The latest release of one of the most popular line of sneakers of all time, Air Jordans, have been dedicated to Michael Jordan’s city of Charlotte and his basketball team, the Hornets.
The shoes are white, blue and purple in honor of the Charlotte Hornets, and they have letters “CHA” stitched on the side, as an abbreviation of Charlotte.
This could turn into a huge global plug for our city and our basketball team, considering one of the latest Air Jordan releases, the “Legend Blue” sold out online in under 3 hours. At an average price of $180, according to SportScanInfo, Nike sold over $80 million worth of “Legend Blue” sneakers within its first week with most of those sales being on the first day.
The Air Jordan 10 Retro “Charlotte” shoe is the company’s latest launch for their “City Series” collection. The line also includes versions for Los Angeles, Chicago, New York and other cities. A list of Jordan’ professional basketball accomplishments from 1985 “to beyond” will be written on the underside of the shoes.
The new Charlotte Jordans officially went on sale this past weekend, and are now selling on Amazon.com for an average price of $180.
Another Air Jordan shoe that pays tribute to the state of North Carolina is the Jordan 4 University Blue which can be purchased ahead of release day at Flight Club. The sneaker features a carolina blue upper with contrasting cement gray splatter in the midsole, back, and ‘wings’ but doesn’t carry any direct branding of the UNC Tar Heels. This will be one of 2021’s biggest Jordan releases and is expected to drop April 28th.
NC legislators have just submitted a new bill that would essentially allow handgun owners to conceal their guns in public without a permit.
The Republican backed House Bill 69, dubbed the “Constitution Carry Act,” would only remove permit requirement for handguns, but not for any other weapons.
The new bill defines a handgun as “a firearm that has a short stock and is designed to be held and fired by the use of a single hand.” Under HB 69, North Carolina residents who are 18 years or older would be able to carry a concealed handgun in any public or private location that doesn’t already have firearm restrictions.
It would still be against the law to concealed carry a bowie knife, dirk, dagger, sling shot, loaded cane, metal knuckles, razor, shuriken, stun gun or other deadly weapons except on a person’s private property.
The bill would also keep the concealed handgun permit process in place for anyone who needs a permit while traveling in other states.
NC Rep. Larry Pittman introduced House Bill 69, arguing that “A gun is a tool, it is only as good or bad as the intentions of the person carrying it. Concealed or open carry makes no difference, except that if we can carry concealed, criminals and terrorists have no idea which lawful citizens just might fight back. The government should not interfere with our freedom to do so.”
Critics of the new bill call the new legislation a “dangerous gun bill that threatened to eliminate some of the state’s common-sense public safety laws.”
Total Nutrition Technology presents the
Health + Fitness Expo MIND | BODY | SPIRIT
On Saturday, February 11, 2017, Total Nutrition Technology will be hosting the Health + Fitness Expo Mind | Body | Sprit brought to you by MADabolic Inc. at Sugar Creek Brewing, located at 215 Southside Dr, Charlotte, N.C. 28203 from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. This is a great opportunity to meet people working in the fitness and wellness industry around the city of Charlotte. They can give you vital information about how to live a longer, healthier life that you couldn’t find somewhere else.
Tickets are not only free but they also include a front row seat to some of the best health advice in the city and access to an Obstacle Scramble by Vigor CLT, consisting of jump rope, pull-ups, tire steps, medicine balls, squats, sprints, and more with prizes for the top finishers. There will also be free food samples from Clean Eatz and the Juice Bar for guests to enjoy a healthy snack during their stay.
Tonight millions of Americans will be able to witness one of the greatest sky shows in years – a “penumbra” eclipse during a full “snow” moon with a shooting comet will all be visible across most of the U.S. and North America.
The eclipse starts at around 7:45 p.m. EST, and the flyby of comet 45P will become visible in the night sky starting at 3am on Saturday morning.
A penumbral lunar eclipse happens when the moon moves into the outer edge of the Earth’s shadow, it’s not as flashy as a total eclipse, when the entire moon is swallowed in Earth’s interior shadow, but it’s certainly still remarkable in its own right.
The full moon is called a “snow” moon based on the date of its occurrence, and what the native American’s used to call it.
Every full moon has a nickname that was given to it by Native Americans, who track the seasons based on the moon, according to the Farmer’s Almanac.
The snow moon occurs when the heaviest snows fall, usually in February.
If you get any stunning shots of tonight’s moon or comet, sent it to us at Press@CLTStories.com – you might just be featured in an upcoming post!
Yesterday morning, several people were injured in one of the worst accidents of the year on I-77.
According to WCNC, at around 10:30am on Wednesday morning, a tractor trailer failed to slow down with traffic and barreled through several vehicles at over 60 MPH.
Meteorologist Brad Panovich posted the video to his Facebook page:
The crash caused the northbound lanes of I-77 near exit 49A to close for over an hour, according to Highway Patrol.
The driver of the tractor-trailer that caused the accident has now been charged with failure to reduce speed to avoid a collision.
Carowinds is about to bring back the 50s with it’s brand new ‘Carolina County Fair’. The new section will offer four vintage fair rides, as well as new foods, landscaping, and events.
The new section, along with the rest of the park, will be opening to the public on March 25th, 2017.
Today they invited the media out to take a tour of their progress so far:
The new rides will include (info and pictures via Carowinds.com):
Electro-Spin
Get ready for a jolt of fun when Electro-Spin sends riders through a freely rotating orbit through the air on its floorless gondolas. This unique ride will leave thrill seekers awed by its arsenal of tangled tricks.
Zephyr
This classic family swing ride will suspend guests as the ride rotates in a circular, wavelike motion – all while serving up some breathtaking views of the new County Fair and the rest of the park.
Rock ‘N’ Roller
A staple of any County Fair, the Rock ‘N’ Roller is a fast-paced circular ride that will rock n’ roll you around and around, up and down as high-energy tunes and spectacular lighting complement this awesome experience.
Do-Si-Do
This super-fun spiraling adventure will send guests flying through the air and gliding up, down and around as three giant arms rotate riders in different directions – all while increasing speed and elevation.
Carowinds will also be changing the “Carolina Cobra” to “The Flying Cobras”:
The Carolina Cobra is getting a makeover with a new name and theme. Fitting for any Carolina County Fair, guests will look to the sky for an air show featuring the daring aviation maneuvers of The Flying Cobras.
The Carolina’s biggest theme park also just completed their recent $50 million expansion, which included the new Carolina Harbor waterpark, as well as the new Fury coaster – which is now the tallest and fastest giga coaster in the world.
Gabe and Luke are both seven years old and both have Spina Bifida. They both require extremely expensive treatments that are out of pocket for their families.
The Sarich bunch is an incredible family who have adopted several beautiful children from around the world with special needs.
This weekend’s ‘Shred for Gabe, Luke, and The Sariches Bunch’ will raise funds to support them all. It has now become one of Charlotte’s largest Charity Art Auctions – starting just three years ago with little more than a good idea from Charlotte’s very own ‘Vic The Chiliman‘ (who also owns Charlotte’s #1 restaurant, according to Yelp).
Here’s the video we made for last year’s event (this year’s event will be on Saturday, Feb. 11th from 12pm – 7pm):
Students from Piedmont Middle school, and the Myers Park High School National Honors Art Society have been working for months to paint Skateboard decks, paintings, and other works of art to auction off this weekend. (Check out their Facebook page for tons more pictures).
The event this weekend event will feature tons of food from Matt Hughett w/BBQ, Christine Strzepek w/Cookies, cupcakes, and Queen City Pretzels w/pretzels, a local artisan vendors market, live art, live glass art, and a live auction.
There will also be a local artisan vendor village, and a massive raffle with hundreds of prizes, as well as live music.
It will be held at the Unknown Brewery – 1327 S Mint St, Charlotte, North Carolina 28203 on Saturday, Feb. 11th from 12pm – 7pm
North Carolina State Lawmakers just passed House Bill 13, which will force a reduction of Kindergarten through 3rd grade class sizes if it is approved by the NC Senate.
Beginning in the 2017-18 school year, the maximum K-3 class sizes would drop from 24 students to between 19 and 21 students, depending on grade level. The maximum average class sizes for North Carolina districts will be even lower.
Although the smaller class sizes would be better for students, allowing teachers to give more attention to each student, the new changes didn’t come with any additional money.
School systems around North Carolina are now saying that unless the restrictions are lifted, they would have to scale back the number of teachers in “non-core” subjects like art, music, physical education and foreign languages to free up money to hire more teachers. Some administrators have said they would have to expand class sizes in grades four through 12 to pay for the smaller K-3 classes.
School districts and education groups are currently lobbying lawmakers to reverse their decision, since planning is about to start this coming spring for the 2017-18 school year.
What do you think about North Carolina’s new House Bill 13?
Join locally owned businesses (plus our full-time market vendors) at the 7th Street Public Market for our annual Valentine’s pop up shopping event. Show your support and shop small for the loves in your life this year. Take the lightrail or park in the 7th Street Garage (free with validation for 90 minutes).
Bring the whole family to Open Studio Saturday and experience what makes McColl Center a vibrant space for contemporary art. Everyone is welcome and admission is free thanks to Bank of America.
Explore art and ideas of all kinds when our artists-in-residence – Rob Carter, Dustin Farnsworth, Scott Gardner, Rebecca Kamen, and Marcus Kiser + Jason Woodberry – open their studio doors to talk about their creative process.
There will be a variety of events and activities on Saturday afternoon from noon – 4pm.
The Checkers’ annual Pink in the Rink event will take place Saturday, Feb. 11, 2017. The goal of the game, which begins at 6 p.m., is to raise awareness and funds for the fight against women’s cancers.
All proceeds from the night will go toward Carolina Breast Friends, Cindy’s Hope Chest, Shirley’s Angels, Novant Health Buddy Kemp Cancer Support Center, GoJenGo and BCC Rally.
If you love Journey, you’ll love these guys. Trial by Fire is one of the most internationally known Journey tribute bands and have been touring across the country for decades.
They will be headlining the Fillmore this coming Saturday night starting at 8pm.
This coming Saturday from 12pm-7pm there will be a massive charity auction at the Unknown Brewery (the above video is from last year – this year it will be on Feb. 11th)
The event will feature a Skatedeck Artshow to benefit SHRED for Gabe and Luke, a local skateboarding community outreach to help the families of 2 little boys born with Spina Bifida
This coming Sunday from 12-5pm the Charlotte Art League will be hosting a massive artists market. There will be over 30 local artists and vendors that will be pulling out all the stops to give you a 5 hour, one stop shopping experience.
Uptown Charlotte’s murder-mystery dinners begin innocently enough—guests arrive to mingle amid drinks and quiet conversation. As diners munch away, a sudden death interrupts the feasting. A detective arrives to determine who the killer is, inevitably laying blame on one of the audience members. Tablemates work together to prove their innocence and find the real killer through an interactive performance full of hilarious suspects and eye-catching costumes, all the while dining on the included three-course meal and taking advantage of drink specials.
This coming Sunday, Amos’ Southend is closing its doors for good. They will be hosting an entire day of acoustic music as their goodbye party. Listen to local favorites, some national acts, and remember some of Amos’ best memories.
If you’ve ever been to a concert at Amos’, you can’t miss their sendoff party.
One of Charlotte’s newest apartment communities in the heart of NoDa is now becoming a hub for artistic inspiration and neighborhood integration.
One resident even commented, “this is kinda like the bucket in the middle of NoDa – all the cool artsy stuff that surrounds it just kinda got poured in here.”
I decided to take a tour of the complex to find out what makes Mercury so unique:
Mercury NoDa includes studios and one- two- and three-bedroom units ranging from 546 to 1,446 square feet. They are big on community events and involvement, and they regularly partner with local shops and restaurants to bring in food, drinks, and entertainment for their residents and guests.
Their amenities include a 24 hour fitness club complete with on-demand WellBeats Training and yoga studio, heated saltwater pool with cabanas, grills and outdoor fire pit, for the pet lovers we have a pet spa oasis available 24 hours and a leash-free zone for them to run freely, clubhouse complete with catering kitchen, cyber café featuring complimentary Smelly Cat Coffee and a private conference room.
One of their most anticipated features is their proximity to the new LYNX Blue Line Extension (BLE), which is now scheduled to open by this Summer.
Their rental rates range between $1,030 to $2,465, depending on number of bedrooms, square footage, floor plan, and the location of the unit.