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Michael Graff on Muck Rack

Michael Graff

Verified
Charlotte
As seen in: The Charlotte Optimist, LinkedIn, Medium, MSN, The Guardian, The Atlantic, ESPN, POLITICO, Axios Atlanta, Flipboard, SB Nation and
Founder, The Charlotte Optimist (launching spring 2025). Most recent: Southern bureau chief, Axios. Also: Co-author, THE VOTE COLLECTORS.
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Articles

The Many Jim Nobles

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By Michael Graff Verified
| The Charlotte Optimist Verified
The squatters have been here. Jim Noble is walking us through the 13 acres off of Freedom Drive, out west where the road is still two lanes, where he wants to build 32 houses for people who have nowhere to live, when he hears a sign of trouble. “What’s that? Water? You hear that?” He looks to his right and sees water gushing from the foundation of one of the three houses still standing on the property.
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’20 years is like 20 minutes’: What Chicago can teach Charlotte in a hurry

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By Michael Graff Verified
| The Charlotte Optimist Verified
On a misty morning 750 miles from home, my walk is haphazard. I start by finding water, because water always goes somewhere, then follow it toward the fuzzy, gray sunrise. The street dead-ends at an elevated pocket neighborhood, where a sidewalk steers to a pocket park that cascades down a 50-foot slope, dumping me out under a highway, and into the lakefront park.
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Charlotte’s Optimism Gap

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By Michael Graff Verified
| The Charlotte Optimist Verified
A few weeks ago a reader responded to my column on the recent school board mess with a reasonable assessment on their dwindling hope for our city. They said they saw institutions that aren’t functioning properly — specifically naming the school board, city council, and judicial system — and wondered if I might consider changing this publication’s name to the Charlotte Realist.
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