Local Democratic National Convention organizers announced Thursday that they exceeded a goal to spend at least one-third of contract dollars with businesses owned by a diverse range of groups.

The Democratic National Convention Committee spent about $8 million on everything from hotels to the Foo Fighters performance new documents show.

City officials say more than seven tons of recyclable materials were collected in uptown during the Democratic National Convention earlier this month, an amount that almost surpasses what had been collected in the area all year.

Most of the minority entrepreneurs polled by an advocacy group said Democratic National Convention organizers controlled who would land work and who didn’t, despite a formal bidding process.

Jersey Mike’s knocked out 7,000-plus boxed lunches for first responders.

The tweets, posts and calls kept flying around Charlotte at a seemingly breakneck pace during the Democratic National Convention.

Newsroom leftovers from the Democratic National Convention: Riot gear.

Former Time staff photographer Bill Eppridge talks about his exhibit "One America, One American: Robert F. Kennedy Through the Lens of Bill Eppridge." Housed in The Charlotte Observer lobby the exhibition is open to the public September 4 through October 19 1012.

Charlotte’s host committee paid for one of the biggest Democratic convention expenses – $5 million for use of Time Warner Cable Arena – from a fund that accepted cash from corporations.

Some Hispanic Democrats are angry that one of the few major contracts for minority businesses at the Democratic National Convention went to a Hispanic leader of North Carolina’s Republican Party.

Senior Republican strategist Charlie Black said Wednesday he would “love to see” his party choose Charlotte for its 2016 national convention.

Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools families and officials let out a collective sigh of relief this week, after almost 123,000 bus-riders got to and from school without major delays or incidents caused by last week’s Democratic National Convention.

The city of Charlotte says it “tried to manage” the array of souvenir vendors along College Street that became an issue among licensed sellers tucked away in a parking lot during the Democratic National Convention.

To estimate the economic impact of last week’s Democratic National Convention, Charlotte tourism officials are hiring an outside group, Tourism Economics, to conduct a two-month study.

Many members of the California delegation weren’t happy with accommodations at the Blake Hotel on South McDowell Street, saying it charged five-star rates for low-star rooms.

Leaders of a coalition that pushed for hiring minority entrepreneurs during the Democratic National Convention now want to know how members fared. They’re polling members to find out who received contracts or subcontracts.

Initiative to house families displaced from hotels considered one of many benefits

Democrats on Monday dismissed a suggestion by the top pollster for Republican Mitt Romney that President Barack Obama’s campaign is “laying the groundwork for a stealth withdrawal” from North Carolina.

The Democrats earned praise for their convention Monday morning from an unlikely source: Donald Trump.

New Gallup numbers out today show that President Obama got more support out of last week's Democratic National Convention in Charlotte than Republican Mitt Romney did from his convention in Tampa.

As uptown Charlotte returns to normal after the Democratic National Convention, diners looking for a place to eat outside may have to settle for concrete.

Quotes from visitors and Charlotteans about the week our city spent in the spotlight.

Among 18- to 30-year-old voters, 36 percent are “very excited” – the lowest level of any age group, according to an Elon University/Charlotte Observer poll of likely voters conducted before the start of the Democratic National Convention.

Two men prowled convention site looking for buttons, posters and homemade clothing to outfit Washington museum

Many suggested Charlotte plan transportation aspect better for future big events.

Charlotteans are friendly and nice, according to scads of reports. Wrote Richard Roeper of the Chicago Sun-Times: “The good people of Charlotte have been exceedingly friendly. I’ve been greeted with smiles and ‘How’s it going?’ at every turn.” Hollywood producer Brent Roske said: “Every question we’ve asked has been answered with a smile. That sounds like a cliche. But it has blown me away. People smile in Los Angeles, as long as they’re in front of a camera.”

A list of some of the best tweets offered up over the past week.

At last week’s Democratic National Convention, Charlotte debuted on the world stage. The performance?

Charlotte’s neighboring counties may be conservative-leaning, but they eagerly welcomed economic benefits from last week’s Democratic National Convention.

'The Daily Show with Jon Stewart' came, it saw, and it kicked Charlotte's you-know-what.

Departing Democrats were all smiles Friday as they talked up a Charlotte convention that was high-energy, on-message and erased any talk of an election-year enthusiasm gap favoring the Republicans.

Six protesters, arms linked, sat on a sprawling banner in the middle of an uptown intersection Thursday as Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Chief Rodney Monroe stood nearby, conferring with other officers.

The last thunderstorm of convention week hit just after 3 p.m. Thursday.

The overnight report from the DNC party beat: The streets themselves had a festive feel Thursday night. On College Street, a jazz saxophone player set up in front of BLT Steak. Farther down the block, crowds gathered on the corner and stairs to watch the big screens in front of CNN Grill at Epicentre.

All week they’d worked the biggest party in town.

Though they were outnumbered by police, demonstrators say the public heard their voices during the DNC.

Bankers in Charlotte prepared for the worst, bracing themselves for verbal barrages from the Democratic Party’s convention stage and fencing in the entrances to guard their high-rise office towers against protests.

So, how was business during convention week?

When the city of Charlotte passed a new “extraordinary events” ordinance for the Democratic National Convention, police were given new power to stop and search.

Donte Jamar Sims was arrested after a U.S. Secret Service protective intelligence research specialist on Tuesday found five threatening statements on Twitter