Updates on how we’re covering growth, elections — and soccer
Resources to help you understand Charlotte better
Dear Ledger reader:
This morning, we have a few announcements for you. Almost every day, we’re providing you with fresh, original news and insights about Charlotte-area topics.
Today, we’re sharing some minor news about some of the ways we’re delivering that information to you.
Specifically:
A slight change in approach — and a new name — for our Thursday newsletter, which you know as “Transit Time”
Resources for voting in the March 3 primary election. Early voting starts today (Thursday).
The pending resumption — year 5! — of Fútbol Friday, our in-season newsletter on Charlotte FC.
Here are the details:
1. Farewell to Transit Time, hello to Charlotte in Motion
Growth is the story of Charlotte — it means new jobs, investment and people. But growth also strains our infrastructure and resources, including traffic, transit, the environment, schools and housing affordability. It’s often said that growth is a “good problem to have,” but addressing the ramifications of growth can be complex. We’re going to lean into that complexity and help you understand growth in the Charlotte region.
To do that, The Charlotte Ledger and WFAE are taking our Transit Time newsletter — we started it in 2021 largely to cover the push for a transit plan, which voters approved this past November — and modifying it into a newsletter called “Charlotte in Motion.”
Charlotte in Motion is a free newsletter published on Thursdays at least twice a month and will include stories from the WFAE and Ledger newsrooms. We’ll continue covering transit and transportation as plans evolve — but also wrap in other growth-related topics that affect us all.
The first issue of Charlotte in Motion will come out later this morning. In it, Steve Harrison of WFAE takes a closer look at the political dimensions of the controversial I-77 toll lane expansion, and whether it’s too late for local elected leaders to slow it down or stop it.
Retooling the newsletter allows us to widen our editorial lens and give our readers nuanced, explanatory and deep coverage of growth-related topics and issues in the Charlotte region, including neighboring counties, with an eye toward the effects on real people.
On this critical topic, we’ll draw on some of Charlotte’s most experienced reporters, including Ashley Fahey, Tony Mecia and Lindsey Banks from The Ledger and Harrison and Ely Portillo from WFAE, as well as other writers and thinkers.
Ledger readers who were receiving Transit Time will automatically receive Charlotte in Motion. If you want to opt into it or out of it, you can do that at your Manage Your Subscription page. Charlotte in Motion articles will be published on our website (including archived Transit Time articles), and WFAE will also publish the articles on its website.
If you have ideas for things we should be writing about, let us know.
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2. Election resource: The Election Hub voter guide is up and running for March 3 primary
You might be surprised to learn that early voting starts today (Thursday) for the March 3 primary election.
Once again, we’re helping you get ready. The Ledger has teamed up with The Election Hub, a free, nonpartisan online resource that brings together clear, reliable information about every race on the ballot in Mecklenburg, Gaston and Cabarrus counties.
Instead of forcing voters to piece together details from scattered websites, social media posts and campaign mailers, the Hub compiles candidate backgrounds, positions and key facts in one easy-to-navigate place. It is designed to be simple, readable and free of distractions — no pop-up ads, no auto-play videos, no spin.
The problem it solves is one many voters know well: Local elections can be hard to follow. Judicial races, county commission seats, legislative primaries and other down-ballot contests often receive limited coverage, yet these offices make decisions that shape key topics that affect our lives, such as public safety, taxes, growth, schools, housing affordability and health care.
When voters can quickly access credible information about local candidates and issues, they are better equipped to make decisions that affect Charlotte and surrounding communities.
The Ledger is proud to have incubated The Election Hub for a couple of years before helping spin it off as a separate, independent nonprofit organization, under the leadership of executive director Sucharita Kodali. We’re still supporting it financially as it gets on its feet and are promoting it as a community asset. (If you think it’s a worthy effort and want to help, contact Sucharita or consider a tax-free donation.)
➡️ Visit The Election Hub voter guide
◼️ Mix and mingle with candidates: The Ledger and The Election Hub are also sponsoring a “Mix & Mingle 2026 Candidate Social,” in conjunction with partners CLT Public Relations and the Charlotte Area Chamber of Commerce.
When: Wednesday, Feb. 25, 5-6:30 p.m.
Where: The Innovation Barn, 932 Seigle Ave.
More info and registration: The event is free; register here
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3. It’s season 5 of Charlotte FC, and Fútbol Friday is on it
Soccer season is right around the corner, and our popular weekly Fútbol Friday newsletter is back for its fifth year covering Charlotte FC.
Carroll Walton has been talking to her sources and looks forward to sharing her wisdom with fans every Friday during the season, starting this Friday. And we will again have impressive photos from Kevin Young of The 5 and 2 Project. The first game — some call it a “match” — is Feb. 21, with the home opener March 7.
➡️ Ledger readers can opt into (and out of) receiving Fútbol Friday each week from their Manage Your Subscription page. Articles are also published online.
➡️ If your company is interested in sponsoring the Fútbol Friday newsletter, drop a line to our director of business development, Ava Mikeal.
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You’re in control
Ledger readers always have control over the newsletters they receive. Sign up for the ones you want. Turn off the ones you don’t. Our business model, which relies heavily on paid reader subscriptions, doesn’t depend on spamming you with unwanted emails.
All of the resources above — The Election Hub, Charlotte in Motion, Fútbol Friday — are available for free, as is our Toppman on the Arts newsletter. They’re not free to produce, though. So if you like them and want to see them continue, join The Ledger as a paying subscriber (or in the case of The Election Hub, donate to it; and in the case of Charlotte in Motion, also consider a donation to our partner WFAE).
A Ledger subscription also unlocks access to our paid newsletters: our full main Ledger, Real Estate Whispers and Ways of Life.
We’re proud of these moves, which we think will help keep Charlotte better informed on a variety of topics with reliable, responsible local information. We’re always looking for ways to improve and serve our readers better.
Feel free to let us know what you think, or share ideas of what we should be covering.
Many thanks.
—Tony Mecia and Ashley Fahey, The Charlotte Ledger
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I love the new name.