60http://taraservatius.comenCitizen ServatiusCitizen Servatiustara.servatius@cln.comnohttp://taraservatius.com/2007/12/05/turner.aspxCitizen ServatiusIf he is selected to be sheriff, Warren Turner may surprise some people. In an interview today, Turner said he supported checking the legal status of criminals detained by law enforcement. He also said he didn't understand the anger some people had toward current Sheriff Jim Pendergraph over a federal program run out of the county jail that checks inmates' legal status and refers many to federal immigration authorities for deportation. Charlottehttp://taraservatius.com/2007/12/05/turner.aspx#Comments0812f256-9a94-4a04-a653-b5efde1cf134Wed, 05 Dec 2007 18:39:42 GMThttp://taraservatius.com/2007/11/21/your-like-crack-thanksgiving-cheesecake-bar-recipe.aspxCitizen ServatiusLike Crack Cheesecake Bars2 cans of croissant rolls2 pkgs cream cheese (8 oz.)1 stick melted butter1 tsp cinnamon1.5 tsp vanilla1.5 cups sugarRoll out one can of croissant dough and press together the seams in a 13x9 pan. In a large bowl, blend cream cheese, one cup of sugar and the vanilla. Spread the mixture on top of the dough. Roll out the second can of croissant dough. Press the seams together and place on top of cream cheese mixture. Pour melted butter over the dough, drizzling some along the sides of the pan so it gets down to ...Charlottehttp://taraservatius.com/2007/11/21/your-like-crack-thanksgiving-cheesecake-bar-recipe.aspx#Commentsbb4c9ee2-8daa-406a-99b9-e2f2c0427056Wed, 21 Nov 2007 16:48:23 GMThttp://taraservatius.com/2007/10/24/media-myths-about-the-jena-6.aspxCitizen ServatiusA local journalist tells the story you haven't heard. Nationalhttp://taraservatius.com/2007/10/24/media-myths-about-the-jena-6.aspx#Commentsdb42a1d3-6fdf-4fe5-aa44-d3bea19490f7Wed, 24 Oct 2007 21:51:02 GMThttp://taraservatius.com/2007/09/25/selling-circles-charlotte-gets-ripped-off.aspxCitizen ServatiusThe vaunted art critics with Charlotte Area Transit System's art-in-transit program call Thomas Sayre an artist. Rip-off artist is more like it. As I've written in the past, for years, Sayre has been selling similar looking circles, squares and cucumberesque art pieces to public art commissions around the country. (See http://charlotte.creativeloafing.com/gyrobase/Content?oid=oid%3A5586) Sayre's modus operandi is the same in every city. He meets with people from the area to find out about the history of the place, then builds them circular or square "castings" that look remarkably like the ones he has ...Charlottehttp://taraservatius.com/2007/09/25/selling-circles-charlotte-gets-ripped-off.aspx#Comments7d200b12-da94-4030-ab91-7a9805f866f6Tue, 25 Sep 2007 19:26:23 GMThttp://taraservatius.com/2007/09/24/the-jena-6-a-different-take-on-what-really-happened.aspxCitizen ServatiusKansas City Star sportswriter Jason Whitlock, who is African-American, says the media has twisted the facts about what really happened in Jena, La.Nationalhttp://taraservatius.com/2007/09/24/the-jena-6-a-different-take-on-what-really-happened.aspx#Comments7bd01b05-4b90-4d33-883d-3f88fa9fb1bdMon, 24 Sep 2007 17:02:42 GMThttp://taraservatius.com/2007/09/18/breaking-news-congestion-chokes-charlotte.aspxCitizen ServatiusCharlotte topped the congestion charts among mid-sized cities again in the Texas Transportation Institute rankings report released today. The Queen City is the third most congested of nation's 30 mid-sized cities, falling behind only Nashville and Austin (which has a light rail line that Charlotte leaders recently traveled to the city to admire.) Charlotte ranked 34th most congested overall in terms of travel delay out the country's 85 largest cities. Charlotte also earned two F+ marks for being above average in congestion growth. (Atlanta, which has an extensive light rail system, was the ...Charlottehttp://taraservatius.com/2007/09/18/breaking-news-congestion-chokes-charlotte.aspx#Comments61dbaea2-9f69-4343-9ec6-8cca8f6da75bTue, 18 Sep 2007 19:14:36 GMThttp://taraservatius.com/2007/08/30/media-mangles-army-suicides-story.aspxCitizen ServatiusArmy soldiers are killing themselves in record numbers rather than cope with another war deployment, the headlines screamed last week. The facts in the story most people read are largely accurate. The problem is with the ones that got left out. Forensic Journalismhttp://taraservatius.com/2007/08/30/media-mangles-army-suicides-story.aspx#Comments9698c1dc-311a-4486-9086-dfc024cbbb2cThu, 30 Aug 2007 10:41:31 GMThttp://taraservatius.com/2007/08/28/observer-sells-out.aspxCitizen ServatiusIt's becoming increasingly difficult to tell if Charlotte Observer publisher Ann Caulkins is running a campaign or a newspaper or both. Caulkins is knee-deep in the campaigns against the repeal of the half-cent sales tax for mass transit and for the school bond package that will go on the ballot this fall. So knee-deep, in fact, that one might wonder where the Observer ends and the campaigns for both issues begin. Charlottehttp://taraservatius.com/2007/08/28/observer-sells-out.aspx#Comments0d0f67a6-9316-4994-96ca-0b2a3aeab5dcWed, 29 Aug 2007 01:10:14 GMThttp://taraservatius.com/2007/08/27/americas-poor.aspxCitizen ServatiusThe average American defined as "poor" by the government has a car, air conditioning, a refrigerator, a stove, a clothes washer and dryer and a microwave. He also has two color televisions, cable or satellite TV reception, a VCR or DVD player and a stereo. Nationalhttp://taraservatius.com/2007/08/27/americas-poor.aspx#Comments868bc6f9-e9b2-4baf-b728-c871da4ccaedMon, 27 Aug 2007 13:54:40 GMThttp://taraservatius.com/2007/08/22/living-la-vida-loophole.aspxCitizen ServatiusBeing an illegal alien can have its advantages -- if you're a criminal. In our court system, it can lead to the dismissal of criminal charges against you, charges that would result in a penalty for the average American citizen. Charlottehttp://taraservatius.com/2007/08/22/living-la-vida-loophole.aspx#Commentsa4a2896d-1636-4284-be4a-974c2f540d01Wed, 22 Aug 2007 15:21:16 GMThttp://taraservatius.com/2007/08/21/whats-a-life-worth.aspxCitizen ServatiusOn May 29, 2006, someone driving a Ford Taurus station wagon pulled into a grocery store parking lot near Old Steele Creek Road on Wilkinson Boulevard around 8:30 p.m. and shoved something out the door that looked remarkably like a corpse. Shocked onlookers scrambled to call 911 after they discovered the bloody body of Philip James Kaczmarek. Kaczmarek died from stab wounds, police later determined, and the Ford Taurus, which belonged to him, was later found a few miles away. Police quickly arrested Jackie Bennett, 44, who had rented ...Mecklenburg Courts Hall of Shamehttp://taraservatius.com/2007/08/21/whats-a-life-worth.aspx#Commentsb116fce3-36e8-4e50-9db1-6f674d157d62Wed, 29 Aug 2007 15:44:10 GMThttp://taraservatius.com/2007/08/17/charlotte-crime-crackup.aspxCitizen ServatiusThe Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department Watch Commander's Report is the who, what, where and when of crime in Charlotte. This hair-raising report of some of the week's most violent crimes is published every Friday on the Citizen Servatius blog.Weekly Crime Reporthttp://taraservatius.com/2007/08/17/charlotte-crime-crackup.aspx#Comments9d967168-b13d-45ff-bb69-27514a46eac0Fri, 17 Aug 2007 14:38:09 GMThttp://taraservatius.com/2007/08/17/charlotte-drivers-stew-in-traffic.aspxCitizen ServatiusWhile Charlotte's leaders smugly embrace the early-1990s mantra that congestion cannot be solved with more asphalt, leaders in other cities are laying mile after mile of asphalt with the radical goal of getting workers to work faster. Charlottehttp://taraservatius.com/2007/08/17/charlotte-drivers-stew-in-traffic.aspx#Commentsa793c036-ad95-43d3-be56-d01d9afb1154Thu, 23 Aug 2007 08:00:59 GMThttp://taraservatius.com/2007/08/15/as-predicted-ron-tober-goes-vamos.aspxCitizen Servatius Why is Charlotte Area Transit System CEO Ron Tober in such a great hurry to scram? Tober knows what the real numbers on light rail look like, and come December, so will we. Charlottehttp://taraservatius.com/2007/08/15/as-predicted-ron-tober-goes-vamos.aspx#Comments5380ea1a-67d8-43b8-bdf1-badf61c4cf95Wed, 15 Aug 2007 20:42:11 GMThttp://taraservatius.com/2007/08/13/bet-to-kids-read-a-mother-fn-book.aspxCitizen ServatiusIn this shocking video played repeatedly on Black Entertainment Television, poet/rapper Bomani D'Mite Armah encourages children to read by telling them to "Read a mother****ing book, N***er." Nationalhttp://taraservatius.com/2007/08/13/bet-to-kids-read-a-mother-fn-book.aspx#Comments5b67073f-215e-450b-b645-2d355213d0e3Tue, 14 Aug 2007 11:44:44 GMThttp://taraservatius.com/2007/08/12/outnumbered-congress-chooses-useless-bombers-over-terror-detection.aspxCitizen ServatiusThis year, Congress will spend about as much on the budget for the FBI as it does on four stealth bombers. So how are just 12,156 agents supposed to keep tabs on the 45,008 illegal aliens from terroist sponsoring countries who are currently living here? Or on the 300,000 "other-than-Mexican" illegal aliens who have slipped over our borders?Nationalhttp://taraservatius.com/2007/08/12/outnumbered-congress-chooses-useless-bombers-over-terror-detection.aspx#Commentse3c62848-7e6c-47bf-a98b-058aa83ca2fbThu, 16 Aug 2007 21:42:01 GMThttp://taraservatius.com/2007/08/01/who-needs-roads-when-we-could-have-zoo-exhibits.aspxCitizen ServatiusToday, the oh-so-broke state legislature voted to give away $35 million in taxpayer money to Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. When the state started doling out hundreds of millions of dollars this way years ago, the money initially went to lure businesses here. One problem. Goodyear is already located here. So why give them money? North Carolinahttp://taraservatius.com/2007/08/01/who-needs-roads-when-we-could-have-zoo-exhibits.aspx#Commentsa7ca1416-67b9-4228-b028-4b03e02508cfTue, 28 Aug 2007 12:47:15 GMThttp://taraservatius.com/2007/07/27/charlotte-crime-crackup-your-weekly-review-of-crime-in-charlotte.aspxCitizen ServatiusThe Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department Watch Commander's Report is the who, what, where and when of crime in Charlotte. This hair-raising report of some of the week's most violent crimes is published every Friday on the Citizen Servatius blog. Weekly Crime Reporthttp://taraservatius.com/2007/07/27/charlotte-crime-crackup-your-weekly-review-of-crime-in-charlotte.aspx#Comments607f5b8c-0565-4e89-8a7a-e879b48dca3eFri, 27 Jul 2007 15:10:36 GMThttp://taraservatius.com/2007/07/26/breaking-news-the-plan-to-steal-your-vote.aspxCitizen ServatiusIf Democrats in the state legislature get their way tomorrow, next year North Carolina voters could go to the polls and overwhelmingly elect Fred Thompson president. But more than half of the state's electoral votes could go to his Democratic opponent Hillary Clinton, even if Clinton got pummeled at the ballot box here. North Carolinahttp://taraservatius.com/2007/07/26/breaking-news-the-plan-to-steal-your-vote.aspx#Commentsa70667f1-a62e-45cd-8c37-b98864eb5021Thu, 26 Jul 2007 19:55:07 GMThttp://taraservatius.com/2007/07/26/ohsobroke-county-commission-blows-wads-of-cash-on-show-no-one-watches.aspxCitizen ServatiusMecklenburg County Commission Chairperson Jennifer Roberts used the elderly as an excuse to raise taxes this week. But she apparently doesn't care if the elderly have to eat dog food or donate another pint of blood to pay for the "Mecklenburgers."Charlottehttp://taraservatius.com/2007/07/26/ohsobroke-county-commission-blows-wads-of-cash-on-show-no-one-watches.aspx#Comments5c0c0572-6a1f-45d8-9911-feabcd9cce81Thu, 26 Jul 2007 15:46:23 GMT