Discovery Place Science to Celebrate 50th Anniversary of Moon Landing

Discovery Place Science will celebrate the 50th anniversary of man landing on the moon with a series of special events that will take visitors to infinity and beyond.

Events will launch on Tuesday, July 16, when the Museum will Blast Off in honor of the beginning of Apollo 11’s historic flight to the moon. On Saturday, July 20, the Museum will mark the anniversary of the moon landing with a special To the Moon and Beyond event. Visitors can create a pocket solar system, interact with members of the Charlotte Astronomy Club, use a solar viewer to look at the sun, use space math to find out their weight on other planets, test out their astronaut skills with hands-on activities, go inside the Star Lab to get a better view of space, see a real meteorite and other space-related items from our Collections Department and learn about how astronauts are using DNA sequencing in space.

What goes up, must come down and on Wednesday, July 24, Discovery Place Science will welcome our astronauts home with a Back to Earth event. Visitors will participate in egg-drop challenges in which visitors can try to land an egg safely into a pool of water. Plus, at 1 p.m., guests can take part in a virtual chat with a NASA staff member about the initiatives NASA has planned for the future, including the mission to Mars.

For those who can’t make it for these special events, space activities are taking place throughout the month at the Museum in daily programs, including how astronomers use filtered light; the mapping of rising sea levels and NASA’s Jason-3 spacecraft; static electricity and magnetic waves; the expanding universe; the sun; gravity; modular robots; space weight and much more.

The space invasion at Discovery Place Science will continue through September, with new intergalactic adventures taking place each month.

NC Governor Cooper Signs New Law That Allows Drug Dealers To Be Charged With Murder

NC Governor Roy Cooper just signed a new bill that will allow drug dealers to be charged with murder.

The new ‘Death by Distribution’ law (HB 474 / SB 375) makes it a felony to illegally distribute drugs that result in death, punishable by 40 years in prison.

According to the new bill, a person can now be found guilty of death by distribution of certain controlled substances if all of the following requirements are met:

  • Person distributed at least one certain controlled substance to the victim
  • Ingestion of the controlled substance caused the death of the user
  • Person’s unlawful distribution of the certain controlled substance or substances was a proximate cause of the victim’s death
  • Person did not act with malice
  • Person has a previous conviction of trafficking or has a prior conviction within 7 years of the date of the offense.

The act specifically includes the following controlled substances; opium, opiate, opioid, synthetic or natural salt, compounds or derivatives of opium, opioid, opiate, cocaine, methamphetamine or any mixture of one or more of the named substances.

Supporters of the new law say that it is a major step in fighting our growing opioid epidemic, but critics say it will stop people from dialing 911 when someone is experiencing an overdose.

The new law does include a ‘good samaritan’ clause, which carves out exceptions for anyone;

  • Issuing a valid prescription for a controlled substance for a legitimate medical
    purpose by an individual practitioner acting in the usual course of professional
    practice.
  • Dispensing, delivering, or administering a controlled substance pursuant to a
    prescription, by a pharmacy permitted under G.S. 90-85.21, a pharmacist, or
    an individual practitioner.

What do you think about the new law? 

Police Asking First Citizens Customers To Check Accounts After ATM Skimmer Found

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This past Sunday afternoon, police discovered a sophisticated ATM skimmer at the Newton First Citizens Bank at the corner of College Avenue and East A Street.

The skimmer included a rare device that clones customer’s debit card numbers and records their PIN using a tiny camera. Police say the device was placed on the ATM at around 8:30am Sunday morning and are asking all customers of the bank to check their bank records to ensure their accounts have not been compromised.

Banks are now warning people to check every ATM they use by pulling on the card reader and the keypad to ensure they have not been tampered with by a skimmer;

Many people are also now investing in data protection strips and RDIF blocking card holders to prevent identity theft and stolen credit card information.

New Amazon Overstock Store Opened Southwest of Charlotte Selling All Items From $1-$5 Each

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A new store close to Charlotte is selling overstocked Amazon products for $1-$5 each (and even cheaper during their ‘fill-a-bag’ sales) – many items which have an MSRP of $100+, including YETI thermoses, headphones, drones, high-end makeup, heavy duty dog doors, and more.

Bin Time is located at 129 W. Butler Rd, Mauldin, SC, near Greenville and a little over an hour southwest of Charlotte.

The prices of the items change each day they’re open, Saturday and Sunday, items are $5 each, Monday they’re $2 each, and Tuesday they’re $1 each. Each Saturday morning, they received a new shipment from Amazon and refill all of their bins.

In order to keep the peace and sanity among passionate deal seekers, the Amazon certification strictly enforces the following rules:

1. No book bags or large purses permitted.

2. Children under 16 years of age must be accompanied at all times and are not permitted in the bins. Zero exceptions.

3. Large bags will be provided. No personal bags, carts, or baskets will be permitted.

4. Only one bag of goods per person. You may check out and return to the sale as many times as you like.

5. No stockpiling or sorting items on the floor or anywhere else in the building. This is a safety issue and will be strictly enforced. Only take goods that you intend to purchase.

6. No merchandise is permitted in restrooms.

7. No pushing, running, yelling, grabbing or unruly behavior will be tolerated.

8. Opening boxes or any other packaging is not permitted. Please see an associate if you need assistance with identifying an item.

9. No line jumping or holding spots for someone else.

10. Cash and Credit Cards are accepted.

11. NO RETURNS – EXCHANGES – REFUNDS

Some days (like today) they offer what’s called a ‘fill-a-bag’ sale, where shoppers can fill an entire bag and buy everything inside for just $10.

You can find out more and watch for special ‘fill-a-bag’ deal days on their Facebook page here.

You can also browse what Amazon has in overstock before they send it to Bin Time on their overstock page here.

Famed Comedian Anjelah Johnson Coming to Charlotte

Ovens Auditorium will host Anjelah Johnson for her “Technically Not Stalking Tour” on Saturday, Oct. 12, 2019, at 7 p.m. Tickets are on sale now and can be purchased online at Ticketmaster.com by phone at 800-745-3000, at all Ticketmaster outlets or at the Bojangles’ Coliseum Box Office located at 2700 E. Independence Blvd. General admission tickets start at $39.75 (plus applicable service charges) and are subject to change. A direct link to purchase tickets can be found here. Johnson, who has been lauded as “one of the funniest and freshest voices in comedy right now” and whose live performances were described as “filled with almost non-stop laughter” by Time Out Chicago, will embark on her highly-anticipated tour playing to diehard fans with stops in cities from coast to coast. “I’m excited for you to come out and see me on my Technically Not Stalking Tour! But not if I see you first. Muahaha,” said Johnson. Mexican and Native American comedian and actress Anjelah Johnson-Reyes has become a favorite with both audiences and critics alike. Her comedy reaches across platforms from the stage to online to TV to film, with The Las Vegas Review Journal gushing about her last tour Johnson is an energized presence, an exclamation point incarnate.” After a stint as a professional cheerleader for the Oakland Raiders, she became an internet sensation with her viral video, “Nail Salon” which led to her joining the cast of FOX’s hit comedy series MadTV. Her spot as a series regular spawned another internet sensation, “Bon Qui Qui.” This original character, a disgruntled fast food employee with no filter, has been enjoyed, viewed and replicated by over 65 million people worldwide. Additionally, she has been featured in such comedy fan-favorite TV shows as ABC’s “Ugly Betty”, HBO’s :”Curb Your Enthusiasm” and NBC’s “Superstore.” She is also a familiar face on the talk show circuit, with multiple appearances on CBS’s “The Talk,” ABC’s “The View,” and NUVO’s “Mario Lopez: One on One.” Anjelah’s fourth hour standup special “Mahalo & Goodnight,” filmed in Honolulu, Hawaii, premiered on Epix in 2017 with Maxim Magazine declaringher comedy (is) uproariously funny and, in a time of great racial and political strife, oddly healing.” The special is currently streaming on Hulu. Her third hour special “Not Fancy,” which is a Netflix original, is currently available for streaming on the platform along with her second hour “The Homecoming Show.” Her first hour special “That’s How We Do It” premiered on Comedy Central in 2009.

CMPD Asking For Help in Finding Missing Woman

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The CMPD has just released a missing person alert for 69-year-old Charlotte resident Sandra Adams.

According to the alert, Sandra was last seen in her apartment off Midland Avenue on the 3rd of July.

Her family reported her missing on the 5th of July when they went to check on her and discovered she wasn’t there.

She normally walks to stores near her apartment, but always returns home, according to her family.

Sandra may be wearing a beige or white shirt with beige pants and white shoes.

If you have any information about her whereabouts, please call Crime Stoppers at 704-334-1600.  

NC Ranked Among Top 7 Best Up-And-Coming Wine Regions in North America

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Treehouse Vineyards in Monroe

The Tar Heel State was just ranked among North America’s top 7 up and coming wine regions in a new report by Traveler Magazine.

The report notes that:

“North Carolina has proclaimed itself the only place in the world where every major type of wine grape grows well—and has done so for several centuries. At the Raffaldini Vineyards and Winery, for example, located within a two-hour drive of Asheville, Charlotte and the Research Triangle, winemaking has been in the family for generations.

The vineyard’s Vermentino, which yields a medium-bodied white wine, was the first of its kind to be planted on the East Coast of the U.S.”

The Charlotte region has also been putting its mark on the wine world with the growth of Treehouse Vineyards, Rocky River Vineyards, and Daveste Vineyards.

According to Traveler Magazine, the top 7 up and coming wine regions include; North Carolina, Washington, D.C., Seattle, The Twin Cities, Pittsburg, Texas Hill Country, and Toronto.

What do you think about the growing wine industry in our state? 

 

 

Stallings Native Now Serving Aboard America’s Newest Aircraft Carrier

A Stallings, NC, native and UNCC graduate is now serving in the U.S. Navy aboard the service’s newest aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford.

Lt. Tyler “Shipwreck” Dunn is an operations administration officer aboard the carrier homeported in Norfolk, Virginia.

As a Navy operations administration officer, Dunn is responsible for supporting the administration side of the operations department and is a bridge watchstander by being the commanding officer’s direct representative on the bridge in charge of safe navigation and operations of the ship.

Dunn credits success in the Navy to many of the lessons learned growing up in Stallings.

“I learned to be resourceful,” said Dunn. “Being able to work through mission accomplishment with a limited set of tools at your disposal.”

Commissioned in 2017, Ford, or ‘Warship 78’ as she is known by the crew, is 1,106 feet long; longer than three football fields. The ship, a true floating city, weighs more than 100,000 tons and has a flight deck that is 256 feet wide.

Powerful catapults slingshot the aircraft off the bow of the ship. The planes land aboard the carrier by snagging a steel cable with an arresting hook that protrudes from the rear of the aircraft.

Ford is the first of a class of aircraft carriers that offer significant performance improvements over the previous Nimitz-class aircraft carriers. The ship is equipped with the Electromagnetic Aircraft Launch System (EMALS) to launch aircraft, rather than steam catapults currently used aboard other aircraft carriers, eliminating the requirement to generate and store steam for catapults, which frees up space. EMALS and other new systems and operating concepts will allow the Ford to accomplish 25 percent more aircraft launches per day than its predecessor while requiring 25 percent fewer crewmembers, resulting in an estimated savings of $4 billion in operating costs over a 50-year life span.

NC Ranked 4th in The Nation For The Highest Levels of Arsenic In Our Well Water

If you live in a rural part of North Carolina, you may want to get your water tested, especially if you live in the Central Piedmont, between Charlotte and Raleigh.

Our state has just ranked 4th in the nation for the number of people likely to have arsenic in their drinking water, according to a recent report by the American Chemical Society.

The results from the study show that over 119,000 people in North Carolina are currently drinking well water with potentially toxic levels of arsenic in it.

According to the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality, “the central part of the North Carolina Piedmont, underlain by ancient volcanic rocks, have the greatest number of groundwater wells with detectable and elevated arsenic.”

When the NC Public Health Department sampled wells in Union County, they found that 19.7% of wells had unhealthy levels of arsenic.

If your home uses well water, you can test for arsenic using a home testing kit – especially if you drink a significant amount of water at home.

If you find a high level of arsenic in your water, the best solution is to install a reverse osmosis filter on any faucet you get drinking water from.

Types of Employment Agency Toronto You Need to Know About

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There is no doubt that the competition for jobs is increasing every day thanks to the growing population and the high number of graduates getting into the job market every day. Therefore, in this stiffly competitive market, you need services of an employment agency Toronto to assist you in finding the next position. There are many different types of employment agencies in Toronto that can find you in your next position.

The best one for you will rely on your work experience; whether you are an entry-level employee or a seasoned expert, your specialization, your flexibility and your geographical region. Your skills also play an essential role. Getting the right employment agency Toronto, means getting the right type of job you are looking for.

 

  • Traditional Employment Agency.

 

Traditional employment agencies Toronto assist people looking for jobs to find work, and also, they assist companies in finding the right candidates. Though things are changing, some agencies charge their candidates for the services rendered. So, before you sign any contract get clarification of any upfront needed and whether there will be a fee involved. 

Many Toronto recruitment agencies specialise in specific fields such as accounting, IT, sports, sales and marketing etc. It is, however, advisable to consider an employment agency Toronto that doesn’t charge any fee to its candidates. This is because there are big number of agencies that work on retainer basis with some employers to look for employees for them.

 

  • Contingency Employment Agency.

 

Here, the agency is paid if the company employs the job seeker. Some, asks for payments, so you need to ask who will pay any fee before you sign any contract with them. These types of employment agencies Toronto are used for low and middle-level jobs and usually send many resumes to potential employers. 

If you choose to use a contingency employment agency, you would also be competing with the other candidates who submitted their applications through job boards, other recruiters and HR departments.

 

  • Retained/Executive Search Firm.

 

The retained search firm is normally used for executive-level and senior positions employee searches to get the best applicant to fill a specific vacancy. These agencies usually contact candidates directly, and in most cases, these employees are not actively searching for jobs. In most cases, these employees are in another company, and the recruiters try to convince them to leave their current employer. In another language, they are called “head-hunters.”

The retained agencies go through the qualifications of the candidate before approaching them. They also forward these qualifications to their employer for approval since the company need a highly qualified candidate to be employed.

The executive firms are paid expenses, and also a certain percentage of the salary of the employee notwithstanding whether he/she is employed or not.

 

  • Temporary Agency.

 

These agencies only look for job seekers who need temp jobs. For instance, temporary workers are most needed during the peak work seasons, and in case some employees are on leave. Temp agencies also are hired to look for experts for short-term assignments.

Many temp agencies Toronto have expanded their functions to include temp to perm positions where an employee is hired as a temp worker and is later hired as a perm employee if the employer is impressed by his/ her performance.

Temp recruitment agencies in Toronto may also place job applicants on retainer where whenever a temp job comes their way, they assign it to their candidates.

Temp agencies also offer employee benefits such as child care allowances, leave pay and health insurance. If the temporary job changes into to a perm job, then your relationship with the employment agency Toronto ceases and the payment responsibility is transferred to the employer.

 

  • Cautionary Tips.

 

Choosing an employment agency Toronto to help you get a job is a good thing. However, don’t be tempted to rely too much on recruitment agencies. Many companies nowadays depend on internal referrals from their own staff and also job boards.

Ensure that so establish good networking and get involved in online job boards and also consider direct applications through the target businesses websites. And if you decide to use employment agencies Toronto, don’t work exclusively with only one particular recruiter since each recruitment agency serves a specific number of employers.