Panther’s Lineman and Subject Of The Move ‘The Blind Side’ Was Cited With Assault

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Panther’s Lineman and Subject Of The Move ‘The Blind Side’ Was Cited With Assault

michaeloherCarolina Panther’s offensive lineman, Michael Oher, has just been booked for assaulting an Uber driver in Nashville, TN. Oher is a key component of our O-line, but he may be even more famous as the subject of the popular Sandra Bullock movie, “The Blind Side“.

According to Nashville’s News Channel 5, the driver picked up Oher and four of his friends at a house to go downtown Nashville. Oher asked the driver to follow another car that was also leaving the same home.

On the way downtown, the Uber driver said he should take the lead, saying the other car didn’t seem to know where it was going, Oher then started to arguing with the driver, believing he was just trying to get more money.

 

The report states that when the car stopped, the driver got out of his car to open the passengers’ door, and Oher also got out to confront him. It was then claimed that Oher pushed him to the ground and kicked him in the leg.

His friends then restrained the football player before he did anymore damage.

The 30-year-old has now been cited for misdemeanor assault. He’s due in court for a hearing on May 8.

One of Charlotte’s Favorite Taco Joints Is About To Open Their 7th Location

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One of Charlotte’s Favorite Taco Joints Is About To Open Their 7th Location

One of Charlotte’s favorite taco joints is about to open their seventh location in Pineville.

Sabor Latin Grill’s newest location will be in the Terraces at Park Place Shopping Center, right across the street from CHS-Pineville:

sabors-7th-location

Owner Dalton Espaillat said the new location will open sometime in July, according to a recent press release.

“We are excited about Sabor’s future. We feel fortunate that the community has attached to us in this manner and we will always strive to give them the best food and best value to honor and retain that loyalty,” Espaillat commented.

Sabor opened their first location in the Elizabeth Neighborhood just 3 years ago, focused on traditional flavors of authentic Latin American street food.

Hello Nacho!!! Nice to eat ya! que rico!!! Gracias @saborlatingrill @saborlatinstreetgrill

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They offer scratch-items that are prepared using authentic techniques, including; tacos, burritos, empanada, arepas, nachos made with yuca fries or Elote Loco (corn on the cob coated with mayo, cotija cheese, and chili powder).

sometimes you want the elote more than the tacos #elote #saborlatingrill #charlotte #clt

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They currently have 6 locations around the Charlotte area, including in Elizabeth, NoDa, Wesley Chapel, Indian Trail, South Park, and Steele Creek.

Have you been to Sabor before?

Are you excited about their new Pineville location?

Charlotte’s Salvation Army Launches The ‘Week of Hope’ – Asking Everyone To Spread Hope

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Charlotte’s Salvation Army Launches The ‘Week of Hope’ – Asking Everyone To Spread Hope

18238101_10155828220872119_1407467141065950200_oThe Salvation Army of Greater Charlotte has launched a new campaign this week, focused on encouraging people to give back and spread hope to others.

Yesterday hundreds of people packed BB&T Stadium for the kickoff – volunteers spent hours filling toiletry bags, school supplies, and snacks.

The bags will go to local homeless people, the school supplies will go to underprivileged kids, and the snacks will go to first responders and members of the military.

“The Salvation Army this year is just trying to generate that attitude of hope in our community where people have needs. And we and other organizations in our community step out there to make a difference,” said Major Larry Broome.

For the remainder of this week, the Salvation Army wants to encourage everyone in Charlotte to get involved, to do something to bring hope to someone else. It can be something small, or something huge, whatever you do, you can share your experience using #WeSpeakHope on social media.

Here are some ideas the Salvation Army offered:

  • Compliment a friend or coworker.
  • Thank a veteran for his or her service.
  • Bake cookies and deliver to your local fire department.
  • Write a thank-you note for your local fire department.
  • Buy a gift and write a note to a child at Levine Children’s Hospital: http://www.carolinashealthcare.org/medical-service…
  • Pick up trash in your neighborhood.
  • Collect soda can tabs for Ronald McDonald House: http://www.rmhc.org/other-ways-to-help.
  • Hold the door for a stranger.
  • Smile at a stranger.
  • Buy a stranger behind you in line lunch or a cup of coffee.
  • Create a care pack for a homeless person. In a plastic bag, include a snack, hygiene items and an encouraging note.
  • Leave a kind note in your mailbox for your mail carrier.
  • Write a letter to a deployed member of our military: http://signup.operationgratitude.com/letterwriting
  • Say thank you when you see a police officer.
  • Help load groceries for someone.
  • Visit a nursing home.
  • Leave an encouraging note/money on a car.
  • Give recyclables to someone you seeing picking through trash.
  • Call or message a friend you haven’t spoken to in a while and say hello.
  • Bring donuts/cookies and coffee to the office.
  • Write a nice review for your favorite restaurant or store.
  • Write a recommendation for a friend on LinkedIn.
  • Send dessert or drinks to another table
  • Bake someone a cake.
  • Leave quarters at the laundromat.
  • Donate school supplies to Classroom Central: www.classroomcentral.org
  • Run errands for a family through Hospice & Palliative Care – Charlotte: https://www.hpccr.org/volunteers/opportunities
  • Assist with résumé building and interview training: http://goodwillsp.org/donate/donate-time/
  • Host of food drive for Second Harvest Food Bank: https://www.classy.org/campaign/host-a-food-or-fun…
  • Knit a blanket for a expecting mother at Florence Crittenton: http://www.fcsnc.org/
  • Donate your used books to the public library: www.cmlibrary.org
  • Talk to someone new at school or at your office.
  • Return someone’s cart/ buggy at the grocery store.
  • Let someone go ahead of you in line.
  • Check in on an elderly neighbor.
  • Participate in a charity walk/ run.
  • Tape change to a vending machine.
  • Share only positive stories on Facebook for a week.
  • Share about your favorite nonprofit on your social media channels.
  • Pay for a stranger’s parking in a parking deck or surface lot.
  • Randomly “feed the meter” for on-street parking spots.
  • Pay for someone’s bus or light rail fare.
  • Organize a toiletry drive for the homeless.
  • Purchase a bus pass and donate to The Salvation Army Center of Hope.
  • Purchase birthday gifts for a homeless child through Bright Blessings: http://www.brightblessingsusa.org/wish-list
  • Donate used furniture and clothing to a Salvation Army Family Store.
  • Leave your waiter or waitress a generous tip.
  • Prepare a meal for a family in need.
  • Donate blood to the American Red Cross. www.redcross.org
  • Offer to babysit for a couple with kids.
  • Bring a friend their favorite hot or cold beverage.
  • Eat with someone new at lunch.
  • Start a job-shadowing program at your office.
  • Join a local Habitat for Humanity home build: https://www.habitatcharlotte.org/volunteer/volunte…
  • Volunteer your time to serving customers in the Crisis Assistance MInistry’s Free Store: https://crisisassistance.org/volunteer/main/
  • Pray for someone in the news.
  • Become a champion for the United Way campaign at your office.
  • Make dinner for a friend
  • Donate board games or DVDs to the USO of Charlotte: https://northcarolina.uso.org/charlotteintlairport

Charlotte’s First Cat Cafe Is About To Open

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Charlotte’s First Cat Cafe Is About To Open

This summer, Charlotte’s first ever ‘Cat-Cafe’ will be opening in either NoDa or Plaza Midwood. The new concept, called Mac Tabby, will feature at least a dozen for-adoption cats inside of the cafe that will love to be pet, cuddled, and talked to.

According to their website, “Our guests will pay by the hour and reservations will be encouraged, although walk-ins are welcome if we have the space! We want to keep our cat to human ratio equivalent so our cats don’t get stressed, and you get ample cat time while you are here!”

The new cafe’s visionary and owner, Lori Konawalik, is a local mom, cat lover, and wedding photographer, who loves the artistic scene. She really wants to target artists, musicians, yoga enthusiasts, and of course, cat lovers, to the new space.

The cafe won’t allow patrons to bring their own cats, but they will encourage you to take home any of the cats you might fall in love with while your in the cafe. They will be partnering with local rescue groups to help out as many cats as they can. They will serve coffee, wine, local beers, and food via food trucks.

Lori is still finalizing the location, but is hoping to have her grand opening this coming Summer.

Are you excited about Charlotte’s first Cat Cafe?

One of Charlotte’s Oldest Churches Recently Celebrated 250 Years of Services

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One of Charlotte’s Oldest Churches Recently Celebrated 250 Years of Services

providence-presbyterian-church

One of Charlotte’s oldest churches recently celebrated 250 years of serving the community.

Providence Presbyterian Church was first started in 1767 off Providence Road near what is now 485.

The congregation met outside in small gatherings around an outcropping of rocks by Providence Spring, then built their current building in 1858, just before the Civil War.

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For their quarter-millennium celebration, several leaders from the church opened a time capsule from 1988 (containing Hornets tickets, a newspaper, and several other 30 year old items):

They sewed 250 dresses for little girls for their missions in Africa:

And also installed some commemorative benches to mark the historic milestone:

Charlotte’s Third ‘Open Streets 704’ in Plaza Midwood Was The Biggest One Yet

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Charlotte’s Third ‘Open Streets 704’ in Plaza Midwood Was The Biggest One Yet

Yesterday, several streets in Charlotte shut down for our cities 3rd and biggest ‘Open Streets 704’. The event closes the streets to vehicles and opens it up to walkers, joggers, bikers, and roller bladers, as well as over 80 activities including art, music, food, games, and dancing.

The route started at Veterans Park on Commonwealth Avenue and winded down Pecan Avenue, Clement Avenue, and Park Drive around Independence Park.

Here is the map of the route with all the stops and activities:

There were bubble blowers:

#openstreets704 y'all.

A post shared by Richard Thurmond (@rthurmond) on

Plenty of games:

#OpenStreets around #PlazaMidwood, Elizabeth and Chantilly…

A post shared by Plaza Midwood (@plaza_midwood) on

Tons of bikes:

So many bikes! #openstreets704 #ibikeclt

A post shared by A. Kowskey (@kowskey) on

And even some young break dancers with truly impressive moves:

Open Streets 704 is poppin off! #openstreets704 #clt #sundayfunday

A post shared by Mike Mason (@mikemasonx) on

What did you think of Charlotte’s latest Open Streets?

Subscribe to our newsletter and follow us on social media to be the first to hear about when and were Charlotte’s 4th Open Streets will be!

Charlotte Was Ranked Among The Top Cities In America For One-Way Moving Trucks

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Charlotte Was Ranked Among The Top Cities In America For One-Way Moving Trucks

charlotte-skyline-elizabeth-sunset-facebookAccording to a new report released by the Penske Truck Rental Company, Charlotte has landed among the top moving destinations in the country.

“Making an appearance in the top 10 for the first time since 2012 is Charlotte. Interestingly, only three states (Georgia, Florida and Texas) account for half of the placements,” the article noted.

The moving company compiled the list by analyzing it’s one-way rental reservations.

Here are the Top 10 Penske Truck Rental 2016 Top Moving Destinations (along with each city’s previous year ranking):

  1. Atlanta (1)
  2. Dallas/Fort Worth (4)
  3. Phoenix (2)
  4. Denver (6)
  5. Tampa/Sarasota (3)
  6. Orlando (5)
  7. Seattle (8)
  8. Las Vegas (9)
  9. Houston (7)
  10. Charlotte (unranked)

penske-charlotte-truck-rental-copy

What do you think about Charlotte’s incredible growth rate? 

GenPak Corporation Moving Its Headquarters To Charlotte

Steve
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GenPak Corporation Moving Its Headquarters To Charlotte

genpack headquarters charlotteGenpak Corporation has announced that it will be moving it’s entire headquarters from Glen Falls, NY to Charlotte, NC.

The company currently manufactures a range of single-use packaging containers. It has a total of 18 facilities around the U.S. and in Canada, with three of them already located here in the Queen City, including its research and development division. They currently have over 2,000 employees.

“The biggest reason (for the move) is just getting closer to our operations. We have three plants right in Charlotte that run three different materials for us, and we have our R&D down there, and we’re just trying to get closer to all that so people can better collaborate and, hopefully, innovate,” Genpak President Kevin Kelly commented in the announcement.

The company told it’s entire New York workforce that they will have the option of staying in New York until May 31, 2017, at which time the NY headquarters will permanently close and the final workers will be transitioned to Charlotte.

The majority of positions being moved include; administrative, including accounting, information technology, customer service and human resources professionals.

NC Judge Sentences Man To 30 Years In Prison For Running The ‘World’s Largest Child-Porn Site’

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NC Judge Sentences Man To 30 Years In Prison For Running The ‘World’s Largest Child-Porn Site’

steven-chase-largest-porn-siteA North Carolina court has just sentenced 58-year-old Steven W. Chase to 30 years in prison for being the head administrator of a website called ‘Playpen’ – what authorities named the ‘world’s largest child-porn website’.

The website was hosted on a North Carolina-based web server, and was hidden from authorities in the deep internet, known as the ‘darknet,’ where Tor anonymity software and encryption technology hides users activities. The same technology was recently used to run the world’s largest online black market, called silk road.

Members of Playpen uploaded and viewed tens of thousands of postings of young victims, categorized by age, sex and the type of sexual activity involved.

At its height, the website had over 150,000 users around the world, according to a statement sent out by the FBI this past Friday.

playpen

The FBI launched what they dubbed ‘Operation Pacifier’ in November 2014, aimed at taking down the site. They managed to hack into the website and sent all users in the system malware to discover their location and identity.

Over 1,000 computers around the world were ultimately hacked by the FBI.

Chase argued in court that the FBI’s tactics amounted to ‘outrageous government conduct’ and that his indictment should be dismissed.

In a statement this past Friday, Steven Wilson, head of Europol’s European Cybercrime Center, noted that the case demonstrated how law enforcement needs to use such methods to fight criminals who can hide behind advanced online encryption software.

‘We need to balance the rights of victims versus the right to privacy,’ he noted. ‘If we operate by 19th century legal principles then we are unable to effectively tackle crime at the highest level.’

Michael Fluckiger, 46, of Indiana, and David Browning, 47, of Kentucky were also identified as admins of the website, and they were both sentenced to 20-year prison terms earlier this year.

Charlotte Home Prices Are Climbing Faster Than Everywhere Else In The Nation

Steve
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Charlotte Home Prices Are Climbing Faster Than Everywhere Else In The Nation

12938273_722925820115_6522093181055708571_nSingle family home prices in the Charlotte region are now outpacing the rest of the entire nation, rising 5.8% in 2016. Average appreciation across America showed just a 5.3% increase, according to the most recent S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller Home Index report.

The growth in Charlotte continues to build on the upward trend after our great recession, which started just 10 years ago.

Home prices are now just 0.1% below the record high prices of 2006.

According to the report, “The S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller U.S. National Home Price NSA Index, which covers all nine U.S. census divisions, recorded a 5.3% annual gain in 2016. The 10-City and 20-City Composites reported year-over-year increases of 4.3% and 5.1%.

This increasing price trend is causing some homes to sit on the market longer since many sellers won’t settle for anything less than top dollar.

Charlotte area Realtors are now getting creative, finding new ways to sell homes for increasingly higher prices, such as Lake Norman’s new ‘Home of The Day’ trend.

Do you think Charlotte home prices will continue to climb in light of Charlotte’s current building boom?

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