I’m overwhelmed. Can’t get it all out. Feeling dizzy, tasting metal. Try to double-back later, but for now:

  • First Dilworth, now Plaza-Midwood? Residents wonder if they should pool money to hire extra off-duty police protection after a rash of violent crimes in the neighborhood.
  • Meanwhile, a murder in NoDa. Super. That new police chief can’t get here fast enough.
  • Oh, that class with the “required reading” of Ayn Rand at UNCC? Turns out never been taught. In fact, officials confirm that no class at the Belk College business school has ever required students to read Atlas Shrugged. Copies of the book have been given to students, that’s all. Wooo, scary.
  • The U.S. National Log Flume Ride is looking to spend more money so it can get into the black. And raise prices. Or something. The CBJ reports the outfit is also looking to fold itself into the loving arms of the Charlotte Regional Visitors Authority. You know, the folks that run the Arena and Ovens, etc. Oh, hell no.
  • Opponents bust Mayor Pat McCrory on his fiscal record here in Charlotte. Pat mostly whines. We need specifics all around, fellas.
  • Bob “$7 Beer?” Johnson again raises the idea of cutting ticket prices for the Bobcats, upping promotions — the same model the franchise has followed every year since the massive price increases that came with the new Arena. My rough guess is tickets are still at least 15 to 20 percent too high. Attendance is down 7 percent for the year and Johnson will probably lose about $15 million.
  • Will new WBTV general manager Nick Simonette join the board of Center City Partners?
  • The Easley operative in charge of email panel destroyed his own email so he wouldn’t have a paper trail to show to guys like Don Carrington. Franklin Freeman, you see, was in the loop on the Randy Parton Theater debacle. Shazam.
  • For no good reason, the city of Salisbury voted the other night to spend $30 million to enter the CATV biz. Build a fiber optic system from scratch. Plans are for all of four (4) field techs to service the system. This’ll end well.
  • Just to be clear, Mecklenburg County is getting $26m. more in revenue than it had last year. If the county has any “gap” to fund — let alone a $63m. one — that means officials planned on spending almost $90m. more this year than last year. That is a crapload of Chik-Fil-A.

There, that should do for awhile.