Homelessness at ‘inflection point’ in Meck + SC man accused of exposing himself to teen arrested
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Happy Friday Jr., y’all. Kristen here. The weekend approaches, and if you haven’t yet figured out what you’ll be doing with your free time, we’ve got you covered. Check out this roundup from CharlotteFive’s Jessica Swannie of a bunch of stuff you can do around Charlotte this weekend.
Let’s get into it:
1. Housing crisis, homelessness at ‘inflection point’ in Mecklenburg
According to the new 2021 State of Housing and Homelessness Report from Mecklenburg County and the UNC Charlotte Urban Institute, COVID has worsened existing housing instability and homelessness in the county.
Some details of the report:
An estimated 28,174 Mecklenburg households were behind on rent as of July 2021, owing an average of $3,589.
Nearly 14,000 evictions were filed in fiscal year 2021, compared with 25,631 in 2020.
In June, 3,137 people were experiencing homelessness. That’s a 55% increase from June 2020.
The pandemic was especially harmful in this way for people of color, who were hit hardest by job loss.
“Things were already trending not in the right direction before COVID-19,” said Courtney LaCaria, housing and homelessness research coordinator with Mecklenburg County. “Housing instability and homelessness were already worsening and then COVID-19 happens.”
Learn more about this with the Observer’s Lauren Lindstrom.
2. SC man accused of luring Charlotte teen to SUV then exposing himself arrested, CMPD says
A South Carolina man suspected of driving around a Charlotte neighborhood, exposing himself to a teenage girl and making inappropriate comments to minors was arrested in Rock Hill on Tuesday, police said.
Ronald Michael McLean Sr. of Clover, 71, is charged with felony indecent exposure and indecent liberties with a child, CMPD said. He is in custody of the York County Sheriff’s Office.
This is a developing story. The Observer’s Jonathan Limehouse will keep you updated here.
3. Why NC Republicans see no political gain to buck Mark Robinson
North Carolina’s Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson, who previously made derogatory comments about LGBTQ people and later doubled down on it, says he won’t be resigning. Republicans in the General Assembly stand behind him.
The Observer emailed every member of the North Carolina General Assembly this week asking whether Robinson should resign over the remarks.
Here’s how it went:
Of the 170 members, 35 responded.
Of those, 26 (all Democrats) said he should resign.
8 said he should not.
According to analysis by the Observer’s Will Wright, political risk-and-reward calculus may still lend itself to comments like Robinson’s, or not lead Republicans to condemn comments like those.
4. Today’s news from the sports world
Panthers have placed a starter on injured reserve ahead of Sunday’s Vikings game by Jonathan M. Alexander
Joe Charlton is the only punter on the Panthers’ 53-man roster.
Hornets promotions include a LaMelo Ball bobblehead. Here’s how to get yours by Rod Boone
The keepsake is one of a number of giveaways the Hornets announced Thursday as part of game-night promotions.
Find the rest of our sports reporting here.
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