Beloved University City Farmers Market Re-Launching This Weekend

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Beloved University City Farmers Market Re-Launching This Weekend

This weekend, the beloved University City farmer’s market will re-open in one of the fastest-growing areas of our city.

The revamped market will be host some of Charlotte’s finest local food talent, including farmers, artisanal food makers and pop-up chefs from 9 a.m. – 1 p.m.

“We are delighted to offer a first-class farmers market for our community of more than 175,000 residents,” said Darlene Heater, Executive Director of University City Partners. “We asked them what they’d like to see more of in University City and a community market, as well as more programs, were top priorities. It being at the lake, the town center, makes it highly accessible and set against a gorgeous backdrop. It’s going to be something special.”

University City Farmers Market will support local farmers and entrepreneurs. The farmers selected use organic practices to help steward the earth, while producing and sourcing some of the freshest and most nutritious food available in North Carolina. Visitors will find seasonal vegetables and fruits, pasture-raised egg and meats, as well as artisanal food and natural beauty-care products.

University City Farmers Market will feature live music and local chef demonstrations. This fall, visitors can expect to find live musicians and DJs offering bluegrass, R&B/soul, hip hop, pop and other genres. Chef Lisa Brooks and Erique Berry will cook tasty treats from items you can find at University City Farmers Market. The food demos will focus on quick, healthy family-friendly dishes. All demonstrations and music performances will practice social distancing in accordance with Mecklenburg County and North Carolina State guidelines for the health and safety of all visitors. Similarly, capacity will be limited for shoppers to increase social distancing. Guests are encouraged to access the market by riding the LYNX Light Rail, walking or biking on the Barton Creek Greenway, or parking at Shoppes at University Place, 8929 JM Keynes Drive.

More details about University City Farmers Market can be found at univcitymarket.org.

Carolina Panthers Just Traded Starting QB Teddy Bridgewater For A 6th Round Draft Pick

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Carolina Panthers Just Traded Starting QB Teddy Bridgewater For A 6th Round Draft Pick

The Carolina Panthers have just traded their starting Quarterback Teddy Bridgewater to the Denver Broncos in exchange for a 6th round draft pick.

It now seems likely that Sam Darnold will become the new starting quarterback for the franchise during the 2021-22 season.

In a press release sent out yesterday, the Panther’s organization noted, “Dealing Bridgewater was likely inevitable once [we] traded three picks (including a second- and fourth-rounder next year) for the 23-year-old Darnold earlier this month.”

28-year-old Teddy Bridgewater started 15 games last year for the Panthers and missed one with a minor knee injury. He racked up 3,733 total throwing yards and 15 touchdowns with a 69.1% completion rating (ranked 5th in the NFL).

What do you think about the trade?

Concord Police Causing Outrage After Posting Photo of Their New $500k ‘Ambush Vehicle’

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Concord Police Causing Outrage After Posting Photo of Their New $500k ‘Ambush Vehicle’

The Concord Police Department is now causing outrage online after posting a picture of their new “Emergency Response Vehicle”.

The military calls it a ‘Mine-Resistant Ambush Protected Vehicle’ and it is valued at over $500,000.

In a now viral Instagram post, the Concord Police Department uploaded a photo of the vehicle with 2 officers standing in front of it and the caption:

“Emergency Response Vehicle looking sharp with Officers Bost and King at a cruise in held today. We were excited to attend event, seeing all the beautiful cars, and enjoyed speaking with everyone.#ERVmusclecars. RG”

The most liked comments on the post included:

“forrest_cannon: How about you use this money for our public schools instead?” 824 likes
“triana.marie: this is so unnecessary.” 713 likes
“robzillaaaaaaa: Say it with me! Budget 🗣 cut 🗣” 556 likes
“garrett_in_shenzhen: I had a lesser vehicle for combat operations in Afghanistan. What the hell is going on with you guys?” 512 likes
“okeykayla: looks like it’s time to cut that funding” 424 likes
“happyaccidents869: This is like a huge blinking sign that reads, “DEFUND US! WE DARE YOU” 385 likes
“lauriepud: This is typical overreach by our local police…so unnecessary. Better use of $1000000 has to be out there.” 330 likes

CMPD also received military equipment, but according to WFAE, they have since returned it.

“We don’t use, nor are we requesting any of that equipment,” CMPD spokesman Rob Tufano told WFAE. “So it’s inconsequential here as far as this organization goes.”

What do you think about local police departments using advanced military equipment? 

Charlotte Ranked As 2021’s 6th Best Large City to Start a Business

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Charlotte Ranked As 2021’s 6th Best Large City to Start a Business

With two in three small business owners saying 2020 was their hardest year ever, the personal-finance website WalletHub today released its report on 2021’s Best Large Cities to Start a Business.

In order to help aspiring entrepreneurs maximize their chances for long-term prosperity, the site compared 100 U.S. cities across 21 key indicators of startup viability. The data set ranges from the five-year business-survival rate to COVID-19 cases to office-space affordability.

Starting a Business in Charlotte (1=Best; 50=Avg.):

  • 55th – Average Daily COVID-19 Cases in the Past Week per Capita
  • 41st – Cost of Living
  • 15th – Length of Average Workweek (in Hours)
  • 22nd – Share of College-Educated Population
  • 3rd – Industry Variety

Charlotte ranked #6 overall, just ahead of Raleigh at #7:

Best Places to Start a Business

Overall Rank  City Total Score  Business Environment  Access to Resources  Business Costs 
1 Laredo, TX 64.97 13 10 43
2 Durham, NC 63.95 31 14 18
3 Lubbock, TX 63.79 25 5 55
4 Orlando, FL 63.58 24 27 16
5 Boise, ID 63.37 3 66 45
6 Charlotte, NC 62.63 17 43 29
7 Raleigh, NC 62.59 38 11 32
8 Austin, TX 62.45 2 9 83
9 Fort Worth, TX 62.10 4 19 71
10 Tampa, FL 61.78 44 23 19
11 Atlanta, GA 61.74 32 26 30
12 St. Petersburg, FL 61.19 39 53 17
13 Reno, NV 60.80 16 44 54
14 Dallas, TX 60.78 5 42 70
15 Winston-Salem, NC 60.65 41 80 1
16 Colorado Springs, CO 60.64 51 28 24
17 Jacksonville, FL 60.63 26 79 9
18 Kansas City, MO 60.34 46 63 10
19 Nashville, TN 60.28 23 39 51
20 Irvine, CA 59.45 6 1 97
21 Denver, CO 59.15 43 17 58
22 Irving, TX 59.03 9 41 77
23 Arlington, TX 58.94 20 46 68
24 Miami, FL 58.74 52 34 31
25 Phoenix, AZ 58.43 29 68 44
26 Long Beach, CA 58.33 14 32 82
27 Fresno, CA 58.29 47 56 35
28 New Orleans, LA 58.15 54 22 41
29 Honolulu, HI 58.09 60 2 76
30 Oakland, CA 58.02 8 7 92
31 Madison, WI 57.97 67 4 57
32 Stockton, CA 57.88 57 21 48
33 Scottsdale, AZ 57.84 7 60 80
34 Indianapolis, IN 57.83 56 73 8
35 Los Angeles, CA 57.75 15 29 85
36 Aurora, CO 57.57 33 84 36
37 Lincoln, NE 57.52 66 13 38
38 Houston, TX 56.75 42 54 62
39 San Diego, CA 56.66 12 31 89
40 Wichita, KS 56.31 73 25 27
41 Mesa, AZ 56.22 35 93 37
42 San Francisco, CA 56.10 1 6 100
43 Las Vegas, NV 56.03 55 59 42
44 Greensboro, NC 55.97 78 64 4
45 San Antonio, TX 55.96 48 52 65
46 Fort Wayne, IN 55.86 76 67 5
47 Omaha, NE 55.84 71 16 46
48 Birmingham, AL 55.82 72 65 14
49 Sacramento, CA 55.79 36 71 66
50 Boston, MA 55.71 63 3 86
51 Albuquerque, NM 55.71 64 78 11
52 San Bernardino, CA 55.51 53 85 28
53 Seattle, WA 55.47 10 8 96
54 Glendale, AZ 55.42 37 98 39
55 Louisville, KY 55.30 77 33 25
56 Tucson, AZ 55.10 65 72 22
57 Memphis, TN 54.76 74 70 15
58 Garland, TX 54.49 18 97 75
59 Henderson, NV 54.27 45 83 61
60 St. Louis, MO 54.12 87 40 2
61 Plano, TX 54.11 11 55 93
62 North Las Vegas, NV 54.04 50 92 47
63 Riverside, CA 53.85 49 69 73
64 Chandler, AZ 53.64 30 94 72
65 Tulsa, OK 53.61 89 37 3
66 Gilbert, AZ 53.46 28 86 79
67 Columbus, OH 53.37 79 35 50
68 Santa Ana, CA 53.22 21 95 81
69 Baton Rouge, LA 53.18 81 48 34
70 Milwaukee, WI 52.92 83 61 23
71 Chula Vista, CA 52.78 22 77 88
72 Norfolk, VA 52.77 69 91 21
73 Portland, OR 52.72 40 49 91
74 Oklahoma City, OK 52.72 88 36 12
75 Bakersfield, CA 52.47 59 90 59
76 Anaheim, CA 52.20 27 88 84
77 Hialeah, FL 52.17 70 99 13
78 Virginia Beach, VA 52.09 62 89 52
79 El Paso, TX 52.05 82 58 49
80 San Jose, CA 52.01 34 12 98
81 Lexington-Fayette, KY 51.88 84 38 40
82 Cincinnati, OH 51.49 85 57 33
83 Corpus Christi, TX 50.82 68 76 60
84 Fremont, CA 50.08 19 50 99
85 Chicago, IL 50.08 75 47 78
86 Chesapeake, VA 49.95 61 100 53
87 St. Paul, MN 48.90 86 51 64
88 Minneapolis, MN 48.80 91 15 69
89 Toledo, OH 47.65 93 82 20
90 Buffalo, NY 47.41 99 74 6
91 Anchorage, AK 46.94 58 96 87
92 Newark, NJ 46.74 94 24 74
93 Philadelphia, PA 45.83 92 61 67
94 Detroit, MI 45.39 100 75 7
95 Cleveland, OH 45.27 98 87 26
96 Pittsburgh, PA 45.22 97 45 63
97 Washington, DC 45.16 80 30 95
98 New York, NY 44.66 90 20 90
99 Baltimore, MD 44.62 96 81 56
100 Jersey City, NJ 42.04 95 18 94

Note: With the exception of “Total Score,” all of the columns in the table above depict the relative rank of that city, where a rank of 1 represents the best conditions for that metric category.

Duke Energy Announces Plans To Triple Renewable Energy Output This Decade

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Duke Energy Announces Plans To Triple Renewable Energy Output This Decade

By the end of this decade, renewables will make up a large portion of the company’s generation mix as Duke Energy looks to triple the amount of renewable energy it produces from company power plants and dramatically reduce carbon emissions.

This information, along with large amounts of other data, was spelled out today in Duke Energy’s 15th Sustainability Report, the company’s annual disclosure on environment, social and governance (ESG) issues.

“Duke Energy has a clear line of sight to reduce our carbon emissions by at least 50% by 2030 and is making terrific progress to achieve net-zero carbon emissions by 2050. We’re already a leader in our industry when it comes to low-carbon intensity. This next decade will also be our biggest ever for incorporating thousands of megawatts of new renewable energy generation into our portfolio,” said Katherine Neebe, Duke Energy’s vice president, national engagement & strategy, chief sustainability officer and president, Duke Energy Foundation.

Currently, 7% of Duke Energy’s company-owned electrical output comes from wind, solar and hydroelectric plants. That figure is projected to grow to 23% by 2030.

The company is undertaking its aggressive renewable energy buildouts with wind and solar projects currently under construction in Florida, North Carolina, Oklahoma and Texas. Over the next three years, the company will also add 280 megawatts of pumped storage hydro capacity at its Bad Creek facility in South Carolina.

Duke Energy’s carbon-free generation is also helped by its six nuclear plants in the Carolinas, which produced 35% of its total electrical output in 2020.

Among the other highlights in the report:

  • The company is overseeing the largest coal retirement in the industry and disclosed the closing dates for its remaining coal-fired generating units. Since 2010, Duke Energy has retired 51 coal-fired units, according to a chart in the report. An additional unit was retired last month bringing the total to 52.
  • For the first time, Duke Energy is sharing expanded employee diversity data, which is filed with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.
  • Duke Energy and its Foundation donated more than $8 million to COVID-19 relief efforts during 2020, and more than $2 million was provided by the Duke Energy Foundation to social justice and racial equity organizations.
  • The company’s economic development team helped attract nearly 18,000 new jobs and $9.1 billion in capital investment to its service territories.
  • The company’s overall carbon dioxide output continues to fall – down more than 40% since 2005. The company aims to reduce its carbon emissions by at least 50% by 2030.
  • Duke Energy continues to offer excellent value to customers with high reliability and retail electric rates below the national average in all customer categories – residential, commercial and industrial.

Duke Duke Energy (NYSE: DUK), a Fortune 150 company headquartered in Charlotte, N.C., is one of America’s largest energy holding companies. Its electric utilities serve 7.9 million customers in North Carolina, South Carolina, Florida, Indiana, Ohio and Kentucky, and collectively own 51,000 megawatts of energy capacity. Its natural gas unit serves 1.6 million customers in North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Ohio and Kentucky. The company employs 27,500 people.

UNC’s Zoe Roth Sold Her Original ‘Disaster Girl’ Photo As An NFT For $481,000

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UNC’s Zoe Roth Sold Her Original ‘Disaster Girl’ Photo As An NFT For $481,000

The subject of one of the most famous internet memes of all time just sold her original photo as a digital NFT for an astounding $481,000.

21-year-old UNC Chapel Hill senior Zoe Roth was just 4 years old when her photo was taken in front of a burning building in Mebane, North Carolina. Now called the ‘disaster girl meme’, the photo was uploaded to the internet in January of 2005 and quickly spread across millions of profiles on Myspace.

Here’s a quick video from 2011 that tells a brief history of the meme:

This past February, Zoe and her dad (the photographer of the legendary image) received an email about turning the image into a non-fungible token (NFT). After considerable research, they hired a manager and a lawyer to help create the NFT and sell it in an online auction.

In the 24-hour Foundation auction, @3FMusic won the sale with a final bid of 180 Ethereum (currently worth 481,293 US Dollars).

Congrats Zoe!

North Carolina Adds A New US Congressional Seat From The 2020 Census

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North Carolina Adds A New US Congressional Seat From The 2020 Census

North Carolina just got a little more powerful in the US Congress.

According to the results of the 2020 Census, our state has added roughly 1 million new residents over the past 10 years, a total increase of 9.5%, beating the overall national gain of 7.4%.

Because of our increase, we’ll gain 1 new seat in the US House of Representatives, taking us from 13 members in the House to 14.

Since much of our population increase has come from the blue states of the northeast and west, the political makeup of our voting base has been shifting.

Republicans have historically led the our state in most federal elections, but the 2020 election saw one of the smallest margins in history for the party, with Donald Trump’s margin-of-victory over Joe Biden at just 1.34%, a drop from his margin-of-victory over Hillary Clinton in 2016 of 3.66%.

Do you think North Carolina might turn blue in the next election? 

12-Year-Old NC Farmer Awarded Top Environmental and Animal Welfare Certification

Steve
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12-Year-Old NC Farmer Awarded Top Environmental and Animal Welfare Certification
The flock of sheep at Rising Sun Farms, started by 12-year-old farmer, Jackson Stinson, is now Certified Animal Welfare Approved by A Greener World (AGW).
This certification and food label lets consumers know these animals are raised outdoors on pasture or range in accordance with the highest animal welfare standards in the U.S. and Canada, using sustainable agriculture methods on an independent farm.
“I use pasture-based management because I want my sheep to have a natural experience. I rotate my pastures to help prevent parasite exposure, and it is important to me to show my flock great care, especially during lambing,” said Jackson. “Our AGW certification verifies the quality and care that we put into our animals and farm.”
Jackson’s parents, Chris and Melody, are both educators who value hands-on training and want to inspire lifelong learning in their children. They help each of their three children manage parts of the family farm. Jackson manages the flock of Certified Animal Welfare Approved by AGW sheep at Rising Sun Farms, which have constant access to pasture and grazing land and eat a diet of grass and forage throughout their lives. This promotes the health and welfare of the animal as well as the environment. The farm uses rotational grazing practices and sustainable farming techniques, which results in lower environmental impact and a higher quality product.
For more information about Rising Sun Farms, follow the farm on Facebook (@homesteadandhustle).

Charlotte Sees 24th Biggest Monthly Rent Increase in America

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Charlotte Sees 24th Biggest Monthly Rent Increase in America

Apartment List just released their latest monthly rent report, revealing that prices are continuing to rebound, with our national index up by 1.9% month-over-month. This is the biggest monthly jump in our national index since the start of our estimates in 2017, breaking a record set just last month. Rent growth has now been outpacing prior-year averages for several months, indicating that this year’s moving season is set to be a historically busy one.

The data continues to show significant regional variation, but the days of plummeting rents in pricey coastal markets have come to an end. The cities with the sharpest year-over-year rent declines are now experiencing positive rent growth again, and in some cases, prices are rapidly rebounding.
  • Rents in Charlotte increased 2.3% month-over-month, compared to 1.9% nationally. Month-over-month growth in Charlotte ranks #24 among the nation’s 100 largest cities.
  • Year-over-year rent growth in Charlotte currently stands at 3.2%, compared to 0.9% at this time last year.
  • Median rents in Charlotte currently stand at $1117 for a 1-bedroom apartment and $1248 for a two-bedroom.

NC Mayor Declares State of Emergency as Body Cam Footage of Andrew Brown Jr. Death Released

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NC Mayor Declares State of Emergency as Body Cam Footage of Andrew Brown Jr. Death Released

The Mayor of Elizabeth City, NC has declared a State of Emergency ahead of expected protesting as the bodycam footage of the police officer who shot and killed Andrew Brown Jr. is released to family members.

The declaration reads:

“I, Mayor Bettie J. Parker, Mayor of the City of Elizabeth City, North Carolina do hereby proclaim a “STATE OF EMERGENCY” in Elizabeth City, North Carolina. I direct all departments and agencies of Elizabeth City to take whatever steps necessary to protect life and property, public infrastructure, and provide such emergency assistance deemed necessary to preserve public safety.”

Police have now closed off several streets in downtown Elizabeth City to allow for peaceful protesting.

42-year-old Andrew Brown Jr. was fatally shot by Pasquotank County sheriff’s deputies while they were attempting to serve a warrant at Brown’s home on Wednesday, April 21, while Brown was sitting in the driver’s seat of his car in his driveway.

After family members watched the body cam footage this afternoon, they recounted what they saw in a press conference, saying:

“This was an execution…he had his hands firmly on the steering wheel. They run up to his vehicle shooting. He still stood there, sat there in his vehicle with his hands on the steering wheel while being shot at.”

You can watch the entire press conference here:

The family also noted that they were only shown 20 seconds of body-cam video from just one of at least eight responding deputies, and there was no dash-cam footage shown to the family.

While the exact circumstances of Brown’s death remains unclear, a total of 7 deputies have since been put on administrative leave. A total of 3 deputies have now resigned their positions.

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