Panthers Pick South Carolina’s CB Jaycee Horn in First Round of 2021 NFL Draft

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Panthers Pick South Carolina’s CB Jaycee Horn in First Round of 2021 NFL Draft

The Panthers have just used up their only first round draft pick on yet another defensive player (last year, coach Rhule used all of their first 7 draft picks on defensive players).

In the 8th overall pick, they selected 6-foot-1, 205-pound cornerback Jaycee Horn.

In a press release, the Panthers said they chose Horn for his strong ability to go up against the big receivers in the NFL.

“We loved the competitive makeup, the cover ability, and just the person,” general manager Scott Fitterer said. “He brings a lot of energy. I think he’s a really good fit for this team and we’re excited to get him.”

What do you think about the decision?

National Weather Service Issues Emergency ‘Fire Warning’ For Charlotte Region

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National Weather Service Issues Emergency ‘Fire Warning’ For Charlotte Region

This morning, the National Weather Service issued the following ‘Red Flag Warning’ for “IREDELL, DAVIE, ROWAN, MECKLENBURG, CABARRUS, and UNION COUNTIES”

 IREDELL-DAVIE-ROWAN-MECKLENBURG-CABARRUS-UNION NC-

530 AM EDT FRI APR 30 2021

...RED FLAG WARNING IN EFFECT FROM NOON TODAY TO 8 PM EDT THIS

EVENING FOR WIND AND LOW RELATIVE HUMIDITY FOR...

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN GREENVILLE-SPARTANBURG HAS ISSUED

A RED FLAG WARNING FOR WIND AND LOW RELATIVE HUMIDITY, WHICH IS

IN EFFECT FROM NOON TODAY TO 8 PM EDT THIS EVENING. THE FIRE

WEATHER WATCH IS NO LONGER IN EFFECT.

* AFFECTED AREA...IREDELL, DAVIE, ROWAN, MECKLENBURG, CABARRUS

AND UNION NC.

* TIMING...THIS AFTERNOON THROUGH EARLY EVENING.

* WINDS...NORTHWEST 10 TO 15 MPH WITH GUSTS UP TO 30 MPH.

* HUMIDITY...AS LOW AS 25 PERCENT.

* FUEL MOISTURE...ALREADY SEASONABLY LOW WILL LIKELY DROP

FURTHER WITH NO SIGNIFICANT WETTING RAIN IN THE FORECAST

TONIGHT OR FRIDAY.

* IMPACTS...OUTDOOR FIRES MAY EASILY GROW OUT OF CONTROL IN

THESE CONDITIONS.

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...

A RED FLAG WARNING MEANS THAT CRITICAL FIRE WEATHER CONDITIONS

ARE EITHER OCCURRING NOW, .OR WILL SHORTLY. A COMBINATION OF

STRONG WINDS, LOW RELATIVE HUMIDITY, AND WARM TEMPERATURES CAN

CONTRIBUTE TO EXTREME FIRE BEHAVIOR

While wildfires are rare in North Carolina, they do occasionally occur.

Back in 2016, dozens of devastating fires erupted all across the North Carolina mountains and Piedmont after a similar dry spell.

This shot was just taken in 2016 by John Cayton of the Party Rock Fire on Lake Lure:

15068402_10158061905195144_4524219220845077259_o

Beloved University City Farmers Market Re-Launching This Weekend

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Beloved University City Farmers Market Re-Launching This Weekend

This weekend, the beloved University City farmer’s market will re-open in one of the fastest-growing areas of our city.

The revamped market will be host some of Charlotte’s finest local food talent, including farmers, artisanal food makers and pop-up chefs from 9 a.m. – 1 p.m.

“We are delighted to offer a first-class farmers market for our community of more than 175,000 residents,” said Darlene Heater, Executive Director of University City Partners. “We asked them what they’d like to see more of in University City and a community market, as well as more programs, were top priorities. It being at the lake, the town center, makes it highly accessible and set against a gorgeous backdrop. It’s going to be something special.”

University City Farmers Market will support local farmers and entrepreneurs. The farmers selected use organic practices to help steward the earth, while producing and sourcing some of the freshest and most nutritious food available in North Carolina. Visitors will find seasonal vegetables and fruits, pasture-raised egg and meats, as well as artisanal food and natural beauty-care products.

University City Farmers Market will feature live music and local chef demonstrations. This fall, visitors can expect to find live musicians and DJs offering bluegrass, R&B/soul, hip hop, pop and other genres. Chef Lisa Brooks and Erique Berry will cook tasty treats from items you can find at University City Farmers Market. The food demos will focus on quick, healthy family-friendly dishes. All demonstrations and music performances will practice social distancing in accordance with Mecklenburg County and North Carolina State guidelines for the health and safety of all visitors. Similarly, capacity will be limited for shoppers to increase social distancing. Guests are encouraged to access the market by riding the LYNX Light Rail, walking or biking on the Barton Creek Greenway, or parking at Shoppes at University Place, 8929 JM Keynes Drive.

More details about University City Farmers Market can be found at univcitymarket.org.

Carolina Panthers Just Traded Starting QB Teddy Bridgewater For A 6th Round Draft Pick

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Carolina Panthers Just Traded Starting QB Teddy Bridgewater For A 6th Round Draft Pick

The Carolina Panthers have just traded their starting Quarterback Teddy Bridgewater to the Denver Broncos in exchange for a 6th round draft pick.

It now seems likely that Sam Darnold will become the new starting quarterback for the franchise during the 2021-22 season.

In a press release sent out yesterday, the Panther’s organization noted, “Dealing Bridgewater was likely inevitable once [we] traded three picks (including a second- and fourth-rounder next year) for the 23-year-old Darnold earlier this month.”

28-year-old Teddy Bridgewater started 15 games last year for the Panthers and missed one with a minor knee injury. He racked up 3,733 total throwing yards and 15 touchdowns with a 69.1% completion rating (ranked 5th in the NFL).

What do you think about the trade?

Concord Police Causing Outrage After Posting Photo of Their New $500k ‘Ambush Vehicle’

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Concord Police Causing Outrage After Posting Photo of Their New $500k ‘Ambush Vehicle’

The Concord Police Department is now causing outrage online after posting a picture of their new “Emergency Response Vehicle”.

The military calls it a ‘Mine-Resistant Ambush Protected Vehicle’ and it is valued at over $500,000.

In a now viral Instagram post, the Concord Police Department uploaded a photo of the vehicle with 2 officers standing in front of it and the caption:

“Emergency Response Vehicle looking sharp with Officers Bost and King at a cruise in held today. We were excited to attend event, seeing all the beautiful cars, and enjoyed speaking with everyone.#ERVmusclecars. RG”

The most liked comments on the post included:

“forrest_cannon: How about you use this money for our public schools instead?” 824 likes
“triana.marie: this is so unnecessary.” 713 likes
“robzillaaaaaaa: Say it with me! Budget 🗣 cut 🗣” 556 likes
“garrett_in_shenzhen: I had a lesser vehicle for combat operations in Afghanistan. What the hell is going on with you guys?” 512 likes
“okeykayla: looks like it’s time to cut that funding” 424 likes
“happyaccidents869: This is like a huge blinking sign that reads, “DEFUND US! WE DARE YOU” 385 likes
“lauriepud: This is typical overreach by our local police…so unnecessary. Better use of $1000000 has to be out there.” 330 likes

CMPD also received military equipment, but according to WFAE, they have since returned it.

“We don’t use, nor are we requesting any of that equipment,” CMPD spokesman Rob Tufano told WFAE. “So it’s inconsequential here as far as this organization goes.”

What do you think about local police departments using advanced military equipment? 

Charlotte Ranked As 2021’s 6th Best Large City to Start a Business

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Charlotte Ranked As 2021’s 6th Best Large City to Start a Business

With two in three small business owners saying 2020 was their hardest year ever, the personal-finance website WalletHub today released its report on 2021’s Best Large Cities to Start a Business.

In order to help aspiring entrepreneurs maximize their chances for long-term prosperity, the site compared 100 U.S. cities across 21 key indicators of startup viability. The data set ranges from the five-year business-survival rate to COVID-19 cases to office-space affordability.

Starting a Business in Charlotte (1=Best; 50=Avg.):

  • 55th – Average Daily COVID-19 Cases in the Past Week per Capita
  • 41st – Cost of Living
  • 15th – Length of Average Workweek (in Hours)
  • 22nd – Share of College-Educated Population
  • 3rd – Industry Variety

Charlotte ranked #6 overall, just ahead of Raleigh at #7:

Best Places to Start a Business

Overall Rank  City Total Score  Business Environment  Access to Resources  Business Costs 
1 Laredo, TX 64.97 13 10 43
2 Durham, NC 63.95 31 14 18
3 Lubbock, TX 63.79 25 5 55
4 Orlando, FL 63.58 24 27 16
5 Boise, ID 63.37 3 66 45
6 Charlotte, NC 62.63 17 43 29
7 Raleigh, NC 62.59 38 11 32
8 Austin, TX 62.45 2 9 83
9 Fort Worth, TX 62.10 4 19 71
10 Tampa, FL 61.78 44 23 19
11 Atlanta, GA 61.74 32 26 30
12 St. Petersburg, FL 61.19 39 53 17
13 Reno, NV 60.80 16 44 54
14 Dallas, TX 60.78 5 42 70
15 Winston-Salem, NC 60.65 41 80 1
16 Colorado Springs, CO 60.64 51 28 24
17 Jacksonville, FL 60.63 26 79 9
18 Kansas City, MO 60.34 46 63 10
19 Nashville, TN 60.28 23 39 51
20 Irvine, CA 59.45 6 1 97
21 Denver, CO 59.15 43 17 58
22 Irving, TX 59.03 9 41 77
23 Arlington, TX 58.94 20 46 68
24 Miami, FL 58.74 52 34 31
25 Phoenix, AZ 58.43 29 68 44
26 Long Beach, CA 58.33 14 32 82
27 Fresno, CA 58.29 47 56 35
28 New Orleans, LA 58.15 54 22 41
29 Honolulu, HI 58.09 60 2 76
30 Oakland, CA 58.02 8 7 92
31 Madison, WI 57.97 67 4 57
32 Stockton, CA 57.88 57 21 48
33 Scottsdale, AZ 57.84 7 60 80
34 Indianapolis, IN 57.83 56 73 8
35 Los Angeles, CA 57.75 15 29 85
36 Aurora, CO 57.57 33 84 36
37 Lincoln, NE 57.52 66 13 38
38 Houston, TX 56.75 42 54 62
39 San Diego, CA 56.66 12 31 89
40 Wichita, KS 56.31 73 25 27
41 Mesa, AZ 56.22 35 93 37
42 San Francisco, CA 56.10 1 6 100
43 Las Vegas, NV 56.03 55 59 42
44 Greensboro, NC 55.97 78 64 4
45 San Antonio, TX 55.96 48 52 65
46 Fort Wayne, IN 55.86 76 67 5
47 Omaha, NE 55.84 71 16 46
48 Birmingham, AL 55.82 72 65 14
49 Sacramento, CA 55.79 36 71 66
50 Boston, MA 55.71 63 3 86
51 Albuquerque, NM 55.71 64 78 11
52 San Bernardino, CA 55.51 53 85 28
53 Seattle, WA 55.47 10 8 96
54 Glendale, AZ 55.42 37 98 39
55 Louisville, KY 55.30 77 33 25
56 Tucson, AZ 55.10 65 72 22
57 Memphis, TN 54.76 74 70 15
58 Garland, TX 54.49 18 97 75
59 Henderson, NV 54.27 45 83 61
60 St. Louis, MO 54.12 87 40 2
61 Plano, TX 54.11 11 55 93
62 North Las Vegas, NV 54.04 50 92 47
63 Riverside, CA 53.85 49 69 73
64 Chandler, AZ 53.64 30 94 72
65 Tulsa, OK 53.61 89 37 3
66 Gilbert, AZ 53.46 28 86 79
67 Columbus, OH 53.37 79 35 50
68 Santa Ana, CA 53.22 21 95 81
69 Baton Rouge, LA 53.18 81 48 34
70 Milwaukee, WI 52.92 83 61 23
71 Chula Vista, CA 52.78 22 77 88
72 Norfolk, VA 52.77 69 91 21
73 Portland, OR 52.72 40 49 91
74 Oklahoma City, OK 52.72 88 36 12
75 Bakersfield, CA 52.47 59 90 59
76 Anaheim, CA 52.20 27 88 84
77 Hialeah, FL 52.17 70 99 13
78 Virginia Beach, VA 52.09 62 89 52
79 El Paso, TX 52.05 82 58 49
80 San Jose, CA 52.01 34 12 98
81 Lexington-Fayette, KY 51.88 84 38 40
82 Cincinnati, OH 51.49 85 57 33
83 Corpus Christi, TX 50.82 68 76 60
84 Fremont, CA 50.08 19 50 99
85 Chicago, IL 50.08 75 47 78
86 Chesapeake, VA 49.95 61 100 53
87 St. Paul, MN 48.90 86 51 64
88 Minneapolis, MN 48.80 91 15 69
89 Toledo, OH 47.65 93 82 20
90 Buffalo, NY 47.41 99 74 6
91 Anchorage, AK 46.94 58 96 87
92 Newark, NJ 46.74 94 24 74
93 Philadelphia, PA 45.83 92 61 67
94 Detroit, MI 45.39 100 75 7
95 Cleveland, OH 45.27 98 87 26
96 Pittsburgh, PA 45.22 97 45 63
97 Washington, DC 45.16 80 30 95
98 New York, NY 44.66 90 20 90
99 Baltimore, MD 44.62 96 81 56
100 Jersey City, NJ 42.04 95 18 94

Note: With the exception of “Total Score,” all of the columns in the table above depict the relative rank of that city, where a rank of 1 represents the best conditions for that metric category.

Duke Energy Announces Plans To Triple Renewable Energy Output This Decade

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Duke Energy Announces Plans To Triple Renewable Energy Output This Decade

By the end of this decade, renewables will make up a large portion of the company’s generation mix as Duke Energy looks to triple the amount of renewable energy it produces from company power plants and dramatically reduce carbon emissions.

This information, along with large amounts of other data, was spelled out today in Duke Energy’s 15th Sustainability Report, the company’s annual disclosure on environment, social and governance (ESG) issues.

“Duke Energy has a clear line of sight to reduce our carbon emissions by at least 50% by 2030 and is making terrific progress to achieve net-zero carbon emissions by 2050. We’re already a leader in our industry when it comes to low-carbon intensity. This next decade will also be our biggest ever for incorporating thousands of megawatts of new renewable energy generation into our portfolio,” said Katherine Neebe, Duke Energy’s vice president, national engagement & strategy, chief sustainability officer and president, Duke Energy Foundation.

Currently, 7% of Duke Energy’s company-owned electrical output comes from wind, solar and hydroelectric plants. That figure is projected to grow to 23% by 2030.

The company is undertaking its aggressive renewable energy buildouts with wind and solar projects currently under construction in Florida, North Carolina, Oklahoma and Texas. Over the next three years, the company will also add 280 megawatts of pumped storage hydro capacity at its Bad Creek facility in South Carolina.

Duke Energy’s carbon-free generation is also helped by its six nuclear plants in the Carolinas, which produced 35% of its total electrical output in 2020.

Among the other highlights in the report:

  • The company is overseeing the largest coal retirement in the industry and disclosed the closing dates for its remaining coal-fired generating units. Since 2010, Duke Energy has retired 51 coal-fired units, according to a chart in the report. An additional unit was retired last month bringing the total to 52.
  • For the first time, Duke Energy is sharing expanded employee diversity data, which is filed with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.
  • Duke Energy and its Foundation donated more than $8 million to COVID-19 relief efforts during 2020, and more than $2 million was provided by the Duke Energy Foundation to social justice and racial equity organizations.
  • The company’s economic development team helped attract nearly 18,000 new jobs and $9.1 billion in capital investment to its service territories.
  • The company’s overall carbon dioxide output continues to fall – down more than 40% since 2005. The company aims to reduce its carbon emissions by at least 50% by 2030.
  • Duke Energy continues to offer excellent value to customers with high reliability and retail electric rates below the national average in all customer categories – residential, commercial and industrial.

Duke Duke Energy (NYSE: DUK), a Fortune 150 company headquartered in Charlotte, N.C., is one of America’s largest energy holding companies. Its electric utilities serve 7.9 million customers in North Carolina, South Carolina, Florida, Indiana, Ohio and Kentucky, and collectively own 51,000 megawatts of energy capacity. Its natural gas unit serves 1.6 million customers in North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Ohio and Kentucky. The company employs 27,500 people.

UNC’s Zoe Roth Sold Her Original ‘Disaster Girl’ Photo As An NFT For $481,000

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UNC’s Zoe Roth Sold Her Original ‘Disaster Girl’ Photo As An NFT For $481,000

The subject of one of the most famous internet memes of all time just sold her original photo as a digital NFT for an astounding $481,000.

21-year-old UNC Chapel Hill senior Zoe Roth was just 4 years old when her photo was taken in front of a burning building in Mebane, North Carolina. Now called the ‘disaster girl meme’, the photo was uploaded to the internet in January of 2005 and quickly spread across millions of profiles on Myspace.

Here’s a quick video from 2011 that tells a brief history of the meme:

This past February, Zoe and her dad (the photographer of the legendary image) received an email about turning the image into a non-fungible token (NFT). After considerable research, they hired a manager and a lawyer to help create the NFT and sell it in an online auction.

In the 24-hour Foundation auction, @3FMusic won the sale with a final bid of 180 Ethereum (currently worth 481,293 US Dollars).

Congrats Zoe!

North Carolina Adds A New US Congressional Seat From The 2020 Census

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North Carolina Adds A New US Congressional Seat From The 2020 Census

North Carolina just got a little more powerful in the US Congress.

According to the results of the 2020 Census, our state has added roughly 1 million new residents over the past 10 years, a total increase of 9.5%, beating the overall national gain of 7.4%.

Because of our increase, we’ll gain 1 new seat in the US House of Representatives, taking us from 13 members in the House to 14.

Since much of our population increase has come from the blue states of the northeast and west, the political makeup of our voting base has been shifting.

Republicans have historically led the our state in most federal elections, but the 2020 election saw one of the smallest margins in history for the party, with Donald Trump’s margin-of-victory over Joe Biden at just 1.34%, a drop from his margin-of-victory over Hillary Clinton in 2016 of 3.66%.

Do you think North Carolina might turn blue in the next election? 

12-Year-Old NC Farmer Awarded Top Environmental and Animal Welfare Certification

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12-Year-Old NC Farmer Awarded Top Environmental and Animal Welfare Certification
The flock of sheep at Rising Sun Farms, started by 12-year-old farmer, Jackson Stinson, is now Certified Animal Welfare Approved by A Greener World (AGW).
This certification and food label lets consumers know these animals are raised outdoors on pasture or range in accordance with the highest animal welfare standards in the U.S. and Canada, using sustainable agriculture methods on an independent farm.
“I use pasture-based management because I want my sheep to have a natural experience. I rotate my pastures to help prevent parasite exposure, and it is important to me to show my flock great care, especially during lambing,” said Jackson. “Our AGW certification verifies the quality and care that we put into our animals and farm.”
Jackson’s parents, Chris and Melody, are both educators who value hands-on training and want to inspire lifelong learning in their children. They help each of their three children manage parts of the family farm. Jackson manages the flock of Certified Animal Welfare Approved by AGW sheep at Rising Sun Farms, which have constant access to pasture and grazing land and eat a diet of grass and forage throughout their lives. This promotes the health and welfare of the animal as well as the environment. The farm uses rotational grazing practices and sustainable farming techniques, which results in lower environmental impact and a higher quality product.
For more information about Rising Sun Farms, follow the farm on Facebook (@homesteadandhustle).
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