Mailbag: 40 feedback letters on babies vs dogs, Raleigh vs Charlotte MLS bids, apartments and rabbits

In response to: Let’s face it, Raleigh has the better Major League Soccer bid

“Raleigh doesn’t hold Charlotte’s jock strap in ANYTHING.” – D

“The Canes are dead F’ing last. Not even close. Doesn’t exactly inspire hope for future attendance, does it? Conversely, the Panthers have 150+ straight sellouts; the Knights have led all AAA teams in attendance every season since the move to Uptown; the Hornets sold 92.4% of their tickets last season. Good article though, with some fair points. I agree that Raleigh has done a much better job putting together their bid, but it’s not even close to being on par with Charlotte for major league sports.” – B

“Raleigh can have hockey and soccer. We’ve got NBA and NFL!” – C

“The biggest problem is this was approached simply as a matter of ‘selling soccer’ rather than staging a political campaign to demonstrate that the stadium was a worthwhile public investment. When seeking public support, you must demonstrate to elected officials that what you want is both good policy and good politics. In this case, they haven’t achieved either – relying, instead, on messages that are essentially ‘this will be fun.'” – B

“Let’s see. 50-60k average attendance and between $8-$9 million in local revenue per game for the past 4 years when the ICC came to BofA Stadium. A stadium in which holds over 80k people when the avg soccer stadium is similar to NBA at about 20k seats. Even on a low end year, those matches still avg a sell out 3x over a traditional soccer stadium. Yeah, Charlotte just doesn’t have the fans… Oh, let’s not forget as mention by someone above, the Panthers are a good example. People are more than likely going to drive 1.5 hours from Columbia or Greenville/Spartanburg to come to Charlotte than anyone is to Raleigh.” – C

“I’ll be an Atlanta United FC fan if Raleigh gets the #MLS bid. The Charlotte market represents both NC and SC. The Carolina Panthers are perfect example of success, and Carolina Hurricanes are a perfect example of failure.” – W

“Raleigh will have a short pop and then flat line just like with the Hurricanes…” – C

“Crime continues to escalate in this city as more and more folks move to CLT so city protection services need to be increased to protect the growing population. My car window was just busted last week during early evening hours in Myers Park with lots of folks around so thieves continue to get braver. What has really been done on the city’s promises to invest after last year’s riots to bridge the divide? Nothing that I can see. The Smith’s have plenty of money so let them build the stadium. If NASCAR had not gotten so far away from its roots and fan base then it would not still be struggling from the hit it has taken. Greed is an ugly thing while the city continues to ignore its growing list of issues due to the population growth and economic divide.” – A

“It comes down to government support. Charlotte and Mecklenburg county are not in the mood to help with a soccer project. More importantly, the state government is not going to give Charlotte a penny because of tensions between Charlotte and state government. This is one of those back door ways the state is going to give Charlotte the “treatment.” The “state” will help Raleigh’s effort (in this case with a land deal). It’s payback to Charlotte and Jennifer Roberts. I’m not speaking in a partisan way, it’s just the way politics works. The stunts of Jennifer Roberts and Charlotte City Council over the past year will haunt Charlotte for a long time. In many cases, the retaliation will be subtle.” – S

“I’ve been a soccer fan since the mid-70s (yeah, I’m getting old..), and would love to have an MLS team in Charlotte. I agree that Raleigh’s bid (and local public support) is stronger than Charlotte’s, but that might not matter. While some of the original MLS owners, like Lamar Hunt, were “soccer” people, I can’t think of any current principal owners who were true grassroots soccer people (Maybe Lamar’s son Clark in Texas?). Yeah, some are owners of other professional soccer clubs abroad, and maybe some had a tangential connection with soccer. And most ownerships groups probably have at least one known “soccer fan” minority owner. But I don’t know how much a grassroots legacy means to MLS at this point. What the owners (who own the league) and Don Garber value more than anything is money. And market power. So MLS may be more attracted to the Smith family’s deep pockets and marketing prowess than they are to someone with a true grassroots soccer heritage.”  – T

In response to: Non-alcoholic options at Charlotte breweries and taprooms, ranked

“Sycamore Brewing also has UpDog Kombucha along with a selection of soft drinks, including iced teas.” – S

“Awesome for the folks that don’t like beer but want to be on the beer scene.” – V

In response to: Chem 101: Danielle, Brian and an admittedly successful dinner date at the Whitewater Center

“He texted me on Thursday to see if I wanted to go have drinks. #thatssocharlotte” – N

“I literally squealed out loud after reading this weeks Chem 101!!! So awesome!!!” – S

“I was thinking about what Danielle said how people get stuck in there friend circles. You guys should do a blind friend meet up where you get 4 people + their spouse to meet up. The activities could be an escape room or drinks at craft.” – A

“Kylie better be careful. If she continues to hit home runs like she did in today’s Chem 101 article, she’ll be inundated with enough matchmaking requests to move this into a full-time gig whether she wants to or not!” – F

“I loved the Chem 101 article!! Those two are adorable and you clearly did an awesome job matching them up. I wish them the best and would love updates on how their story progresses!! PS. My husband and I met on a blind date and we’ve been together 17 years, married for 14 of those. Lightening definitely happens!” – L

In response to: Could apartment owners put a dent in homelessness in Charlotte?

“I can’t wrap my head around. You mean to tell me that I am supposed to bust my ass 40+ hours/week to be able to live where I want to live, but a few of my neighbors pay as little as $50/month to live in the exact same place? I don’t think so.” – L

“Just giving free housing to homeless doesn’t help solve the root cause of homelessness and poverty. I used to volunteer for an organization where we offered housing at a significantly reduced rate ($100 per month) and we worked with our residents to help them prepare for interviews, gain and maintain employment, and manage their finances. If you just give something to someone, they will never learn how to earn it or keep it. The more important issue is teaching life skills. This is a warm and fuzzy thought, but it’s really just perpetuating the cycle of poverty and homelessness.” – J

In response to: Charlotteans might be choosing to have pets over kids, and it’s showing up in the numbers

“YOU’RE WELCOME! In a lifetime where the Duggars are single-handedly repopulating the earth, I sincerely believe that people choosing to not have kids is a good thing. I am delightedly childless and plan to remain so. If you want to shove crotch fruit out of your hoo-ha, more power to you! But my dog and I will continue to judge the heck out of you when you bring your fresh humans to breweries and allow them to throw rocks at people, dogs, and in water buckets. Discipline doesn’t seem to exist anymore.” – F

“Dogs over children any day of the week.” – J

“You can get a dog over the internet. Not a kid.” – S

“Why would we want kids? Independence is a whole hell of a lot less expensive. We have debts to pay, not an added financial stress.” – A

“My kids have never been as happy to see me as my dog. My kids are millennials who will never take care of me when I get old. They have proved that already.” – S

“Good. My hubby and I are a child-free couple, and are treated like an Anomaly in Charlotte.” – B

“The majority of millennials that currently don’t have children are knee deep in student loan debt. In fact, I say the millennials should be applauded for not being selfish because of the fact they don’t want children growing up in this extremely jacked up country. Most importantly they don’t want to bring a child into the world and not be able to give them all they need (financially, emotionally, socially, spiritually) to be the best they can be. Plus I love my 2 dogs anyways….they can’t talk back as much.” – J

“It’s kind of hard… with child care, insurance and the cost of living in Charlotte going up I’m still trying to figure out how people do it lol!” – A

“Why kids? Oh man, if you don’t know, you don’t know. I love my doxies, but kids? Incomparable.” – M

“15-34 year olds? Good, they need to stay childless and explore their new found adulthood, grow familiar with themselves personally and professionally, and then worry about kids. That’s better than the boomers who only did it because they were told they should.” – J

“My husband and I have chosen a childfree life and have a wonderful dog that we adore! We are truly happy this way despite the very many raised eyebrows from those who think reproduction is the only way to have a meaningful marriage.” – V

“I hope your pets take good care of you when you are old. Oh wait… Comparing pets and children, what an insult. Have want you want, it’s your business but no need to compare. Humans are created for a greater purpose.” – A

“Seriously?! Are people really expecting us (millennials) to pop out babies when we can BARELY make enough money to even afford rent and our crippling student loan payments? Not to mention the older generations are the ones developing the high cost in apartments and running the student loan centers. Is this a f***ing joke, older generations? Babies will cost you at least $12,000 in the first year according to parenting.com and that’s HALF OF WHAT I MAKE A YEAR BEFORE TAXES. Old people make no sense.” – M

In response to: Charlotte will run out of real estate to develop by 2030

“Build up. Make it an ‘actual’ city.” – A

“Too many overpriced apartments. 1,400 for a 620 square foot 1 bedroom? Please. And having a pool and a dinky fitness center shouldn’t drive up the price that much.” – J

“It’s because developers and city leaders don’t understand that they need to build *up*. Take a look at Hong Kong, New York, London etc but also Atlanta, Houston and Dallas and learn from them. You can only build so many cul-de-sac neighborhoods and cheesy shopping centers with Chick-Fil-A drive-thrus before you run out of space.” – Y

In response to: How hard is it to earn admission into each UNC system school?

“Forget the level of difficulty to earn admission. Look at the four year (and even five year) graduation rates”. – C

In response to: Opioid-related deaths in Mecklenburg County are climbing. Efforts are underway to prevent them

“People say weed is a gateway drug. SMH. Opioids are legal but kill tens of thousands of people every year. Also worth noting that the US consumes over 80% of the worlds prescribed opioids. What do you think about that?” – F

In response to: Want to raise livestock in your backyard? Make sure you know the rules

“Rabbits shouldn’t be kept outdoors. They’re too sensitive to temperature.” – M

In response to: The Elizabeth neighborhood said farewell to the old Jackalope Jack’s building today. They’re making way for new development on this fast-changing block at E. 7th and Caswell.

“Charlotte is like a cosmetic surgery addict..they don’t know when enough is enough.” – O

“All the restaurants that made these neighborhoods cool are being replaced by cookie cutter apartment complexes.” – K

“I get why this is happening. I have great memories of World Cup games, drunk karaoke, and cheap drinks.. don’t be too emotional, the owners cashed out when they could, you would do the same.” – G

“Too bad it wasn’t the Dollar General across the street.” – L

“Makes me friggin’ sick !! The whole street will soon be lined with condos… At one time this was the coolest neighborhood in town… Pathetic.” – D

In response to: These “neighborhoods in a box” feel destined for suburban Charlotte

“As someone who has just moved to Charlotte from NYC, I think you’ve got this backwards. In The outer boroughs of NYC, these neighborhoods in a box are built for people looking to ESCAPE urban living; they’re meant to mimic the suburbs with green space and easy living! In Charlotte, they’re being built to cash in on the millennial “trend factor”. Let them think they’re on point and urban, and they’ll buy into the developers gameplan. Charlotte is neither urban nor trendy, but has enough millennials with inflated salaries who tell themselves so…” – G

In response to: Like Jeff Bezos buying the Washington Post, who should buy The Charlotte Observer? And what should they do with it?

“Jay Faison: white, republican, Myers Park
C.D. “Dick” Spangler: white, unaffiliated, Myers Park
Johnny Harris: white, democrat, Myers Park
Hugh McColl: white, democrat, Myers Park
Howard Levine: white, unaffiliated, Myers Park
Ric Elias: white, democrat, Quail Hollow
Tim Belk: white, democrat, Myers Park
A good mixture when it comes to political affiliation, but not race, sex, and residence location. For the amount of articles I’ve read on this site putting down the rich and the white and the affluent neighborhoods in Charlotte and the seemingly deathly combination of being both rich and white and living in these areas, I find humor that you try to appeal to these men in hopes of them using their money to save The Charlotte Observer.” – A