An interesting election race to watch tomorrow will be in Charlotte North Carolina. There they will decide whether or not to repeal a transit tax that has, so far, made possible the first leg of a light rail system there. Recall that local dignitaries recently visited the city to admire the leg of the line already complete and about to open.

The opponents of the tax - and make no mistake, it's the "tax" thing that bothers them, not how the light rail project is being executed, want to repeal a voter approved transit tax that funds everything from buses to the new light rail system, using perceived blunders in light rail planning there as the most viable impetus.

This is North Carolina's News 14 story about the election. The other station there, the "On Your Side" Channel 3, has been participating in a clearly biased effort to push the vote against light rail. It's the most overt and nauseating demonstration of a so-called professional news media organization taking part in a pile-on against something so wonderful and necessary, for reasons only its own internal producers will ever know. Nearly all of its stories are negative against light rail progress.



What's the deal with Channel 3 in North Carolina? Maybe it relies a little too much on
banner ads like this one that appears at its website. Hey, everyone knows you can walk
into a car dealership and pay nothing to drive away with a new car and just $227 a month
after! Funny no Channel 3 "On Your Side" cameras are around to scrutinize that
perfectly honest claim, huh?

I'm only speculating in the spirit of cynicism, of course, but perhaps it relies a little bit more on big stuffed envelopes passed off as advertising deals from car dealers. Such purchases perhaps prevent "On Your Side" type investigations into consumer complaints about how car deals are made and sold to consumers.

Whatever. In my opinion, Channel 3's coverage is clearly not fair or objective and a perfect example of what happens when the $tatus Quo kicks in to prevent these things. I'm sure as hell not that objective at Tampa Rail, of course, so if you want what reads as a well balanced foray into the debate there, try this.