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CANTON Charlotte
The League of Women Voters and WSOC-TV have resurrected an Oct. 27 event with Democrat Anthony Foxx and Republican John Lassiter.
The league canceled a televised debate between the two last month after Lassiter refused to accept a proposal that would have allowed six rebuttals during the hourlong forum. He wanted no more than three.
In the new format, the station will air separate, back-to-back 30-minute segments with each candidate. Both will be asked the same questions.
"We'll see how it works," said the league's debate coordinator, Amanda "Boo" Raymond. "It'll be interesting to see whether we get more answers or less." Jim Morrill
Snowy and cold winter predicted
Charlotte and the Carolinas face one of their coldest and snowiest winters in recent years, according to a leading long-range meteorologist.
Joe Bastardi, chief meteorologist and long-range forecaster at Pennsylvania-based Accu-Weather, released his 2009-10 winter forecast Wednesday, saying the area from the mid-Atlantic states southward to the Carolinas will feel the sting of winter.
Bastardi bases much of his winter forecast on the impact of El Niņo, a condition caused by warmer-than-average water temperatures in the eastern Pacific Ocean. In El Niņo winters, steering winds typically carry storm systems into California and then across Texas and the Deep South. Many winters, those low pressure systems then curve up the East Coast.
Bastardi predicts such an occurrence this winter.
"Areas from Washington to Charlotte have had very little snowfall the past two winters," Bastardi wrote in his report. "This season, those areas could end up with above-normal snowfall." Steve Lyttle
Meck briefs
A public meeting is set for this afternoon on the proposed interchange of Interstates 85 and 485 in northeast Charlotte.
Transportation officials say the connection will be needed when they build the final leg of the outerbelt - from I-85 westward to N.C. 115 near Huntersville. It is not clear when that leg of I-485 will be built.
The meeting is from 4 to 7 p.m. in the cafeteria at Mallard Creek High School, 3825 Johnston Oehler Road. People can drop in and speak with N.C. Department of Transportation officials, and comments from the public will be considered as the project is designed. No formal presentation will be given.
A map showing the location and design of the project can be seen online at www.ncdot.gov/projects/charlotteouterloop. Steve Lyttle
The Public Library of Charlotte and Mecklenburg County is selling nearly 30,000 used books today through Saturday in suites G, H and J of the Specialty Shops at the Charleston Row house, 2015 Ayrsley Town Blvd.
The sale is 9 a.m.-7 p.m. each day. Most books are priced under $5. Proceeds will buy new books and materials for the library. Pam Kelley
Regional briefs
North Carolina Raleigh
New math scores show N.C. fourth- and eighth-graders are still performing better than students nationwide.
The biennial National Assessment of Educational Progress released Wednesday by the federal government shows N.C. fourth-graders improved their scores slightly compared to 2007. There was no change from 2007 to 2009 for eighth-grade scores.
N.C. fourth-graders on average scored 244 points on a 500-point scale, compared with 239 points nationwide. Eighth-graders scored 284 compared to 282 for the nation. Associated Press
An attorney for an amusement machine vendor says North Carolina lacks a consistent public policy when it allows Cherokee Indians to run video poker machines but bans them everywhere else.
Lawyers for the state and the vendor traded arguments Wednesday before the N.C. Court of Appeals over the legality of a 2006 state law that made the machines illegal, except on the Cherokee reservation. A trial court judge overturned the law in February.
The three-member appeals panel peppered vendor attorney Hugh Stevens with questions concerning a federal American Indian gambling law that provides the basis for the state's compact with the Cherokees.
Special Deputy Attorney General Mark Davis said the ban is legal and consistent with the federal gambling act.
It could be weeks or months before the judges rule. Associated Press
Canton
A pastor says his church plans to burn Bibles and books by Christian authors that he considers "satanic" and "perversions" of God's word.
Pastor Marc Grizzard told Asheville TV station WLOS that the King James version is the only Bible his Western North Carolina church follows.
On Halloween night, Grizzard and other members of the Amazing Grace Baptist Church also will burn music and books by Christian authors, such as Billy Graham and Rick Warren.
Telephone calls to the Amazing Grace Baptist Church and Grizzard's home were not immediately returned Wednesday. Associated Press
Outer Banks
A coastal N.C. lighthouse that's been closed for more than a year has received nearly $500,000 in federal funds for repairs.
Interior Secretary Ken Salazar and Sen. Kay Hagan, D-N.C., said Wednesday the repairs at Cape Lookout Lighthouse on Harkers Island will include alterations to its cast-iron staircase and railings.
The National Park Service is celebrating the lighthouse's 150th anniversary. It remains operational but was closed to the public in early 2008 due to structural problems. It is scheduled to reopen in 2010.
Salazar said he will visit North Carolina on Friday to address business leaders on the state's energy issues. Associated Press
South Carolina Charleston
An S.C. man accused of threatening to kill President George W. Bush has pleaded guilty to plotting to use biological weapons to attack other government officials and destroy a Navy brig near Charleston.
Court records show Steven Cucuzzella of North Charleston pleaded guilty in federal court Tuesday to mailing a threat to blow up the Naval Brig in Hanahan.
Cucuzzella had been charged with making a threat against the president, but that charge was dropped.
Cucuzzella has been held in the same Navy brig he threatened to destroy since his arrest earlier this year and will be sentenced later. He faces up to 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. Associated Press
Police digest
Alexander County Taylorsville
Alexander County authorities are dealing with the theft of two ATM machines in recent weeks, according to the sheriff's office.
The machines were stolen during overnight hours by someone who an SUV to pull the machines out of stores.
The first theft happened about 12:30 a.m. Sept. 20, the sheriff's office says. Someone broke the front door of the Ellendale Convenience Store on N.C. 127, north of Taylorsville, and pulled out the machine. Another theft happened about 3:15 a.m. Saturday at the Cubbard Express store on N.C. 127 and Teague Town Road. In the most recent case, someone broke the front window, attached a strap to the ATM, and pulled it out of the store.
Deputies say the vehicle involved in the thefts was a dark-colored Chevrolet Tahoe or Suburban. They say the back of the vehicle has double doors, and they believe the vehicle is either dark blue or black. Anyone with information in the case is asked to call the Alexander County Sheriff's Office, 828-632-4658. Steve Lyttle
