Over 370,000 Duke Energy customers may have had their personal information leaked during a massive data breach of a company Duke uses to process customer payments.
PayPal announced the breach this past weekend and said that they suspended operations of their subsidiary, TIO Networks (TIO) as soon as the breach was discovered.
“TIO has also begun working with the companies it services to notify potentially affected individuals, and PayPal is working with a consumer credit reporting agency to provide free credit monitoring memberships,” according to their press release.
The breach is now estimated to have affected at least 1.6 million people, including 374,000 Duke energy customers. The leaked information includes names, addresses, Duke Energy account numbers, account balances and banking information.
In an email, Duke Energy spokesman Ryan Mosier said that the company had been using TIO for in-person payments, and have since stopped accepting in-person payments.
“We are doing all we can to help,” Mosier said. “We regret the frustration and inconvenience this issue has created for our customers who rely on our walk-in locations to pay their monthly energy bills.”
Duke Energy customers in the Carolinas are still able to make payments at Western Union, online, or over the phone.
TIO plans on contacting all affected customers and offering them one year of complimentary credit monitoring.
Ariel Olivar, a high school cheerleader at Manvel High School, just wanted to have some fun on the sidelines.
She never dreamed that her gravity-defying trick would have such a viral impact on the internet.
Her quick 6-second video, where she basically steps over an imaginary box, has now been viewed over 5 million times since it was first posted on December 2nd;
Last night the City of Charlotte officially sworn in its newest mayor and city council members.
Vi Lyles is now Charlotte’s 59th mayor, and the city’s first ever African American female mayor.
Yesterday’s historic changing of the guard saw the following officials retire;
Mayor – Jennifer W. Roberts Council Members – Carlenia Ivory – Kenny Smith – Claire Fallon – Patsy Kinsey
and the following officials swear in for their 2017-2019 terms;
Mayor – Vi Lyles Council Members – Dimple Ajmera – Tariq Bokhari – Ed Driggs – Larken Egleston – Julie Jacobus Eiselt – Justin Harlow – La Wana Mayfield – James E. Mitchell, Jr. – Matt Newton – Greg Phipps – Braxton Winston II
Each new elected official swore the following oath;
I, (elected official), do solemnly and sincerely swear/affirm that I will support the Constitution of the United States; that I will be faithful and bear true allegiance to the State of North Carolina, and to the constitutional powers and authorities which are or may be established for the government thereof; and that I will endeavor to support, maintain and defend the Constitution of said State, not inconsistent with the Constitution of the United States, and that I will discharge the duties of my office as (Mayor/City Council Member) of the City of Charlotte, North Carolina, to the best of my knowledge and ability; so help me God.
It’s official – Vi Lyles sworn in as Charlotte’s first female African-American mayor. Congratulations! pic.twitter.com/itpmISTXK7
Vi Lyles is now the 59th mayor in Charlotte’s history and the 7th new mayor in the past 9 years…it’s certainly been an eventful decade for the leadership in our city;
Pat McCrory
1995–2009
Republican
Longest serving Mayor with seven terms. Later became Governor of North Carolina, the first Charlotte Mayor to do so.
Anthony Foxx
2009–2013
Democratic
Stepped down to become United States Secretary of Transportation.
Patsy Kinsey
2013
Democratic
Served the remainder of Foxx’s term.
Patrick Cannon
2013–2014
Democratic
Resigned after being arrested on corruption charges.
Daniel G. Clodfelter
2014–2015
Democratic
Appointed mayor by the City Council on April 7, 2014.
Ric Elias and Dan Feldstein started a small marketing firm in 1999 that focused on creative technology driven sales solutions. They never imagined how quickly their new start-up, now called Red Ventures, would grow.
In 2007, the company built a new 20,000-square-foot headquarters in South Charlotte and over the past 14 years, it has built satellite offices in New York, Florida, Texas, Puerto Rico and Guatemala, attracting big-name clients such as LendingTree, Bank of America, and Duke Energy.
They recently reached a whole new level when a California investment firm bought a $250 million stake in the company. Silver Lake Partners’ deal now values the Charlotte-based marketing firm at an estimated $1 billion.
Red Ventures has grown more than 30 percent every year for the past five years and is projected to house almost 1,800 employees on the South Carolina campus by next year.
The FDA has just issued a national recall of all bottles of “Comforts For Baby Purified Water with Fluoride Added” with sell-by dates from 4/26/2018 to 10/10/2018 after a dangerous type of mold was detected on the inside of the containers.
Testing identified the mold as Talaromyces penicillium. The fluoride-added water is sold in clear containers, but the mold may not be visible with the naked eye.
“Allergic responses include hay fever-type symptoms, such as sneezing, runny nose, red eyes, and skin rash. Allergic reactions are common and can happen immediately after touching or inhaling mold spores, or later,” the FDA warns. Infants with any type of immune deficiencies are especially at risk.
Comforts For Baby Purified Water is sold at all Kroger stores including Food 4 Less, Jay C, Jay C Food Plus, Kroger, Kroger Marketplace, Owen’s, Payless Super Market, and Ruler stores throughout the Carolinas;
If you’ve purchased this water, Kroger is offering a full refund and is urging consumers to bring it back into the store immediately. If you have additional questions, you can call Kroger at 888-723-33663 (SAFEFOOD), Monday through Friday, between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. Eastern time.
According to a new press release by the FBI, the body of 3-year-old Mariah Woods is believed to have been found in a creek in Pender County. Investigators are still waiting for the results from the medical examiner’s office for an official confirmation.
On Friday, December 1st, 32-year-old Earl Kimrey was arrested in connection with Mariah’s disappearance. Kimrey was the live-in boyfriend of Kristy Woods, Mariah Woods’ mother.
Warrants from the Onslow County Sheriff’s Office state that Kimery ‘allegedly knowingly concealed the unnatural death of Mariah Woods, and secretly hid the child’s body.’
Kimrey was taken before a state magistrate and charged with:
— Concealing of Death
— Obstruction of Justice
— Second Degree Burglary
— Felony Larceny
— Possession of Stolen Property
He is now being held in the Onslow County Detention Center under a $1,010,000 bond. DA Ernie Lee said that additional charges could be pending as the investigation progresses.
North Carolina residents are now being asked to keep an eye out for Joseph, who is believed to be suffering from dementia or some other cognitive impairment.
Gender: Male
DOB: 07/18/1984
Age: 33
Race: White
Height: 5′ 7″
Weight: 170 pounds
Hair Color: Brown
Hair Length: Short
Eye Color: Blue
Reporting Law Enforcement Agency: Asheboro Police Dept.
Contact Information: J.S. Moore at 336-318-6927
Location of Incident: 1512 N. Fayetteville St, Asheboro, NC
Location Last Seen: 133 W. Wainman Ave, Asheboro, NC
Direction of Travel: South on S. Fayetteville St, Asheboro, NC
If you have any information about Joseph’s whereabouts, please call J.S. Moore at the Asheboro Police Dept. at 336-318-6927, or dial 911.
Great news for holiday travelers in Charlotte – our airport has just been ranked as having some of the shortest wait times in the country.
A new study released by MileCards.com analyzed the best and worst customer wait times for international airports in the US, using data provided by U.S. Customs and Border Protection.
Charlotte ranked #2 on the study, just behind Phoenix, and just ahead of Minneapolis-St. Paul.
According to the report, “Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport has the fastest customs lines among the busiest U.S. airports that process more than 3 million international passengers a year, with an average wait time of 7.4 minutes. Charlotte Douglas International Airport came in second, with an average wait of just under 9 minutes, and Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport rounded out the top three with a time of around 10 minutes. If you don’t want to wait in line, plan to come home through one of these three airports.”
The report does add 1 caveat for Charlotte Douglas travelers – “You shouldn’t arrive between 9 and 10 a.m., because it can take almost a half-hour to clear customs during the busiest hour.”
What do you think about the wait times at Charlotte Douglas?
Even though Charlotte’s restaurant selection continues to grow, so does our population, and some restaurants are taking advantage of this growing customer base by letting their health standards slide.
Some of the most common reasons for low scores were food handlers not washing their hands properly, contaminated food containers, and improper food temperatures (many restaurants are starting to use infrared thermometers to avoid this). You can see exactly what the inspectors look for on this blank copy of an inspection report.
These are the top 10 worst currently standing inspection scores in Mecklenburg County (some restaurants scored lower in November but were reinspected with higher scores before December 3rd):
11508 Providence Rd., Charlotte, NC
Scored 90 (A) on 11/13/2017
They had the following critical violations;
Observed raw eggs stored beneath raw beef, chicken and shrimp.
Observed two deep, plastic pans of fried chicken and two large metal bowls of grilled chicken cooling in walk in between 50F and 70F.
Observed noodles cooling in a covered plastic pan with no temperature change after 20 minutes.
Observed a container of chicken in walk-in cooler and a bag of lettuce in reach in unit with no date marks to indicate when products were cooked/opened.
Observed frozen meats stored directly on floor in walk in freezer.
Observed food residue on handles of reach in units on cook line and on shelving in units throughout facility.
1331 W. Sugar Creek Rd., Charlotte, NC
Scored 90 (A) on 11/20/2017
They had the following critical violations;
Observed raw turkey being thawed in 2 comp prep sink with cooked sweet potatoes being prepped in the adjacent compartment with water from the raw turkey flowing into the compartment with sweet potatoes contaminating the sweet potatoes.
Observed a number of foods stored un-covered in walk-in freezer.
Observed sanitizer had run out at dish machine, reading 0 ppm.
Observed yellow gravy cooked and portioned yesterday in several 1/2 pint conainers with tight lids at 47-48 degrees cooling since last night (over 6 hrs).
Observed a couple items thawed 2 days ago that were not marked with a date of thaw to track the 7 day shelf life of refrigeration allowed.
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401 N. Tryon St., Charlotte, NC
Scored 90 (A) on 11/17/2017
They had the following critical violations;
Observed food in hand washing sink in kitchen.
Observed jalapeno stored in same container with raw shelled eggs in prep cooler.
Observed several tcs foods in parts of coolers not holding temperatures at 45F or below. Some drawers in prep coolers at grill did not hold foods at 45F or below.
Observed several foods such as lettuce, tomatoes, chicken and rice with out a date mark.
Observed debris and food build up on shelves throughout the establishment.
Observed no air thermometers in place in several coolers throughout the establishment.
10715 Park Rd., Charlotte, NC
Scored 90 (A) on 11/17/2017
They had the following critical violations;
Observed twist top employee beverage stored over prep refrigerator.
Observed employees turn faucet off with their bare hands.
Observed employee touch soiled cloth with their bare hands and not wash their hands.
Observed employee touch chicken with their bare hands.
Observed restroom out of disposable towels.
Observed operator provided invoice from Sealand of “belt fish” but product was not listed as belt fish on label inside walk in freezer but as “ribbonfish”.
Observed raw meat stored over sauce in walk in unit. Observed raw egg and raw shrimp stored over vegetable and rte food in flip top prep unit.
Observed some pans, container and can opener stored as clean but soiled with food debris.
Observed 3 containers of egg rolls prepared at 10am from day before w/ no date marked.
5512 Carmel Rd., Charlotte, NC
Scored 86.5 (B) on 11/20/2017
They had the following critical violations;
Observed that facility does not have an employee health policy in place for employees to read and sign individually.
Observed Milo employee touch pork tenderloin with bare hands when opening product for taking a temperature.
Observed meat slicer with food debris under the blade housing and can opener with heavy food debris on the blade in back prep room.
Observed employee at warewashing area immersing utensils in sanitizer vat for less than 5 seconds when instructions from manufacturer say to use a one minute contact time minimum.
Observed butter holding at 58F in reach in and cheese holding at 56F on counter top next to hot holding steam wells.
Observed facility using an 8 day date marking system with several TCS items dated for 8 days of shelf life.
Observed garlic and oil mixture dated for 11/11 on its 9th day of shelf life.
Observed unlabelled pink chemical in back closet with washer and dryer.
3429 Toringdon Way, Charlotte, NC
Scored 86.5 (B) on 11/22/2017
They had the following critical violations;
Observed food employee donning gloves without washing hands.
Observed food employee taking off jewelry and placing hair restraint on then don gloves.
Observed food employee going from dirty to clean at ware washing without washing hands.
Observed raw chicken submerged/thawing on meat prep sink while shrimp was inside of basin being thawed under running water.
Observed food employee wearing gloves going into walk in cooler come back out with container of noodle (used glove hands to scoop noodles) and food employee was cooking raw product on line.
Observed food employees touching raw product and then using same gloves to touch ready to eat cherries for garnishment.
Observed microwave soiled from previous night.
Observed equipment and utensils stored as clean with food debris on it.
Observed chicken and broccoli coming off at 148-150 degrees.
Observed brown rice hot holding on counter at 118 degrees.
Observed raw pooled eggs cold holding on line above 45 degrees, observed raw shell eggs on hibachi station cold holding above 45 degrees, observed salads cold holding on line above 45 degrees.
Observed two containers of chicken, noodles, rice, and container of soup (riu) not date marked.
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1000 NC Music Factory Blvd., Charlotte, NC
Scored 86 (B) on 11/17/2017
They had the following critical violations;
Observed no hot water at hand washing sink at bar area.
Observed no soap at hand washing sink near 3 dish washing area.
Observed raw beef store above ready to eat foods such as condiments, cooked chicken, and produce.
Observed raw beef stored above ready to eat chicken stock.
Observed sanitizer concentration at dish machine at 0ppm chlorine.
Observed cut tomatoes, and herb butter in prep cooler not holding temperature at 45F or below. Both food items were over stacked.
Observed the majority of TCS foods in the establishment without date marks.
As of November 3rd, the above scores have not changed, but they can be increased (or decreased) at any time, as soon as they have a re-inspection.
If you’d like to monitor heath scores, or do a quick search for a restaurant you’re about to eat at, check out North Carolina’s health inspection database here.
One of America’s largest avocado distributors just finished construction on their first east coast distribution center right here in Charlotte, according to a press release.
Henry Avocados primarily distributes HASS avocados to restaurants and grocery stores, and they recently started distributing to online retails that sell direct-to-consumers on Amazon.
Their new 25,000 square foot center near the Charlotte Douglas airport includes forced air rooms, cooler storage space, loading docks and a mechanical equipment room.
It’s located at 4045 Perimeter West Dr., near the intersection of Wilkinson Blvd. and 485;
via henryavocado.comHenry Avocado’s new east coast facility now has the ability to distribute over 300,000 fresh avocados every day. This means we’ll start seeing fresher avocados in grocery stores and restaurants throughout the Charlotte region.
The company was originally founded in 1925 – they now ripen and distribute avocados through their centers in California, Arizona, Texas, and now North Carolina.
“Fresh organic and conventional avocados are always in season at Henry. As a year-round distributor, Henry grows and packs avocados from its groves in California and imports from growers in Mexico, Peru and Chile that meet the company’s strict quality and freshness standards,” according to Henry’s website.
Over 370,000 Duke Energy customers may have had their personal information leaked during a massive data breach of a company Duke uses to process customer payments.
The 
On Friday, December 1st, 32-year-old Earl Kimrey was arrested in connection with Mariah’s disappearance. Kimrey was the live-in boyfriend of Kristy Woods, Mariah Woods’ mother.
A state-wide Silver Alert has just been issued for 33-year-old Joseph Warren Armfield, according to 
Even though Charlotte’s restaurant selection continues to grow, so does our population, and some restaurants are taking advantage of this growing customer base by letting their health standards slide.
