Stories written by Mark PellinAn award-winning journalist and former editor of The Rhinoceros Times in Charlotte, Pellin has been called everything from a misguided troglodyte to a professional agitator. He prefers the label of a realist, the guy in the crowd telling everybody that not only doesn’t the emperor have any clothes; he’s trying to steal ours.
Pellin has covered the Char-Meck scene for the better part of two decades, earning his fair share of fans and more than a few critics who wish he’d move to Nome, Alaska, and be eaten by wild bears.
When he’s not writing, he stays busy enjoying time with his wife and two kids. When he can break away for some R&R, he likes to fly fish (even if he doesn’t catch anything) and camp (even if it rains).

A proposal to outlaw the use of cellphones and hands-free cellphone devices while driving within Charlotte city limits has been forwarded to the city council’s community safety committee for review and possible recommendation for approval by the full council. The proposal’s referral to committee gained unanimous endorsement from councilmembers last month after Mayor Pro Tem [...]
May 10, 2012 | Posted in City Beat,House Specials,Mark Pellin | Read More »
Elections are supposed to produce definitive, by-the-numbers winners and losers, but the end game in several local races from Tuesday night’s primary likely have a ways to go before crossing the finish line. The most confusing, not surprisingly, involves the 12-candidate mishmash Democrats fielded for the at-large county board primary. That’s where Kim Ratliff and [...]
May 9, 2012 | Posted in Char-Meck Beat,County Beat,Mark Pellin | Read More »
Last night’s vote on North Carolina’s so-called Marriage Amendment didn’t do any favors for President Obama. Not only was The One, who still claims an “evolving” position on gay marriage, last seen ducking a planned visit to the Tar Heel state on Election Day; the passage of Amendment One is also causing a backlash for [...]
May 9, 2012 | Posted in Char-Meck Beat,City Beat,National | Read More »
Bill James held off an aggressive challenge from Ed Driggs to win the GOP primary for the District 6 seat on the Mecklenburg Board of County Commissioners, with the eight-term incumbent commissioner capturing nearly 52 percent of the vote. But less than eight hours after taking the win in the heavily Republican district, James’ attention [...]
May 9, 2012 | Posted in Char-Meck Beat,County Beat,Mark Pellin | Read More »
So after making a scouting loop of some precincts this morning – fairly moderate to decent turnout at the ones I hit – I returned to the homestead around noonish to find my answering machine lit up with 14 recordings from various campaigns delivering last-minute pitches, everything from candidates having their – pick one – [...]
May 8, 2012 | Posted in Char-Meck Beat,County Beat,Mark Pellin | Read More »
Squirt guns are out, but apparently real guns are A-OK. That’s the word coming from Tampa’s security prep for the Republican National Convention, where the city council this week gave preliminary approval to new rules that would create a so-called Event Zone, a modified version of a so-called Clean Zone that was originally under consideration. [...]
May 5, 2012 | Posted in Char-Meck Beat,City Beat,Mark Pellin | Read More »
Send us a link with your favorite tunes and vids (editor@pundithouse.com) and we’ll work them into the rotation: And we’d be remiss to not sadly note: R.I.P. MCA
May 5, 2012 | Posted in Mark Pellin | Read More »
Don’t think I’ve ever seen a broadsheet flip-flop quite so aggressively as Charlotte’s uptown paper jettisoning its support of Jim Pendergraph in the 9th Congressional District Republican primary. The Observer was initially all-aboard the Pendergraph express when he was schmoozing the paper’s editorial braintrust with talk about embracing a path to citizenship for illegal immigrants [...]
May 4, 2012 | Posted in Carolinas,Char-Meck Beat,Mark Pellin | Read More »
After serving two terms on the Mecklenburg Board of County Commissioners representing the largely suburban, GOP-leaning District 5, Republican Neil Cooksey decided to not seek reelection and leaves some big shoes to fill. Four candidates from the Right side of the aisle square off to advance from the May 8 primary: Matthew Ridenhour, Sarah Cherne, [...]
May 3, 2012 | Posted in Char-Meck Beat,County Beat,Mark Pellin | Read More »

Has so-called national security become Kryptonite for the Tea Party? Seems to be the case, judging by the roll call vote for CISPA – the Cybersecurity Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act, which despite its inherent toxicity to individual privacy and liberty breezed through the House with significant help from members of the Tea Party Caucus. [...]
May 3, 2012 | Posted in House Specials,Mark Pellin,National | Read More »