August 31, 2005

CHARLOTTE – Taxes, schools, crime, traffic congestion – these are just some the issues at the forefront of public debate in Charlotte, Mecklenburg County, and many surrounding communities. They will also be among the subjects debated in The Meck Deck, a new blog from the John Locke Foundation that debuted Thursday morning with a special “Name That Boondoggle” contest.

The John Locke Foundation, founded more than 15 years ago in Raleigh, is North Carolina’s leading think tank and a timely source of news, analysis, and commentary on state and local government. Earlier this year, JLF began a major initiative to expand its programs and services in the Charlotte area, including events, research reports, and a local edition of Carolina Journal, its monthly newspaper.

On the Internet, it created a JLF-Charlotte page within its suite of websites to provide analysis of local trends and controversies as well as a handy set of links to local news articles, research, and other resources. On September 1, the JLF-Charlotte page added its newest feature, The Meck Deck, a blog that will publish frequent posts from a variety of writers and invite comments and debate from the public at large.

“The John Locke Foundation has been at the forefront in using innovative means to inform North Carolinians about government and encourage public-policy debate,” said John Hood, JLF’s chairman and president and a Mecklenburg County native. “With The Meck Deck, we’re inviting folks across the region to participate in lively discussions about the issues they care about most.”

Jeff Taylor, also a Charlotte native and a longtime newspaper and magazine journalist, will serve as Meck Deck administrator and moderator. Public comments will never be edited based on political viewpoint but will be screened to ensure civil and respectful discourse.

“If you wouldn’t say it to a co-worker in front of your boss, it probably is not civil and respectful,” Taylor said. “In sum, disagreements, arguments even, are welcome; abusive behavior is not.”

To start things off with a bang, Taylor turned one of the first Meck Deck posts into an invitation for area residents to offer suggestions for naming the controversial new rail-transit system now under construction. Having dealt recently with cost overruns and other problems, the Charlotte Area Transit System has now turned to the question of a name for the light-rail grid it is building, and Taylor thought that CATS might need a little help from online readers.

“Houston has the Wham-Bam-Tram, Cleveland has Tober’s Trolley (named for CATS’ own Ron Tober, the former Cleveland transit honcho), and Seattle plans a $2.1 billion monorail that looks like it came straight from an episode of The Simpsons,” Taylor said. “A world-class city like Charlotte deserves a world-class name for its $450 million choo-choo train. We think Meck Deck readers will be up to the challenge.”

JLF’s Charlotte-oriented page and blog are the first in a planned series of Internet offerings for regions such as the Triangle, the Triad, Southeastern NC, and Western NC. Interested readers can visit the main JLF site for updates about these future web-based services. Please contact Summer Hood, JLF’s Director of Public Relations, at 919-828-3876 to ask questions or offer suggestions about these new Internet resources.