city challenge with a chance to get a $40 million federal grant. each finalists will receive $100,000 to hone their proposals for the final selection process in june. charlotte is up against 76 other cities. they pitch their best ideas to make transportation safer, easier, and more reliable. wants to see how cities would increase, mobility, safety, and address climate change. stills told channel 9 they are confident that charlotte has a shot as winning the $40 million and the competition has created great conversations about transportation goals. channel 9 sat down with transportation secretary and former charlotte mayor anthony fox. he says the city needs to come up with a consensus to strategies a strategy. the winner will be announced in june but this afternoon we're going to learn the five finalists of course we will let you know if charlotte is among them following the announcement that will be made in austin, texas. you can find the results on our website at wsoctv.com. >>> a north carolina high school student had part of her ear bitten off after a fight on a school bus. it happened last week in wake county. a girl on the bus threw a lunch that fight.

after bob tonight says such a probe may not bear a lot of fruit. >> at the end of last week's charlotte city council meeting, john autrey suggested the city attorney begin a probe regarding leaks of confidential documents u i can this couple to instruct the city attorney to investigate how this leak occurred. >> the leak autrey speaks of is his memo obtained by wbtv. it was delivered by city manager ron carlee to firefighter marty pucket days before pucket, the unpaid intern of representative claire fallon sent a memo calling for the dismissal of his boss fire chief john hannon. carlee in the document called pucket's behavior unacceptable and says it must cease. and city attorney bob haggerman says his hands will be tied tied in

city leaders will vote on the plan tonight. their meeting starts at 6:00. live in uptown charlotte, britney johnson channel 9 eyewitness news. >>> count on channel 9 to follow every development out of tonight's city council meeting. we'll have complete coverage on eyewitness news at 10:00 and 11:00. yesterday morning, she is in critical condition this morning. investigators say confronted her. >>> republican front runner donald trump is cage to drum up support in hickory today. joe bruno is live there now and we just received a new poll from overnight joe. i see a big crowd behind you now? >> reporter: not much has changed in terms of north carolina polls. this new poll we received overnight shows donald trump has a massive lead over ted cruz, who is in second place. as you can see, there are hundreds of supporters here for donald trump, already in hickory. he will be on stage here in a couple of hours. as far as the democrat candidates though hillary clinton has a massive lead over vermont senator bernie sanders. no matter who you are voting for tuesday, everybody will be voting o

one is the representative from charlotte city council district five. he is taking on billy madlin who may have ran at large at the charlotte city council. and he filled out patsy's term when she was in the term for pat tron cannon. for patrick cannon. tonight is over with some of the state representatives who have won may be eyeing the north carolina 12th congressional seat and it is expected that we will see the state representative rodney with carla cunningham who will be filing for the 12th congressional race. it is one part of the drama that continues to roll on and on. for now, live at the board of elections, wbtv on your side, "primetime." >> a lot of story lines to follow including this one. breaking news we are following. officials with the state board of elections say they are heard about slight delays at voting precincts in four counties around the state. the spokeswoman here says the counties in question, a couple in our area catawba, cabarrus, haywood and rowan. the board is is talking about extending the voting times into places maybe 30 m

charlotte is up against 76 other cities. best ideas to make transportation safer, easier, and more reliable. the d.o.t. wants to see how cities would increase mobility, safety, and address. last month we sat down with anthony fox. he says the city needs to come to a consensus on a strategy that embraces buses, light rail, streetcars and new roads. the winner will be announced in june but this afternoon we will learn about the five finalists. we'll let you know if charlotte is among them. following the announcement this afternoon in austin, texas. you can find the results on our website wsoctv.com as well as on the the air as soon as they are released. >>> north carolina high school student had part of her ear bitten off after a fight on a school bus. it happened late last week in wake county. threw a lunch bag at amber romero starting that fight. it led romero to bite the other girl's ear. her mother says she feels terrible about what happened. she says the assault charge and a prior one are the result of her fighting back a

charlotte city council passed an ordnance than would allow transgender people to use restrooms of the those they identify with. many lawmakers say it is a threat to public safety. house members and the senate have suggested calling a special session in order to overturn that local ordnance. governor pat mccrory is also against it saying e it is a violation of privacy. he wants lawmakers. april 25th to deal with the issue. part of his reason is because special session cost the state senate pro tim has also called on the attorney general to step in to this matter. members of the charlotte city council, aclu, are going to be holding their press conference here this morning outside the general assembly. it's set for 10:00 a.m. >>> you five cumberland county deputies have been disciplined for not arresting a trump supporter caught on camera hitting a protester. this happened at the donald trump alley last week. deputies took jones to the ground be put let 78-year-old john mcgraw return to his seat. the comber land county sheriff said the failure to act will not be tolerated. three officers

first up, charlotte city council members will vote tonight on how to develop part of the eastland mall property. the charlotte-mecklenburg school board is offering $600,000 for more than 11 acres. they want to put a new elementary school there. two other big money projects to know about. council members can vote to to discovery place. and traffic control equipment. this money would replace an upgrade parts of the old system. >> john: in campaign 2016 as donald trump prepares to hold a rally in hickory, he and democrat bernie sanders are blaming each other at trump events over the weekend on friday several people arrest in missouri and a rally in chicago was cancelled as things got heated between trump supporters and protesters. saturday a protesters stormed the stage in cleveland, police pepper sprayed crowds in kansas city. more protests interrupted trump yesterday in illinois. on twitter yesterday, trump blames sanders supporters for the protest, saying: sanders condemned the protests voters took it a step further, tweeting back send them, they deser to have see what an honest politi

these cities will have the chance at a $40 million federal grant to improve transportation. charlotte was up against 78 cities. that has been wide led down to these 7. >>> the winner will be announced in june. >>> tonight, a second escaped inmate in new mexico is back in police custody. authorities caught lionel this afternoon in northern albuquerque. he was serving time for armed robbery. another inmate was captured yesterday. his sister, olivia cruz, was also arrested for an outstanding warrant. officials are investigating whether she was involved in the men's escape. >> that's why i got busted. if i had help, i would have been gone. i picked the lock. >> i don't doubt there are people out there that helped them. >> cruz was serving life for murder when the two men escaped officials say three more people have died from flu complications all in the same week. officials report eight people have died from this flu season. that's far fewer than last year with 218 reported deaths. it's also the fewest deaths since the 2011, 2012 flu season. tonight, the u.s. is one step closer to fightin

she is going to time that out for us in just a few minutes. >>> today charlotte city council is expected to vote on whether a school will be built where the old eastland mall will be. >> the city bought this 80-acre property back in 2012. now cms wants to build a k- some neighbors fear a school would deter new businesses from the area but others say students there need another option. tonight's meeting begins at 6:00 at the government center uptown. >>> a trooper accused of shooting an unarmed man in columbia could go to court this week. trooper sean group soldier charged with assault and battery. he pulled over levar jones for not wearing a seat belt. prosecutors could call the case as soon as today. >>> a judge has thrown out a man's 30-year prison sentence and conviction because his attorney slept during the trial. that attorney was in former north carolina lawyer nick mackey. the appellate judge in virginia overturned the case friday, citing testimony from other attorneys and jurors. one said mackey slept morning and evening for 30 minutes at least. the suspect was serving time in pr

first up, charlotte city council members will vote tonight on how to develop part of the eastland mall property. the charlotte-mecklenburg school board is offering $600,000 for more than 11 acres. they want to put a new elementary school there. two other big money projects to know about. council members can vote to

. >> at the end of last week's charlotte city council meeting, john autrey suggested the city attorney begin a probe regarding leaks of confidential documents u i can this couple to instruct the city attorney to investigate how this leak occurred. >> the leak autrey speaks of is his memo obtained by wbtv. it was delivered by city manager ron carlee to firefighter marty pucket days before pucket, the unpaid intern of representative claire fallon sent a memo calling for the dismissal of his boss fire chief john hannon. carlee in the document called pucket's behavior unacceptable and says it must cease. and city attorney bob haggerman says his hands will be tied tied in >> i do not have the capacity or the ability to put people under oath or to subpoena any information or documents. >> when it comes to the affairs will local government how much does the public have a right it know? >> we need to think about the rights of privacy and protection. >> dr. freeman is the dean of knight school of communications at keeps university. and transparency maybe an issue he says not all documents are f

charlotte, the city of charlotte, that i represent passed an ordinance that, among other things, eliminated rights of privacy in bathroom and shower facilities allowing people of the opposite sex to come in and people were enormously ups upset about thet that. we passed a law that is common sense and clarifies the limits of local authority. >> kate how does this effect

one state senator told me he even thinks the city should opponents of a controversial ordinance charlotte city leaders passed two weeks ago. state leaders decided to step in, returning to raleigh five weeks early to block it. >> they were told not to do this. >> senator jeff tarp from mecklenburg county believes action will be swift before the ordinance takes effect april 1. that in part, opens all bathrooms to choice, without dediscrimination. based on how someone identifies themselves, male or female. he says there are concerns it's written too broadly and allow anyone in any restroom. he believes city leaders should have to pay for the state's time to address it. >> they weren't careful and i'm quite comfortable billing the city of charlotte. they will be more diligent going forward. >> the special session will cost $42,000 a day and matt hershey with the quality and see says it's a waste of time and money that can be spent on something else. it can fund teacher salaries. unfortunately, it can allow people in the state house to waste our money by coming in to fix a law that doesn't need to

. >>> first, charlotte city council is set to vote on the reason some say this is not the reason some american workers brought us back from the crash. now, let's move forward. we need jobs that providedignity and a bright future. new penalties to stop companies from moving profits and jobs overseas. for businesses that create manufacturing jobs, a new tax credit. and let's invest in clean energy jobs, her first term. we've gotta create new jobs andindustries of the future. i'm hillary clinton and i approve this message. >>> tomorrow the charlotte city council will decide whether a school should go up where the old eastland mall used to be in east charlotte. da'sean brown spoke to people on both sides of the debate. >> reporter: what many see as an empty lot, -- this this is a blank slate. >> back in 2012, the city bought the 80-acre property. four years later, they have an offer from the board of education. >> when you talk about economic drivers, schools are not necessarily economic drivers. >> reporter: he said the missing link is a chance to bring in new business. adding it first c

empty lot. >> this is a blank slate. >> reporter: a slate that could be filled in part should charlotte city council vote yes back in 2012 the city bought the 80-acre property. four years later they have an offer. >> when you talk about things that are economic drivers. schools are not economic drivers. >> reporter: garver says the missing link in this area is a chance to bring in in new business. he fears adding a school -- i think the thing with the school is they are putting the cart before the horse. >> reporter: a look at the plan shows 11 acres of the site dedicated for a new k-8 language school. the idea approved back in november of 2013. for residents like theresa caesar one that couldn't come soon enough. >> i feel the need in this area especially for education. i've seen plans and proposals and proposals so if the first step is building a school, let's do it. >> reporter: the vote on that monday's agenda is happening at the government center in uptown starting at 5:00. dashawn brown channel 9 eyewitness news. >> your time is 7:08. a bessemer city woman accused of stealing multiple

. >>> tonight, charlotte city council will talk about a plan to take away trash services from certain residents. ahead at 5:00 a.m., the reason the city has been pushing for the plan for years. >>> chester county officials want the state d.o.t. to do a traffic study after several crashes on a stretch of curve. >>> 4:53. today, the chester county carolina's d.o.t. to study a deadly stretch of highway 9 nicknamed dead man's curve. there have been several crashes on that stretch of road, including this one on march 7th. troopers say a work van crossed into oncoming traffic and hit a logging truck head on. the d.o.t. study would look at how many vehicles travel that road every day, crashes and deaths. the meeting is tonight at 6:00 at the for the lawn community center on main street in fort lawn. >>> south carolina's paid $40 million since 2010 to settle road claims and lawsuits against the transportation department and many of those claims involved damages caused by potholes. the number of claims average 26 2600 during the past two years. transportation officials have said it will cost a

dry here in charlotte that is the metro school camera in center city. no issues there but boy, it is chilly, we've fallen to 37, one of the warmer spots. 29 right now morganton, at freezing in shelby, rock hill, lancaster, wadesboro, below freezing now albermarle and statesville and right at freezing in salisbury, likely to fall a couple more degrees before the sun comes up at 7:30. today, once the suns comes up, good shape, plenty of sunshine, 35 at 8:00, 62 at lunch time, 68 this afternoon. back up in the 70s, in the near term and also our chances for rain this holiday weekend. all the details in the seven day forecast. john, back to you. >> john: also following a major breaking story overseas, two deadly explosions at an airport in brussels. >> christine: brody o'connell is giving us details. how do we know, do we know, if this is terrorism-related. >> brody: i'm seeing reports in the last few minutes there's may be a suicide bomber responsible for the airport attacks. we'll work on getting that confirmed, but several wales agenciesagenciesoverseas r

it was passed by the charlotte city council last week. it allows appeal to use the bath -- people to use the bathroom of people which they identify with. proponents of the ordinance say safer and more included, but opponents say it will do just the opposite. >> this is such a radical course of action that the charlotte city council has taken. we have no choice but to respond. >> another example of interference of local government from the legislature. >> reporter: coming up in our next half hour at 6:00, we will hear from the transgender community about this issue. immale wright, cbs north carolina. >>> the time is now 5:37. still to come, the new information we learned just hours ago about a deadly crash in wake county. >> plus this -- >> you can't be scared your whole life, you know? you've got to live your life, you know? if you stay at home scared, then they are winning. >> he's got a point. we head to rdu and the amtrak terror >>> current temperature 50 degrees. we drop into the upper 40s from 7:00 until 8:00. keep in mind, sunrise h

charlotte city council, passed an ordinance that would allow transgender people to use the restrooms of the gender they identify with. the rules would go into effect april 1st. many said this is a threat to public safety. house members in the senate have suggested calling a special session in order to pass a law to overturn this. governor pat mccrory is against the ordinance saying that it is a violation of privacy, but he wants lawmakers to wait until session starts until the 25ing to the deal with that issue. special sessions cost the state about $42,000 a day. phil burger has called on the attorney general to step in on the matter. members of the charlotte city will be holding a press conference outside the bill assembly, bill and renee? >> five cumberland deputies have been disciplined for what they didn't do at the donald trump rally at the crown coliseum. a protester is accused of hitting jones, a protester, and let the supporter return to his seat. cumberland county sheriff earl muse butler said the failure to act would not be tolerated. three officers have been demonded and s

charlotte. the clinic has been years in the making. the veterans will still have to go to salisbury if they need er or urgent care. >>> the city of charlotte is getting big help to become more efficient and keep is government more accountable. the city of one of six chosen nationwide for what works cities. it's an initiative from bloomburg. the program collaborates information from across cities to make information more accessible to city managers and the public. today a powerful rally at wall street sent stocks to their highest point of 2016. the nasdaq was up 86. there are two democratic visionsfor regulating wall street.one says it's okay to take rmillions from big banks and then tell them what to do. my plan -- break up the big banks, close the tax loopholes, and make them pay their fair share. then we can expand health care to all, and provide universal college education. will they like me? no. will they begin to playby the rules if i'm president? you better believe it. >>> now, from news team that's covering the carolinas, this is channel 9 eyewitness news at 6:00. >>> after half a dozen shootings across charlotte. >> it's been an ey

city manager. an employee with the charlotte fire department is also the fire department of the charlotte firefighters' association, seeing the pyring of t he -- firing of the investigator. the city attorney said in a memo months ago that the arrangement could be considered unlawful and conflict of secrets according to the city's charter. but he said there is nothing that he is doing that the average person couldn't do. >> anything that was shown to me or talked to me about that was not public record. i would allow a citizen to engage in the political process. >> reporter: i asked the city taken if it's believed that fallon or puckett may be violating the city policy. pucket said he was never paid by fallon and for the time being, he was not working as an intern. >> jenna, thank you. >>> and we have new information on breaking news in north charlotte. medic is telling us that 1 person went to the hospital. somebody stabbed the person and they have life-threatening injuries. tryon. police are interviewing people at the scene and the ambulance left a few moments ago. we are ask figure police found victi

. >>> we have developments around the charlotte city manager who is stepping down. and the city of charlotte announced ron carly will stay on and serve through the end of the 2017 budget process. he is happy to stay on. his contract ends at the end of march. it is not clear how long it will take. the council will take action on this in two weeks. health warning, another case of mumps this time a student at unc-charlotte. the student lives off campus and is in isolation at home. there are three total cases of mumps in the county and for mower possible cases. >>> a school shut down because of a noro virus will remain closed. and dozens of members were sick with the noro virus symptoms. we're live on your side digging where it may have started. >> molly it is quiet here and that will not change tomorrow morning as you said. classes have been canceled here at covenant for tuesday. they were canceled today. we're not hearing of any students that have been affected but the faculty is a completely different story. department saying this started and mercy mikes. and 50 and

sent us a statement in response to the river it says in part... >> a former charlotte mayor weighs in on the drama between a city councilmember and the charlotte fire chief. richard vinroot who served as mayor is concerned the controversy could push charlotte away from its current council manager system. councilmember claire fallon's intern pucket sent an e-mail calling for the chief to be replaced. vinroot called hannon a superb public serve apartment throughout his career with the fire department and excellent chief during the past 12 years. >> a nearly abandoned area of rock hill has new life. this is redevelopment to the is the center of the city's future and changing the lives of people living there. michael clark has the story new at 6:00. >> an old pumphouse is now the site of the newest rock hill restaurant. people are already coming out to look at the view on the catawba river. >> wanted to look at it and see what it looked like. >> buildings in the new development are peeking the curiosity of passerbies who watched construction. >> to see it go from a pile of ruins to what it is now it is a huge transf

charlotte's couldn't veer shall non-discrimination order nance. the order nance protects people includes which bathroom they use. >> i have serious concerns. >> yelled's gathering attracted city council member john autry. he feels confident people will not be violated. >> hasn't happened in columbia, myrtle beach. panthers stadium and charlotte motor speedway has similar protection also. >> leaders threatened to call a special session to deal with the ordinance but have not set a date. governor pat mccrory wants lawmaker to take it up drug the regulars session because a special session costs too much. >>> charlotte city council members are concerned over their meeting rooms being bugged by the media. they say items mentioned in executive sessions were getting out to the media and at times published. the staff sales they didn't find >>> looking ahead the city of charlotte will host neighborhood board retreat this morning. during that retreat attendees from 19 neighborhoods are going to get guidance with planning yearly goals in the community. that retreat is from 8:30 until 1:30 at johnson c. smith university. >>> check out this video, look at the people at westin for the uncf

calling for a meeting to see if the council can censure fallon citing, quote, the constant and the city of charlotte. they called for puckett to stop working with fallon calling his behavior unacceptable and the city gave me a could you please of the charter saying that the mayor and council cannot direct the work of a city employee. puckett has been warned that he can lose his job if he does not cut ties with fallon. fallon believes that city leaders are trying to bully her. live in uptown, jenna deery, eyewitness news. >>> and in gaston county, two commissioners will likely step down because of a dispute among board members. if some board members get their be fired dowrn fire -- during tonight's meeting. they say graham has been key to helping the under developed community. >> i will still have my reputation. >> the remaining board members would have to appoint replacements. >>> and a fund set up for the two young sons of the woman killed in a crash. their mother, kandace helms, was killed tuesday morning. the peyton and mason helms fund is in lincolnton. >>> over the next few months, people in yo

hear from one of the charlotte city council members who initially voted for it. i'm emma wright. >>> hillary clinton and donald trump were denied a sweep falling to rivals in other states. we turn to cbs's don champion who has the latest live look here in new york. good morning, don. >> reporter: good morning, beairshelle. in places like idaho and arizona yesterday, people have waited in long lines to weigh in on this presidential race while the democratic and republican front-runner got some crucial wins yesterday. they are not waking up with all of the momentum this morning. on the heels of what appears to have been record voter turnout, hillary clinton and donald trump grabbed big wins in arizona tuesday. afterwards in seattle, clinton reminded supporters what's at stake in this election. >> this is a contest between our future. >> reporter: rival bernie sanders won democratic caucuses in utah and idaho and declared his campaign is alive now more than ever. >> this campaign is doing as well as it is generating the kind of energy and excitement we're seeing her

you are toxic to council and the city of charlotte. >> mayfield is vice-chairman of the committee and fallon's actions need to be put under the microscope and fallon is up for the fight. intimidate me which is what they usually try to do. >> and we found out late today that mayfield is asking the city attorney as well as the manager if claire fallon can be censored by membered the city council. very heated emotions in this one and we will keep you posted. live at the government center, steve crump wbtv on your side. >> thank you. right now a florida detective is in critical condition after he was shot several times while taking his son to school. and tonight a teenager is charged in that shooting. police say the detective pulled over 19-year-old kevin for driving erratically. that is when the teen pulled out a gun and started shooting. hitting the officer several times. you see the bull lot holes in the windshield. his son was inside the car. his mom said he would not do. the roommate said he stole the i bought it and got it for protection because kevin was scaring me. >> please, this

. >> christine: charlotte city council members putting off a vote what to do with the eastland mall site. they were set to vote whether to sell 11 acres to charlotte-mecklenburg school board so they could can a new school. it was pushed back to get public input. >>> council members signed off on an agreement to keep major airlines operating at charlotte douglas international airport, the lease will keep american, blue at the airport for the next decade. >>> council members voted to give the outgoing city manager a pay raise. approving a three month contract extension for ron carlee, that will help the city get through the budget season. the deal will give him a 20% raise. carlee's contract expires march 31st, new deal will run through june 30th. >> john: we told you about the north carolina mens college teams headed to the ncaa tournament. now we know some of the women will join them as well. south carolina is a no. 1 seed this year along with uconn, baylor and notre dame. north carolina a & t and u sc asheville making the tournament. congratulations ladies, delighted you're there and lo

charlotte has a good shot to get them. the austin statesman owned by channel 9's parent company is reporting the queen city has a chance. charlotte motor speedway in 13 and tells us the games would have been held at the dragway and the speedway. they couldn't confirm that the games are coming, but they are talking to espn. >> we've had some very preliminary discussions with them about what the future could look like moving ahead. >> according to the paper, the x games bumped more than $170 million into the austin economy. >>> traffic team 9 continuing to follow breaking news in concord where there's an overturned vehicle. this is happening at poplarton road near middlecrest drive. police told us the area is down to one lane with traffic alternating through the area. investigating. we do have a crew on the way right now. to get around that area, you can use mccally road instead of poplarton. use caution on either road. >>> weather wise pretty good day >> nice day, get ouz and enjoy it if you can. big changes are on the way as we head towards tomorrow. for this afternoon, though, warming up quickly. by midday 66 degrees, h

jail which he will do at the same time he is serving out the federal prison sentence. >>> former charlotte city council member david howard is several sources have confirmed to wbtv howard has accepted a role with the federalle highway administration. former charlotte mayor anthony foxx is the u.s. transportation secretary. howard is not comment about the job but sources say he is expected to start at the end of the month. >> john: thieves smashed their way in a store with a van. what is surprising they ignored expensive scooters that you see here and went for cheap cell phones and shoes. police are looking for the thieves, if you have any information call crimestoppers, 704-334-1600. >> christine: today is st. patrick's day, the highway patrol is using this holiday to crack down on drunk drivers. troopers will be out all weekend conducting sobriety check points across the state. law enforcement will be out looking for those who are drinking and driving. north carolina, because of alcohol-related crashes. be careful out there. >>> we're just getting started for you this morning. for the first t

live in east charlotte jim bradley. >> the city of charlotte what curfew in place for juveniles under 16 since 2011. children under the age of 13 cannot be in a public place or business without an adult from 10 p.m. until 6 a.m. any day of the week. now teens 1 to 15 can't be in a pub -- 13 to 15 can't be in a public place or business after 11. we have a link to the ordinance and a timeline of the violent look for this on the home page. >>> former charlotte mayor patrick cannon is still behind bars at the mecklenburg county jail after he pleaded guilty tovoter fraud yesterday. we have been checking with the jail but right now, it's stillnot clear when he will be taken back to federal prison in west virginiap he was brought to charlotte for the first time since he started to serve his 44 month sentence on corruption charges. his punishment for the voter fraud charge is 1 day behind bars and that will be included in his current prison term. because cannon is still in mecklenburg county it's not clear yet how much taxpayer money was spent total on his court appearance and his transportat

john and christine, back to you. >> john: looking ahead figures to be another busy night for charlotte city council. they are scheduled to vote on several issues including how to develop part of charlotte's eastland mall property. council could sell 11 acres to the school board to so a new elementary school can be built after previous plans for movie studio, park and recreational completion failed. two other big money projects are on the block, council members could vote on whether they will spend $2 million on renovations to discovery place. it would create two science and engineering labs plus upgrade the current 3d theater. also may vote to spend a million dollar on traffic control equipment. that monitor traffic for signal changes in the city. this would replace and upgrade parts of the old system. >> christine: more than 20 people hurt in a series of wrecks that involved more than 100 vehicles in central north carolina. troopers say the crashes shut down part of interstate 40 in alamance county yesterday evening. rain and wet roads were to blame for many of those crashes. the road reop

city challenge to get a $40 million grant. each finalist will receive $100,000 to hone their proposals for the final selection process in june. charlotte is up against 76 other cities. the cities all pitch their best ideas to make transportation safer, easier, and more reliable. the d.o.t. wants to see how cities would increase mobility, safety, and address climate change. city leaders told channel 9 they are confident charlotte has a shot at winning the $40 million and says the competition has created great conversations about transportation goals. last month channel 9 sat down tear and former charlotte mayor anthony fox. he said the city needs to come to a consensus on a strategy that embraces buses, light rail, streetcars, and new roads. the winner will be announced in june but this afternoon we are set to learn about the five finalists. we will let you know if charlotte is among them following the announcement this afternoon in austin, texas. you will be able to find those results on our website wsoctv.com as well as right here on the air. >>> taking a live look outside. check that out. a beautiful day. i think i see one cloud ther

bill: an update to tell you about the charlotte city council deferred voting the sale of the former eastland mall site. leaders have been talking about what to do with the site for quite some time to charlotte limburg board of education has officially submitted an offer. the plan for adult mall includes building residential and commercial buildings as well as a brand-new school. the city has spent 13 million bunks to buy that site. city leaders plan to discuss the issue in next issues zoning meeting. city council approved the one point 75 million-dollar agreement for renovations at discovery pastry the scienc science museum open and 81 and need serious updates to keep up with current technologies and innovations. the museum plans to upgrade its 3-d center create two new science labs and add new exhibits. discovery place hopes to on this year. kayla: coming up the latest technology to hit the banking industry. where you can test it out for yourself here live locally. hey ryan. >> the storms will push out tonight and we will see more dry but a big drop off bill: good evening and welcome back.

charlotte. we're still looking at problems up on brookshire boulevard, outbound away from center city charlotte. after a fatal accident, right near 485, if you're coming northbound on brookshire, you can make your way on to the inner loop of 485 but not going the outer loop and we've seen fairly significant delays heading northbound. little easier going south toward the city, coming north on 16, pleasant grove road over to belhaven and up to rozzelles ferry or mount holly-huntersville road, those are the best alternates around the fatal accident scene. 485 running in the green right now. seeing a few slow downs here on down to our south, south of 85 coming in toward berry hill and then looking in p to north of charlotte, an accident at beaties ford at tate, power lines are down on beaties ford at tate street, you will find delays along there. that is a check of traffic. >> christine: today, president obama continuing his historic trip to cuba. >> john: we have a look ahead to the schedule that includes a little history on the baseball diamond. >>> you're watching wbtv news we'll be right back. >

bill: an update to tell you about the charlotte city council former eastland mall site. leaders have been talking about what to do with the site for quite some time to charlotte limburg board of education has officially submitted an offer. the plan for adult mall includes building residential and commercial buildings as well as a brand-new school. the city has spent 13 million bunks to buy that site. city leaders plan to discuss the issue in next issues zoning meeting. city council approved the one point 75 million-dollar agreement for renovations at discovery pastry the scienc science museum open and 81 and need serious updates to keep up with current technologies and innovations. the museum plans to upgrade its 3-d center create two new science labs and add new exhibits. discovery place hopes to complete the renovations later on this year. kayla: coming up the latest technology to hit the banking where you can test it out for yourself here live locally. hey ryan. >> the storms will push out tonight and we will see more dry but a big drop bill: good evening and welcome b

city leaders were concerned with the developer and the questions about financing and q construction costs. charlotte's mayor is working to bring more after school programs to students in the t( queen city. mayor jennifer roberts held at missionary baptist church. the fade business and non profit community to figure out how to expand charlotte's after school programs. during her campaign she wants every child to have access to good quality programs. >> safe schools and grade level and. >> the mayor said she is also working with community and private t(partners to create an organization to help parents find quality programs. >>> charlotte has had a bike sharing program for three years and now it's growing fast. lawmakers on capitol hill are considering legislation to maintain it and allow vskties to tax to build and maintain rental bikes. the board would keep it available for bikers but tax payers should not be on the hook for bike share programs. it's one of the largest systems in the southeast. there are 200 blue bikes and 24 stations placed throughout uptown and surrounding neighborhoods. >>> clevela

live in north charlotte, britney johnson channel 9 eyewitness news. >>> today charlotte city council will decide whether a school should go up where the old eastland mall should be. >> the lot in east charlotte is 80 acres. were approved in a bond referendum, but neighbors have mixed emotions about the deal. >> when you talk about things that are economic drivers, schools aren't necessarily economic drivers. >> i feel the need in this area especially for education. >> the price tag on the deal is $650,000. >>> also tonight, city council will finalize plans they say will help people connect in growing neighborhoods. a grant last year paid for five porch swings that will go near busy bus stops. the city is putting them in areas that are diverse, like central avenue, to bridge the gap between long time neighbors and immigrants and millennials who are moving? >>> crews reopened i-4 after a string of crashes involving more than 100 vehicles. these are new pictures we are getting this morning. in one you can see a white suv, look at this. it is on top of some of those cars there. at least 2

a slate that could soon be filled in part should charlotte city council vote yes come monday. drivers. >> reporter: georgia veer says is to bring in new businesses. >> the thing with the school they are putting the cart were the horse. >> reporter: a look at the plan shows 11 acres of the site dedicated for a k-8 language school. >> i'm very pro having a school. >> reporter: for residents like theresa caesar one that couldn't come soon enough. >> i feel the need in this area especially for education. i've seen plans. i've seen all of these different proposals and proposals. so if the first step is building a school, let's do it. >> reporter: and the first vote is happening at the government center in uptown starting at 5:00. dashawn brown channel 9 eyewitness news. >>> a bessemer city woman accused of stealing multiple cars in the last two months will be in court tomorrow our partners at the gaston gazel says crystal mcmelon is charged with three counts of larceny and breaking and entering. he was charged earlier this year with breaking and entering a vehicle. >>> a belmont ma

the plan would eliminate city trash pick-up for all apartment and condo complexes with more than four units in charlotte. renters and owners would have to pay for an outside service. critics say it could lead to a spike in hoa fees and rent. city leaders say the plan would save the city millions. >>> state troopers are working to figure out what caused a deadly wrong-way crash on i- 485. it happened around 2:00 a.m. on sunday. state troopers say luis nacho was driving the wrong way and crashed into another car on the outer loop near providence road. the driver of the other car, victor cass tillo died. manacho was also killed. >>> north carolina has seen a rise in wrong-way crashes. troopers say they're up 34 percent. many of those cases involved alcohol. >>> an autopsy is scheduled today for a south carolina firefighter who died after he and it backed over him. it happened in horry county on sunday. south carolina's highway patrol is investigating what caused the accident. they are expected to release more details lair today. >>> this week, a three-judge panel could decide if slams to redraw congression

charlotte than this time yesterday. mostly in the lower 50s around the metro area, clear skies, that is our metro school camera in center city, dry conditions, excellent visibility. current temperature, 54 charlotte, but outlying areas are running cooler. 44 in albermarle. 44 salisbury, 47 in morganton, 41 boone, 45 in rock hill, 48 for chester, monroe, lancaster. 50 hickory and gastonia. we'll start from the low 50s in charlotte, lots of sunshine, a few high clouds around, going as yesterday, we broke a record yesterday, 86, today, 77, well above average. get set, we have very cool weather coming our way, just in time for the weekend, overnight lows in the 30s. talk about it seven day planner in a couple minutes. a minute past 5:00, check in with chris, first alert traffic. >> chris: first alert traffic charlotte. taking a live look this is i-85 near bruton smith, travel along 85 running smoothly once again, was closed down for a time overnight. coming in from rock hill, 22 minutes, concord to center city, 19 minute commute, lake norman southbound, 16 minutes, 63-miles-per-hour. as we roll over to the mapping system here, m

concord to center city, running 19 minutes and lake norman southbound 77, 15 minutes, 65-miles-per-hour there. looking at our charlotte area commute, 485, 77, 85 all running in the green this morning, no significant delays early on. john belk over to the brookshire looks good and 77 past center city also running in the green. that is a check of the morning traffic, john, back over to you. >> john: north carolina is in the national spotlight as voting begins this morning in the state's primaries. several races are on the ballot, including the presidential race for the democrats and republicans. wbtv's mark davenport is live at one of the polling places, covenant presbyterian church in charlotte. before they head out to the polls today? >> reporter: john, first things first, when the polls open and when they close, for all those early birds this morning, listen up, the polls open at 6:30 this morning if you're trying to get out of the house early get to the polls early, cast your vote you don't have to deal with it after you get out of work. for the people that wait until the last second like me, they are open until 7:3

charlotte city council passed an ordnance that would allow transgender people to use restrooms of the gender they would identify with. city lawmakers said that the ordnance is a threat to public safety. house members and the senate have suggested calling the special session in order to overturn this ordnance. governor pat mcrcrory is also against the ordnance saying it is a violation of privacy. he wants lawmakers to wait until a session starts april 25th to deal with the issue. part of his reasoning is because special session cost the state 4 # thousand a day. the senate has called on the attorney general to step in on this matter. members from charlotte city council many will be here for this press conference along with members of the aclu. their press conference is scheduled to take place at here outside the general assembly. >>> five cumberlan, do county have been disciplined for not arresting a trump supporter. it happened last week at the donald trump rally. deputies took jones to the ground but let 78 year-old john mcgraw return to his seat. the fail your to act will not be tol

the charlotte city council amended its nondiscrimination ordinance which will allow transgender people to use the bathroom of the gender they identify with. lawmakers do not reconvene at until april 25, so meant to ms. building for a special early session. steve: they are angry and demand the answers. residents believe their water may not the safe and they are getting charged a skyhigh price for it. the i-team has been investigating. angelica alvarez is live in butner. angelica? angelica: they are concerned, scared about the water quality. earlier, we went to a house in the golden pond community. he says they have never been comfortable using the water there. and every week if not every day, they are scrubbing their drains for what looks like black gunk. he says they have been told that it is ok to drink. he says the family drinks bottled water instead. >> it's clear to take a shower. so, we called the water company and asked the question, and nobody knows. angelica: hopefully tonight someone knows and can answer some questions. we will bring you the full story tonight 11:00. angelica

dog's owner said that the dog ran away from the day of the attack and hasn't been seen since. >>> charlotte city leaders are discussing a plan to turn part of the old eastland mall estate site into a school. they want to build a k through last week, city leaders decided to delay voting until april. >>> turning to weather, we have a gorgeous day and temperatures, they're nice and warm. vicki graf is here with a look. >>> that's right and if you can, get outside and enjoy the sunshine today, the warmer temperatures because changes are on the way. right now, not so bad. temperatures just updated in the past 15 minutes. 68 in charlotte and lincolnton and 69 in rockingham and 64 in jefferson. you don't need to worry about the layers as we go throughout the day today. we will make it to 76 degrees, well above average thanks to a south southwesterly wind from 10-15 miles per hour and if you have stepped outside, you will notice that it's windy. current wind speeds up to 15 miles per hour and as we go throughout the rest of the afternoon, we could see wind speeds up to 20 miles per hour and wind gusts u

charlotte city council voted to approve more than 300 new apartments along the light-rail line north of uptown. the complex will be at the parkwood station set to open in 2017. these are renderings filed as part of the rezones request. >> starbucks wants to donate all of the leftover food from the 7,000 u.s. locations. the company will aim to contribute 100% of all food leftover to feeding america which runs a network of food banks. the c.e.o. says the idea came from braries tas. meals. five mile meals. >> that get 5 million meals. >> that gets tricky with fresh foods but if they can get it to those in need. >> that is good to hear. hopefully others will follow suit. >> no question. the world's largest cruise company carnival is going to cuba. passengers will be expected to spend eight hours a day involved in a cultural experience it will be from miami and cost $1800 per person. i guess they must have the plans setup for you. put you on a plane and can do your eight hours cultural experience. >> that sounds like -- >> not labor. >> but i don't know. i need more details. for $1800 a p

city council could sell 11 acres to the charlotte-mecklenburg school board so the district can build a new elementary school. this comes after previous plans for a movie studio, park, recreational complex failed. the school board offering $600,000 for the land. city's appraised value but school board would pay for road and storm water improvements. >>> city council could also vote on whether to spend nearly $2 million on renovations at discovery place. comes as the museum celebrates 35 years uptown. the money would create two science and engineering labs plus upgrade the current 3d theater. more needs to be spent to keep pace with technology. >>> council may vote to spend a million dollars on traffic control equipment. 160 intersections have cameras that monitor traffic. would replace and upgrade parts of the old system. >>> on your side with a traffic alert this morning. crews will block two major roads in northeast charlotte during the night time hours this week. they will be working on construction of the lynx blue line extension light rail system. university boulevard closed at no

pun facilities privacy and security act is in response to the decision made by charlotte city council. ate loud transgender people use public rest rooms based on their gender identity. it requires people to use bathrooms that correspond to the gender on their birth certificate. but senate my north leader dan blue says it excludes gays and lesbians from discrimination protection. republican supporters of the bill say the charlotte city ordinance puts women and children in danger. >>> a texas mother has no choice but to bring her baby to her college class, after her baby-sitting arrangements fell through but someone else stepped in with opened arms. three three-year old katie humphrey showed up late to class, her professor said it was okay to bring her baby, and then her four month-old started to fuss in class, well, that is when baylor university professor darren willabee walk over to scoop the baby up. isn't that nice. speaking of babies, gerber wants to you toss out its baby food from those popular pouches, sit gerber or gerber. you can tell i don't have a baby, sorry. because of the

the quick action police took discovering the whole thing was a scam. >> a charlotte city council member getting some heat for using a charlotte fire union leader as her intern. next, the letter that prompted an investigation. and why the councilwoman says it shouldn't be an issue. >> checking wall street futures the dow is up >>> right now. charlotte city leaders told channel 9 there are no plans right now for any disciplinary action as they investigate a city councilwoman's choice for an intern. city manager ron carlee warned claire fallon the intern arrangement with marty pucket goes against the city's charter, carlee says it's unlawful and a conflict of interest. pucket is a cfd employee and the vice president of the charlotte firefighters' association. it shouldn't be an issue fallon says. >> they try to bully me and tell me i can't have this and i can't do this. oh yes i can. the people elected me. >> this letter prompted the part -- she says that she asked her intern to help her forward this letter to council the city attorney and the city manager. city officials say attorneys are

the new lease will need to be approved by charlotte's city council. it's on the agenda for monday night's meeting. the contract is set to begin july 1. >>> the race for the newly drawn congressional district 12 is clearer tonight. allison latos has more on the major change that incumbent alma adams is trying to make. allison? >> reporter: today, alma adams announce that does she would run against former senator malcolm graham. this comes after the congressional district was redrawn to include only mecklenburg count yes she she said she plans to make the move here. she told supporters she is committed to local voters even though she lives more than 100 miles away. she told channel 9, she is out of touch with the people of mecklenburg. >> you would have to get to know new people. >> alma adams does not live in charlotte. how can you represent a constituent of people with no relationship to them? >> reporter: in the democratic primary, the last time that adams and graham faced off, graham won by a 3-1 margin but the big support from greensboro got her th