Children’s clothing retailer Gymboree has announced plans to file for bankruptcy and liquidate all 900 retail locations.

The liquidation includes 4 stores around the Charlotte area;

The parent company of Gymboree stores and outlets, Janie and Jack, and Crazy 8 is now expected to file for bankruptcy protection this week and begin liquidation of all stores within the coming months, The Wall Street Journal reports.

They also filed for a more optimistic bankruptcy back in June 2017 and closed roughly 400 stores in the process.

The UNC Charlotte Office of Identity, Equity, and Engagement will host the University’s annual Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration, which honors the life, work, and legacy of Dr. King. The program also will feature recognition of campus partners and a candle lighting ceremony.

As part of the festivities, Dorothy Counts-Scoggins will discuss her experience as one of the first African American students to integrate Harding High School in 1957. Her talk, which is free and open to the public is scheduled for 3:30 p.m., Tuesday, Jan. 22 in the Cone University Center, McKnight Hall.

The UNC Charlotte community is encouraged to participate in the following events as part of the University’s MLK Celebration:

March and Speak Out – Tuesday, Jan 15

Participants will march from Cato Hall to the Popp Martin Student Union from noon to 2 p.m., where members of the UNC Charlotte community can share their thoughts on MLK Jr. and injustices that have occurred in local communities and how their comments relate to the theme, “Thinking of a Better Tomorrow.”

MLK Day of Service – Friday, Jan. 25

Honor the life and legacy of Martin Luther King Jr. by volunteering within the Charlotte community. There will be a luncheon from noon to 12:30 p.m. at the Popp Martin Student Union Rotunda with the service opportunities between 1 and 4 p.m.; volunteers can sign up to help with one of the following:

• Promising Pages
• Habitat for Humanity
• Charlotte Community Toolbank
• Crisis Assistance Ministry
• Second Harvest Food Bank

About Dorothy Counts-Scoggins

On the first day of school in 1957, Dorothy Counts-Scoggins was met with an angry crowd of students and adults. She was pushed, spat on and endured racial slurs as she walked toward Harding High School. Students taunted her by throwing sticks and stones as she walked into the building. While in the classroom Counts-Scoggins was relegated to the back of the classroom, where teachers and administrators ignored her presence.

A local civil rights icon, Counts-Scoggins is retired from Child Care Resources Inc., a private nonprofit care resource and referral agency that works with families and communities to help high-quality and affordable early education opportunities. She continues to be active in her community, Biddleville-Smallwood, as a speaker at local schools.

As the government shutdown enters its 24th day, it’s starting to affect more than just national parks and tax returns.

According to CNN, hundreds of TSA workers, who are required to work without paychecks, have been calling in “sick” in increasing numbers.

Here in Charlotte, lines are starting to back up due to the call-ins;

Same at Charlotte at 6:15am. Longest Precheck line I’ve ever seen. Grateful for all the TSA agents here and working hard.

— Andi Stevenson (@PastPerfectAndi) January 14, 2019

One of the TSA checkpoints in the Houston airport even had to close due to the lack of staff;

TSA checkpoint at Houston airport closed because there are not enough people to staff it.https://t.co/Eh52WsIzdX

— FOX 46 Charlotte (@FOX46News) January 14, 2019

A TSA worker in Charlotte tweeted the president directly over the weekend, asking him to change the budget structure since it is now becoming ‘very hard’ for her to buy gas to get to work during the shutdown;

@realDonaldTrump I voted for you and I support the wall. However, you need to change the budget structure so when there is a shutdown essential employees can continue to get paid. I’m TSA screener and I still need to buy gas to go to work. Very hard when I’m not getting paid.

— Rossache (@cdiaz1017) January 12, 2019

What are your thoughts on the current government shutdown?

The Queen City has just been picked by the New American Economy (NAE) and Welcoming America to receive the prestigious ‘Gateways for Growth’ award.

The award gives cities a wide range of resources to assist in developing strategies to integrate immigrants, foster economic growth, and promote inclusion for all residents.

Charlotte is one of 13 cities across the country to receive the award, including;

Bowling Green, Kentucky
Cedar Rapids, Iowa
Charlotte, North Carolina
Flint, Michigan
Grand Rapids, Michigan
Lexington, Kentucky
Lowell, Massachusetts
Memphis, Tennessee
Northern Kentucky
Roanoke, Virginia
San Antonio, Texas
Toledo-Lucas County, Ohio
Wayne County, Michigan

Awardees will receive a combination of research, technical assistance, and matching grants from NAE and Welcoming America to support the development of welcoming strategies. Gateways for Growth (G4G) also serves as a network in which local communities can learn from each other and share best practices.

According to the most recent US Census, there are approximately 130,000 immigrants currently living in Charlotte.

“The facts prove it—cities that embrace immigration as a growth strategy reap the benefits,” commented NAE’s president John Feinblatt. “The Gateways for Growth Challenge spurs more local leaders to step up and make immigration a centerpiece of their economic agenda.”

Some of this year’s resources given to winning cities include;

• Customized quantitative research reports from NAE on the demographic and economic contributions immigrants make in their communities.
• On-the-ground technical assistance from NAE and Welcoming America to help communities draft, execute, and communicate a multi-sector immigrant integration strategy.
• Planning grants from NAE and Welcoming America that local partners have committed to match.

“Over the past two decades, Charlotte has experienced a significant demographic transformation,” said Federico Rios, City of Charlotte’s International & Integration Manager. “In 1990, foreign-born residents made up less than two percent of Charlotte. The American Community Survey states that now over 16 percent of Charlotte’s population are foreign-born. This grant is a wonderful opportunity to enhance our integration efforts with our receiving community. By working on a neighborhood level, we can introduce our native born and newcomer neighbors, and unite them in a shared desire to improve our community’s economic mobility.”

The City of Charlotte now plans on utilizing the new resources to research the economic impact of immigrants in Charlotte and work with local partner organizations to increase outreach efforts toward economic mobility.