Girl Makes Viral Dance Video With Late-Night Charlotte Douglas Workers After Missing Flight

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Girl Makes Viral Dance Video With Late-Night Charlotte Douglas Workers After Missing Flight

Have you ever missed your connecting flight and became instantly miserable at the thought of spending another 6 hours in the airport?

That happened to Mahshid Mazooji this past weekend at the Charlotte Douglas airport, but instead of letting it get her down, she decided to through a spontaneous dance party with the late-night workers (and guests) around the airport.

She uploaded the video on Saturday and it’s already been viewed over 1.3 million times:

Under her video, she noted: “I missed my connecting flight in Charlotte, and I didn’t want to sit in anger all night long, so instead I did what makes me happiest…DANCE!!!! Oh, and I made some really great friends along the way! Thank you for dancing your troubles away with me!!! :)”

Her dance moves were so good that even Lionel Richie was impressed:

If you want more awesome dancing by Mahshid, you can follow her on Instagram: @zoojizooji

Charlotte Douglas Airport Is Building One of the Largest Data Sculptures in The World

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Charlotte Douglas Airport Is Building One of the Largest Data Sculptures in The World

The Charlotte Douglas Airport is now building “one of the largest data sculpture visualizations in the world,” as part of their massive renovation overhaul to transform one of the Southeast’s largest transportation hubs into an “airport fit for a queen”.

They just released a new video for the massive visual data sculpture yesterday, which will connect the new concourse to the main terminal.

It will even be visible by vehicles approaching the airport:

They will also be adding a huge kinetic sculture in the food court, inspired by the contrails (or chemtrails) that planes leave in the sky;

…as well as a completely revamped and expanded terminal lobby for the airport, giving it a more space-age modern feel;

These recently announced upgrades are part of a $700 million multi-year overhaul of the airport, which includes adding significantly more capacity to the departure and arrival lanes, a new runway, new underground walk-ways, new public transportation and taxi lanes, new gates, and a fully renovated interior.

What do you think of the Charlotte Douglas Airport upgrades?

Hundreds of Charlotte Family Members Missing After Hurricane Maria – Facebook Is Helping

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Hundreds of Charlotte Family Members Missing After Hurricane Maria – Facebook Is Helping

It’s now been 1 week since Hurricane Maria made direct contact with the American territory of Puerto Rico as a category 5 storm, the most powerful category possible. Thousands are still without communication, power, homes, or a reliable supply of food and water.

CNN recently interviewed Lydia Rivera from the small town of Utuado, who told them that she’s now rationing crackers and drinking rainwater to keep her two grandchildren alive.

“No water, no food,” Rivera told CNN. “It’s nobody’s fault. It’s the weather. You have to go on.”

Charlotte has the largest Puerto Rican populations in the Carolinas and we currently have hundreds of family members who have no idea if their relatives are dead or alive – or if they’re stranded or trapped.

A new Facebook Group, called ‘Unaccounted For Loved Ones‘ has been set up to help let people know if their loved ones have been marked save.

The Puerto Rican Cultural Society of Charlotte’s Facebook Page has also been very active in helping relief and rescue efforts for the island.

Yesterday they posted this flyer with several drop-off locations and events in Charlotte to help victims of the Hurricane;

puerto-rico-north-carolina-help

Please consider donating to relief efforts and please pray for Puerto Rico! 

Forbes Has Just Ranked 3 Charlotteans Among The Most Powerful Women in America

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Forbes Has Just Ranked 3 Charlotteans Among The Most Powerful Women in America

good-lynn-duke-energyAlthough the South is often viewed as less progressive than other regions, the Queen City seems to be actively rejecting that stereotype – especially when it comes to gender equality. Charlotte currently has a female mayor, we were recently ranked as one of the top cities in America for women in technology, and now, 3 of our female executives have made Forbes’ list of The Most Powerful Women in Business.

The magazine ranked women based on 4 criteria; the size and importance of the woman’s business in the global economy, the health and direction of the business, the arc of the woman’s career, and her social and cultural influence.

According to Forbes, the most powerful businesswoman in Charlotte and the 11th most powerful in America is Lynn Good, the CEO of Duke Energy.

Lynn became the first female CEO of the nation’s largest utility back in 2013. Since that time, she’s unloaded billions in overseas assets to refocus the company on more reliable income streams like natural gas and renewable energies. Her company is now valued at over $61 billion.

Coming in at #2 in Charlotte and #37 in America is Mary Mack, the head of community banking at Wells Fargo. She was previously the head of retail brokerage and was promoted after her predecessor, ­Carrie Tolstedt was blamed for Wells Fargo’s phony accounts scandal. Mary is now tasked with cleaning up the historic mess.

Rounding out Forbes list, the 3rd most powerful businesswoman in Charlotte and the 50th most powerful in America is Anne Finucane, the Vice Chairman for Bank of America. Anne is specifically tasked with leading the bank’s marketing and analytics departments and chairing the ­Environmental, Social, and Governance committees. According to Forbes, “She oversaw a record $15.9 billion in clean energy financing in 2016, as well as an additional $1.6 billion of loans dedicated to injecting capital into low-income areas.”

Are you a businesswoman in Charlotte? How do you think Charlotte compares to other cities?

 

Charlotte Built One Of The Largest VA Health-Care Centers In America

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Charlotte Built One Of The Largest VA Health-Care Centers In America

Charlotte va healthcare centerCharlotte’s massive $104 million, 295,000 square foot building on Tyvola Road is now in the record books.

It’s officially one of the largest VA health centers in the country, offering enhanced outpatient and specialty services, including; cardiology, neurology, dental and oncology for up to 35,000 veterans every year throughout the Charlotte area.

“One our goals here in this great state is to become the most veteran-friendly state,” commented Kaye Green, the director of the new VA Center.

The new center is projected to employ almost 700 doctors and support staff within the next 12 months.

Charlotte Leaders Vote To Return Prayer To Their City Council Meetings

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Charlotte Leaders Vote To Return Prayer To Their City Council Meetings

charlotte-city-council-prayerLast week Charlotte’s Mayor Roberts made the decision to end the long-standing tradition of starting the city council meetings with a prayer.

Last Monday night (9/18) she stated, “We are not going to have an invocation tonight. We are going to change the way that we conduct it on the expert advice of our attorney, with the concern over freedom of religion and separation of church and state and some other recent court rulings.”

The city attorney, however, denied giving her that advice.

Yesterday morning (9/25), the council’s committee on Governance and Accountability met to talk about whether prayer should be allowed at the start of public meetings.

The city attorney presented the committee with a lengthy presentation of current policies, recent case law, and legal commentary, and concluded that Charlotte has not been violating any laws by praying before their meetings.

“What the council is currently doing is OK,” noted City Attorney assistant Jason Kay, “It is perfectly constitutional.”

“The city attorney said that this particular practice if you avoided it, would be 100 percent safe,” Kay says. “That was interpreted as advice not to do the practice… I think there was some confusion on that but it has been cleared up now.”

The council then spent some time discussing whether or not they would continue with prayer and eventually voted to continue practicing the invocation and prayer at future meetings.

The city attorney provided some guidelines that he said should be followed to avoid any legal headaches in the future, including:

– Prayer should be directed to the council itself, not the audience.
– The public should not be asked to stand or join in.
– Invocation does not have to be religious, for example, moments of silence, or inspirational poetry.
– Council members should be able to choose if they want to participate or not.
– Prayers shouldn’t be delivered in a way that makes others feel that their beliefs are inferior.

Top Acupuncture Brand Opening First East Coast Location in Charlotte – Offering Free Visits

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Top Acupuncture Brand Opening First East Coast Location in Charlotte – Offering Free Visits

If you’ve never tried acupuncture before, now’s the perfect chance.

Modern Acupuncture is about to open their first East Coast location right here in Charlotte and to celebrate, they will be offering free acupuncture sessions to first-time visitors now through October 24th.

They’re leasing a 1,000 square foot space in South Charlotte’s Blakeney Shopping Center.

The main goal of Modern Accupuncture is to “make acupuncture convenient, approachable, and above all, modern.”

The process of using tiny needles to access points on the body to alleviate pain and anxiety, enhance sleep, treat disease and improve overall well-being goes back thousands of years.

“The benefits of acupuncture are absolutely unparalleled. From chronic or acute pain, to digestion, insomnia and sleep, migraines, stress, cosmetic purposes and more… acupuncture is proven to make an amazing impact and bring positive change,” commented Denise Hess, the owner of Modern Acupuncture’s new south Charlotte location.

She also noted that there are plans to open 2 other locations around the Charlotte region in the near future.

They charge new patients $29 for their first session (unless you sign up before October 24th – then it’s free). Guests then pay $59 per session for single walk-ins or discounted rates if they have a monthly membership.

North Carolina Ranked The 7th Worst State in America For Teachers

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North Carolina Ranked The 7th Worst State in America For Teachers

lake-norman-high-school-student-suicideWith World Teachers’ Day around the corner and a number of states, such as Kentucky, Michigan and Minnesota, currently facing pension crises that adversely affect their educators, the personal-finance website WalletHub conducted an in-depth analysis of 2017’s Best & Worst States for Teachers.

In order to help educators find the best opportunities and teaching environments in the U.S., WalletHub analyzed the 50 states and the District of Columbia across 21 key metrics, ranging from teachers’ income growth potential to pupil-teacher ratio to teacher safety.

North Carolina came in at #45 on the ranking (7th worst), and South Carolina came in at #49 (3rd worst). Hawaii (#50) and Arizona (#51) were ranked as the worst states, while New Jersey (#2) and New York (#1) were ranked the best.

Source: WalletHub

Here are some of the break downs of why our state was ranked so poorly:

Teacher-Friendliness of North Carolina (1=Best; 25=Avg.)

  • 36th – Avg. Starting Salary for Teachers (Adjusted for Cost of Living)
  • 34th – Avg. Annual Salary for Teachers (Adjusted for Cost of Living)
  • 34th – Pupil-Teacher Ratio
  • 43rd – Public-School Spending per Student
  • 38th – Teachers’ Income Growth Potential
  • 46th – 10-Year Change in Teacher Salaries
  • 43rd – Teacher Safety

You can view the full report, including all the specific metrics used, here on wallethub.com.

What do you think the school systems in North Carolina should work on first to start improving?

52 Panthers Stood For National Anthem – 1 Stayed In The Locker Room – Here’s Why (Video)

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52 Panthers Stood For National Anthem – 1 Stayed In The Locker Room – Here’s Why (Video)

Dozens of players decided to kneel and several whole teams (including the Seahawks, Titans, and Steelers) decided to stay in the locker room today during the national anthem after Donald Trump’s controversial comments on Friday about players who kneel during the national anthem.

This afternoon’s Panther’s game also included many protestors…

10 Players from the New Orleans Saints decided to sit during the national anthem:

52 Players from the Panthers stood:

and 1 decided to remain in the locker room – Julius Peppers.

After the Panther’s 34-13 loss against the Saints, dozens of reporters filled the locker room to hear his reasoning:

“I want to get one thing clear: This wasn’t about disrespecting the military, disrespecting the police, first responders – none of that,” Peppers said. “It was about me making a decision as a man on my two feet. I didn’t want to ask anybody else to do anything with me. I thought it was appropriate to stay in. We know what went on this week; the comments that were made by the President. I felt like he attacked our brothers – my brothers in the league. I felt it was appropriate to stand up with them and stay in the locker room. I know a lot of people might not understand it. A lot of people might be upset about it. And that’s fine. I’m not living my life trying to make everybody happy. I’m doing things that I feel are right and things that I believe in. There are only a few times in a man’s life where you have a chance to stand up for something that you believe in and make a statement. Today I thought that was that chance, and I took it.”

What do you think about today’s NFL players’ actions, both on the field and in the locker rooms?

Charlotte’s Year-Over-Year Rental Growth Now Leading The National Average

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Charlotte’s Year-Over-Year Rental Growth Now Leading The National Average

rental-rate-increases-in-charlotteIn spite of Charlotte insatiable apartment development boom, rates across the city are still rising at a record pace.

According to ApartmentList.com’s latest report, Charlotte rents increased 0.7% over the past month, and are up 4.3% since last year. Median rents in Charlotte now stand at $950 for a one-bedroom apartment and $1,100 for a two-bedroom.

June was the fifth straight month that our city saw rents increase after a decline in January. Charlotte’s year-over-year rent growth now leads the state average of 4.1%, as well as the national average of 2.9%.

apartment-rent-growth-in-charlotte

The report also indicated that:

  • Charlotte now has the 3rd highest average rental rates in the state for a 2 bedroom at $1,100 (just below Cary’s $1,220 and Raleigh’s $1,120).
  • Median rent prices here prove to be more affordable than comparable cities nationwide – Charlotte’s median two-bedroom rent is below the national average of $1,150.
  • While Charlotte’s rents rose over the past year, some cities nationwide saw decreases, including Miami (-1.1%) and San Francisco (-0.6%).
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