News + Opinion
WSJ's Take on Charlotte
Whatever happens, Wachovia, once the fifth-largest U.S. bank and now sixth, has been passed in market value by U.S. Bancorp of Minneapolis -- a company far smaller in assets. Bank of America no longer has sole claim on the title…
Essential Charlotte Food Experiences
1. Pasta with red sauce and garlic bread at the Open Kitchen.2. A hot dog at Green’s Lunch.3. Tacos at Taqueria Mexico on South Boulevard4. Fried chicken at Price’s5. Fried pickles—or anything, really—at the Penguin. (My favorite is the Winky…
Did Ken Lewis Learn from Ken Thompson's Mistakes?
Number one, $4 billion vs. $24 billion [the former being the price for Countrywide, the latter the price for Golden West]. Number two, Countrywide has the exposure in the mortgage market, but it’s not as heavily concentrated in those option-adjusted…
Ken Thompson Ousted--Now It's Real
A couple years ago, we did a quick photo shoot with Thompson for the cover of our last Power Issue. We ran a split cover that year--half of the covers featured BofA's Ken Lewis; half featured Thompson. I missed the…
Crossing the Line
Lelia and I sat quietly in the attorney's office on Central Avenue. Ruth Gorman—a naturalized United States citizen born in Nicaragua—had clearly explained to Lelia her options. I sat in stunned silence, but Lelia, I could see, was not willing…
Ditch Your Car
Kabby-Oke-KabWHAT As cabbie Billy Rivera chauffeurs you around, you and your friends have thousands of songs to sing to with his built-in karaoke-machine, complete with monitors. WHEN TO USE IT En route to this summer’s Cure concert or to an…
The One Rule
I was young, very young, when the new family, the Majorses, moved into the mansion next door. By American standards, the mansion was ancient, built by a mill owner who had drowned himself in Mountain Island Lake in a time…
South Tryon Rising
This is what Charlotte does. It builds things.But never like this.Right this very minute, even in the face of a bleeding economy, thousands of workers are furiously constructing the most ambitious, most transformational series of uptown developments that this city…
Hey, We Won Some Awards
This year, we took home six awards from MAGS for work published in 2007. Full shout-outs go to Melissa Hankins, who authored the four-part series Charlotte Has a Problem With Crime, which garnered a gold award. Here is what the…
Yoga Guru Baron Baptiste Comes to Charlotte
Tell us a little bit about the All-Day Immersion that you’re doing in Charlotte? The title is personal revolution immersion. A revolution is a kind of revolt against status quo. In the sense that often people get stuck in a…
Letters - May 2008
Firing BackRecently, we received a copy of your magazine containing the article about Dr. Michael Brown ("Leap of Faith" by Mike Giglio). What a strange article! It was amazing that someone who knew so little about his subject could write…
James Jack Returns
"Who will take this declaration to Philadelphia for us?" cries the man on the steps. Thundering down Tryon Street on horseback comes James Jack. To the crowd's amazement, he rides up to the courthouse steps, shouting, "I will!" Jumping from…
Of Kings and Kids
Beep—beep—beep, and everything stops.There is the Earth overhead, or many different earths, each halted on its axis: a papier-mâché sphere, a Styrofoam orb, a regular globe, a basketball.A suspended battle floats in midair—black against white, carefully executed. It is waged…
