The reopening will be slower than expected (free version)
Plus: Urban planner named new UNCC chancellor; County eases restrictions for tennis, Realtors, vape shops, mattress sales; Mecklenburg Covid hospitalizations drop
Today is Wednesday, April 29, 2020. You’re reading The Charlotte Ledger, an e-newsletter with local business-y news and insights for Charlotte, N.C. If you like what we do, tell a friend.
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. It included:
the full article analyzing the pace of businesses reopening in North Carolina
the full article examining Mecklenburg County Covid-19 hospitalization data
information released Tuesday on the 2019 pay of LendingTree CEO Doug Lebda
Paid subscriptions to The Ledger start at $9/month, and you receive full access to every edition by email and on our website, including the complete Wednesday and Friday issues. You also help build better, smarter local news in Charlotte. Details here.
From logistics to legal issues, business owners face obstacles to restarting; Goods from March for sale in May
(Photo by Richard Balog/Unsplash)
by Tony Mecia
It sounds so simple: Just tell businesses they can reopen, and the economy will start moving again.
The reality, though, is a lot more complex: Companies that have been shut or thoroughly disrupted in the last six weeks face a handful of thorny legal and practical issues that could keep them closed or on reduced schedules even after the government gives the OK. Mecklenburg on Tuesday gave the thumbs-up to vape shops, bookstores, electronics shops and sellers of lawn equipment effective tomorrow [see second item, below], and North Carolina could allow additional retailers to reopen as soon as May 9.
“No business — I don’t care what its size is — is going to be able to flip a switch and return overnight to where it was when we all walked out the doors and turned out the lights,” says Fritz Smith, an employment lawyer with the Charlotte office of Seyfarth Shaw, who represents companies.
When Gov. Roy Cooper last week announced his three-phase plan to reopen the state, many businesses started mentally calculating when they could start trying to return to normal.
Tennis players, Realtors, vape shops back in action: Mecklenburg eases restrictions starting tomorrow
Mecklenburg County agreed Tuesday to lift its stay-at-home order and follow more lenient state rules — which has the effect of loosening restrictions for some businesses and recreational activities, from showing houses to playing tennis.
Starting tomorrow, instead of following stricter Mecklenburg rules, residents and businesses will be under the state’s stay at home order, which expires May 8. Originally, the county’s plan was to have its order extend as long as the state’s order lasted.
But a group of leaders from the city of Charlotte, Mecklenburg County and the county’s six towns agreed on lifting the local restrictions to align with the state order, after Matthews leaders voted to break away from the county order, county manager Dena Diorio told county commissioners Tuesday.
Got all that?
Here are some examples of the loosened restrictions that take effect Thursday:
Realtors, car dealerships, vape shops, mattress stores and craft stores can operate
Sports courts that use shared equipment, including tennis, can operate under certain safety guidelines
Housekeeping, dog grooming and carpet cleaning are all allowed
Specific restrictions on funerals and lawn care have been lifted
‘Undermined’: The move angered some county commissioners, including Trevor Fuller, who said he didn’t appreciate towns putting pressure on the county to lift its restrictions.
“Somebody took some action that made us basically go back on our word. Right?” Fuller asked Diorio. She replied: “Rescinding the order was always a possibility in all the orders that we had.”
Fuller continued: “People who have been pushing this effort to undermine our actions to respond to this Covid-19, they ought to be ashamed of themselves. Who are pushing to re-open in this reckless and political way? They should be ashamed of themselves.”
Diorio also said Joe Gibbs Racing has been allowed to reopen its shop in Huntersville to prepare for the Coca-Cola 600. N.C. Gov. Roy Cooper announced Tuesday that he believes the race will be able to happen May 24 at Charlotte Motor Speedway but with no fans in attendance. —CB
New chancellor at UNCC has a background in city planning
UNC Charlotte announced a new chancellor Tuesday who not only has strong academic chops, but a professional background that could come in handy in our fast-growing region: She’s a city planner.
Sharon Gaber comes to UNCC from the University of Toledo, where she became the university’s first female president in 2015. Before that, she spent six years as provost and vice chancellor for academic affairs at the University of Arkansas. She also served as interim provost at Auburn and as a faculty member and administrator at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, UNCC said in the announcement about her appointment.
Gaber earned her bachelor’s degree from Occidental College, a master’s degree from the University of Southern California and her doctoral degree from Cornell University.
She has authored 40 peer-reviewed papers on urban planning, public policy and communities, according to the Cornell University website.
Gaber’s salary will be $525,000, WFAE reported. She’s the first woman to hold the top job at UNCC since university founder Bonnie Cone started the school 74 years ago, UNCC said Tuesday. She was picked by a 16-member chancellor search committee and the UNC Charlotte Board of Trustees.
Gaber’s hiring was cheered by David Walters, a UNCC professor emeritus of architecture and urban design and a well-known Charlotte architect and community planner.
Walters shared some thoughts with The Ledger:
Buried under the morass of other stuff top academic administrators tend to accumulate in their careers, the core discipline is often very important in shaping how they think. No surprise there, I guess, but for us to have a city planner leading our university at a time when our city and region's urban physical and socio-economic challenges are so great can only be a good thing! …
On the face of it Dr. Gaber’s appointment looks hugely promising. If nothing else (and I'm sure there will be a lot of other insights) she will have a clear and deep understanding of how our urban university can continue to be a huge catalyst for prosperity and sustainability for our city and region.
Gaber succeeds Philip Dubois, who retires June 30 after 15 years as UNCC’s chancellor. During that time, enrollment grew to about 30,000 — a 43% increase since he assumed office in 2005, WFAE reported. — CB
Too many pick-ups at the meat market
The Harris Teeter at Cotswold was almost sold out of chicken on Wednesday afternoon, as meat supplies throughout Charlotte and the country dwindle because of plant shutdowns. “The food supply chain is breaking,” said John Tyson, chairman of Tyson Foods Inc., the biggest U.S. meat company, according to Bloomberg News. Other producers warned of “meat shortfalls” by the end of the week.
Mecklenburg hospitalizations fall 36% from peak
Mecklenburg County released a bunch of new data this week on local coronavirus cases — including figures on hospitalizations that The Ledger has been seeking for the last two weeks.
As of Sunday, the county said, there were 70 people hospitalized in Mecklenburg for Covid-19. That’s 36% off its peak and down about 20% in 14 days.
New data room
The Ledger this week is also kicking off a website that collects and analyzes state and local coronavirus data — since state and local leaders say data will guide their decisions. We’re calling it the Charlotte Ledger Covid-19 Data Room.
We’ll update the page as new data is released. It will go beyond the daily “jumps” in confirmed cases and death counts and seeks to alert you to trends before they become evident.
If you’re a paying Ledger subscriber, you’ll be able to post comments and questions.
—TM
That’s a lot of golf
Ballantyne Country Club reported that its members logged 236 rounds of golf on Sunday — a record for the club.
In brief
Airline passenger rebound? Airline passengers seem to be returning to planes. “The Transportation Security Administration’s count of travelers has now been over 100,000 for four consecutive days, the first time that has happened since April 3 through April 6.” (Forbes)
New high schools: The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Board of Education approved spending $180M to build two new high schools: A replacement for the aging West Charlotte High and a new school in Steele Creek to relieve crowding at Olympic High. (WFAE)
Lawsuits 101: College students are suing the UNC system, saying they were “deprived of the college experience” when their universities cancelled in-person classes, sent them home and shifted instruction online. They said they missed out on “in-person instruction, access to campus facilities, student activities, and other benefits and services.” (Raleigh News & Observer)
Charlotte radar gap: Weather forecasters say the Charlotte area has one of the most infamous “radar gaps” in the country, with its closest National Weather Service Doppler radar 80 miles away in Greer, S.C. “Issuing tornado warnings is challenging on a good day, but in the Charlotte area, it’s especially difficult.” (Washington Post)
I don’t always drink beer, but when I do …
I’m Gavin Toth, owner of Divine Barrel Brewing in NoDa. When you’re in the beer business like I am, there’s a lot that’s essential: Your employees, your business partners, your customers. You know what else is essential? Unwinding after a long day with my wife, Sandy, and a crushable, clear West Coast IPA called “The Feelin’ I Forgot,” which has notes of juicy tropical fruit and dank pine. Sandy is drinking “Pleasantly Plum,” a pastry Berliner that’s mildly tart with a balancing sweetness and a thick and creamy mouthfeel.
Something else that we find essential: The Charlotte Ledger. It tells us what’s brewing in Charlotte’s business scene.
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The Charlotte Ledger is an e-newsletter and web site publishing timely, informative, and interesting local business news and analysis Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays, except holidays and as noted. 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.
Executive editor: Tony Mecia; Managing editor: Cristina Bolling; Contributing editor: Tim Whitmire; Reporting intern: David Griffith