Well, it looks like Mr “Who Knows” has gotten his nose out of joint. That’s the first takeaway from a letter sent last week to WidenI77.org founder Kurt Naas along with State and Local elected officials regarding some financial analysis on the HOT lanes Naas published back on June 24th. Let’s just say this. Cintra’s Mr […]
“Den of thieves” was how one Facebook poster responded to an ad from the Statesville Record & Landmark this Wednesday. How could an ad engender such a response? It can when it’s another ad for the I77 HOT lanes, and it’s an ad apparently placed by a company whose local point of contact has close […]
The two recent pieces on the intersections of government, business, and large projects have produced record numbers of pave views. Those pieces were about the I77 HOT Lanes project generating a lot of recent controversy. However, you do not have to look at just large projects involving hundreds of millions of dollars to see examples […]
If last week’s post on lobbyists surrounding the I77 HOT lanes project with links to Governor Pat McCrory gave you an upset stomach. This one is likely to make your blood boil. Many readers who follow the HOT lanes issue or politics generally are familiar with ALEC. For those who are not, the American Legislative […]
Whether one calls it lobbying, public relations, business development, or crisis management, what you are really hiring when you employ somebody for any of the above functions is a “fixer”. That’s someone who gets things done that might not be do-able otherwise. Lobbying is big business. There is lots of money involved. Lots of connections […]
(Originally published on May 15…in case you missed this.) Once again, the I77 HOT lanes project has been in the news and not for good reasons. This past week, local elected boards one after the other passed resolutions demanding answers to new questions or asking for outright delay prior to financial close of the contract. […]
Most new Legislatures in Raleigh see a few proposed amendments to the State Constitution, and this one so far is no different. Often, the proposed changes go nowhere. Maybe they are proposed by the party that’s not in power, so they do not have the votes to get on the ballot. Maybe they are too […]
If you’ve been watching the news much lately, you are probably aware the Federal Communication Commission (FCC) has been looking for more ways to control the internet from the Federal level. One of those moves came last week when the FCC granted a petition from Wilson, NC to preempt a North Carolina law that puts […]
This Thursday, WFAE a Charlotte Talks will host a panel discussion on HOT Lanes with Wideni77.org’s, Kurt Naas, going head to head with Robert Poole of the Reason Foundation – a libertarian think tank in California. Charlotte City Councilman Al Austin will also be on the panel. For those paying close attention to the HOT […]
In Corporate America, during annual reviews people are often rated on their “accomplishments” as well as their “behaviors”. Said another way, employees are rated on the “what they did” as well as the “how they did it”. Often times, there is a perception that the “what” side of the equation is more Important than the […]
