Charlotte Douglas Airport Just Launched A New Kitten-Cuddling Initiative

Steve
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Charlotte Douglas Airport Just Launched A New Kitten-Cuddling Initiative

This morning the Charlotte Douglas Airport will be trying something completely new for our city – destressing passengers with free kitten cuddles.

According to a recent press release from the airport, the new kitten cuddling event will launch this morning from 9am-11am in the airport’s atrium.

The event is being described as a way “to thank passengers for choosing CLT and to extend our own dose of tender loving care to travelers,” according to the press release.

Ten kittens from CMPD Animal Care and Control will be on site, and they will speak with passengers about how they can adopt over 200 other animals that currently need homes.

Charlotte Douglas isn’t the first to use this strategy, cats have also been used for cuddling at the Denver International Airport and Calgary International Airport.

Today also happens to be International Cat Day – if you can’t make it to the airport, find a cat to cuddle wherever you happen to be!

The People’s Market in Dilworth Is Changing The Market Game In The Queen City

Steve
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The People’s Market in Dilworth Is Changing The Market Game In The Queen City

One of Charlotte’s newest casual markets is slowly becoming our city’s favorite hangout spot.

The People’s Market, on the corner of Dilworth’s East and Kenilworth, first opened last October with the anticipation of a slightly more upscale Common Market, but over the past 10 months, it’s morphed into a whole new type of destination.

While the Common Market, Rhino Market, and the 7th Street Station have all become staples for grabbing a quick brunch, coffee, or to enjoy a beer after work, visiting the People’s Market can often become a unique all-day affair.

Like the other Charlotte ‘markets’, The People’s Market features a wide selection of local coffees, teas, beers, snacks, and other goodies;

…but what really sets them apart is their massive all-day breakfast and lunch menu;

They make an incredible ‘phorrito’,

an amazing take on carnitas rancheros;

…and every order that includes fries even comes with a happy little smiley fry on your plate;

Beyond an extensive all-day menu, the People’s Market is also MASSIVE inside, with booths, dining tables, high tops, a 3-sided wrap-around bar, and a ton of outside seating on their East Blvd. patio – it’s rare that you’ll ever feel pressured to leave.

Have you been to the People’s Market yet?

What are your thoughts on Dilworth’s hottest new hangout spot?

Taking Your Kids Fishing In Charlotte

Jon Sutton
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Taking Your Kids Fishing In Charlotte

fishing-tournaments-around-charlotteIn an effort to spend time outdoors with their children, parents often go to extraordinary lengths (and great expense) to achieve relatively middling results.

Your daughter may enjoy rock climbing for an hour, but she’ll be primarily interacting with the instructor and focusing on the rock, rather than forming memories with you. Similarly, your son may enjoy going camping for a weekend, but this requires a significant investment of time and funding, as well as a great deal of preparation.

But fishing with your kids is an entirely different story, as it provides a much better return for your efforts. Not only do most kids love catching fish, but they’ll appreciate the one-on- one time they get with you as well. Going fishing for the afternoon requires only minimal preparation, and it won’t cost you much money either.

But I’m guessing that if you are still reading this, you have yet to teach your child to fish. Otherwise, you would already know how much fun you and your child have fishing, and you’d both be on the water right now. Charlotte provides one of the best places in the world to introduce your child to fishing, so be sure to take advantage of this opportunity.

Ample Waters and Appropriate Quarry

A variety of waters are within an hour’s drive of the city. This includes both big waters, such as Lake Norman or the Catawba River, as well as a ton of small ponds and creeks, scattered throughout the metro area. These waters hold a diverse array of species, which makes it attractive for all anglers. This includes largemouth bass, trout and other species that draw the attention of experienced anglers, as well as bluegill, catfish and yellow perch, which make perfect targets for first-time fishers.

Follow the Laws of the Land (and the Water)

Always be sure to comply with the local fishing rules and regulations when fishing with your child. As long as your child is under 16 years of age, he or she will not require a license, but you will. Neglect to obtain a license, and your kid’s very first fishing trip may end with a wildlife law enforcement professional handing you a ticket. Besides, a portion of the money you spend on your license goes toward supporting healthy fish populations.

Keep It Simple

A lot of parents set themselves up for frustration and failure by overcomplicating their child’s introduction to fishing. Instead, keep things as simple as possible – the goal is to catch fish, not mess around with a bunch of unnecessary equipment. If your kids are very young, consider setting them up with a simple cane pole. Older kids can handle open- faced spinning reels, but they’d probably experience fewer problems by using a closed, spin-cast combo.

Success Is Crucial for Smiles

While you may simply enjoy spending time with your kid on the water, they will only have a great time if they actually catch fish. So, before you head over to the local pond, take a moment to plan out your fishing trip. This is especially important for your kid’s first angling adventure – an enjoyable trip will result in a ton of great memories, but a fish-less outing will just cause them to think fishing is boring.

Outdoor Empire’s comprehensive guide to taking kids on their first fishing trip is loaded with tips that will help you learn what to bring, where to go and how to best avoid some of the pitfalls that often occur during your kid’s first fishing trip.

Check it out here.

Two New Specialty Hotels Will Increase Mooresville’s Hotel Capacity by 25%

Charlotte Stories
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Two New Specialty Hotels Will Increase Mooresville’s Hotel Capacity by 25%

Yesterday afternoon Langtree Lake Norman officially broke ground on a major new section of their sprawling new development – the new Maya Hotels collection featuring Tru by Hilton and Aloft by Marriot.

Both new hotels can be described as “trendy and upscale, with a luxurious look and feel.”

The new specialty hotels will be built in the heart of the Langtree development at the corner of Alcove and Langtree Roads;

These will be the first new hotels built in Mooresville since 2012. The town now has just over 1,000 hotel rooms in total – the new Aloft and Tru hotels will effectively increase Mooresville’s capacity by 25%.

Both hotels are expected to be completed by the end of next year.

Girls-Only ‘Muddy Princess’ Obstacle Fun Run Coming To Charlotte Next Month

Steve
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Girls-Only ‘Muddy Princess’ Obstacle Fun Run Coming To Charlotte Next Month

Next month, one of the world’s biggest girls-only obstacle-course races will be coming to the Charlotte area. The ‘Muddy Princess’ run will set up on the sprawling property of Porter Farms in Concord, and will officially kick off on September 22nd.

According to Marketing Manager Christiane Tillmann, “Muddy Princess is an outdoor 5km (3.1 miles) obstacle mud run for WOMEN ONLY with an emphasis on having a “girls’ dirty day out” in the mud. Our focus is on fun, team building and women empowerment so we don’t have time tracking or competitions and our course of 18+ obstacles has been specially designed to cater for women of all ages, sizes and shapes.”

The race promotes a sense of unity and encouragement, allowing for an incredible team-building experience, but they also encourage individuals to enter the race and meet other like-minded mud-runners.

They encourage dressing up (tutus and tiaras are ideal) and for participants to feel free to be themselves and most importantly to have fun – while also being challenged with 18 wide-ranging obstacles.

Muddy Princess was first started in Cape Town, South Africa in February 2016 and, to date, has hosted 20 successful events across 6 cities in South Africa with 57 000+ participants and over 60,000 spectators and supporters.

For more information or to register, visit their website at MuddyPrincess.com. All Charlotte Stories readers can receive $10 off admission using coupon code ‘VirgCode10’ at Event Brite here.

9-Year-Old Lemonade Stand Owner Robbed At Gunpoint In Monroe

Charlotte Stories
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9-Year-Old Lemonade Stand Owner Robbed At Gunpoint In Monroe

Police officers in Union County are now investigating the robbery of a 9-year-old who had his lemonade stand robbed at gunpoint this past weekend.

According to the boy’s father, Philip Smith, the robbery occurred at about 3pm on Saturday afternoon in front of their house in the St John’s Forest neighborhood of Monroe.

“Never had an incident like this, never thought this would happen,” commented Smith.

Smith said a teenager walked up to his son’s lemonade stand, pointed a pistol into his son’s stomach, and demanded money. The suspect fled the scene with a total of $17.

His father said he won’t let this stop his son’s dreams. Sunday afternoon, the whole family was back outside selling lemonade again.

Union County police are still investigating the robbery. If you have any information about the suspect, please call 911.

NC Turnpike Authority Wins 2018 Toll Excellence Award

Charlotte Stories
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NC Turnpike Authority Wins 2018 Toll Excellence Award

Today, the International Bridge, Tunnel and Turnpike Association(IBTTA) announced the North Carolina Turnpike Authority(NCTA) has received the 2018 Toll Excellence Award for Technology, for becoming the first tolling agency in the United States to read all three transponder protocols being considered for national interoperability in a tolling environment.

IBTTA, the worldwide association representing the owners and operators of toll facilities and the businesses that serve them, presents the Toll Excellence Awards annually, tohighlight the very best projects, innovations and solutions from the international tolling industry.  IBTTA’s Toll Excellence Awardsassists in the transmission of new ideas and emerging practices throughout the industry to benefit the driving public around the globe.

“North Carolina Turnpike Authority continues to be a leader in our industry for their implementation of innovative practices promoting greater mobility for drivers,”said Patrick Jones, Executive Director and CEO of IBTTA.  “The 2018 Toll Excellence Awardsare presented to an international list of tolling authorities responsible for developing creative strategies and new technologies to meet the demands of the driving public.  We congratulate NCTA on this well-deserved recognition.”

“The North Carolina Turnpike Authority, with its world-class facility, partnerships and research, is proud to lead the nation with this modern toll technology,”said Turnpike Authority Executive Director Beau Memory. “This is another example of our commitment to improving the customer experience, lowering costs to our users and supporting national toll interoperability.”

 

IBTTA_TEAward(s)2018.png

 

Customer Value and Interoperability through Tri-Protocol Reader Technology – In September 2017, the North Carolina Turnpike Authority (NCTA) became the first tolling agency in the United States to read all three transponder protocols being considered for national interoperability in a tolling environment. The NCTA successfully replaced its legacy reader technology on 80 lanes of the Triangle Expressway with tri-protocol reader technology.

The new reader equipment was installed without stopping traffic or interrupting toll collection activities and with minimal impact on NC Quick Pass customers. In addition to directly supporting the drive for nationwide interoperability of electronic toll collection systems, the project allowed NCTA to offer customers NC Quick Pass sticker transponders for free for the first time. NCTA also permanently reduced the cost of the E-ZPass interoperable transponders for its customers, while still supporting all previously purchased transponders.

David Machamer, Chair of IBTTA’s Toll Excellence Award Committee and Assistant Executive Director for Toll Operations with the Oklahoma Turnpike Authority said,“Each year the committee sees a growing number of entries from both the public and private sectors. The process has become quite competitive with entries from across the globe. The industry is proud to share the good works, successful projects and solutions to advance the tolling and transportation industry.”

You can view the full list of 2018 winners, by visiting this link. The awards will be presented during IBTTA’s 86th Annual Meeting and Exhibition, October 14th– 16thin Baltimore, Maryland. One recipient will be honored with the prestigious President’s Award for Excellence during the awards ceremony.

North Carolina Ranked As 2018’s 5th Worst State for Health Care

Steve
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North Carolina Ranked As 2018’s 5th Worst State for Health Care

With the Affordable Care Act remaining in effect and the CDC reporting that over 88 percent of the population has a regular place to go for medical care, the personal-finance website WalletHub today released its report on 2018’s Best & Worst States for Health Care.

In order to determine where Americans receive the highest-quality services at the best prices, WalletHub compared the 50 states and the District of Columbia across 40 key measures of health care cost, accessibility and outcome. The data set ranges from average monthly insurance premium to physicians per capita to share of insured population.

North Carolina ranked #47, just behind Arkansas (#48), Alaska (#49), Mississippi (#50), and Louisiana (#51);

Source: WalletHub

States with Best Health Care Systems

Overall Rank
(1 = Best)		 State Total Score ‘Cost’ Rank ‘Access’ Rank ‘Outcomes’ Rank
1 Vermont 66.31 3 23 1
2 Massachusetts 65.31 31 2 2
3 New Hampshire 64.03 24 4 4
4 Minnesota 63.35 11 8 8
5 Hawaii 63.08 5 35 5
6 Rhode Island 62.98 4 24 10
7 Colorado 62.69 23 15 3
8 District of Columbia 62.08 1 6 36
9 Iowa 61.94 6 19 14
10 Maryland 61.86 2 28 28
11 Connecticut 61.79 33 7 7
12 Maine 61.26 35 1 15
13 Kansas 60.20 10 9 21
14 South Dakota 59.52 34 3 16
15 Utah 59.48 25 34 6
16 Nebraska 59.35 27 14 12
17 New York 58.68 13 11 24
18 Pennsylvania 58.34 16 10 29
19 Ohio 58.18 7 18 34
20 Michigan 57.98 8 17 33
21 North Dakota 57.78 15 12 32
22 Virginia 56.93 21 29 17
23 Wisconsin 56.90 47 13 9
24 Illinois 56.79 20 16 31
25 Delaware 56.52 9 38 25
26 New Jersey 55.77 12 41 23
27 Oregon 54.47 28 40 18
28 Washington 54.29 38 42 11
29 California 54.15 17 45 19
30 New Mexico 53.52 19 27 37
31 Idaho 53.19 36 48 13
32 Montana 52.76 43 21 26
33 Wyoming 52.29 46 25 20
34 Kentucky 52.12 14 20 45
35 Indiana 52.02 18 36 40
36 Arizona 50.62 40 43 27
37 Missouri 49.92 29 22 43
38 Texas 49.00 26 51 35
39 West Virginia 48.37 45 5 47
40 Nevada 48.16 32 49 38
41 Tennessee 47.79 22 30 48
42 Florida 47.04 39 47 39
43 Georgia 46.51 30 50 42
44 South Carolina 46.14 49 32 41
45 Oklahoma 45.59 41 33 46
46 Alabama 44.03 44 44 44
47 North Carolina 43.98 50 46 30
48 Arkansas 43.22 37 31 50
49 Alaska 41.78 51 37 22
50 Mississippi 41.53 42 26 51
51 Louisiana 41.14 48 39 49

Health Care in North Carolina (1=Best; 25=Avg.):

  • 45th – Avg. Monthly Insurance Premium
  • 40th – Hospital Beds per Capita
  • 26th – Physicians per Capita
  • 29th – Dentists per Capita
  • 35th – Physician Medicare-Acceptance Rate
  • 39th – % of Insured Adults
  • 30th – % of Insured Children
  • 32nd – % of Adults with No Dental Visit in Past Year
  • 34th – % of Medical Residents Retained

For the full report, please visit:
https://wallethub.com/edu/states-with-best-health-care/23457/

Charlotte SPCA Issues Urgent Please For Donations After Illegal Puppy Mill Discovered

Charlotte Stories
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Charlotte SPCA Issues Urgent Please For Donations After Illegal Puppy Mill Discovered

Earlier this week, the Greater Charlotte SPCA uncovered a truly horrific situation involved almost a dozen puppies in a badly neglected coop in the backyard of a Charlotte home.

According to organization, most of the dogs are heartworm positive and one of the Chihuahuas will likely need to have his eye removed.

“We really need help raising money to get treatment for these dogs as we are lower on emergency funds than we have been in 3 years. Please consider a donation to help us help them! Our goal is to raise $1500 to cover all the heartworm treatments and optometry visit,” The shelter commented on Facebook;

Yesterday they posted an update about the situation, saying that they are now 50% toward their goal, but they still need people to step up;

Please help spread the word!

Hornet’s Owner Michael Jordan Responds To President’s Attack of Lebron James

Charlotte Stories
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Hornet’s Owner Michael Jordan Responds To President’s Attack of Lebron James

Michael Jordan tries to stay out of politics and the press as much as possible, but after President Trump attacked fellow basketball legend, Lebron James, Jordan released a rare official statement.

Two days ago, the President of the United States issued a scathing insult about journalist Don Lemon and NBA Star Lebron James, while ending his statement with the phrase, “I like Mike” (referring to Michael Jordan);

The tweet seemingly came after the president watched James’ interview last week with CNN’s Don Lemon, where James stated, “We are in a position in America where this race thing has taken over. One, because I believe our president is trying to divide us. He’s kind of used sports to divide us, and that’s something I can’t relate to.”

Yesterday, Charlotte Hornet’s owner and basketball legend Michael Jordan released a brief statement about the tweet, simply saying “I support LJ, He’s doing an amazing job for his community.”

On Monday of this week, Lebron James opened the I Promise School in his hometown of Akron, Ohio to serve low-income and at-risk students.

The impact of @KingJames’ school will go far beyond the classroom

A post shared by Sports Blog Nation (@sbnation) on

What do you think about the latest twitter controversy?

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