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On Friday, the Observer reported that Bobcats owner Bob Johnson was looking to sell the team, raising questions for some residents about the future of the arena.
The city agreed in 2002 to build the $265million arena. Part of the deal was that the NBA team would operate the facility and keep most of the revenue from it.
City Attorney Mac McCarley sent these answers to commonly asked questions about the city's involvement in the arena:
Q: How long is the agreement with the Bobcats?
Through the end of the 2029-30 NBA season.
Q: What happens if they're sold?
The new owners would be subject to all the same restrictions and guarantees.
Q: Can the team leave?
No. The city may seek an injunction to force the team to honor the commitment to play here, or can enforce liquidated damages of $200 million in the first five years (2005-2010), $150 million in years five to 10, and a declining balance going from $85 million in year 11 down to $7 million in year 25.
Q: What protects the city from the team leaving?
The liquidated damage provisions are guaranteed by the team and by Bob Johnson personally.
CMS offers 300-plus pages of details about budget
Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools officials have given Mecklenburg County commissioners a little light reading in advance of Tuesday's joint budget meeting: more than 300 pages detailing the request for $351 million in county money for 2009-10.
At this point, it looks like it'll take an economic miracle for that wish to be granted. County Manager Harry Jones expects the schools to take a cut of almost 10 percent, like other departments and agencies the county pays for. If commissioners agree, CMS will enact the four levels of cuts Superintendent Peter Gorman has described. Those are detailed in just two pages of the mammoth budget book.
Budget junkies can delve right in and offer advice. The book is online at www.cms.k12.nc.us; click “2009-2010 Budget Information” at the bottom of the page, select “Documents,” then “2009-2010 Budget Request” (it'll take awhile to load). If you're looking for the additional cuts, they're on pages 72-73.
The joint meeting is open to the public – 3-5 p.m. Tuesday at the Education Center, 701 E. Martin Luther King Blvd. – but no comments will be taken. Commissioners will hear from the public at 6 p.m. Thursday. Sign up at www.charmeck.org; click “County Manager,” then select “Management & Budget” on the left.
Whalen may become N.C. Democratic Party biggie
The party chairman wants to keep it under wraps. The man in question isn't talking. But it's a not very well-kept secret that Andrew Whalen is about to become the new executive director of the N.C. Democratic Party.
Whalen has been a spokesman for Democratic U.S. Rep. Heath Shuler. He helped run Shuler's successful 2006 and 2008 campaigns.
“I like him, he's a great guy, and we're going to have an official announcement shortly,” said party chairman David Young of Asheville.
A letter from one party official last week was addressed to Whalen as executive director at state party headquarters in Raleigh.
Whalen didn't return calls. But his old boss acknowledged his new job.
“It was very difficult to see Andrew walk out of the office, but obviously it's an opportunity for a young person to make a huge impact on the state,” Shuler told the Asheville Citizen-Times. “This really fits his personality and who he is – to help run the state party. I'm very, very proud of him.”
Magazine says ex-Dole aide Nick is a ‘Rising Star'
His candidate may have lost, but Brian Nick didn't.
The former aide to then-U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Dole has been named a “Rising Star” by Politics magazine.
The award goes to people 35 or under “who have already made a significant mark in political consulting or advocacy,” the magazine said. It chose 10 Democrats, 10 Republicans and seven nonpartisan activists out of hundreds of nominees.
Nick, a 33-year-old Republican, served as Dole's chief of staff. He joins a list of past winners that includes David Axelrod, James Carville, Ed Gillespie, Karen Hughes and George Stephanopoulos.
Gov's son at N.C. Beer & Wine group's bash
Garrett Perdue has been spotted again.
The son of Gov. Bev Perdue was seen at the recent 19th annual “Rush the Growler” party sponsored by the N.C. Beer & Wine Wholesalers Association.
The event is well attended by legislators, former legislators, staffers and lobbyists at the association's headquarters on Person Street behind the governor's mansion in Raleigh.
What is “Rush the Growler”? During Prohibition, the growler was a jug or pail that contained moonshine. When the person carrying the growler showed up at the party, it was rushed by the crowd.
Garrett Perdue is a lobbyist with Womble Carlyle, the state's largest law firm. Although he's been seen at the legislature and the N.C. Chamber's annual meeting, he and his firm have said he does not engage in state lobbying.
Burr in France to honor D-Day servicemen
U.S. Sen. Richard Burr will be part of a small congressional delegation that will lead Memorial Day ceremonies at the Normandy American Cemetery in France.
The Winston-Salem Republican will deliver a speech today and help lay a wreath in honor of the thousands of American servicemen who lost their lives during the D-Day invasion and its aftermath during World War II.
Burr, who is the ranking Republican on the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee, will be going with senators Saxby Chambliss of Georgia and Lindsey Graham of South Carolina and Rep. John Kline of Minnesota.
The trip is sponsored by the Senate Intelligence Committee, and the delegation will also visit other unspecified countries.
