This is part of an ongoing series titled Mailbag featuring items readers submit via email or our feedback form. We get a ton of feedback; this is not close to everything (it’s about 2 percent), but it’s a good sample.
In response to: Cash Confessional: How a 27-year-old uses “house hacking” to make $145,000 each year and may retire at 35
“The housing hack is brilliant. I’ll definitely encourage my kids to do the exact same thing when the time comes. Good for her!” – C
“Roommates. It’s just called having roommates.” – M
“Very smart young lady. So there is hope when it comes to millennials!” – N
“I rolled my eyes so hard at this Cash Confessional that they’re stuck now.” – A
“Great way to create a passive income. She is putting in the work now, so later she will be able to do whatever she wants!” – M
“She sounds miserable, always focused on money and another property. Live a little, life is short.” -R
“She’s running a high risk, high reward strategy in her investments, real estate is booming today, but you’re always just one bad tenant away from a financial boondoggle.” – J
In response to: As Charlotte lands another pro sports team, taxpayers are once again left in the dark about how their money will be used
“I don’t understand soccer team names. I just want a cool scarf.” – K
“Nowhere in this article does it mention that Tepper is putting up $325,000,000 of his own money for the MLS team. Yes, he could afford another $110M, but when he is already putting up $325M himself. It’s not unreasonable to ask the city to put up a much smaller amount. And of course this will create jobs. The team won’t run itself. The city council doesn’t owe the tax payers a play by play game plan prior to making the decision. If the tax payers don’t like it, then go vote next time there’s an election.” – B
“This will bring billions in revenue for the City of Charlotte. Y’all need to be thanking Tep. Jerry never tried to do anything beyond football. Tep had Garth sell the place out in 90 minutes. C’mon.” – J
“Wish he was a little more concerned with righting the ship for the Panthers before getting so involved with building a new team from the ground up. Hope he isn’t spreading his billions too far, too soon.” – G
In response to: New ‘craft brunch-focused restaurant’ named Easy Like Sunday taking space previously occupied by The Turnhouse Grille
“The hardest space to lease in Charlotte, hands down.” – B
“That space is cursed for restaurants.” – M
“New brunch spot in Montford!” – S
In response to: Pins Mechanical Company and 16-Bit Bar+Arcade opening December 19 in South End
“Looks like heaven on Earth.” – J
“I can’t wait. I loved this place in Columbus.” – B
In response to: Trendy plant store PlantBar opening in Dilworth — will offer terrarium building workshops starting at $35
“Love this idea!” – M
“We should have done this. – C
“I have to go for my birthday.” – E
In response to: After a car accident, a prominent Charlotte artist questions his place in the city
“Just a reminder folks, if you get a degree in Art, Music, Theatre, Dance, Studio Art, Art History, or Sports Management then you’re wasting your time.” – J
“He needs to get into taped fruit art.” – J
“Art is a product, and a luxury product at that. The only people who need art to survive, are, ironically, artists. If you can’t sell your product, you should either find a different product to sell or a new line of work. People aren’t entitled to work in a field like art (or anything else for that matter) just because they’ve had some success in it or because it’s their passion.” – S
“If the city would’ve put that soccer money to a vote, we probably would’ve voted that down too. Which I would have been ok with.” – A
“Art creates a powerful sense of social connectivity. We spend money on bridges for transportation; why not invest in bridges that bring us as a community closer together?” – A
“It’s not the taxpayer’s job to subsidize your career if you aren’t making ends meet. If you aren’t making enough of a living doing what you do find a new career or learn to live with less in pursuit of your passion. Every single real career asks you to ‘accept less for more work’ that is the nature of the job market. You either live with the lesser or ask for your worth, no one is giving out free money.”- R
“He should be calling out the people who pushed for the quarter-cent tax increase. That $22.5 million wasn’t guaranteed to go to the arts, and we use the last quarter-cent before we reach the cap. It’s hard to support the arts when the leaders and businesses pushing for help make it so hard to do so. We learned that (thankfully) people in Charlotte won’t blindly throw money at things. Probably would have passed if they weren’t so vague and funded it differently.” – Z
“I take issue with his characterization that this city doesn’t support the arts because the sales tax failed. The people promoting the tax were for the most part the wealthy elite of Charlotte. When they saw that the tax was unpopular, they cleverly (in their minds) added that the tax would help support arts at all levels. I am surprised the Mr. Jacobs didn’t see through their lie. What they would have given to the artists he is talking in his article would have been peanuts. This was all about their reluctance to part with some of their riches to fund the arts. I voted against the tax because I think affordable housing and education are higher priorities. The City Council is paying lip service to these two issues but not making any real progress.” – A
In response to: The Strudel Shop opens just in time for the holidays — entire logs cost $30
“Welp, there goes the 5 lbs I lost.” – M
“We went last weekend, and it was incredible! The berry strudel with rum raisin ice cream… Wow!” – M
In response to: The official Charlotte couples ‘How’d You Guys Meet’ translator
“Pretty funny. The haters are the ones who know it’s true but don’t want to admit it.” – S
In response to: New York Butcher Shoppe now lets customers ‘pick any steak,’ and they’ll cook it right there
“The staff is amazing, the food options are amazing, the wine amazing!” – M
“I think this is called a restaurant.” – G
“Many years ago there was a restaurant on Park Road across from Red Cross that your picked your steak and cooked it on open fire pit yourself ! Great Place.” – V
In response to: Drivers in Charlotte run red lights with reckless abandon. What’s being done to address the problem?
“Part of the problem is the majority of stop lights do not have a solid green arrow to turn left – there is no arrow or a blinking arrow. If traffic is heavy, you cannot turn left unless you run a later yellow or a red. It is so frustrating!” – S
“I live off Marsh Rd, and I take a left off of Park onto Marsh to get home every night. I have had to sit through 5 plus red lights waiting for everyone to be able to take a left. Charlotte has to get better with adding green left hand turn arrows to those intersections, and that would also help people going through red lights.” – S
“I always look left and right before going on green. I see this problem almost every time I drive.” – D
“It’s seems like CMPD has abandoned enforcing all traffic violations.” – M
“Maybe it has to do with the fact that you hit the red light at EVERY intersection no matter where you’re driving. I picture the team in charge of light synchronization laughing evilly in front of their computers.” – T
“We need synchronized lights. Going through a half mile in SouthPark from Sharon/Sharon Amity to Sharon/Sharon Lane takes over seven minutes, because the lights aren’t in synch.” – M
“For pedestrians, it is nearing Death Race 2000 levels of peril. I walk from South End to Uptown (and back) everyday. When the light changes, I count 1,2,3 to give them time to run the red, and I still almost get hit at least once per week. Someone in city government should try walking across streets like Tryon or Morehead between 7:30-9 a.m. or 5-6:30 p.m.; they would quickly pony up for red light cameras. Problem is, in Charlotte, the car is king.” – D
“I’ve lived and driven in other major cities, including Israel and Greece. Charlotte drivers by far are the worst at running red lights.” – L
“I’ve lived in Chicago, Detroit, Columbus — and Charlotte is the worst I’ve encountered for ignoring red lights.”- B
“Having moved from D.C. where they use red light cameras, I was shocked at how many times I saw cars blow through red lights here.” – J
“Moved down here from Maryland over a year ago and the first thing I noticed was the rampant red light running. Maryland has a lot of red light cameras that I hated, but it seemed to work.” – C
“I moved from Chicago and this is by far the worst and most reckless driving ever. Basically, red lights are optional here.” – P
“Just this morning, I saw at least 6 cars run the red light at E. W.T Harris Blvd and Albemarle Road. This is a frequent occurrence. When these red light cameras were in place, a $50 fine really isn’t going to stop too many people from running a red light. I am from California, where a ticket can cost anywhere from $100-400, and points on your driving record.”- C
“Now let’s talk about left turn signals that seem to be a grand mystery to Charlotte. – B
