Always Last... To Breaking News!
Staff Writer
Staff writer for The Charlotte Mercury covering government, elections, public safety, and development across multiple publications. Beckett has filed more than 600 stories on local policy, crime, zoning, and civic accountability in Connecticut and the Carolinas.
Charlotte City Council gets its first public presentation Monday on the airport's proposed new lease with five airlines. Its cost, its length and what the airlines would pay have not been made public.
Jack Beckett·Oct 10, 2026
CATS Micro, the transit system's on-demand shared van service, started a new zone around Wilkinson Boulevard and West Boulevard on Oct. 5. Rides cost $2.20 and are booked by app or phone.
Jack Beckett·Oct 9, 2026
More than 2,900 people have been killed or seriously injured on Charlotte-area roads since 2021, the city says. A regional survey asking where roads feel unsafe closes Oct. 25.
Jack Beckett·Oct 9, 2026
Layne Riggs has the most Truck Series wins this season and the worst average finish in the playoff so far. He returns to Charlotte, where he won in May, 37 points behind Kaden Honeycutt.
Jack Beckett·Oct 9, 2026
The Charlotte Knights show "Shrek" on the Truist Field outfield tonight, Friday, Oct. 9. Gates open at 6:30 p.m., the movie starts at 7:30, tickets are $10 plus tax, and proceeds go to Charlotte…
Jack Beckett·Oct 9, 2026
The Panthers have scored more points through four games than any team in franchise history and reached the bye at 2-2, tied for first in the NFC South.
Jack Beckett·Oct 8, 2026
The 12-page agreement behind the I-77 South toll lanes commits at least $300 million to west Charlotte and makes the private developer responsible for putting it up.
Jack Beckett·Oct 8, 2026
The Checkers fell behind 2-0 in the first period at Hershey on Sunday and lost 3-2, splitting the season-opening series. They killed all six Hershey power plays, and Tyler Muszelik made 20 saves in…
Jack Beckett·Oct 6, 2026
Tetairoa McMillan caught 14 passes for 192 yards, Chuba Hubbard ran for 122 and two touchdowns, and Detroit settled for four field goals in Carolina's 32-26 win.
Jack Beckett·Oct 5, 2026
Nate Smith scored three goals, the first hat trick of his pro career, and Cooper Black made 30 saves as the Checkers opened the season with a 5-2 win at Hershey.
Jack Beckett·Oct 3, 2026
The Charlotte Checkers won 44 games last season and were out of the playoffs in three. They open Saturday at Hershey with the same coach, a new top scorer to find and 11 players who cleared NHL…
Jack Beckett·Oct 2, 2026
Dates, start times, arenas and results for all 72 games on the Charlotte Checkers' 2026-27 schedule, including 36 home dates at Bojangles Coliseum.
Jack Beckett·Oct 2, 2026
The Panthers placed cornerbacks Jaycee Horn and Mike Jackson on injured reserve four days before Sunday night's game against Detroit, leaving three cornerbacks on the active roster.
Jack Beckett·Oct 1, 2026
Panthers long snapper J.J. Jansen has played 280 straight games, all for Carolina. Three more would pass Jim Marshall for the third-longest streak in NFL history, on Oct. 25 at home against Tampa Bay.
Jack Beckett·Oct 1, 2026
A week after firing Crystal Hill, the Charlotte-Mecklenburg school board voted 6-2 to create a four-member search committee. The two no votes said the board should examine its own governance first.
Jack Beckett·Sep 30, 2026
Carolina led 18-13 when Akayleb Evans intercepted Deshaun Watson in the end zone with 2:36 left. A roughing-the-passer penalty wiped it out, and Cleveland scored the winning touchdown with 1:48 to…
Jack Beckett·Sep 29, 2026
Charlotte made the two Sugaw Creek Presbyterian Church cemeteries historic landmarks Monday. Researchers told council that more than 500 enslaved people are believed buried just outside them in…
Jack Beckett·Sep 29, 2026
Before voters decide on a $125 million housing bond in November, city staff laid out how the money would be split, with new goals for homes near transit and in higher-opportunity neighborhoods.
Jack Beckett·Sep 29, 2026
Council voted on four annexations Monday under a policy adopted in 2003. Staff said the city has never used annexation to ask for affordable housing, and its lawyers have warned that doing so could…
Jack Beckett·Sep 29, 2026
Charlotte made the vacant office tower at 301 S. Tryon a historic landmark, which lets its owners defer half the property tax on the designated portion while they convert it to homes and a hotel.
Jack Beckett·Sep 29, 2026
Starting Nov. 1, Charlotte residents under 18 must be off the streets by 10 p.m., with exceptions, under a pilot that runs through August 2027.
Jack Beckett·Sep 29, 2026
Charlotte BookPalooza fills Truist Field on Saturday, Oct. 10, with 86 indie authors, local booksellers and a day of activities for readers.
Jack Beckett·Sep 28, 2026
FabFest, Charlotte's Beatles festival, returns Oct. 2 and 3: a ticketed tribute concert Friday night at the Knight Theater and a free Saturday of music, contests and family activities at CPCC.
Jack Beckett·Sep 28, 2026
Kaden Honeycutt led 111 of 134 laps at Kansas Speedway and turned a three-point deficit into a 37-point lead in the Truck Series Chase.
Jack Beckett·Sep 27, 2026
The regional transportation board reinstated the $4.3 billion I-77 South toll lane project Wednesday, with a $69.5 million state bill hanging over any town that kept voting no.
Jack Beckett·Sep 24, 2026
The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Board of Education fired Superintendent Crystal Hill 5-4 on Tuesday without stating a cause, then released its own report finding no improper conduct by her.
Jack Beckett·Sep 23, 2026
Shea Groom's 63rd-minute header was the only goal on 25 Carolina shots, and the 1-0 win over Brooklyn FC kept Carolina Ascent first in the Gainbridge Super League, four points clear with a match in…
Jack Beckett·Sep 23, 2026
Joey Logano came from fourth on the final restart for his 40th Cup Series win. Ryan Blaney, who led 202 laps, crashed out while racing Carson Hocevar for second and traded punches with him on pit road.
Jack Beckett·Sep 21, 2026
Jake Garcia, who finished 11 points short of the Truck Series playoff field, won the UNOH 250 at Bristol for his first career victory.
Jack Beckett·Sep 21, 2026
Sheldon Creed passed William Sawalich on an overtime restart and won the Food City 300 at Bristol by 0.253 seconds, leading only the final three laps.
Jack Beckett·Sep 21, 2026
A week after giving up 59 points to Chicago, the Panthers forced five turnovers and held Atlanta to a field goal in a 34-3 win.
Jack Beckett·Sep 21, 2026
Three weeks after Dolly Parton's death, Mecklenburg County has named Friday, Sept. 25, Dolly Parton Day. Smart Start, which mails free books from her Imagination Library to children across the…
Jack Beckett·Sep 16, 2026
The state's claim against Charlotte for walking away from the I-77 South toll lanes is $69,577,547.67, and the money would come out of the fund the city has already programmed for its next affordable…
Jack Beckett·Sep 15, 2026
The Chicago Bears beat the Carolina Panthers 59-37 at Bank of America Stadium on Sunday, the highest-scoring season opener in NFL history.
Jack Beckett·Sep 13, 2026
Jesse Love took the lead with fifteen laps to go and won the Nu Way 225 at World Wide Technology Raceway, his first victory of 2026. Sheldon Creed finished second and left St.
Jack Beckett·Sep 13, 2026
The Charlotte Checkers open at home Friday, Oct. 16 against the Hartford Wolf Pack, and individual tickets are on sale for a 36-date home season.
Jack Beckett·Sep 11, 2026
A 2-1 win at Stade Saputo leaves Charlotte fifth in the East and unbeaten in six. Pep Biel reached ten goals and ten assists, one of three players in MLS to do it this year.
Jack Beckett·Sep 10, 2026
The Knights gave away more than 2,000 tickets for Friday, the twenty-fifth September 11. The game-worn jerseys go to a foundation named for an FDNY firefighter from Engine 217, run out of Waxhaw for…
Jack Beckett·Sep 10, 2026
An emergency slide deployed from the Qatari-gifted 747 now flying as Air Force One, on the side of the plane the president does not use.
Jack Beckett·Sep 9, 2026
Bell won the Cook Out Southern 500 by 1.038 seconds over Ty Gibbs, his first victory in 33 races and the end of a season with seven runner-up finishes.
Jack Beckett·Sep 7, 2026
Carolina Ascent scored three times inside 40 minutes and shut out Fort Lauderdale United for its first home win of the season.
Jack Beckett·Sep 7, 2026
Jeremy Clements has more starts than anyone in the history of NASCAR's second national series, and says the hardest part of the job is funding, not driving.
Jack Beckett·Sep 6, 2026
Thirty-eight cars started Saturday night's Fleetio 200. Twenty-nine were Chevrolets, seven were Toyotas, and the one Ford went out with a brake problem after 21 laps.
Jack Beckett·Sep 6, 2026
Creed led the final 53 laps and won Saturday night's Fleetio 200 by 2.961 seconds, his second career win in the series. Allgaier led more laps than anyone, hit the wall with 23 to go and finished 17th.
Jack Beckett·Sep 6, 2026
Ashley Westwood was booked twice for dissent inside the same minute on Saturday, and Charlotte FC's captain is suspended for Wednesday's trip to CF Montréal.
Jack Beckett·Sep 6, 2026
Charlotte's last six games at Truist Field this season all fall between Tuesday and Saturday, September 8 to 12, against Buffalo.
Jack Beckett·Sep 5, 2026
Charlotte FC sold its exclusive right to sign Damion Downs, a 22-year-old United States international forward, to St. Louis CITY SC for $350,000 on the last day of Major League Soccer's transfer…
Jack Beckett·Sep 5, 2026
Justin Allgaier ended the regular season 229 points clear. The Chase reset left him 25 ahead of teammate Carson Kvapil going into Saturday's Fleetio 200 at Darlington, where Allgaier has four spring…
Jack Beckett·Sep 5, 2026
The NASCAR O'Reilly Auto Parts Series opens its first Chase on Saturday night at Darlington. The 12 drivers, the reset points, the track history, the tire and the schedule.
Jack Beckett·Sep 5, 2026
Sieg led two laps at Daytona, the last two of the race. He arrived holding the series record for most runner-up finishes without a win, and he leaves the regular season 15th in points, outside the…
Jack Beckett·Aug 29, 2026
Over his last 11 games, Andy Weber has 12 hits, and eight of them went for extra bases. The Charlotte Knights second baseman is slugging .757 in that span against .481 for the season, and August is…
Jack Beckett·Aug 28, 2026
At its last meeting before the September 23 reinstatement vote, CRTPO heard that Charlotte's position on the I-77 South toll lanes is unchanged, that the alternatives analysis cannot finish in time…
Jack Beckett·Aug 26, 2026
Council approved neither a new curfew nor a pilot Monday. Charlotte's police chief asked to explore a test of the 9 p.m. rule, while members proposed different measures, limits, and timelines.
Jack Beckett·Aug 25, 2026
CMS opened the 2026-27 school year Tuesday. At eight schools, the board's August 11 Program Choice votes make it the final year for nine magnet and choice programs, with replacements arriving on a…
Jack Beckett·Aug 25, 2026
The Knights closed a 5-7 road trip with a series split in Moosic and come home at 67-59. Six straight against Memphis at Truist Field start tonight at 6:35.
Jack Beckett·Aug 25, 2026
NASCAR published two sets of Truck Series standings one minute apart on Saturday, the same ten drivers in the same order, with Layne Riggs on 825 points and then on 2,100.
Jack Beckett·Aug 25, 2026
Ryan Blaney made a late two-tire call last for 74 laps at New Hampshire, holding off Bubba Wallace as the Chase cutoff tightened behind them.
Jack Beckett·Aug 24, 2026
Carolina beat Jacksonville 34-17 in preseason Week 2. Bryce Young completed 5 of 6 passes and Jonathon Brooks scored.
Jack Beckett·Aug 23, 2026
Buffalo beat Carolina 29-14 in preseason Week 1. The Panthers scored on passes from Kenny Pickett and Kyle Trask.
Jack Beckett·Aug 23, 2026
Carolina beat Arizona 33-30 in the 2026 Hall of Fame Game after Haynes King scored on a 5-yard run as time expired.
Jack Beckett·Aug 23, 2026
Friesen finished fourth in the Truck Series regular-season finale at New Hampshire, the best result of any driver outside the playoff field, and still missed the ten-driver Chase by seven points.
Jack Beckett·Aug 23, 2026
The Panthers list 91 players across the three lists subject to the August 30 reduction. Track the active roster, official moves, final 53 and waiver claims.
Jack Beckett·Aug 22, 2026
The Knights' 2027 home schedule puts the Chicago Cubs' Triple-A affiliate in Uptown for the first time, opens March 30 against Memphis, and keeps all three holiday weekends at home.
Jack Beckett·Aug 20, 2026
Petition 2026-019 cleared all four criteria that put a Charlotte rezoning on the consent agenda, where petitions pass together without discussion. It came off the list anyway.
Jack Beckett·Aug 20, 2026
Charlotte trailed by seven going into the eighth Tuesday night at Scranton/Wilkes-Barre and won 9-8 in ten innings, the largest come-from-behind win of the Knights' season.
Jack Beckett·Aug 19, 2026
Kyle Larson finished sixth after starting 30th at Richmond, then flew to Iowa and led all 50 laps to win his fourth Knoxville Nationals title.
Jack Beckett·Aug 16, 2026
MPTA unanimously ordered a separate planning study for a possible future West Craighead infill station. The action leaves the current 11-station Red Line plan unchanged while requiring CATS to begin…
Jack Beckett·Aug 13, 2026
CMS will bar independent YouTube use for K-2 students, but YouTube will not be technically blocked on their school devices.
Jack Beckett·Aug 13, 2026
CMS says Crystal Hill will return as superintendent after an independent review. The board says the review found issues that still require attention, but it did not explain them at its Aug. 11 meeting.
Jack Beckett·Aug 12, 2026
Charlotte opened its 12-game road trip with an 8-6 comeback win at Rochester, moving one game above .500 against teams other than Durham.
Jack Beckett·Aug 12, 2026
Charlotte FC conceded once in three Phase One matches, but Pachuca’s stoppage-time winner left the club waiting on the rest of the Leagues Cup table.
Jack Beckett·Aug 12, 2026
Charlotte has until September 1 to seek a share of nearly $300 million through DOJ’s Model Cities Initiative. Applying requires local signatures, federal collaboration and an immigration…
Jack Beckett·Aug 11, 2026
The Charlotte Knights finished 14-4 against Durham and 62-52 overall. Remove those 18 games and Charlotte is exactly 48-48 against everyone else, with a 12-game road trip beginning Tuesday.
Jack Beckett·Aug 10, 2026
Charlotte FC enters its final Leagues Cup Phase One match with six points, five goals and two clean sheets. CF Pachuca is the final test Tuesday.
Jack Beckett·Aug 10, 2026
Kvapil led only nine laps at Iowa. They were the last nine, and his second consecutive win showed what 63 winless starts had built.
Jack Beckett·Aug 10, 2026
Ty Gibbs won at Iowa with a two-tire call built on the No. 54 team's own data. One year after sitting 16th in points, he is second. The change is not just speed.
Jack Beckett·Aug 10, 2026
A federal penalty tied to North Carolina's food-assistance error rate could take $30 million to $42 million a year out of Mecklenburg County's budget, and the county will owe a share of it even if…
Jack Beckett·Aug 7, 2026
Charlotte has until October 5 to reverse itself on the I-77 South toll lanes or absorb a penalty the legislature wrote in July: a state bill the city attorney puts at $64 million, a freeze on its…
Jack Beckett·Aug 5, 2026
Charlotte FC's development side beat Red Bull New York II 3-0 on Friday and sits first in the MLS NEXT Pro Eastern Conference with 40 points from 19 matches, one clear of Columbus Crew 2 with a match…
Jack Beckett·Jul 29, 2026
Heim held off Christopher Bell by 0.287 seconds at Indianapolis and led more laps than anyone in the field. He is the defending Truck Series champion, declared for points in that series, and the…
Jack Beckett·Jul 27, 2026
Charlotte FC won 2-0 at Red Bull New York on Saturday, its first win at that ground, completing a two-match season series it took by a combined 8-1.
Jack Beckett·Jul 26, 2026
The Charlotte Knights won five of six games from the Norfolk Tides at Truist Field, clinched the series with a game to spare, and left for a six-game trip to Nashville at 55-47.
Jack Beckett·Jul 26, 2026
Lionel Messi, Son Heung-Min and Thomas Müller are on the 29-player MLS All-Star roster for Wednesday night at Bank of America Stadium.
Jack Beckett·Jul 26, 2026
Kvapil came in tied for the most runner-up finishes without a win in series history. He led the last 22 laps at Indianapolis to end it, and JR Motorsports took the next three spots behind him.
Jack Beckett·Jul 26, 2026
Riggs gave up the lead once, for two laps, and immediately took it back. He led the other 198, swept both stages and left Indianapolis Raceway Park 100 points clear with two races left before the…
Jack Beckett·Jul 26, 2026
The team has put a car in the top 10 in 78 straight races. One more ties the all-time mark. Chase Elliott is in the car on the oval where his father won the Brickyard 400.
Jack Beckett·Jul 25, 2026
Hamlin has seven wins across NASCAR's four biggest races and none of them is the Brickyard 400. A win Sunday makes him the fifth driver ever to complete the set.
Jack Beckett·Jul 25, 2026
Ty Majeski has two wins and the best average finish in the track's history. His team has not won in 40 races. The next three races are the three best ovals of his career.
Jack Beckett·Jul 24, 2026
George Dunlap, the District 3 member of the Mecklenburg Board of County Commissioners, was sworn in Monday as president of the National Association of Counties.
Jack Beckett·Jul 21, 2026
Joey Logano led 323 of 450 laps and beat Denny Hamlin by 0.859 seconds to win the Window World 450, the first NASCAR Cup Series points race at North Wilkesboro Speedway in 30 years.
Jack Beckett·Jul 20, 2026
Kaulig Racing brought five Ram trucks home between 21st and 29th at North Wilkesboro, in Ram's first NASCAR season after a 13-year absence.
Jack Beckett·Jul 18, 2026
Chandler Smith led the final 105 laps of the FaithFest 250 for his ninth career Truck Series win at North Wilkesboro, beating his own Front Row Motorsports teammate and points leader Layne Riggs to…
Jack Beckett·Jul 18, 2026
Timothy "Mini" Tyrrell won his NASCAR ride on a reality show. His teammate Brenden Queen leads Rookie of the Year. Underneath the branding, Kaulig's Ram truck team is a roster of short-track kids…
Jack Beckett·Jul 17, 2026
North Wilkesboro hosts its first Cup Series points race since 1996, and Denny Hamlin's shrinking lead lands at a short track no one has a modern read on. A preview of Sunday's Window World 450.
Jack Beckett·Jul 17, 2026
Grant Enfinger backed into a Lime Rock win and a playoff spot. At North Wilkesboro he defends it from a pack of short-track natives, including Kaulig's Brenden Queen and Justin Haley.
Jack Beckett·Jul 17, 2026
The Smithsonian's "¡Pleibol!" opens Saturday at the Charlotte Museum of History, in partnership with the Charlotte Knights, and runs through October 18.
Jack Beckett·Jul 17, 2026
The regional board that killed the I-77 South toll lanes in May will vote September 23 on bringing them back, under a state budget that told the governments that opposed them to reinstate the project…
Jack Beckett·Jul 16, 2026
The City Council's Safety Committee voted unanimously to send the full council a single 9 p.m. curfew for everyone under 18, replacing the current age-tiered rules.
Jack Beckett·Jul 15, 2026
Justin Allgaier came from 16th through 13 cautions and three red flags to win the Focused Health 250 at Atlanta, his sixth O'Reilly Series win of the season.
Jack Beckett·Jul 13, 2026
Ryan Blaney led 171 of 263 laps, kept handing the lead back to the pack, and took it for good in overtime to win a rain-delayed Quaker State 400 at Atlanta's EchoPark Speedway.
Jack Beckett·Jul 13, 2026
