Two Cities, Two Different Downtown Woes

CHARLOTTE — Two North Carolina communities face different challenges downtown. Greensboro’s center city, after years of decline, recently has become an after-hours hot spot. With the new-found popularity has come increased vandalism, with which the city is dealing. Chapel Hill, meanwhile, faces the opposite problem: a flagging downtown with fewer visitors and businesses. A new public-private plan to help revitalize the center city is encountering unexpected difficulties before construction begins. In other local news, Gaston voters said no last month to a sales-tax hike, while Charlotteans face worsening street conditions.