The doctor won't see your newborn now (free version)

Plus: A look at "The Eyes of Tammy Faye" trailer; join us for a panel discussion on modern-day marketing; your Covid vaccine could win you $1M

Jun 11, 2021

Good morning! Today is Friday, June 11, 2021. You’re reading The Charlotte Ledger, an e-newsletter with local business-y news and insights for Charlotte, N.C.

Editor’s note: This is a shorter, free version of The Charlotte Ledger sent to people on our free sign-up list. The complete version for paying subscribers went out 15 minutes ago.

Today’s newsletter includes a bombshell article about a local hospital that fired its neonatologists and no longer has physicians examining newborns — part of a growing trend of healthcare companies replacing doctors with lesser-trained health professionals.

At The Ledger, our goal is to bring you news and information that’s meaningful and relevant to your life in Charlotte, like today’s big story. Our goal is simple: to make you better informed about your community, whether it’s getting the scoop on development news, knowing what’s happening in local schools, or understanding general trends and news that people are talking about.

Much of what we publish each week is free to read, but it’s not free to produce. Which is why we rely on our community of paying members to support our efforts. The Ledger is led by two longtime Charlotte journalists, and we are proud to pay some of the best writers in our city to help us bring you stories that matter.

Paid memberships to The Ledger are $9/month or $99/year. (The yearly plan comes with a second email address, collected by email after sign-up.) Memberships include The Ledger’s four flagship newsletters each week, plus the weekly Transit Time transportation newsletter and the Ways of Life obituaries newsletter. Details here.

Join The Ledger

LEDGER IN-DEPTH

◼️ Nurse practitioners replace doctors for newborn care at a Charlotte-area hospital amid national push to cut costs

◼️ Physicians say it’s ‘dangerous’ for babies

◼️ Hospital staffer: Nurses ‘are better than a doctor’ and ‘more experienced than a pediatrician’

Dr. Ashleigh Maiers, a cardiologist in Charlotte, was dismayed when she learned the hospital where she delivered her two babies no longer has doctors examining newborns. She authored a letter signed by more than 200 women physicians asking the hospital’s CEO to reconsider the decision.

By Michelle Crouch

When you go to the hospital to have a baby, you might assume that a doctor will carefully examine your newborn after you deliver, making sure your little bundle of joy is completely healthy.

But if you deliver at one Charlotte-area medical center, that’s no longer the case.

In March, the hospital brought in a team of neonatal nurse practitioners to replace the board-certified pediatricians and neonatologists who used to see the newborns. That means no doctors are doing checkups on the babies there.

Join The Ledger to keep reading

Tammy Faye, what big eyes you have

A preview for the movie “The Eyes of Tammy Faye” was released this week, which Searchlight Pictures describes as an “intimate look at the extraordinary rise, fall and redemption of televangelist Tammy Faye Bakker.” She and her husband, Jim, co-founded The PTL Club, which rose to prominence in the 1980s and was headquartered in Fort Mill before collapsing in a series of scandals.

The movie was filmed in Charlotte starting in October 2019 and will be in theaters Sept. 17.

You’re invited: Let’s talk about marketing in Charlotte

It’s a complicated world out there for businesses, as they try to figure out how to reach new customers. With all the possibilities — digital and otherwise — how do you navigate all the choices and find strategies and tactics that actually work?

The Ledger is going to try to help figure that out. We’re excited to announce a weekly series of four online panel discussions on modern-day marketing — how it is changing, what Charlotte companies are doing and how your business can stay ahead of the pack to find and retain customers. We’re calling it “Midday Marketing,” since, well, it’s about marketing and the sessions are being held conveniently in the middle of the day, around lunchtime.

We’re partnering on the series with Jumbo, a Charlotte-based builder of live-streaming platforms. The first one is Monday from 11 a.m. to noon. The topic: “New Dogs and Old Tricks: The State of Marketing in 2021.”

Monday’s panelists are:

Adam Bernstein, senior VP and GM of Chernoff Newman, a marketing communications firm
Erin Breeden, founder of Blue Tide Creative, a strategic communications and public relations firm
Armand Brown, managing partner of Tripwire

The series — which is free — will run for the next four weeks (June 14, 21, 28 and July 6). It will feature Charlotte marketing leaders in agencies and companies and include topics such as understanding social media, brand-building and execution. The Ledger’s Tony Mecia and Jumbo’s Dion Beary will lead the discussions, and attendees are welcome to ask questions of the panelists.

We hope to see you there!

In brief

Tax cuts ahead? The N.C. Senate passed a bill that would cut income taxes and other business taxes by $2B over two years. It would cut the state’s personal tax rate from 5.25% to 4.99% and increase the standard deduction by $2,000, to $12,750, starting in 2022. It also eliminates the corporate tax rate of 2.5% over five years. The vote was 36-14 with Republicans and eight Democrats voting in favor. The bill goes back to the House, where passage appears likely, but Gov. Roy Cooper has said he opposes corporate tax cuts. (WRAL)
New election dates for city, school board? The N.C. House unanimously passed a bill that would shift this fall’s scheduled municipal elections in Charlotte to March and April of 2022, and would postpone elections for Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools to November 2022. Delays in receiving census data are prompting the proposed changes, which now return to the N.C. Senate for consideration. (AP/WFAE)
High-end SouthPark hotel: The Hyatt Centric SouthPark Charlotte hotel was set to open Thursday, part of the Apex SouthPark development on Sharon Road. The Business Journal reports that it has “high-end finishes” such as “rainfall shower heads” and a “living wall to bring a pop of color” to the lobby, as well as plans for a “six-foot-tall peacock statue.” Other pieces of art in the hotel touch on Charlotte’s gold-mining and Mecklenburg-Declaration-signing history. (Biz Journal, subscriber-only)
Covid vaccine reward lottery: North Carolinians who have been vaccinated against Covid will be automatically entered into four drawings with cash prizes of $1M apiece, Gov. Roy Cooper said Thursday — part of an effort to encourage vaccinations. People vaccinated after Thursday will be entered twice. Odds might be slim, but “everyone who gets a Covid-19 vaccination is a winner,” said health and human services secretary Dr. Mandy Cohen. (WCNC)
Arts funding goal reached: The Foundation for the Carolinas surpassed its $18M fundraising goal for the arts, thanks to big commitments by local companies and donors. The money will help back a city plan to largely bypass the Arts & Science Council, which the city previously used to administer arts funding. (Observer)
Pro-Charlotte ad campaign: The Charlotte Regional Business Alliance is launching a $750,000 ad campaign designed to promote Charlotte as a good place for business. The campaign, designed by ad firm Wray Ward, has as its tagline: “Better All Together, Altogether Better.” It consists mostly of digital ads aimed initially at executives in New York/New Jersey, Chicago, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Montreal and Toronto. (Biz Journal)
Bestselling book: A Davidson College graduate has the #1 book on the New York Times bestseller list for nonfiction. Clint Smith’s “How the Word Is Passed” explores the effect of slavery on American history. Smith, 32, is a writer at The Atlantic and graduated from Davidson in 2010. (New York Times)
Biggest money managers: A ranking of North Carolina’s largest money managers shows that 11 of the top 12, ranked by assets under management, are in Charlotte. CapFinancial Partners of Raleigh ranked #1, followed by Charlotte firms Barings, Sterling Capital Management, Alight Financial Advisors and Global Endowment Management. (Business North Carolina)
No more Crook’s Corner: Iconic Chapel Hill restaurant Crook’s Corner has permanently closed after nearly four decades of serving Southern cuisine on Franklin Street. (Chapelboro)
City leaders eat french fries: Mayor Vi Lyles, City Manager Marcus Jones and three City Council members ate lunch at What the Fries on Park Road on Tuesday as part of “Eat Black Charlotte Week.” Lyles encouraged Charlotte residents to “come on out and get some good food,” while council member Malcolm Graham disclosed that “I’m a french fry type of guy.” The restaurant’s co-owner said having city leaders stop by was “super dope.” (CharlotteFive)

Correction

An item in Wednesday’s newsletter that pointed out the mistakes of an artificial intelligence program misstated the status of a couple stores at Northlake Mall. Dick’s Sporting Goods has closed. There is no Sears or JCPenney. (Cleaning up after Jarvis’ mistakes is a lot of work.)

Need to sign up for this e-newsletter? We offer a free version, as well as paid memberships for full access to all 3 of our local newsletters:

➡️ Learn more about The Charlotte Ledger

The Charlotte Ledger is a locally owned media company that delivers smart and essential news through e-newsletters and on a website. We strive for fairness and accuracy and will correct all known errors. The content reflects the independent editorial judgment of The Charlotte Ledger. Any advertising, paid marketing, or sponsored content will be clearly labeled.

Like what we are doing? Feel free to forward this along and to tell a friend.

Change newsletter preferences: Go to ‘My Account’ page

Social media: On Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and LinkedIn.

Sponsorship information: email editor@cltledger.com.

Executive editor: Tony Mecia; Managing editor: Cristina Bolling; Contributing editor: Tim Whitmire, CXN Advisory; Reporting intern: Lindsey Banks