology, RushmoreDrive.com
David Levine – Assistant Professor, Charlotte School of Law
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As Charlotte grows, city leaders continue to try and identify key areas for redevelopment and revitalization.  An area economic symposium focuses on five areas targeted for hundreds of millions of dollars in business and infrastructure investment funds.  Find out which areas are in focus and how leaders hope to modernize and revitalize them.
Guests
James Mitchell – Charlotte City Council Member, District 2
Bob Sweeney – President, Charlotte-Mecklenburg Development Corportation
Tom Flynn – Economic Development Director,  City of Charlotte

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Local transportation officials and advocates continue to examine ways to make our growing city more bicycle and pedestrian friendly.  We’ll look at the latest short and long term visions for mixed transportation, along with the evolving, sometimes rocky, relationship between area motorists and bicyclists.
Guests
Martin Zimmerman – Executive Director, Charlotte Area Bicycle Alliance
Anthony Foxx – Charlotte City Councilman; Chair, Council Transportation Committee
Dan Gallagher – Transportation Planner, Charlotte Dept. of Transportation
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We continue our series today, hearing from regular WFAE listeners.  We probe their opinions on the latest news stories here at home and around the world.

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We conclude our series on the economy with a look at the factors that can lead to a recession, how close our current economy is to a recession, and the impact that past recessions have had on both the marketplace and the psyche of the American consumer.
Guests
Dr. John Connaughton - Professor of Economics, UNC Charlotte
Dr. Vikram Kumar – Professor of Economics, Davidson College
Dr. Haseeb Ahmed – Associate Professor of Economics, Johnson C. Smith University
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