Atrium, Novant and a new Duke Health–CaroMont partnership have filed for 686 new hospital beds in Mecklenburg County. The state says the county needs 389. We look at why Charlotte has become a land grab for health systems, and at the catch: the beds the state approved here last year are still held up by an appeal. Plus: the attorney general takes more than 470 complaints about gas prices since the state gas tax was suspended, the Hornets open the season with a win in Brooklyn, and Michelin's 2026 guide to the American South names 17 Charlotte restaurants, including a Bib Gourmand pick on Shamrock Drive.

CLT Daily — Charlotte's independent daily briefing. New episodes every morning. cltdaily.com

Sources this episode: Becker's Hospital Review, The Charlotte Ledger, WFAE, North Carolina Health News, Carolina Public Press, NC Department of Health and Human Services, the MICHELIN Guide, WSOC, Axios Charlotte

CLT Daily is written, hosted and produced by Steve Bouboulis, an independent journalist covering the Queen City. Got a tip, a document, or a story the city isn't telling? Reach him on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stevebouboulis/

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