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Stanly County Articles & Publications

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10 key questions for public administrators in the time of COVID-19
   April 15, 2020

Tom Barth & Kevin Staley
There will certainly be scores of studies and articles for years to come about lessons for public administrators from how our multiple levels and units of government managed the unprecedented COVID-19 crisis. An important place to start is asking the right set of questions. Read more
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Does regionalism still make sense in the era of the ‘Nation City’?
   April 14, 2020

This is the age of the “metropolitan revolution” in the U.S.: the city as the crucible of change in the wake of waning effectiveness at the national level. Or so say some, like former Chicao mayor Rahm Emanual, whose book “The Nation City” came out in February.  That the triumph of the city could now seem almost blasé to urbanists makes it all the more provocative to regionalists and rural... Read more
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Coronavirus highlights our digital divide
   April 8, 2020

As much of our work, learning and lives move online following the stay-in-place policies to control the coronavirus pandemic, the inequity of the digital divide for low-income and rural households here and around the country is now more visible.  Like most states in the country, North Carolina has poor broadband (or high-speed internet) outside of most cities and towns. Almost all 100... Read more
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Social distancing in nature
   March 30, 2020
Ruth Ann Grissom
After weighing the pros and cons of taking groceries to elderly parents; after assessing the risk of exposing them to coronavirus while driving them to the doctor; after worrying about friends who are sick in New York City, those who are considered essential workers and those who are now unemployed; after obsessively wiping surfaces with bleach solution and slathering hands with sanitizer; after... Read more
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Over-65 population varies across North Carolina
   March 30, 2020

Billy Prutzman
The coronavirus crisis is growing across North Carolina, with a statewide stay-at-home order going into effect Monday, but the effects could be felt differently from place to place.  Read more
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See how many people in your neighborhood have taken the Census
   March 23, 2020
Ely Portillo
The 2020 Census is crucial for making policy, assigning Congressional seats and divvying up resources for the decade to come, but it’s one of the many institutions facing a big challenge from the coronavirus. Census response forms were sent nationwide last week, inviting people to respond online. People who respond online, over the phone or via mail  won’t get a knock on their door... Read more
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Airlines, facing a crisis, make up a big part of the Charlotte region’s economic heft
   March 20, 2020
Ely PortilloKatie Zager
Charlotte is home to the world’s sixth-busiest airport by takeoffs and landings, and Charlotte Douglas International is often cited as the region’s most important economic asset. That’s why the airline industry’s sudden existential crisis could be especially consequential for the region. Because of the coronavirus crisis, American Airlines and other carriers are struggling with the twin blow... Read more
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Retail workers, many hit by store closures, make up a big part of our workforce
   March 19, 2020

Restaurant workers are grappling with the industry’s near shutdown in North Carolina due to coronavirus. Another category of workers being hit hard is those employed by the retail sector.

The closures have come swiftly over the past week, engulfing an ever-widening swath of stores locally: SouthPark mall, Concord Mills and Charlotte Premium Outlets have all temporarily closed, along...

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What can flocking blackbirds in the winter teach us?
   March 2, 2020
Ruth Ann Grissom
Nothing speaks of the winter sky quite like a flock of blackbirds flying in unison above a sprawling pasture, field or marsh.  They spiral and bank and funnel, breathing life into a void of leaden gray. It’s a spectacle you won’t observe in any other season.  In the Piedmont, these flocks are often composed of an assortment of common species, not all of which are native or even... Read more
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‘You can only make roads so big’: Charlotte region launches first transit plan
   February 24, 2020
Ely Portillo
Leaders from across the region gathered Monday in a conference room at Charlotte Douglas International Airport with an ambitious goal: Creating a comprehensive plan for public transit, covering a dozen counties and setting the transit agenda for decades.  Called CONNECT Beyond, the 18-month planning effort by the Centralina Council of Governments is, to put it simply, big. The... Read more