Good morning! Today is Friday, September 11, 2026. You’re reading The Charlotte Ledger, an e-newsletter with local business-y news and insights for Charlotte, N.C.
Today's Charlotte Ledger is sponsored by Tryon Medical Partners. Tryon Medical Partners now offers sports medicine. Our specialists help active patients stay healthy and recover safely, providing specialized sports medicine care within the scope of family medicine for patients 13+.
ALMOST A BIG CITY
Charlotte has a glittering skyline, pro sports, a thriving dining scene and plenty of other big-city amenities. It's what boosters, business leaders and elected officials have long chased. But does Charlotte act urban, or more like an expanse of suburbs knit together by traffic congestion?
In this four-part series, longtime local journalist Mary Newsom analyzes some of the cultural, structural and historical reasons that hinder Charlotte's ability to function effectively as a big city.
If you want access to The Ledger’s suite of products — including the full versions of our four flagship newsletters each week, plus our obituaries newsletter Ways of Life and scoopy commercial real estate newsletter Real Estate Whispers, and other perks — consider becoming a paid member today.
For just $12/month (or $10.75/month for the yearly paid option), you can become a Ledger paying member and help support a local, independent news organization. But don’t just take our word for it:
Despite recent improvements, decades of under-investment keep Charlotte-Mecklenburg near the bottom of national park rankings
People walk and listen to live music at Freedom Park in Dilworth, one of Charlotte’s most popular parks. (Photo by Nancy Pierce)
by Mary Newsom
In fall 1992, the locked door to the men’s room at Mason Wallace Park on Monroe Road had been kicked in. The toilet was torn from the wall, and the floor was covered with tree limbs, apparently for a campfire, a Charlotte Observer reporter found.
At Veterans Park on Central Avenue, a large indoor picnic shelter was boarded up because asbestos used in its construction was a hazard. Throughout Charlotte, restrooms in most parks were routinely locked — lock ’em, or lose ’em, according to city parks officials.
Want to know why Mecklenburg County’s parks seem each year to land at or near the bottom of the Trust for Public Land’s national ParkScore rankings? One place to start looking is the city government’s lackluster interest, for most of the 20th century, in buying or building public parks, followed by a decade and a half of insufficient funding from the county.
Other factors also come into play. The 2008 Great Recession forced county commissioners to cut spending. County parks and public libraries were hardest hit among county departments. Another factor was a nationwide belief that the newer, postwar, middle-income suburbs would have private neighborhood clubs with amenities such as swimming pools – especially, in that era of looming desegregation, swimming pools.
Charlotte’s general lack of walkability hurts the department’s ParkScore rankings as well, since the scoring metrics include the percentage of residents living within a 10-minute walk of a park.
Charlotte Observer slashes 1/4 of its newsroom, part of deep cuts nationally by parent McClatchy
The Charlotte Observer on Thursday laid off eight employees, or about 1/4 of its newsroom, in the latest job cutbacks in Charlotte’s media industry.
The company had made no public announcement of the cuts as of Thursday afternoon, but word started traveling in local media circles around midday Thursday of sweeping cutbacks at publications owned by California-based McClatchy Media, the parent company of The Charlotte Observer, the News & Observer in Raleigh, The State in Columbia, S.C., and others.
There were reports online of big cuts at McClatchy publications in Miami, Kansas City and Lexington, Ky. An industry publication said McClatchy’s cuts on Thursday were the company’s “most severe layoff in years.”
“I’ve been informed this morning that I was one of eight people being laid off from The Charlotte Observer,” one of the paper’s breaking-news reporters, Jeffery Chamer, wrote Thursday on his LinkedIn page. “I wish I had something uplifting and optimistic to say, but I’m honestly scared and sad right now.”
Investigative reporter Amber Gaudet wrote on LinkedIn that she, too, was let go: “I’m incredibly sad and frustrated for myself and my talented colleagues. I fear what our communities will look like with no local journalists to act as watchdogs.” She said three of the four Observer staff planning to attend Thursday’s North Carolina Press Association dinner to receive journalism awards for their work found out that they were laid off.
Other cuts included the publication’s data reporter and education reporter, according to their social media posts.
The Charlotte Observer’s online staff directory lists 35 newsroom employees, so Thursday’s cuts represent nearly 1/4 of the newsroom. The publication’s top two editors departed in a management shake-up in April, The Ledger reported at the time.
The Observer’s new editor, Matt Leclercq, did not reply to an email from The Ledger on Thursday. Neither did a McClatchy spokeswoman.
A memo to employees obtained by The Ledger said that in the past five years, McClatchy had invested in local news reporters because it believed that “continued investment in our journalism would strengthen our relationship with subscribers and our business” but that results showed that consumer revenue fell 41% while expenses stayed the same. “The results are clear and require us to make a different choice,” the memo said.
The cuts come after the closure of two Charlotte publications in the past year, Charlotte magazine and Queen City Nerve. The local news industry has struggled over the past 15 years to hang onto revenue from advertising and circulation.
Related Ledger article:
“The Charlotte Observer’s top 2 editors are leaving” (April 23)
Need help with finances? Come to The Ledger’s financial education series next month
Join us for an in-person series on personal finance called “Facing Your Financial Fears: Smart Money Across Generations.”
Each Wednesday evening in October, we’ll explore financial issues facing different generations: Gen Z, millennials, Gen X and baby boomers. Attend the one that is most relevant to you – or show up to more than one! (Also: Tell your adult children or grandchildren!)
We’ll provide drinks and light snacks and dig in with a panel of financial experts who will address your questions.
Registration is required, but every event is FREE.
Thank you to presenting sponsor Dyer and Company, banking partner Huntington Bank and supporting partners The Mint Museum and Caregiving Corner for helping make the series possible.
You might be interested in these Charlotte events
Events submitted by readers to The Ledger’s events board:
SEPTEMBER 26: “ISF 5K for Kids with Cancer,” 9 a.m. to 12 p.m., at Rea Farms, 9930 Sandy Rock Pl. The Isabella Santos Foundation 5K for Kids Cancer, presented by Uwharrie Bank, returns September 26 at Rea Farms. Featuring a timed 5K, one-mile fun run, Kids Zone, foam party, music, vendors and family activities, there's something for everyone. Proceeds support local families receiving care at Levine Children's Hospital and Novant Hemby Children's Hospital. $15-$25.
SEPTEMBER 29: “Regional Transportation Summit 2026,” 8 a.m. to 12 p.m., at TPC Piper Glen, 4300 Piper Glen Dr. Join South Charlotte Partners and top leaders for a pivotal discussion on the future of transportation and mobility in South Charlotte! As the region continues to evolve, South Charlotte Partners is excited to convene an impactful discussion with key state and local leaders to explore the current landscape and future vision for transportation in the area. $108.55/ticket.
NOVEMBER 12: “Verse & Vino,” 6-9:30 p.m., at Charlotte Convention Center, 501 S. College St. Charlotte Mecklenburg Library Foundation presents Verse & Vino, the region’s premier literary event presented by PNC Bank. Verse & Vino welcomes acclaimed NYT bestselling authors Isaac Fitzgerald, Lucy Foley, R.F. Kuang and Walter Mosley. Attendees will enjoy exclusive opportunities to meet each author, an elegant, seated dinner and unlimited wine. $250.