Headlines for week ending: Sunday, January 17 2010

(1.15.10) LaHood rescinds Bush transit spending restrictions
WASHINGTON — Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood on Wednesday rescinded Bush administration restrictions on federal transit grants so that a wider range of projects will be eligible and local transit systems will receive money faster. LaHood told a conference of transportation officials and researchers that the Obama administration wants greater flexibility to help pay for bus, rail and other transit projects that could provide an economic boost, benefit the environment or improve the “livability” of communities.

(1.15.10) Change almost certainly coming to state’s system of liquor control
RALEIGH — The governor’s budget reform commission will consider recommendations in the coming weeks on how to fix the state-run liquor control system. Whether the Budget Reform and Accountability Commission suggests tweaking the state’s alcohol distribution model or pushes for a complete overhaul remains to be seen, and members said Thursday they were still gathering data. Any recommendations for changing the system will likely be presented at the group’s next meeting, either in late February or early March.

(1.15.10) Helms steps down from ABC board
CHARLOTTE — Parks Helms stepped down as chair of the Mecklenburg County ABC board Thursday, saying he was wrongly made a “scapegoat” for problems in the state alcoholic beverage system. In a resignation letter, he took aim at comments made a day earlier by the state’s top liquor regulator, who highlighted Helms as an example of a “culture of entitlement” in North Carolina’s alcohol system.

(1.14.10) Wild boars snort their way into Mecklenburg
CHARLOTTE — Wild boars have been spotted in northern Mecklenburg County, where county park biologists will deploy traps for the tusked invaders. A park worker spotted the first boar in Cowans Ford Wildlife Refuge in November, and motion-detecting cameras have snapped several portraits there since. They’re the first ever seen on county property. Wild boars are most familiar in North Carolina’s western tip, where they’re hunted. But their number and range are growing statewide.

(1.14.10) N.C. liquor regulator adds to pressure on Helms
RALEIGH — The state’s top liquor regulator lambasted Mecklenburg County ABC Board Chair Parks Helms Wednesday, highlighting him as an example of a “culture of entitlement” in the alcoholic beverage system. Helms was headed to the N.C. Alcoholic Beverage Control Commission headquarters in Raleigh to make a statement Wednesday afternoon, and some county officials expected him to resign.

(1.14.10) Mecklenburg home losses could skyrocket
CHARLOTTE — Despite the struggling economy, fewer people lost their Mecklenburg County homes to foreclosure last year, but the small decline could be sharply reversed this year. There were 3,045 final foreclosures last year in Mecklenburg, down 2 percent from the previous year’s record, according to court records. However, a surge in court filings that start the foreclosure process means there may be a big backlog that could drive a jump in homes lost this year.

(1.13.10) N.C. state lawyers: I-485 extended financing lawful
RALEIGH — Gov. Beverly Perdue’s proposal to complete Charlotte’s outer loop by entering into an extended payment plan with a contractor is legal, the state Attorney General’s Office said Tuesday. The formal advisory opinion, written by Attorney General Roy Cooper's chief deputy, affirms the governor’s earlier comments that state lawyers had no problems with the alternative financing idea before she unveiled it in November as the way to finish Interstate 485.

(1.13.10) I-485 plan gets OK from N.C. AG’s office
RALEIGH — The N.C. attorney general’s office has settled a dispute between the state Department of Transportation and State Treasurer Janet Cowell over how to pay for finishing the last five miles of the I-485 loop around Charlotte. Grayson Kelley, chief deputy to Attorney General Roy Cooper, wrote a letter Tuesday saying that the transportation department’s funding plan for finishing the long-unlinked highway is legal.

(1.13.10) State wants investigation of ABC meal at the Ritz
RALEIGH — The state ABC Commission has asked Alcohol Law Enforcement agents and the commission’s legal team to investigate whether another meal for Mecklenburg ABC board officials that was paid for by a liquor company violated state law. Mecklenburg ABC Chairman Parks Helms, board CEO Calvin McDougal and two other employees had lunch at the Ritz-Carlton on Nov. 17 with representatives of Beam Global Spirits and Maker’s Mark Distillery. At least one of the distilleries paid the $237 bill plus $48 tip.

(1.12.10) Grant could help Charlotte streetcar service
CHARLOTTE — A new federal grant program could help Charlotte get the first 1.5-mile segment of its streetcar up and running, but would require the city to find up to $20 million to help pay for the project, city leaders said Monday. A second grant program could help the city expand the express Sprinter bus service to routes on the city’s east and west sides. City council members will vote on Jan. 25 whether to pursue money from the Federal Transit Administration.

(1.12.10) Myrick pledges to hold town hall discussion with local Muslims
WASHINGTON — As U.S. Rep. Sue Myrick issued a third Internet video on terrorism Monday, she pledged to schedule a town hall meeting with the Charlotte Muslim community, saying she wants to embrace “mainstream Muslims” while fighting extremism. “We’re going to do it,” Myrick said of the town hall in an interview Monday. “We’re trying to work with mainstream Muslims and help give them a voice and hear where people stand and help them think about the issues.”

(1.12.10) Helms rejects call to resign from ABC
CHARLOTTE — Mecklenburg County ABC Board chairman Parks Helms on Monday rejected a request from fellow ABC directors to resign “in the best interests of the Mecklenburg County ABC system.” But pressure for his resignation continued to rise Monday as Mecklenburg County commissioners chair Jennifer Roberts suggested he give it “serious consideration.” A former Mecklenburg County commissioners chairman, Helms has been under fire since a Nov. 18 dinner hosted by the liquor company Diageo.

(1.11.10) Tightening the reins on ABC boards
RALEIGH — North Carolina’s patchwork system for selling liquor grew out of the days after prohibition, when the powers that be worried about controlling who could buy liquor. Today’s state leaders, from Gov. Bev Perdue to top legislators, say that what’s needed now is tighter control over who is selling booze.

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