June 10, 2025 Karen R. Jenkins pivoted away. from the mortgage business amid housing market collapse of 2007-8. In 2020, as Covid-19 turned Dilbertville dwellers into work-at-homers, Jenkins began workshops on how to balance work life and family life under the same roof. The R. might as well ... Continue Reading →
Preparing people for community leadership
March 26, 2024 Trust. A shared zeal for community service, for servant leadership. Outlooks that "clicked." A willingness to teach and support each other. To work their tails off for each other. James Mitchell has been an elected official off and on in Charlotte for decades. He had an easily ... Continue Reading →
History doesn’t make people; People make history
Feb. 1, 2023 “Black history is a lifetime. It is not a month. Stop letting other people control the narrative.” – Forum participant Gary Marion Jan. 24, 2023 Perhaps there is no middle way between the stout defenders of Black History Month and Gary Marion's ... Continue Reading →
Election 2015 Winners
Charlotte Mayor Jennifer Roberts (52.26%); Council At-large Julie Eiselt (16.98%) Vi Lyles (16.36%) Claire Fallon (15.81%) James Mitchell (14.30%) Council Districts 1: Patsy Kinsey (93.35%) 2: Al Austin (79.56%) 3: LaWana Mayfield (76.12%) 4: Greg Phipps (71.53%) 5: John Autry ... Continue Reading →
District candidates for Charlotte City Council
Oct. 13, 2015 Candidates for contested district seats on Charlotte City Council were invited today. The session drew five of the eight people in contested races. There are uncontested seats in three of the seven council districts. The following video captures the entire session. At the end of ... Continue Reading →
District City Council contests on Sept. 15 primary ballot
Sept. 1, 2015 Five of the candidates on the Sept. 15 primary ballot for City Council Districts addressed the Forum today. Scott Jenkins and John Autry are running in District 5. Rosa Hodge-Mustafa and LaWana Mayfield are running in District 3. Al Austin is running in District 2. Steven Jones ... Continue Reading →
Charlotte’s city budget: A primer
May 5, 2015 City staffer Kim Eagle walked the Forum through Manager Ron Carlee's budget proposal on Tuesday. Three City Council members chimed in along the way. The message seemed to be: Shared pain in a year when revenue expectations are down and some costs are rising. Loading garbage ... Continue Reading →
The outlook for 2015
Jan. 6, 2015 In an impromptu presentation, elected officials serving at the local and state levels offered comments about the issues they expect to be dealing with this year. Predictably, many of the issues revolved around money. But there was also talk about jobs, the homeless, education, the ... Continue Reading →
Beatties Ford Road median: An exploration
Setting aside thoughts of tinsel and holiday errands still beckoning, participants in today’s Forum engaged in a review of a nearly three-year controversy over 800 feet of a mile-long road widening. Beatties Ford Road was a once-sleepy two-lane road bisecting the westside African-American ... Continue Reading →
League of Conservation Voters on environmental issues
Megan Boler and Zachary Denard, field organizers with the League of Conservation Voters, made a presentation about their office's efforts to raise environmental awareness. Boler showed a short segment of video that gave two examples of how environmental concerns are playing out in two different ... Continue Reading →