Charlotte Ranked Among 2023’s Cleanest Cities in America

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Rats, mold, pollution, and trash plague many U.S. cities big and small — but the problem is worse in some than in others.

LawnStarter ranked 2023’s Cleanest and Dirtiest Cities in America following one of the trashiest times of the year, the winter holiday season.

They compared 150 of the biggest U.S. cities across four categories, including pollution, living conditions, infrastructure, and consumer satisfaction.

Charlotte came in as the 10th cleanest city in America, just behind Greensboro at #7 and Winston Salem at #5.

City Rankings

Do you agree with the report?

3 Ways to Enjoy Queen’s Cup Steeplechase

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Racegoers are always on the go to enjoy horse racing events wherever they are located. That is because many thrilling horse racing events are available in most states and countries worldwide. Specifically, in the United States, numerous major and local events exist to provide the best horse racing experiences in the country. Of course, the Queen’s Cup Steeplechase in Charlotte, North Carolina, is no exception. 

With its return gearing up in April, many horse racing fans are also on their feet to make the most of the experience, be it to witness the exciting race or enjoy varying exciting activities that come on the Steeplechase race day. Ready to experience the thrill of the chase again? Here are three ways to enjoy the 2023 Queen’s Cup Steeplechase.

1. Explore Activities

Queen’s Cup Steeplechase is not only a distance horse race that shows off speed, stamina, and incredible horse abilities to overcome various jump obstacles and hurdles. Similar to famous horse racing events like Belmont Stakes and Louisiana Derby, the Queen’s Cup Steeplechase is also an event of a diverse gathering of style, community, and fun. 

Since 1996, the Charlotte Steeplechase Foundation has prepared numerous enjoyable events for people to experience more than traditional regional horse racing. Some social events and activities you can enjoy at the Steeplechase race include the following:

Thoroughbred Jump Racing

As mentioned, the Queen’s Cup Steeplechase encompasses competing horses with speed and stamina to complete about four jumps in a three-mile race. With over $200,000 of purse money, jockeys and their horses compete with passion and skills to achieve glory on the racetrack. To make the race even more festive to witness, jockeys wear brightly colored silks while on the run on the classy turf course of Brooklandwood. 

Queen’s Cup Hat Contest

Not only can you witness great horse racing, but you can also participate by showing off your best hat design on the event ground. Annually, before the Queen’s Cup takes its place, attendees prepare using their creative juices to create hand-decorated hats, aiming to win big prizes. If you enjoy styling your own hat, this event can be a great one to join in. 

There are four categories in the Queen’s Cup Hat Content: Men, Women, Children, and the new addition, Most Royal. What makes the Most Royal different is you don’t have to decorate the hat on your own as you use store-bought extravagant styled hats to join the contest.

Silver Jubilee Tailgate Contest

If you love competition and creativity, this activity is incredibly a must-try. The tailgate contest allows you to create elegant Silver Jubilee-themed tailgates. All you have to do is prepare varying tailgate ideas with delicious snacks and fun drinks. Whatever you are to create, you are free to use as many decorative pieces as you have, turn your tailgate into an elegant space with a table set up, and wait for the judging to take place around noon.

Other than that, activities for kids, such as Pony Rides. You don’t even have to worry about food, and such as the Queen’s Cup Steeplechase has official vendor partners offering varying options you can enjoy throughout the events and activities.

2. Know the Dos and Don’ts

To ensure safety and fun on race day, the Queen’s Cup prepares guidelines and restrictions you must follow to ensure the utmost experience. These guidelines not only ensure a safe environment but also protect the event’s horses and jockeys. 

Dos

  • Your vehicle must meet the size requirements for the tailgate area.
  • Have your credential badge and parking pass ready for the checkpoint.
  • Find alternative routes in advance should there be traffic.
  • Utmost respect and courtesy are a must for people around you.

Don’ts

  • Tents and standing umbrellas are not allowed.
  • Loud music and overcrowded tailgate space are prohibited.
  • Don’t touch the horses.
  • The use of flags, drones, balloons, and similar materials is not allowed.
  • Grills, fryers, and smoking under the tents are prohibited.

Dress Up!

You may already know by now that aside from horse racing and creative activities, dressing up is also one way to enjoy the Queen’s Cup Steeplechase. Bright, colorful suits, pants, and dresses sure match the vibe of this one-of-a-kind horse racing event. You can even match up outfits and styles with your family or friends. 

Of course, for women, never forget your stylish hats. As many say, the bigger, the brighter, and the more flowers, the better! If you worry about the scorching heat, you can wear a simple and comfortable outfit with adequate protection by using sunscreen, lotion, and sunglasses. 

Conclusion

The Queen’s Cup Steeplechase does not only provide you with unending fun with its exciting horse racing and numerous activities but also allows you to connect with a community that shares the same interest as you. Probably one of the greatest ways to enjoy the end of April. To keep the fun going, of course, keeping yourself updated about the details of the event proper will help you achieve a more enjoyable and comfortable thrill of the chase.

Eddie Nketiah is quickly becoming Arsenal’s main man in the Premier League title race

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With each passing victory more and more Arsenal fans must be starting to believe that this could be their year. From their early season form to the late winner against Manchester United, things look to have landed right in the Gunner’s lap, having remained patient with Mikel Arteta throughout turbulent periods last season. The Spaniard looks as if he will bring Champions League football back to the Emirates Stadium for the first time since Arsene Wenger’s departure, and if those regularly betting on football are to be believed, bring them their first title since the Invincible side almost 20 years ago.

While it’s too early to draw comparisons between members of each team, Arteta has had to deal with the loss of his star player in Gabriel Jesus. The Brazilian arrived to ease the goalscoring burden having won consecutive Premier Leagues with Manchester City, and while his wealth of experience has helped fire the Gunners to the top of the table, it’s his replacement, Eddie Nketiah, that has really stepped up in his absence. 

Having already boasted an impressive goal-to-game ratio, mainly deputising for either Jesus or in last season’s case, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Nketiah’s good form is proof that a striker will reap the rewards if they remain patient. Much like Arteta, the Arsenal board have been rewarded by not pulling the trigger too early. They could have easily gone and splashed the cash on another traditional number nine, but upon Jesus’s return it could risk disrupting the harmony in the squad, instead choosing to invest in Leandro Trossard, who looks a shrewd acquisition for Arsenal as he arrives from Brighton for just £20 million.

Indeed, Nketiah is justifying his selection with some red-hot January form, which was kickstarted with a brace against United. Not only does he have the pace and power of an old-school striker to suit the physicality of the Premier League, but his ability to link the play goes underrated at times, with the former England under-21 star dropping deep as well as occupying space in the box to score a variety of goals. It’s given Arsenal extra firepower to add to their title race and while the odds on Premier League football favoured Manchester City at the start of the campaign, Pep Guardiola’s side have lacked the consistency of previous years, leaving the trophy in Arteta’s hands. 

Nketiah is still only 23 years old and while he won’t want to play second-fiddle to Jesus forever, he understands his role in the team and is seizing every opportunity, with his manager singing his praises as well.  

“What Eddie is doing is incredible,” he said. “I cannot say we saw that (coming). We were hoping that he could do that because of the way he is, his mentality, and how his qualities fit in the team. Losing Gabi was a big blow. It is a big blow losing Gabi today but Eddie is responding with the team in an exceptional way.”

Only time will tell if Arsenal can deliver a title to their fans. Knowing how close City have run teams in the past it might take another monumental effort to pry the title from Guardiola’s hands, but given their recent form and the consistency they showed pre-World Cup, it would be foolish not to think they could go all the way.

Charlotte’s Own Jonathan Gardner Named To Forbes 30 Under 30 List

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Jonathan Gardner, founder and executive director of Charlotte-based nonprofit GardHouse, has been named as one of Forbes’ “30 Under 30” for his impact on education. Since establishing the organization in 2019, Gardner has collaborated with over 180 Charlotte-area small businesses and nonprofits to provide paid internships for underserved college students.

“I’m honored to be included on this list with other young leaders,” Gardner said. “I don’t do this work for the recognition. I speak from personal experience of once being a college student searching for opportunities to help me navigate my career goals.”

Each year, Forbes releases the list highlighting the careers and accomplishments of 600 individuals across several categories. Gardner, an education honoree, is among the elite business and community leaders credited with “bringing access and opportunity to the classroom and beyond.”

Gardner raised $840,000 in start-up funds from donors such as Wells Fargo, Bank of America and United Way of Greater Charlotte to launch GardHouse and develop college students of color for employment. Despite the COVID-19 pandemic, the nonprofit reported record success, including 100% of its graduating seniors being offered employment or acceptance into graduate education programs in 2021. GardHouse welcomed its largest cohort of college interns into its pipeline last fall – where students earn roughly $20 an hour during internships – and launched a fund to provide student debt relief for its college seniors upon graduation.

“We’re committed to addressing barriers to economic mobility and bridging the gap for these students,” Gardner added. “The biggest takeaway is seeing the benefits of seeds that were planted years ago. It’s motivation to keep working toward something that is bigger than myself.”

Charlotte-Area Chick-fil-A Restaurants Offer Free Chick-fil-A Sandwiches

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Chick-fil-As across the Charlotte area just announced plans to offer Charlotteans a free Original Chick-fil-A Chicken Sandwich starting Monday, Jan. 23 through Saturday, Jan. 28.
“We want to start this new year in a special way,” said Barry McAllaster, local restaurant Operator of Chick-fil-A Blakeney. “We are treating our loyal customers to a free sandwich as a sign of our gratitude for their support.”
Promotion is valid through the app. To claim the offer, guests can open the app and redeem the reward at participating Charlotte-area Chick-fil-A restaurants during Jan. 23-28. Limit one per person, per Chick-fil-A One account.
You can download the app on the Google Play Store here.

Visualizing Charlotte & Nationwide Rent Growth, 2018-2022

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A new data tool from Apartment List tells the story of how the rental market transformed from stable growth before the pandemic to wild, divergent swings after. Rents in some cities cratered in 2020, while rents in other cities soared. A year later, rent inflation gripped the whole country in 2021, but is subsiding today.
This tool was designed by the Apartment List Research Team, which has been tracking rent prices for more than half a decade. Visualizing five years of market data across 100 U.S. cities, it shows how Charlotte fits into the broader national picture. Below is total annual rent growth over the last five years:
  • 2018: +3% in Charlotte, +3% nationwide
  • 2019: +2% in Charlotte, +2% nationwide
  • 2020: -1% in Charlotte, -1% nationwide
  • 2021: +20% in Charlotte, +18% nationwide
  • 2022: +6% in Charlotte, +4% nationwide

How a Person Lookup Search Can Change Your Career Prospects

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If you look online, you can find out a lot about a person. You should think that any prospective employer will look around online for your personal details. That search might help you, but it may also hinder your employment chances.

People searches can reveal many personal details, and we’ll talk about some of those right now. Try to stay on top of what employers can find out about you online because they might want you to address that before they hire you.

They Reveal Your Marital Status

Whether you have a spouse or not shouldn’t influence whether a company hires you. However, a potential boss who finds your marital status via a free person lookup search might find that information useful.

Some companies like hiring people with spouses or families. They want to know whether you’ll fit in selling family-related products or services. A prospective employer might look at that information and take it into account when interviewing you and considering you for the position.

They Can Find Out Whether You Have Children

They can find out via one of these searches whether you have children as well. Much like whether you have a spouse or not, this information shouldn’t matter, but your prospective boss might think about it during the hiring process.

Maybe this company makes children’s products, and you’re getting a job on their marketing team. If the company’s owner or operator sees that you have kids, they may feel like you can bring firsthand experience to your work. You might know about being a parent and go through the trials and tribulations associated with having a young family daily.

They Can Find Out Whether You Have a Criminal Record

When someone does a free person lookup search on you, they can find out whether you have a criminal record. They can learn whether you committed any misdemeanors or felonies in your life and the police caught you.

If a prospective boss sees that you got a ticket because you jaywalked once, they probably won’t let that stop them from hiring you. Any similar small indiscretion might not cost you a job opportunity.

If someone thinking about hiring you sees some felonies, though, they might look at that more seriously. For instance, maybe they see a violent crime like murder or manslaughter on your record. Perhaps they see robbery or burglary.

In that case, they might not hire you. In theory, prison should rehabilitate you, and you paid society the debt you owed.

Still, some company owners might feel you don’t have the values they want. At the very least, they’ll discuss the matter with you. Maybe you can say something that will convince them. If not, your past could mean you don’t get this job.

Social Media Information

When someone looks for you via a free person lookup search, they can often find your social media accounts. Maybe you set them to private, but your prospective boss might still find some information about you this way. Some people don’t bother setting their profiles to private, and anyone can see what they post.

Maybe you have some political views the person hiring you might not like. Perhaps you posted something years ago that comes back to haunt you now.

Social media reveals much about people and what they believe. Even if you changed your mind about some topic, maybe you posted something about it in the past that doesn’t sit well with someone thinking about you as a job candidate. That single post from years back might cost you a job today.

You should anticipate this and set your social media profiles to private. You can go back through your post history and scrub anything someone might consider controversial. You might even delete your social media accounts if they reveal something you’d prefer a would-be boss not know about you.

They Can Find Out About Your Educational Background

Maybe you told your boss that you’re a Harvard graduate or have a degree from somewhere equally prestigious. Perhaps they look at that as one of the key reasons why they’d hire you.

You might have no record from that school that you ever went there or graduated from there. That could mean you lied on your resume. A potential boss or hiring manager won’t like that. They might feel you lied or misrepresented yourself and pass you over for that reason.

Even if you did graduate from that school, maybe a hiring manager can’t find that record when doing a people lookup search for some reason. If so, anticipate that and have your physical degree handy if you go in to interview. If you have your transcripts from that university or school, you might also bring those.

They Can Find Out About Prior Work History

The person potentially hiring you might use a free person lookup website to find out about your work history. Maybe you talk about that on LinkedIn, and you mention your former jobs in your resume as well.

If you lied about where you worked before, internships you had, or anything along those lines, a free person lookup search should reveal that. These searches usually turn up former job and internship information. If you lied or exaggerated, this search should make that clear to anyone who takes the time to look.

Get Ready to Answer Questions About Your Background

With your background, you know what’s fact and fiction. You should know what questions a hiring manager or company owner will ask based on what they’re likely to find out about you online with a simple search via one of these sites.

If there’s something questionable in your past, know you’ll get that question and have an answer ready. Any time you can document your history, and it can help you, do that. If you can answer confidently and a question about your past does not blindside you, you might get the job you want.

5 Grooming Habits That Will Change Your Life

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Personal grooming habits are just that; they’re personal, so for many people, their habits are influenced by the scents they prefer, the time they want to take grooming each day, and the aesthetic they desire to achieve. However, there are grooming habits that universally will change everyone’s life, no matter their age or gender. If you’re looking to upgrade your grooming routine in a meaningful way that will make you look and feel your best and confidently put your best foot forward, keep reading for life-changing grooming habits.

Spend Money 

The first habit isn’t even something you put on; it’s something you must do. Spending money on the highest quality products you use to groom is essential, from skin care products, fragrances even toothpaste. The investment can have major returns regarding your appearance; you don’t even have to visit high-end stores for some of these products and would be surprised at the luxury brands available in your local drugstore.

Fine Fragrances

One of the first things people notice about you when you enter a room is how you smell; this is why we pay so much attention to fragrance in our grooming routines. We apply fragrance through our body washes, body creams, deodorants, and, of course, perfumes and colognes. Whether you opt for a vanilla or grapefruit perfume or a unisex cologne doesn’t matter, but giving yourself an edge of attractiveness and boosting your confidence through the knowledge of smell phenomenal is priceless and something everyone should incorporate into their grooming routine. You can also get specific and switch your scents up with the season or type of event you’re heading to. The sky’s the limit concerning fine fragrances, but they are essential no matter what.

Cosmetic Procedures 

When you’re trying to look your greatest through grooming, laying the foundation through cosmetic procedures as part of your maintenance in grooming is key. Whether you opt for a facelift or incorporate filler or neurotoxin injectables every few months into your grooming routine, these can make all the difference in your overall appearance and how you feel about yourself. While there is no such thing as the Fountain of Youth, your grooming products will go much further if you invest in some procedures as the cornerstone of your appearance.

Regular Maintenance

Regular visits to your barber and dentist are critical parts of your grooming routine. When you started reading this list, you may have thought we would focus on specific products like serums and toners. But grooming relies on those who know best to set you up for success. Hence, whether you visit your barber every two weeks or your salon hair stylist every 6 to 8 weeks, keeping your hair healthy and looking its best is critical; the same goes with dental care; of course, you want to go every six months. You should also expand on that and incorporate teeth whitening or invisible braces to keep your smile looking its best. Lastly, if you have skin concerns or specific issues, the importance of a dermatologist must be considered. At the same time, you can spend a small fortune on products that promise to deliver results; your dermatologist or esthetician, if you prefer, can let you know your skin type and the products guaranteed to work.

At-Home Technology 

Some things require a visit to a dermatologist or medical spa. Still, thankfully there is plenty of at-home technology that you can include in your grooming routines that will make you look and feel great things like in-home saunas, red light therapy masks in-home teeth whitening. So much more can make you feel like you’ve got a firm grasp and control over your overall appearance.

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder; the most important eye is your own, and grooming yourself to perfection will make you feel like the best possible version you can be. When you have good foundational grooming habits, and practices in place, persistence is key as you can’t expect results if you don’t put consistent effort in but by utilizing the above additions to your regular grooming routines, whether they are skin or hair or overall health, you’ll look and feel phenomenal.

Blumenthal Planning To Build Massive New Immersive Arts Hub

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Great news for art lovers – Blumenthal Performing Arts has just announced plans to build a massive immersive arts hub right here in Charlotte.

According to their official immersive hub page, they are currently considering existing buildings as well as vacant parcels of land to build a 25,000-40,000 square foot interactive space.

The space will be set up similar to what visitors to their Camp North End Immersive van Gogh exhibit experienced back in 2021, with space for ground breaking exhibits, educational experiences, and private events.

What do you think about the new concept?

Charlotte Ranked Among 2023’s Top Cities With The Most Green Space

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Exploring nature within your city is a great way to destress and get moving into the new year.

So, which cities have the best access to parks and yards?

Lawn Love ranked nearly 100 of the biggest U.S. cities to determine 2023’s Cities With the Most Green Space. Theycompared the cities based on the number of parks, total acreage, and average yard size, among five total factors.

Charlotte was ranked #16 in the nation, a few spots higher than Raleigh at #21.

2023’s Cities With the Most Green Space

What do you think about the among of green space in Charlotte?

Do you think there needs to be more?