PPP Poll: Majority of county voters support decision to fire Harry Jones

Thursday, May 16th, 2013, 2:31pm

CHARLOTTE, NC (WBTV)- A new Public Policy Polling survey of Mecklenburg County voters finds that Commission Chair Pat Cotham is quite popular with voters in the county, and that they support the board's decision to end County Manager Harry Jones' employment last week.

The PPP Poll was released on Thursday and interviewed the respondents on Tuesday and Wednesday.

Key findings from the poll include:

-46% percent of voters in the county approve of the job Cotham is doing to just 26 percent who disapprove. Cotham is drawing support across party lines for her leadership. Democrats approve of her by a 50/23 margin, independents do so by a 43/29 spread, and Republicans do 42/28. Cotham has solid personal favorability numbers as well at 42/25.

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Severe weather spotter training classes offered

Submitted by WBTV Web Staff

Thursday, May 16th, 2013, 12:05pm

Severe weather spotter training classes offered

Severe weather season is underway in the Carolinas and the National Weather Service is looking to train severe weather spotters in our area.

The first of two classes in our area will be offered Thursday evening, May 16, beginning at 5:30 p.m. at the Iredell County Agriculture Center. Classes are about two hours long and covers the basics of thunderstorm development, fundamentals of storm structure and how to identify potential severe weather features.

The class is free, but you will need to register by calling 704-878-5097. For directions and more information, click here.

The next class will be offered in Union, SC on Tuesday, May 21st.

For more information on the SKYWARN program, click here.

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Police looking for man who robbed bank, credit union

Submitted by John Cominsky on Wednesday, May 15th, 8:26 pm

CHARLOTTE, NC (WBTV)- Authorities in Charlotte are looking for a man they say robbed a local bank and a local credit union, one while dressed as a woman, according to the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department.

The first robbery happened May 9, at the State Employees Credit Union around 4:30 p.m.

Police say a man, dressed as a woman, handed the teller a note demanding money. He was given the money and left the scene.

In the first robbery the man was wearing a black dress with white polka dots, a black curly wig, pink bedroom slippers, and dark colored socks.

The second robbery occurred May 15, at the SunTrust Bank on Galleria Boulevard at approximately 2:15 p.m.. Officials say the robber passed the teller a note demanding money, received an undisclosed amount of money and ran away from the scene.

In the second robbery, he wore khaki pants, a white t-shirt, a brown baseball hat, and workman's boots.

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Forbes names Charlotte #8 on its Best Big Cities for Jobs list

Submitted by Melissa Hankins

Wednesday, May 15th, 2013, 6:44pm

CHARLOTTE, NC (WBTV)- When a community is rocked by recession - and as a bank town, we certainly were - recovery feels tedious.

But over the past few years, the jobs have been trickling back to Charlotte.

And now Forbes Magazine is patting us on the back for it, naming us number 8 on its list of Best Cities for Jobs.

A bout of hiring happening now is making Charlotte more diverse than it's ever been.

Insurance giant Metlife says it will add 1300 jobs to the marketplace.

Chamber of Commerce folks have been recruiting in China - the effort is working.

The largest IT firm in China - Pactera - just said it will hire 200 in Charlotte.

Since 2009, virtually every business sector here has been on the rebound.
And the evidence is finally surfacing.

At a job fair earlier this month, hundreds of jobs up were up for grabs at companies like Time Warner Cable, GE, and Verizon.

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NC House bill draws fire over contraception rules

Submitted by WBTV Web Staff

Wednesday, May 15th, 2013, 1:50pm

NC House bill draws fire over contraception rules

A bill broadening so-called conscience protections and the number of employers who can refuse to provide contraception services in health insurance coverage has been approved by a North Carolina House committee.

The bill approved Wednesday allows any medical professional to refuse to participate in an abortion and allows any business to refuse to provide contraception coverage on religious or moral grounds.

The bill expands so-called conscience protections beyond doctors and nurses to include people such as pharmacists and technicians.

The contraception provision expands existing law that exempts religious organizations to any private or nonprofit company.

The bill also outlaws health care plans that include abortion services from future online marketplaces of private plans offered under the federal Affordable Care Act.

Opponents say the bill tramples women's rights.

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Charlotte teens rescue child slaves

Submitted by WBTV Web Staff

Wednesday, May 15th, 2013, 1:35pm

CHARLOTTE, NC (WBTV)- Ten high school students from across the Charlotte area taking on a pretty big mission.

"I saw a video about child slavery in Ghana about three and half years ago now and my heart just broke," said Madi Vincent.

Since watching that video in 2009, Madi travels every summer to Ghana to help rescue child slaves.

"There's an estimated seven thousand child slaves working on Lake Volta and these kids their ages range from four years old to 14 years old," said Madi.

Parents sell their children into slavery either because they are destitute or because they believe that they are sending their child to receive an education.

Seeking help for these children, Madi convinced a group of her friends from different schools to start a fundraiser.

That led to the formation of Ghana Rock, a nonprofit program run by local teens.

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Hurricane season begins in the eastern Pacific

Submitted by WBTV Web Staff

Wednesday, May 15th, 2013, 1:33pm

Hurricane season begins in the eastern Pacific

While hurricane season is still two weeks away in the Atlantic, Wednesday is the start of hurricane season in the eastern Pacific.

On average, more storms will form in the Pacific basin, but rarely make landfall. The ocean waters off the west coast are far to cold to sustain a hurricane, which requires sea surface temperatures of at least 80 degrees.

Additionally, the trade winds usually carry the storms westward, away from the coast. Rarely, storms can recurve back toward the coastline and make landfall along Baja California. Occasionally, they can bring heavy rain to southern California, but by then have lost their tropical characteristics.

Forecasters expect an average to below-normal year in terms of cyclone activity in the eastern Pacific.

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