With the Democratic National Convention kicking off, Charlotte’s week in the sun has come. 

Of course, the illumination of the host city may be more artificial than natural as broadcasters from around the world come to town with their high intensity tv lights in tow.  The thousands of reporters, delegates and convention-related visitors will all have their own opinions about the Queen City. 

But none could be more thoughtful or informed that the views offered during my special Charlotte-DNC edition of Beyond the Headlines by four esteemed North Carolinians with close ties to host city as well as to the Triangle: Jill Dinwiddie, former head of the NC Council for Women; Marion Sullivan, Senior Advisor to Gov. Perdue; Rob Harrington, partner at Robinson Bradshaw and President of the Mecklenburg Bar; and Walter Dellinger, former Solicitor General of the United States.  You can hear the discussion here:
 

And if you want more background on Charlotte and the Convention, you can listen below to a replay of my show from two years ago predicting (correctly!) that Charlotte would be picked and previewing what it means to serve as the host city.