Charlotte should say ‘no’ to a stadium and do this instead

No new stadium

Regarding “City OKs rezoning for possible stadium site near uptown,” (Dec. 21):

A new stadium — again. Really? We don’t need one. The stadium uptown is more than adequate for the limited use it gets.

For the past several years we read about the lack of affordable housing in Charlotte. Instead of a stadium, let’s design and build a community in the proposed space with decent affordable housing for the underserved, with amenities like a modest grocery store and health care clinic. Make it pedestrian friendly with access to public transportation and open park-like space for play and exercise.

Let’s make it a model that other cities will emulate. This is a once in a lifetime opportunity to put our money where our mouth is and do the right thing. Let’s not waste it.

Rev. Margaret Howell, Charlotte

Bravo, Manchin

Regarding Kevin Siers’ Joe Manchin editorial cartoon. (Dec. 21):

This editorial cartoon was an attack on the character of one of the very few honest politicians left in Washington.

Sen. Joe Manchin is a duly and legally elected senator of the good people of West Virginia and his responsibility as such is to represent his constituents and not a particular political party or president.

I applaud him for having a backbone and standing up to the madness and insanity of the liberal members of his own party. To me, he is a hero who should be congratulated for injecting a much needed dose of sanity into the nation’s political discourse.

Rick Mendoza, Charlotte

Breaking rank

We need more politicians like U.S. Sen. Joe Manchin and U.S. Rep Liz Cheney. They are willing to break ranks with their party and hold true to their beliefs, even though they get raked over the coals by their party faithful.

Kenny Colbert, Cornelius

Eliminate fares

Regarding ”Can Charlotte escape traffic hell?” (Dec. 19):

Charlotte continues to struggle with economic mobility, ridership on public transit, air quality in the summer, and growing gridlock in traffic. I propose that we follow the lead of other progressive cities and make ridership free on all public transportation systems.

The current fare for the bus and train ($2.20 one way) equates to $44 a week for an adult commuting to work, often to a low-wage job. Surely the operational costs of collecting and processing fares erodes the income generated by fares, which generally accounts for only about 15% of the system’s operating costs.

I’m not naive enough to think this will solve the many problems mentioned above that Charlotte now faces, but it is one change that we can make that will move us farther along and it would aid many of the most vulnerable among us. Plus, we know how to implement this quickly as we did so during the height of the pandemic.

Sarah George, Charlotte

CATS Quick Pass?

I think it’s great to get a pass to ride on CATS by ordering online. I think this is a good way for people like me who rarely have the right amount of change to pay for the ride. But I think it would be really neat if we could have our ride paid by NC Quick Pass. Each bus would have a sensor to register our account, and each month we’d get a bill for our rides. This would be another way to make it more convenient for people to save on driving and keep our streets less congested.

Alan Davis, Charlotte

The River District

The PR push suggesting the River District development will “preserve” nature — while intensely developing it in ways that will significantly reduce wildlife habitat and natural lands — is extremely off-putting.

This development might emphasize tree canopy and open space more than most, but one cannot build this many homes, apartments, offices, hotel rooms, parking lots, etc., without destroying what is now a valuable natural resource.

Photos on the development website that show majestic trees and a wild blue heron highlight what is likely to be destroyed when the bulldozers arrive. At the very least, the developers should not sugarcoat the loss by referring to this project as a “natural wonder.” It’s quite the opposite.

Amy Burroughs, Tega Cay

Social media, kids

Regarding “What is the December 17 TikTok challenge? Schools across US cancel classes, up security,” (Dec. 17):

We all heard about school shooter threats on TikTok. A specific threat at my child’s K-8 school leads me to this: Children don’t belong on social media.

Parenting is hard. We choose every battle; I get it, truly. This is one worth fighting.

Social media risks deep damage to children and offers little benefit. The only question is how to summon the courage to tell our children no. There’s an easy boogeyman — point to the Children Online Privacy Protection Act and tell your young children they are breaking the law when they lie and say that they’re 13.

Gather your community and pledge to do this together. It’s a tiny piece of the puzzle, but one we can handle today, together.

Kim Muhich, Davidson