government
Kannapolis a step closer to downtown makeover
April 26. The Kannapolis City Council lat night approved a revitalization project for 50 acres of downtown land and buildings purchased from David Murdock. Construction could be under way in spring of 2017. A master development plan, put together by the non-profit Development Finance Initiative, is expected to be ready in June. A “Demonstration Project” […]
Citizen Kurt: WidenI-77 organizer wows top politicians
March 10. By Dave Yochum. Speaking to a packed house—150 citizens and elected officials at Cornelius Town Hall—anti-toll leader Kurt Naas started by thanking people for attending a dry information session on Cintra finances, the bankruptcy in Texas and the pricing plan for tolls between Charlotte and Lake Norman. The one-hour presentation by the founder […]
New partner at Red Dome
Former NC Rep. Carolyn Justice has joined Cornelius-based Red Dome Group as a senior partner of the political consulting firm. At the same time, Red Dome’s co-founder and senior partner Todd Poole has taken a leave of absence to serve as chief of staff for US Rep. Richard Hudson. Justice was the first woman ever elected to the General […]
Cintra hints of possible legal action against critic of toll plan
By Dave Yochum. The fight against the plan to widen I-77 with the help of a company whose roots are in Spain continues to escalate, with a lawsuit, another bill in Raleigh and even the threat of legal action against someone who has spoken out against I-77 Mobility partners, the new entity that will build the […]
Andy Yates ‘Rising Star’ in national publication
Andy Yates, senior partner of Red Dome Group, has been named a “Rising Star” in the political campaign world by Campaigns and Elections magazine. Yates managed NC Rep. Charles Jeter’s closely watched campaign last year. Below is part of a Q&A with Yates from Campaigns and Elections http://campaignsandelections.com C&E: How do you become a self-made […]
Point counterpoint: I-77 toll lanes
By Kurt Naas. Now that local governments and businesses have lined up against the I-77 toll lanes, the North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT) has been offering up three more rationales why they must move forward with this project. First, we’ve been told it’s “tolls or nothing for 20 years.” That may have been true in […]
Memo to LKN Chamber: ‘NCDOT is simply delivering the project requested by local authorities’
In advance of the Lake Norman Chamber’s board meeting, the NCDOT Undersecretary Nick Tennyson outlined some of the ramifications of cancelling the $650 million contract with I-77 Mobility/Cintra/Ferrovial and opting for a general-purpose lanes project instead. As a former chamber [of commerce] executive, I know that your organization has a wide range of business and […]
LKN Chamber will come out against toll lanes
June 23. By Dave Yochum. The Lake Norman Chamber of Commerce will officially come out against the plan to widen I-77 with toll lanes and a 50-year contract with a company whose roots are in Spain. The chamber’s resolution, passed by its board of directors last night, requests that the contract with I-77 Mobility Partners be […]
OPINION: It’s time to back Widen I-77 and fight the tolls
It’s been an interesting news period these past few months. The I-77 toll battle has turned into a full-fledged citizen movement with the business community climbing on in earnest in May, thanks in large part to John “Mac” McAlpine V, a racing industry engineer in Cornelius. (Yes, his family is the McAlpine in the McAlpine […]
