Rumors Circulating About The Panthers Cutting Cam Newton

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Rumors Circulating About The Panthers Cutting Cam Newton

Rumors are now circulating about Cam Newton being cut from the Panthers after the organization gave themselves an easy-out of his contract and signed 3rd round pick Will Grier.

Even though Newton still has $44.3 million left on his contract, the Panthers would now only be out a total of $2 million if they decided his shoulder problems become too much of an issue.

Attitude Sports has even started an online poll asking their readers if Cam should be cut.

In spite of the increased rumors, the star quarterback doesn’t seem phased. In an interview last week, Cam told reporters, “I reached out to Will. I actually saw Will play in high school with him being in Charlotte, and I’m just excited. Like I said, for him to come on a team that I know he possesses a rare talent, and I’m excited. It’s my job to put myself and my team in the best situation and to get everybody ready. I want to make sure that I’m my best teammate and my best self for everyone.”

What do you think about the Panthers signing Will and Cam’s future with the franchise? 

UNCC Hero Riley Howell Will Be Given Full Military Honors At Funeral

Steve
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UNCC Hero Riley Howell Will Be Given Full Military Honors At Funeral

21-Year-Old Riley Howell, the brave UNCC student who sacrificed his life to stop the school shooter, will now be given full military honors at his funeral.

Officials made the announcement on Friday afternoon during a student-led rally in Uptown Charlotte.

The decision came after a WhiteHouse.gov petition was started on Wednesday, asking for Howell to be given the highest honors.

The petition reads;

“Riley was an ROTC cadet and would have served his country. Instead, he died saving the lives of his classmates.

For his heroism, we ask the Riley be given a burial with full military honors.”

As of Saturday morning, the petition had received just over 30,000 signatures.

According to the US Military, “The honor detail will, at a minimum, perform a ceremony that includes the folding and presenting of the American flag to the next of kin and the playing of taps.”

Here is a demonstration of military funeral honors;

The Howell family will receive friends from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. Saturday evening at Wells Events and Reception Center in Waynesville, N.C.

On Sunday, a memorial service will be held at 5 p.m. in Stuart Auditorium at Lake Junaluska.

The suspect in Tuesday’s horrific UNCC campus shooting is now being charged with 2 counts of first-degree murder and 4 counts of attempted murder.

Sample Our Region’s Best Food and Beer At Charlotte’s 6th Annual South End Hops Fest

Steve
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Sample Our Region’s Best Food and Beer At Charlotte’s 6th Annual South End Hops Fest

The South End Hops Festival is about to hold its 6th annual event for beer enthusiasts, foodies, and puppy lovers. Proceeds will benefit RescuedMe, a non-profit organization dedicated to rescuing dogs in dire need, rehabilitating them and placing them in stable, loving homes.

The festival, a staple in South End, will take place on Saturday, May 18th at 308 W. Carson Boulevard and Mint Street from 2:00 to 6:00 p.m. Attendees will experience craft beer, live music, and tons of amazing food.

“We are so excited for this year’s South End Hops Festival that will gather the community for a good time and a good cause,” said Maureen Mahood, President and Co-founder of RescuedMe. “The increased awareness of our services and financial support we receive allow us to care for those dogs in Charlotte who might not otherwise survive. Not only do our dogs find safe homes, but those who adopt find a companion.”

An anticipated 1,500 attendees will experience beer from more than 40 local favorites including D9, Unknown, Suffolk Punch, Big Boss Brewing Company, Blue Blaze Brewing Company, Triple C Brewing Company, and tons more.

New for 2019 is the addition of several local chefs hosting cooking demos and yes you will be able to sample some of Charlotte’s best foods, included in the price of your ticket.

Featured chefs include;

Robert Huffman of Angeline’s

https://www.angelinescharlotte.com/about-us/

Vince Giancarlo of Zeppelin

http://zeppelinsouthend.com/about/

Josh Kitchens of JP Charlotte

http://www.jpcharlotte.com/the-chef

Taylor Kastl of Tayste Catering

Also, new this year is the first annual South End Hops Fest Eve beer dinner and the pre Fest Pup Parade.

South End Hops Festival is dog-friendly and open to individuals 21 years of age or older. General admission entitles guests to unlimited beer tasting and a souvenir tasting cup. Tickets are $35 in advance and $40 at the gate. Attendees can purchase tickets, volunteer and learn more about the event by visiting southendhopsfest.org or calling 877-725-8849.

CMPD Officer Invented A Product That Will Stop School Shooters

Steve
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CMPD Officer Invented A Product That Will Stop School Shooters

barricade-box-school-shooter-charlotteCharlotte Sergeant Chris Kopp has invented a new device that he hopes will soon be in every classroom in America in order to stop any potential school shooters.

The Barricade Box is a simple, yet powerful device that will prevent any door from being breached by up to 10,000 pounds of force.

It’s already been installed in 18 Charlotte area schools.

After installing, you can basically just pop the cap off, then stretch the Kevlar cord around a door handle and hooking it back on the box.

It’s a strategy to keep the door secure, and even an elementary school student can do it in seconds.

One of these can be installed in under 10 minutes, and each one costs around $50. With around 80 classroom doors in a school, it would cost a school around $4000 to be fully secure.

For more info or to buy a Barricade Box for your home, office, or classroom click here.

Ticketmaster Selling Tickets To This Summer’s Biggest Concerts For $20 This Week Only

Steve
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Ticketmaster Selling Tickets To This Summer’s Biggest Concerts For $20 This Week Only

Attention all concert lovers:

Ticketmaster has just kicked off their “National Concert Week“, offering tickets to this summer’s biggest shows for just $20 each with no fees. They will be selling tickets today through May 7th to more than 2,800 concerts across North America, including 40+ here in Charlotte.

$20 shows in the Queen City range from Brad Paisley to Peter Frampton to The Goo Goo Dolls to ZZ Top and beyond.

Discounted ticket supply available while supplies last, on the Live Nation website. Tickets remained for each listed concert at the time of publication.

Charlotte DOT and Sustain Charlotte Announce Plans for Uptown Cycle Track

Charlotte Stories
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Charlotte DOT and Sustain Charlotte Announce Plans for Uptown Cycle Track

Sustain Charlotte, Charlotte’s Department of Transportation (DOT), and engineer firm Stewart have just announced plans for a new cycle track in Uptown Charlotte.

Representatives from Stewart and Charlotte DOT unveiled the plans yesterday at Sustain Charlotte’s Shifting Gears public action workshop and guided a ride-along of the pilot cycle track, which currently stretches from Independence Park to Uptown along 7th Street and 6thStreet.

The full cycle track project will continue along 6th Street to 5th Street and connect to the Irwin Creek Greenway, and include median improvements to better separate the bike lanes from traffic, improving safety for pedestrians and cyclists.

Construction is scheduled to begin in Fall 2020 and is estimated to be completed in 2021.

“Cyclist mobility, safety and awareness is an important part of our efforts to make Charlotte a better city for bicycling,” said Kate Cavazza, Bicycle Program Manager, Sustain Charlotte. “The pilot cycle track and planned expansion is a development we have been looking forward to for many years. We’re excited to continue to work with the City of Charlotte and their consultant Stewart to make the final track a reality and help propel cycling forward in the Queen City.”

Stewart has played an important role in the design and development of the cycle track to-date, including collaborating with Charlotte DOT and Charlotte Center City Partners for the Uptown Connects feasibility study. This study set forth a vision for both short- and long-term options to provide comfortable multimodal facilities for pedestrians and cyclists of all ages and abilities, which are now becoming a reality.

“We’re excited to be helping Charlotte residents and visitors overcome the challenges of cycling and walking through Uptown,” said Todd Delk, the project’s manager at Stewart. “The public input that we have heard throughout the project in meetings and events like last night have helped us create a design that will serve pedestrians and cyclists of all ages.”

Attendees at yesterday’s Shifting Gears public action workshop heard firsthand the plans for the expanded Cycle Track, and participated in a 30-minute guided ride down the pilot track. Representatives from Stewart, Charlotte DOT and Sustain Charlotte were on hand to gather public input during and after the event to help further improve Uptown development plans.

To learn more about the project, go to bit.ly/UPTOWNCYCLETRACK.

Charlotte Attorney Cheslie Kryst Has Just Been Crowned Miss USA

Steve
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Charlotte Attorney Cheslie Kryst Has Just Been Crowned Miss USA

A Charlotte resident has just been crowned the most beautiful woman in America.

28-year-old Charlotte attorney Cheslie Kryst won the Miss USA pageant last night in Reno, Nevada.

The moment was broadcast live last night at about 10 pm;

Kryst currently works for Charlotte’s Poyner Spruill Law Firm and as the Founder and Lead Blogger of White Collar Glam.

She grew up in York County, completed her Bachelor’s Degree at The University of South Carolina, and her Law Degree from Wake Forest University.

Kryst will now begin preparing to compete in the 68th annual Miss Universe Beauty Pageant, set to air this coming November.

North Carolina’s ‘Land of Oz’ Theme Park Is About To Reopen

Steve
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North Carolina’s ‘Land of Oz’ Theme Park Is About To Reopen

north carolina land of ozNorth Carolina’s legendary “Land of Oz” theme park in Beech Mountain is about to bring back all the old characters and reopen all the attractions for a limited time this coming June.

The old park will is now planning on opening every Thursday and Friday in June (June 1st, June 8th, June 15th, June 22nd, June 29th), and for the first time this year, they will be opening for one Wednesday on June 26th, as well as Friday July 5th, according to the new organizers.

You’ll be able to follow Dorothy through a classic story-line. Escape the ‘cyclone’ and run to the storm cellar and enter into the magic Land of Oz.

Walk through the tilted house or the old witches castle. The park features hundreds of oz-themed props, buildings, and actives for visitors of all ages.

This video from a few years ago gives a little more insight into the historic rise and downfall of ‘The Land of Oz’;

The unique theme park was originally built by developmental team of Grover and Harry Robbins of Carolina Caribbean Corporation (CCC) starting in 1968. According to their website, “The two had built other local attractions in Western North Carolina such as Tweetsie Railroad and other resorts, and were in search of a way to utilize their newest acquisition: Beech Mountain. Skiing would be the main attraction during the winter months, but they were in search of a way to utilize the property during the spring, summer, and early fall seasons.”

The park saw almost 10 years of success before Grover Robbins died from cancer and several major acts of vandalism began to occur. In 1976, a new management team bought Oz and saw declining success and continued vandalism. The new owners, Tri South “decided to close the park at the end of the 1980 season. There were hopes of re-opening Oz through 1983, and even rebuilding the park with Pentes’s designs in Tennessee. Unfortunately, these dreams never came to fruition,” according to the website. “Over the next few years, The Land of Oz would be left to survive the harsh environmental elements, vandals, and looters. By 1985, the Emerald City, character houses, and some other buildings were demolished due to decay and vandalism.”

Over the past few years, the park has been slowly rebuilding and tickets for their annual ‘Journey with Dorothy’ in June and the ‘Autumn at Oz Festival’ in September continue to sell out.

Have you ever been to The Land of Oz?

What are your thoughts on North Carolina’s most unique theme park?

Charlotte’s Heart Math Tutoring Receives Major Grant from Barings Financial Group

Charlotte Stories
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Charlotte’s Heart Math Tutoring Receives Major Grant from Barings Financial Group

Heart Math Tutoring (Heart Tutoring), a nonprofit organization dedicated to helping students in high-poverty elementary schools, today announced that Barings, one of the world’s leading financial services firms, has provided a school sponsorship grant to fund over half of the cost of Heart Tutoring in a school site. This grant, which reflects an increase from Barings’ contribution last year, will allow 50-80 students to receive one-on-one tutoring from September 2019 to May 2020. Funding supports an on-site Program Coordinator, tutoring supplies, and two annual family engagement events.

“We are grateful to Barings for aligning volunteers and capital to bring tutoring to more students,” said Emily Gaffney, Executive Director of Heart Math Tutoring. “Barings’ gift leads the way as we head into school and tutor recruitment season, allowing us to provide even more students with the opportunity to succeed in school and beyond.”

Barings employees have been volunteering with Heart Tutoring since 2015. In addition to a financial partnership, Barings currently has 22 employees who are weekly volunteers with the program.

“We are pleased to support Heart Tutoring and believe strongly in the organization’s mission of helping students develop math skills and academic confidence,” said Adam Schauer, four-year Heart Tutor and Barings Client Portfolio Manager. “Education is a core pillar of the Barings’ social impact strategy and we believe by providing students with access to programs like Heart Tutoring, we are helping open the doors to skills students need to succeed.”

56 percent of economically disadvantaged students in Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools (CMS) performed below grade level in math on 2018 North Carolina End-of-Grade Tests. In response, Heart Tutoring recruits, trains, and supports volunteers as tutors in high-poverty CMS elementary schools. Over 1,050 community members, including many Barings employees, spend one hour each week delivering Heart Tutoring’s activity-based, structured curriculum.

With the support of partners like Barings, Heart Tutoring has grown from serving 105 students across two schools to more than 1,000 students across 22 school sites in just six years. Since the beginning of the program, 98 percent of over 2,400 students have met program growth goals in math, growing in two or more building block concept areas. Throughout the 2017/18 school year, 89 percent of teachers observed an increase in student confidence and enthusiasm toward math as a result of Heart Tutoring, and 62 percent reported students are more confident in subjects other than math.

About Heart Math Tutoring

Heart Math Tutoring is a Charlotte-based nonprofit with a mission to ensure that all elementary students develop the strong foundation in math and enthusiasm for academics needed for long-term success, by helping schools use volunteers as tutors. Community members commit one hour per week to deliver an effective, hands-on curriculum through one-on-one tutoring sessions during the school day in high-poverty elementary schools. For more information, visit hearttutoring.org.

About Barings

Barings is a $317+ billion global financial services firm dedicated to meeting the evolving investment and capital needs of our clients and customers. Through active asset management and direct origination, we provide innovative solutions and access to differentiated opportunities across public and private capital markets. A subsidiary of MassMutual, Barings maintains a strong global presence with business and investment professionals located across North America, Europe and Asia Pacific.

No Swimming Advisory Issued After Hundreds of Gallons of Raw Sewage Spill Into Lake Norman

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No Swimming Advisory Issued After Hundreds of Gallons of Raw Sewage Spill Into Lake Norman

A ‘no swimming advisory’ has just been issued for a section of Lake Norman after a sewer line broke and discharged hundreds of gallons of raw sewage into the lake.

According to Charlotte-Mecklenburg Storm Water, the line busted on John Conner Road in Cornelius and dumped at least 150 gallons between Springwinds Drive and Penninsula Cove Lane.

The leak has now been stopped, but officials warn against going into the water until the sewage has had a chance to spread out into more of the lake.

Charlotte-Mecklenburg Storm Water Services will continue to monitor water quality in the affected area. Once water conditions are deemed safe, the no swimming advisory will be removed.

If you live in the area and you are on a well, officials recommend checking to see if your water was contaminated by using a field testing kit, and consider installing a reverse osmosis filter on any faucet used for drinking water.

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