The Levine Museum of the New South has an upcoming exhibit that’s starting to ruffle some feathers around the Queen City.
The new exhibit, called “K(NO)W Justice K(NO)W Peace“, will be on display for most of 2017, from 01.13.2017 through 10.22.2017. It will feature images, displays, and even a community response section related to the recent police shootings and protests, with a large focus on the Keith Lamont Scott case and responses.
According to their website, “K(NO)W Justice K(NO)W Peace is a community-created exhibit about police-involved shootings throughout the nation and in Charlotte. Co-created with activists and law enforcement, the media, students, clergy and civic leaders, K(NO)W Justice K(NO)W Peace explores the historical roots of the profound distrust between police and community, tells the human stories beyond the headlines, and engages viewers in creating constructive solutions.”
This past Tuesday three Mecklenburg County residents were arrested in a large-scale heroin trafficking investigation. Local, state, and federal agents have been working together on the case since 2013.
Gerardo Juarez, 39, of Matthews, Darya Sergeyevna Borovskaya, 26, of Matthews, and Hugo Fernando Navarrete-Lopez, 27, were all arrested in Rowan County for their alleged involvement in the distribution ring. It’s now believed that they have been in direct communication with Mexican drug cartel leaders, according to the press release.
Juarez was arrested in the Walmart parking lot on South Arlington Street in Salisbury. He had 52 grams of heroin on him. A search warrant was executed at the man’s Matthews home, where detectives say they found 478 grams of heroin, three guns, numerous telephones, U.S. cash, drug paraphernalia and other items related to drug trafficking.
Investigators also found that the Charlotte-Matthews area Mexican trafficking ring had been supplying heroin to Rowan County for over 10 years, often in quantities of $10,000 or more at a time.
“I think it’s a very large scale case for an area like Rowan County and the Metro Charlotte area,” remarked Rowan County Sheriff’s Chief Deputy David Ramsey. “It’s a significant seizure and arrested three significant drug traffickers.”
In Dec. 2016 and Jan. 2017, undercover agents bought large quantities of heroin from two suspects thought to be working for the Mexican National Drug Trafficking Organization (MNDTO). Many of the transactions happened in parking lots and shopping centers, and the suspects used fraudulent registration plates and alias names.
Deputy Ramsey remarked that, “one transaction occurred at a restaurant bathroom in China Grove.”
Borovskaya was charged with six counts of trafficking heroin and one count of conspiracy to traffic heroin. Navarrete-Lopez was charged with trafficking heroin in Mecklenburg County. Juarez was charged with four counts of trafficking heroin and one count of conspiracy to traffic heroin in Rowan County. All three suspects were given a $1,000,000 bond and now are facing over 23 years in prison and up to $500,000 in fines.
This weekend the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey® Circus is performing one of their final series of shows right here in the Queen City. They’ll be performing 7 times Friday night through Sunday night at the Spectrum Center in Uptown Charlotte.
Their ‘Out Of This World’ show features never-before-seen additions, including a full ice rink and Olympic-class gymnast routines.
The legendary cast and crew of Riverdance are coming to Charlotte this weekend to dance the night away. They’ll be performing at the Oven’s Auditorium Friday night through Sunday night.
Historic South End’s next gallery crawl is happening this coming Friday (12/2) starting at 5pm.
Charlotte Magazine recently named the South End Gallery Crawl as the “Best Artsy Place to Take a Date.” Charlotte’s biggest and oldest gallery crawl typically sees between 10 and 20 art galleries, design centers, and coffee shops participate, offering free food, live music, and some of the best art in the city.
Queen City Brewers Festival brings together most of the Charlotte-area’s craft breweries, brewpubs, and craft beer focused restaurants to support ACEing Autism’s mission to serve more families in the Charlotte community affected by autism spectrum disorders.
This coming Saturday, from 11am to 3pm, Rock Hill will be holding their 9th annual Chocolate Festival on Saturday, February 4th, 2017, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Admission is free and there is plenty to enjoy for free at as well.
Featuring performances from Scarface, 8 Ball & MJG, Pastor Troy, Mystikal, Bun B, Trick Daddy, and Juvenile, the tour will come to the Bojangles Coliseum on February 3.
On Super Bowl Sunday the Lucky Dog Bark & Brew Charlotte will be hosting a fun event to help raise awareness for our cause as well as show off some adorable puppies and little pups that are up for adoption. We will have a 50/50 raffle, supply donation table, and lots of giveaways!
Join Cystic Fibrosis Foundation and Elevate Lifestyle for The Big Game Party for the biggest football game of the season. Look forward to having a fun filled night with friends and family while watching the New England Patriots and the Atlanta Falcons battle it out in Super Bowl 51. The event will be held on Super Bowl Sunday, February 5, 2017, from 5 p.m. to 11 p.m. at Dilworth Neighborhood Grille, located on 911 E Morehead St, Charlotte, N.C. 28204.
Uptown Charlotte’s murder-mystery dinners begin innocently enough—guests arrive to mingle amid drinks and quiet conversation. As diners munch away, a sudden death interrupts the feasting. A detective arrives to determine who the killer is, inevitably laying blame on one of the audience members. Tablemates work together to prove their innocence and find the real killer through an interactive performance full of hilarious suspects and eye-catching costumes, all the while dining on the included three-course meal and taking advantage of drink specials.
Celebrate everything Vintage Bicycles Saturday, February 4th from 8am to 1pm for the 2nd Annual Hurricane Coaster Swap n’ Show Bulldog Beer and Wine (1434 Winnifred St.)
>Free admission
>Free to sell
>Indoor event
>Bike Show Categories
-Best Prewar
-Best Postwar
-Muscle 20″
-Ratrod/Custom
-Best of Show
-People’s Choice
$5 per entry and cash collected will go towards the awards
With today being one of their last days of serving burritos, I decided to stop by and talk to some customers and see what they thought about the South End icon going out of business (I also paid my respects to a memorial on Central Ave.):
Another icon of South End is about to close it’s doors. The owner of Phat Burrito just confirmed with the Observer that they will be shutting down for good this coming Saturday (Feb. 4th).
Over the past week, they’ve been operating shorter lunch-only hours of 11am to 3pm, but after rumors began spreading of a shut down, owner Stephen Justice confirmed it was true.
He said their customers have been slowly disappearing, with less foot traffic coming from the old Common Market, and fewer people wanting to deal with all the construction.
After the announcement was made this morning, people turned out in droves to offer their support, and to order what might be their last Phat Burrito ever.
Most of the construction is coming from the new office being built across the street from Phat Burrito, where the old Common Market and Black Sheep Skate shop used to stand.
The new office building will be 8 stories tall with 285,000 total square feet – it will include at least 15,000 square feet of retail on each of the buildings corners.
What do you think about the continual re-development of South End?
This weekend the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey® Circus is performing one of their final series of shows right here in the Queen City.
Their ‘Out Of This World’ show features never-before-seen additions, including a full ice rink and Olympic-class gymnast routines.
Yesterday I walked around the Spectrum Center during the opening night – here’s what I saw:
The historic American spectacle, that has now been running for 146 straight years is now performing it’s final shows in select cities, says Kenneth Feld, the chairman and CEO of Feld Entertainment, the producer of Ringling.
Their website states that they will be shutting down due to declining ticket sales “This, coupled with high operating costs, made the circus an unsustainable business for the company,” Feld commented.
Today is free breakfast day at two of the greatest breakfast places of all time!
Chick-fil-As across the Charlotte region will be handing out free chicken all morning.
From open until 10:30 a.m., visitors to any participating restaurant can snag a free 3-count Chick-n-Minis, as long as they don’t run out…
It also happens to be Bruegger’s Bagel’s Birthday today, so they’re giving away 3 bagels to celebrate (although you have to sign up on their mailing list to receive the bagels – you can sign up here).
This past weekend, the Union County Sheriff’s Office responded to a call regarding seven dogs that were found dead in a ditch alongside Morgan Academy Road in Union County. Officers on the scene reported that the dogs may have been used as hunting dogs. Deputies reported that they were all shot in the head and killed sometime last last week, between Thursday morning and Friday night (Jan. 26th-27th).
Since the Sheriff’s Office has not yet made any arrests in connection with the dogs’ deaths, PETA stepped up to offer a reward of up to $5,000 for information leading to the arrest and cruelty-to-animals conviction of the person or persons responsible for the death of the dogs.
In addition, Crime Stoppers and several local organizations pitched in an additional $9,000 for help with the search, bringing the total reward to $14,000:
“Someone in the community committed a horrific and callous mass execution of these seven dogs,” says PETA Vice President Colleen O’Brien. “PETA is urging anyone with information about this case to come forward immediately so that their attacker can be held accountable for this crime.”
If you have any information about this case, please contact the Union County Sheriff’s Office Bureau of Animal Services at 704-283-2308.
The Levine Museum of the New South has an upcoming exhibit that’s starting to ruffle some feathers around the Queen City.
This past Tuesday three Mecklenburg County residents were arrested in a large-scale heroin trafficking investigation. Local, state, and federal agents have been working together on the case since 2013.
Another icon of South End is about to close it’s doors. The owner of Phat Burrito just confirmed with 
This past weekend, the Union County Sheriff’s Office responded to a call regarding seven dogs that were found dead in a ditch alongside Morgan Academy Road in Union County. Officers on the scene reported that the dogs may have been used as hunting dogs. Deputies reported that they were all shot in the head and killed sometime last last week, between Thursday morning and Friday night (Jan. 26th-27th).