Fifteen years ago the big issues facing Charlotte and Mecklenburg were traffic, pupil assignment and where to build a new sports arena. Now, at the dawn of the new millennium, the issues are, well, pretty much the same. Not that things haven't changed.
Traffic is worse.
Most of the political players are different. So are the contexts of the debates. Back then, for example, the Charlotte Hornets weren't even a gleam in the public eye. Now they're the ones pushing hardest for a new uptown arena. The area's phenomenal growth.