King of Pops Giving Away Free Popsicles To Support Boys & Girls Club of Greater Charlotte

Charlotte Stories
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King of Pops Giving Away Free Popsicles To Support Boys & Girls Club of Greater Charlotte

Two southern staples are joining forces for good this back-to-school season. King of Pops, known for their unique and delicious popsicles, and Belk, a 130-year-old department store, are uniting under their shared purpose of creating memorable and happy moments in the lives of their customers.  Through this tasty partnership, children at the Salvation Army Boys & Girls Clubs in 10 southern cities will receive back-to-school outfits.

On Saturday, August 4 from 1 – 5 p.m., King of Pops will be handing out 200 free popsicles at SouthPark Mall (right outside the food court near the entrance by Dick’s Sporting Goods). With each popsicle, customers will receive a “Giving is Sweet” card that can be turned in at their local Belk store and, for each card received, the retailer will donate one back-to-school outfit to a child in need at the Boys & Girls Club of Greater Charlotte. Customers will also receive a free pair of Belk sunglasses when they redeem their card in-store.

“Giving is Sweet” cards will include specific directions and can be dropped off at Belk between August 4 – 18. In addition to back-to-school outfit donations, Belk and King of Pops will throw a special party for the Boys & Girls Club that redeems the most cards.

Charlotte Now Bracing For Severe Thunderstorms, Flash Floods, and Possible Tornadoes

Steve
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Charlotte Now Bracing For Severe Thunderstorms, Flash Floods, and Possible Tornadoes

The Charlotte region is about to get hammered with several heavy downpours over the next couple days.

According to the National Weather Service, there’s now a Flash Flood Watch is in effect until Friday morning for the entire western half of North Carolina. Residents around the Charlotte region can expect anywhere between 2″-6″, with the largest quantities of rain and even possible mudslides predicted for the foothills. Some areas along the Blue Ridge Parkway could even see up to 7″ of rain over the next 48 hours.

According to Meteorologist Brad Panovich, our region might even see some severe thunderstorms and possible tornadoes;

In case of power outages or flooded roads, Duke Energy recommends having the following items handy;

Blackstone Now The First Range In Charlotte To Bring Tactical Training To The Masses

Steve
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Blackstone Now The First Range In Charlotte To Bring Tactical Training To The Masses

Blackstone Shooting Sports, one of our cities newest gun ranges, is now Charlotte’s first facility to bring real-life tactical training simulations to the public.

Most civilian gun ranges feature long bays with static targets for increased firearm accuracy in static positions. Police, military, and some private ranges, however, also include tactical training rooms, allowing users to practice real-world situations. Tactical training includes shooting while moving, moving targets, and shooting under pressure.

In addition to Blackstone’s 27 state-of-the-art static shooting lanes, they also include a 9-lane tactical training bay designed for advanced law enforcement and civiliant training.  Each of the lanes is 25 yards long and can handle handguns, shotguns, and rifles up to 300 Winchester Magnum in caliber.

Here is what their tactical bay looks like during one of their Competitive Shooting Series Events;

A couple months ago, famed Rapper Post Malone even stopped by Blackstone to try it out;

Pricing for Training Packages are as follows:
  • 10 Pack of Sessions $55/Session
  • 5 Pack $65/Session
  • 1 Session $75

You can find out more about using some range time or becoming a member here at BlackstoneShooting.com.

Have you been to Blackstone yet?

What do you think about their tactical bay?

Rental Rates Are Continuing To Grow At Record Paces Across The Charlotte Region

Charlotte Stories
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Rental Rates Are Continuing To Grow At Record Paces Across The Charlotte Region

Even though Charlotte continues to build an ever-increasing number of apartment complexes, rents across our city continue to grow, according to a new report by Apartment List. Over the past month, we saw a city-wide increase of 0.4%, and a 1.5% increase over this time last year.

Currently, median rents in Charlotte stand at $960 for a one-bedroom apartment and $1,120 for a two-bedroom. This is the sixth straight month that the city has seen rent increases after a decline in January. Charlotte’s year-over-year rent growth leads the state average of 0.9%, as well as the national average of 1.2%.

Rents rising across cities in North Carolina

Throughout the past year, rent increases have been occurring not just in the city of Charlotte, but across the entire state. Of the largest 10 cities that we have data for in North Carolina, all of them have seen prices rise. The state as a whole logged rent growth of 0.9% over the past year. Here’s a look at how rents compare across some of the largest cities in the state.

  • Looking throughout the state, Cary is the most expensive of all North Carolina’s major cities, with a median two-bedroom rent of $1,240; of the 10 largest North Carolina cities that we have data for, all have seen rents rise year-over-year, with Wilmington experiencing the fastest growth (+2.8%).
  • Winston-Salem, High Point, and Greensboro have all experienced year-over-year growth above the state average (2.5%, 2.5%, and 2.3%, respectively).

Charlotte rents more affordable than many comparable cities nationwide

As rents have increased slightly in Charlotte, similar cities nationwide have seen rents grow more quickly. Charlotte is still more affordable than most other large cities across the country.

  • Charlotte’s median two-bedroom rent of $1,120 is below the national average of $1,180. Nationwide, rents have grown by 1.2% over the past year compared to the 1.5% increase in Charlotte.
  • While Charlotte’s rents rose slightly over the past year, some cities nationwide saw decreases, including Seattle (-2.4%) and Minneapolis (-0.4%).
  • Renters will find more reasonable prices in Charlotte than most similar cities. For example, San Francisco has a median 2BR rent of $3,090, which is more than two-and-a-half times the price in Charlotte.
City Median 1BR price Median 2BR price M/M price change Y/Y price change
Charlotte $960 $1,120 0.4% 1.5%
Concord $800 $930 -1.1% -3.3%
Gastonia $680 $800 0.8% 1.2%
Rock Hill $830 $970 0.2% -0.4%
Huntersville $1,090 $1,280 0.3% 0.8%
Matthews $1,020 $1,180 0.7% 3.1%
Cornelius $910 $1,060 0.9% 2.3%

Lake Norman Leaders Hope ‘Silicon Shores’ Could Bring In Over $1 Billion In New Development

Charlotte Stories
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Lake Norman Leaders Hope ‘Silicon Shores’ Could Bring In Over $1 Billion In New Development

The City of Mooresville has just announced plans to rebrand a major new 400-acre mixed-use development off Exit 31, which they anticipate could bring over $1 billion in corporate investments.

The new project is now being called ‘Silicon Shores’, as area economic development officials hope it will become a technology hub for the region. It is sandwiched between Lake Norman, I-77, Langtree Road, and N.C. 115 in Mooresville;

According to a recent press release, Russ Rogerson, president and CEO of the Iredell County Economic Development Corp., the new project was compared to LangTree Lake Norman, only much larger, and with much greater potential.

“We believe $1 billion in development is a very realistic estimate,” he noted.

The project will include residential communities, office complexes, national headquarters, and a wide variety of new retail offerings.

Construction on 2 new six-story hotels has already started on a 4-acre site just off exit 31, which will now be included in the ‘Silicon Shores’ project.

What do you think about the new project?

Bigfoot Festival Is Coming To North Carolina

Katherine Miele
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Bigfoot Festival Is Coming To North Carolina

bigfoot-911-festival-in-marionThe small town of Marion, NC (about 50 miles North West of Charlotte) will be hosting our region’s biggest ever Bigfoot Festival next month. It will be held in September 8th, from 12-6 pm.

The event will be sponsored by the Marion Downtown Business Association, the McDowell Chamber of Commerce, and the Facebook group ‘Bigfoot 911’.

John E. Bruner, who started Bigfoot 911, noted that the Bigfoot Festival will be something unique for not only North Carolina but this part of the country as well – it will be the only event of its kind on the East Coast.

He recently announced it via the popular North Carolina Bigfoot Facebook group, Bigfoot 911 (now with over 7,000 members):

“OK Everybody I promised a major announcement here it is. Last Monday we had a meeting with the Marion Downtown Business Association and the McDowell Chamber of Commerce and we jointly decided that there will be a BIGFOOT festival held in downtown Marion in September 2018, we are gonna do it big and do it right. We will keep you posted.” 

Organizers are now planning on having a wide variety of craft and food vendors, with a heavy emphasis on Sasquatch-themed items. There will also be book signings, lectures, and live demonstrations about how to hunt for the mysterious creature.

Several booths will be set up for Bigfoot hunters to present their photographs and plaster casts from expeditions into the woods.

The Facebook group ‘Bigfoot 911’ was first started in 2014 after a group of local investigators decided to share tips, stories, and photos from the McDowell County area.

Last year, the group received national and international attention after they reported a shockingly detailed sighting of Bigfoot near Lake James.

Charlotte Instagram Celebrity Featured in The New York Times Article on Age-Positivity

Charlotte Stories
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Charlotte Instagram Celebrity Featured in The New York Times Article on Age-Positivity

When Jan Correll first dreamed of making a positive mark on her fellow fifty-plus females, she had no idea her influence would reach all the way to The New York Times.

In an article published on June 20th, 2018, “The Glamorous Grandmas of Instagram,” Jan, along with her blog Silver is the New Blonde™, was featured as one of seven age-embracing Instagram influencers making both a statement and a difference in the over-sixty community.

Correll and her husband have lived in the greater Charlotte area for almost forty years. A corporate veteran with more than thirty years in the technology sales industry, Correll said her natural transition to silver hair was not met with open arms in the workplace sparking a desire to start her blog: “When I naturally transitioned to silver at age fifty, I received backlash from some colleagues. It made me more determined to embrace my natural style and I felt a calling to help more women feel that way.”

Correll now has over 20,000 visits per month to her blog and over 27,300 followers on Instagram.

Silver is the New Blonde™️ Read about “Of course you may” on the blog today, {linkinbio} and how it applies to all of us… not only my grands! 💙💙💙❤️ And learn more about the #hhi #boutique where I found this special #silver outfit! 🌟 I look forward to your comments after reading the blog!!! 📖 // to shop the silver pumps you can shop your screenshot of this pic with @liketoknow.it http://liketk.it/2wE3i #liketkit #ad . . . . #sunsets #charlotteknights #birdiejames #charlotte #merchantandtrade #fashionblogger #mystyle #styleblogger #fashion #ootd #summer #wiw #instastyle #summerfashion #stylemyway #wiwt #styleinspiration #fashionista #agelessstyle #stylish #silveristhenewblonde #perennial #style

A post shared by Jan Correll (@silver_isthenewblonde) on

She decided to use the interview as yet another medium to positively impact women across the country and across the globe. Correll said “I wanted to portray to women of all ages, that you have the freedom to do anything you want at any age. Just don’t give up.”

  • The New York Times featured Jan Correll’s blog Silver is the New Blonde™ as one of seven noteworthy, over-sixty Instagram influencers in a June 20th article titled “The Glamorous Grandmas of Instagram”
  • Correll’s blog Silver is the New Blonde™ now has hundreds of subscribers and her Instagram following has amassed to over 27,300

Wells Fargo Foundation Donates $200,000 to Charlotte Communities In Schools

Charlotte Stories
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Wells Fargo Foundation Donates $200,000 to Charlotte Communities In Schools

Communities In Schools of Charlotte-Mecklenburg (CIS-Charlotte) is pleased to announce that Wells Fargo Bank has donated $200,000 to the organization, a significant increase for this year. The Wells Fargo Foundation grant is primarily intended to help CIS-Charlotte continue to strengthen and deliver its wrap-around services to students in 46 Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools’ sites through its enhanced differentiated services programming model in its second year of implementation.

The differentiated services model for delivering case-management and Integrated Student Supports (ISS) to students consists of four levels of intensity delivered by specialized CIS Site Coordinators who address specific needs with evidence and research-based interventions through a developmental relationship:

· addressing chronic, crisis-ridden student and family situations;

· addressing chronic absenteeism and other barriers to learning;

· ensuring attendance, academic and behavior support and stabilization;

· and providing academic/cultural enrichment, life skills coaching, social capital and exposure as well as post-secondary planning and options.

Molly Shaw, CIS-Charlotte’s president and CEO, said this enhanced service delivery approach will benefit students through more targeted intervention and support based on individualized student needs.

“Simply put, differentiated services will allow us to provide students with the right kind of support, in the right amount, at the right time,” said Shaw. “Wells Fargo’s longstanding support and generous increased gift this year will help us fill critical gaps in schools where high concentrations of poverty exist and provide additional training and specialized skill development for program staff.”

Wells Fargo has been a longtime major supporter of Communities In Schools and was one of the original corporations (then First Union National Bank) that helped initiate Communities In Schools in Charlotte in 1985. Jay Everette, Senior Community Relations Manager with Wells Fargo Social Responsibility Group, says the company is proud to support CIS and its mission to provide thousands of local students with the resources they need to be successful in school and in life.

“Wells Fargo believes that CIS-Charlotte has the vision and a strong plan to help students and their families make life-changing progress,” said Everette. “On a broader level, we believe that CIS-Charlotte’s differentiated services approach will not only support improved outcomes for students and their families in the short-term, but can ultimately lead to more systemic change for future generations. This is one of the anticipated outcomes we are most excited about.”

CIS of Charlotte-Mecklenburg is an affiliate of the national Communities In Schools network and is dedicated to keeping kids in school and helping them succeed in life. Locally, CIS-Charlotte provides case management services to 6,400+ students annually in 46 Charlotte-Mecklenburg schools. An additional 27,000 students in Charlotte-Mecklenburg are supported by CIS each year through school-wide programming and volunteer-resource coordination at those same schools.

Charlotte Was Ranked The #1 Most Up-And-Coming City in America

Steve
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Charlotte Was Ranked The #1 Most Up-And-Coming City in America

Time Magazine and Yelp recently released a study that analyzed the best cities in America for economic opportunity – where small businesses have the best chance of success.

The study uses Yelp’s deep data stores to rank the 50 biggest cities in the country by “economic opportunity”, which is defined by Yelp as “the chance businesses have to stay open, and for new businesses to thrive.” They looked at dozens of data points for each business in every city, comparing their ratings, page visits, search frequency, number of times the business has been mapped, and how long each business has been open.

According to Time Magazine, “the data indicates that Charlotte, N.C. is the highest growth area, driven by success in restaurants and also the wider food industry — grocery stores, bakeries and the like — as well as home services.” The #1 ranked Queen City is followed by Jacksonville, FL at #2, Omaha, NE at #3, Orlando, FL at #4, and Charleston, SC at #5.

Time Magazine also lists out 10 subcategories that made up the overall ranking, including;

Shopping – Charlotte ranked #3

Restaurants – Charlotte ranked #6

Nightlife – Charlotte ranked #19

Food – Charlotte ranked #1

Automotive – Charlotte ranked #3

Event Planning and Services – Charlotte ranked #14

Health and Medical – Charlotte ranked #4

Active Life – Charlotte ranked #6

Home Services – Charlotte ranked #2

Beauty and Spas – Charlotte ranked #5

The results of this new study are even more encouraging for Charlotte, given that many experts are now saying that crowd-sourced data from sites like Yelp are more accurate reflections of economic health than governmental data.

A recent Harvard study notes that “government datasets from agencies such as the U.S. Census Bureau have long been the gold standard for measuring economic activity at the local level. However, these statistics typically appear only after multi-year lags, and the public-facing versions are aggregated to the county or ZIP code level. In contrast, crowdsourced data from online platforms such as Yelp are often contemporaneous and geographically finer than official government statistics.”

Keep up the good work Charlotte! 

Suspicious Package Shuts Down Traffic To South Park Mall

Steve
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Suspicious Package Shuts Down Traffic To South Park Mall

This evening at about 5pm, a suspicious package was discovered at the SouthPark mall and police quickly shut down traffic to the popular shopping center.

Bomb-sniffing K9 united were dispatched to Nordstrom to investigate the package.

Police released a series of tweets warning the public to stay away from the area and to not be alarmed if a loud noise is heard;

About an hour ago, the police noted that the package was rendered safe and was still investigating.

The police just released a final tweet stated the owners of the package have been found and said it was nothing more than a cooler with a metal pot inside;

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