David Hodges
Investigative Reporter
Charlotte, NC
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David tries to accomplish two things on ever story he tells - shed light on hidden issues and help people in need.
As an investigative reporter he focuses on covering local government and consumer issues.
He started his investigative reporting career at NBC 2 in Fort Myers, FL. While there, David uncovered law enforcement were illegally conducting video surveillance that wasn’t disclosed to the courts, exposed a taxpayer funded city council donation fund used to give money to churches and non-profits and revealed numerous problems with rules and regulations that hold shady contractors accountable.
His first job in television was at WFFF in Burlington, Vt. That's where he covered local and state government and started a “You Paid For It” series highlighting questionable uses of taxpayer money.
David moved to Charlotte with his wife who is a mental health therapist specializing in helping children in crisis.
Originally from Jacksonville, FL, David is a huge Jacksonville Jaguars fan (sorry, David!). Since he has no true loyalty to an NBA team he decided to adopt the Charlotte Hornets. More than anything he's excited about getting to know the people of Charlotte and helping the people who need it.
Education
Updated: 21 hours ago
|By David Hodges
WBTV used CMPD incident reports to track catalytic converter thefts and theft of motor vehicle parts across Charlotte.
Updated: Mar. 30, 2023 at 3:16 PM EDT
|By David Hodges
In an interview with WBTV on Tuesday, Republican Councilman Ed Driggs said the city needs to regain the trust of voters after a series of debacles at CATS that raise questions about transparency. Driggs also told WBTV that the Blue Line is safe after one of the cars derailed in May of 2022 but was kept secret from the public for nearly a year.
Updated: Mar. 27, 2023 at 5:38 PM EDT
|By David Hodges
Records from NCDOT show the failure of the previous CATS regime to complete the ‘overhaul’ maintenance was the root cause of one of the light rail vehicles derailing last year.
Updated: Mar. 22, 2023 at 10:17 PM EDT
|By David Hodges
More troubling news about safety was presented to members of the Metropolitan Transit Commission.
Updated: Mar. 20, 2023 at 4:26 PM EDT
|By David Hodges
Officials from NCDOT who reviewed the report offered blistering critiques of some of CATS’ initial findings and found that failure to immediately perform midlife and truck overhauls of the trains was “not acceptable.”
Updated: Mar. 16, 2023 at 5:59 PM EDT
|By David Hodges
The WBTV Investigates Team has been telling your stories about crippling medical debt for years. Now, those stories are getting the attention of local and state leaders who want to protect patients.
Updated: Mar. 15, 2023 at 6:52 PM EDT
|By David Hodges
Although Charlotte city councilmembers only recently learned about the derailment, public records show the “midlife overhaul” plan to prevent this type of derailment from happening, was delayed again and again.
Updated: Mar. 13, 2023 at 9:58 AM EDT
|By David Hodges and Danielle Chemtob
The city of Charlotte has become less transparent with the public and media, giving fewer opportunities for reporters to interview high-level officials, and leaving records requests unfulfilled for years.
Updated: Mar. 9, 2023 at 7:17 PM EST
|By David Hodges
A city spokesperson confirms Allen Smith is no longer the Chief Operating Officer of CATS, making him the third top CATS official to be removed from a post in the last five months.
Updated: Mar. 6, 2023 at 5:10 PM EST
|By David Hodges
The Chair of the Waxhaw Police Foundation wrote in a statement that they will work with an attorney on winding down and dissolving the charity. The decision came a little more than a month after Town of Waxhaw elected officials decided voted to force financial transparency from the Foundation.
Updated: Feb. 27, 2023 at 6:10 PM EST
|By David Hodges
WBTV had a lot of questions after our reporting found salvaged vehicles for sale on the dealership website for Nissan of Shelby.
Updated: Feb. 21, 2023 at 7:15 PM EST
|By David Hodges
WBTV spoke with the President of the Colorado HOA Forum about how the group organized and advocated for changes in state statute to protect homeowners.
Updated: Feb. 16, 2023 at 8:27 PM EST
|By David Hodges
The WBTV Investigates Team is uncovering the scope and impact of developer-controlled associations, called declarant control. It allows developers to profit off the sale of new homes while simultaneously appointing HOA board members to manage the homeowner fees.
Updated: Feb. 2, 2023 at 5:54 PM EST
|By David Hodges
A WBTV Investigation tracks the rise of catalytic converter thefts and seeks possible solutions to protect car owners.
Updated: Jan. 23, 2023 at 6:20 PM EST
|By David Hodges
A medida que la población hispana/latina crece rápidamente en Carolina del Norte, una investigación de WBTV revela que las barreras lingüísticas para los hablantes limitados de inglés continúan persistiendo en el gobierno local y estatal.
Updated: Jan. 23, 2023 at 6:20 PM EST
|By David Hodges
US Census data shows the Hispanic/Latino non-English speaking population has progressively grown in Mecklenburg County. In 2010, the number of Latinos who spoke English “not well” or “not at all” was roughly 30,000. In 2020, the number was closer to 43,000.
Updated: Jan. 12, 2023 at 6:30 PM EST
|By David Hodges
Since WBTV started investigating, the charity announced it is placing donors’ contributions into a secure bank account before taking any more steps.
Updated: Dec. 23, 2022 at 2:31 PM EST
|By David Hodges
During a news briefing Friday, city officials said CATS CFO Blanche Sherman resigned but claimed the resignation was unrelated to the assesssment or any other review.
Updated: Dec. 22, 2022 at 4:59 PM EST
|By David Hodges
The investigation into Councilmember James "Smuggie" Mitchell's potential conflict of interest is completed by the North Carolina State Bereau Investigate. Now it’s up to the District Attorney to decide if a crime is being committed.
Updated: Dec. 15, 2022 at 5:12 PM EST
|By David Hodges
A private inspector found so many problems that were not identified by county inspectors that the permit was reopened for the general contractor to fix the defects.
Updated: Dec. 12, 2022 at 11:01 AM EST
|By David Hodges
Changes that were coming to CATS are now in question as city leaders gear up for a huge year of important transit decisions that is make or break for many of the city's goals.
Updated: Dec. 5, 2022 at 4:18 PM EST
|By David Hodges
A dearth of rules and regulations in North Carolina over developers and community associations put homeowners at risk according to Charlotte attorney James Galvin, who represents homeowners in cases involving their association.
Updated: Nov. 23, 2022 at 5:30 PM EST
|By David Hodges
The records show CEO Jayson Waller and other top officials within in the company were driving luxury cars worth hundreds of thousands of dollars on the company dime.
Updated: Nov. 22, 2022 at 5:30 PM EST
|By David Hodges
Attorneys for Pink Energy customers doubt the bankruptcy proceedings will result in much settlement money and are instead turning to the companies holding the loans.
Updated: Nov. 15, 2022 at 5:38 PM EST
|By David Hodges
Records uncovered by WBTV show CATS’ General Manager of Rail Operations and Facilities Division was facing intense scrutiny for safety decisions and protocols before arriving in Charlotte.
Updated: Nov. 14, 2022 at 5:28 PM EST
|By David Hodges
In 2021, Goode received a letter from Beaufort Memorial notifying her that they were going to collect on an unpaid medical bill by garnishing her tax refund. She decided the garnishment attempt was worth fighting.
Updated: Nov. 10, 2022 at 5:41 PM EST
|By David Hodges
The records show CATS leaders only started demanding more accountability and better bus service after WBTV’s reporting on the problems plaguing the bus system.
Updated: Oct. 25, 2022 at 5:14 PM EDT
|By David Hodges
A new report shows that many hospitals are actually making money off of Medicare, raising new questions about why the price you pay keeps rising.
Charlotte company was practically banned from towing. Records show they still towed hundreds of cars
Updated: Oct. 24, 2022 at 5:30 PM EDT
|By David Hodges
A WBTV Investigation now reveals Satterfield and Automobile Recovery and Parking Enforcement have towed hundreds of cars since the injunction filed against him by the North Carolina Department of Justice.
Updated: Oct. 18, 2022 at 7:40 PM EDT
|By David Hodges
Lawsuits and complaints against solar power company Pink Energy, formerly known as Power Home Solar, point to flaws and failures in the process of securing loans that left customers financially compromised.
Updated: Oct. 17, 2022 at 6:27 PM EDT
|By David Hodges
Our investigation follows months of bus operators raising safety concerns and claims from CATS CEO John Lewis that CATS buses and transit centers are safe.
Updated: Oct. 13, 2022 at 3:30 PM EDT
|By David Hodges
His resignation comes after the WBTV Investigates Team has been digging into problems with the city’s bus system for months and revealed buses never arriving to pick up passengers, safety concerns from drivers and riders, and broken buses still making it onto city streets.
Updated: Oct. 11, 2022 at 5:23 PM EDT
|By David Hodges
WBTV habló con media docena de clientes de JEMA Builders que dicen que tienen serias preocupaciones sobre la calidad de sus hogares, algunos de ellos con un valor de más de $400,000, después de que problemas cosméticos, daños por agua y una serie de otros problemas han plagado el breve tiempo en sus nuevos hogares.
Updated: Oct. 11, 2022 at 11:32 AM EDT
|By Michael Praats and David Hodges
The company’s customers are concerned they’ll be stuck with huge loan payments for solar panel systems that aren’t delivering.
Updated: Oct. 10, 2022 at 5:33 PM EDT
|By David Hodges
WBTV spoke with half a dozen of JEMA Builders’ customers who say they have serious concerns about the quality of their homes, some of them worth upwards of $400,000, after cosmetic issues, water damage and a host of other problems have plagued the brief time in their new homes.
Updated: Oct. 7, 2022 at 11:54 AM EDT
|By David Hodges
The shakeup comes after months of WBTV Investigations highlighting problems plaguing CATS bus operations division.
Updated: Oct. 4, 2022 at 5:45 PM EDT
|By David Hodges
Cintra, the company that completed the managed toll lane on I-77 north of Uptown, submitted an unsolicited and secret bid to the North Carolina Department of Transportation to build a new managed lane expansion from 2-77 to the South Carolina state line.
Updated: Sep. 29, 2022 at 6:33 PM EDT
|By David Hodges and Michael Praats
The solar company based off out of Mooresville previously laid off its employees after thousands of complaints and significant loss revenue. Less than a week later, the Ohio Attorney General filed a lawsuit against Pink Energy, alleging they used deceptive and unconscionable tactics on Ohio consumers and poorly installed solar panel systems.
Updated: Sep. 27, 2022 at 3:56 PM EDT
|By David Hodges
The complaint from the Ohio AG requests a judge issue a permanent injunction against Pink Energy and its officers to prevent them from selling and installing solar panels in the future. It also seeks an order requiring Pink Energy to “reimburse all consumers found to have been damaged” by Pink’s “unlawful actions.”
Updated: Sep. 26, 2022 at 6:13 PM EDT
|By David Hodges
Many Pink Energy customers told WBTV that their solar panels aren’t producing the energy or the savings they were originally promised. Nonetheless, customers still must make monthly payments on loans that were used to buy the systems. In some cases, the loans are upwards of $60,000.
Updated: Sep. 22, 2022 at 12:16 PM EDT
|By Michael Praats and David Hodges
Pink Energy, a solar energy company based out of Mooresville N.C. is laying off all of its employees according to an emailed letter sent to employees on Wednesday. Pink Energy has faced thousands of complaints ranging from faulty equipment to allegations of deceptive sales tactics over the past year.
Updated: Sep. 19, 2022 at 5:30 PM EDT
|By David Hodges
More than 150 South Carolinians have reached out to the WBTV Investigates Team about their tax refunds or paychecks being garnished to offset unpaid medical debt at hospitals. More than one third of them said they received no advanced warning of the upcoming garnishment, as required by state law.
Updated: Sep. 15, 2022 at 4:07 PM EDT
|By David Hodges
Pink Energy CEO Jayson Waller agreed to an interview with WBTV to lament that most of the problems at his company aren’t his fault, but caused by another company that supplies their batteries.
Updated: Sep. 14, 2022 at 12:53 PM EDT
|By David Hodges
Tepper’s GT Real Estate filed a new reorganization plan that excludes the original offers for Rock Hill and York County. GT Real Estate claims the city and county have chosen difficult litigation and unreasonable demands instead.
Updated: Sep. 13, 2022 at 5:38 PM EDT
|By David Hodges
The WBTV Investigation found the amount of bond money agreed to by Rock Hill was far more public investment than other similar projects and simultaneously sidestepped key oversight steps.
Updated: Sep. 12, 2022 at 6:32 PM EDT
|By David Hodges
Chelley is special needs and is on the NC Innovations Waiver. It’s serviced by Mecklenburg County’s new managed care organization Alliance Health, which took over for Cardinal Innovations.
Updated: Sep. 12, 2022 at 5:24 PM EDT
|By David Hodges
New Charlotte city councilman James ‘Smuggie’ Mitchell is already facing an investigation on his first day on the job.
Updated: Sep. 7, 2022 at 1:48 PM EDT
|By David Hodges
The city now claims, Tepper’s company repeatedly failed to provide key financial information that doomed the project and is asking a judge to find the company committed fraud.
Updated: Sep. 6, 2022 at 5:50 PM EDT
|By David Hodges
Consumers owe millions of dollars in loan payments for solar power systems they say don’t work.
Updated: Aug. 31, 2022 at 3:36 PM EDT
|By David Hodges
The memo from City Attorney Patrick Baker said there is a criminal statute “that makes it illegal for a city to conduct business with a company of which a member of that city’s governing board owns more than 10% or that company.”
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