News
Friday, February 10, 2012
News Playing chicken: Two political foes become allies — imagine that!
Posted by Mark Kemp on Fri, Feb 10, 2012 at 4:28 PM
North Carolina has a lot of chicken farmers — and a lot of animal-rights activists. Wonder if they could ever meet at a common coop?
If the recent activities of two lobbyists is any indication, the answer is yes.
One of those lobbyists is concerned about chicken farmers and the people who labor on those farms. The other is concerned about the chickens. Together, the two lobbyists hatched a plan that would be beneficial to all, according to a story this morning at NPR's food blog, "The Salt."
Monday, February 6, 2012
News First openly gay elected bishop to visit Charlotte
Posted by Laura Camilo on Mon, Feb 6, 2012 at 11:39 AM
Bishop Gene Robinson, the first openly gay elected bishop in the Episcopal Church and the Anglican Communion, will visit Charlotte on Friday, Feb. 10. "An Evening with Bishop Gene Robinson" will kick off RAIN's (Regional AIDS Interfaith Network) 20th anniversary.
Docu-fiends might remember Robinson from 2007's ""For the Bible Tells Me So," a film that shared his story while exploring the ways the religious right continues to stigmatize the gay community. Robinson is now the subject of a new documentary film "Love Free or Die," which was screened at the Sundance Film Festival in January.
Robinson has been a longtime advocate for AIDS awareness, co-authoring three AIDS education curricula and doing AIDS work in the U.S. as well as in Africa. He has been honored by many organizations, including the Human Rights Campaigns and the National Gay & Lesbian Task Force, for his vocal call to defense of LGBT civil rights.
Tickets are $30 per person and includes complimentary beer, wine, and light hors d'oeuvres (there will be non-alcoholic beverages as well, with 100 percent of the ticket cost going to support RAIN's programs and services. Only 150 tickets are available for purchase.
6 p.m.-9 p.m. Friday, Feb. 10; Duke Energy's Paul Anderson Auditorium, 400 S. Tryon St.
Saturday, February 4, 2012
News / Opinion Why does Richard Burr favor a pass for congressional insider trading?
Posted by Mike Cooper on Sat, Feb 4, 2012 at 6:13 PM
It isn't surprising that Richard Burr was one of only three U.S. senators to vote against the STOCK Act last week. In 2008, when the banking system collapsed, the Republican senator from Winston-Salem used his advance knowledge of the disaster to warn his wife.
What's more, the Huffington Post reported on Saturday that Burr owns stock in two companies which would benefit from a bill he co-sponsored giving tax breaks to those exploring natural gas-fueled vehicles:
Burr has investments in the gas industry valued from $133,298 to $219,337, according to his 2010 filings. His portfolio includes $36,000 worth of stock in Chesapeake Energy Corp., the second-largest U.S. producer of natural gas. He also holds more than $25,000 in shares of Loews Corp., a holding company with subsidiaries engaged in the exploration, production, marketing and transmission of natural gas.
Thursday, February 2, 2012
News / Music / Democratic National Convention 2012 Michelle Obama, James Taylor to star in Charlotte fundraisers
Posted by Mary C. Curtis on Thu, Feb 2, 2012 at 3:26 PM
- Photos by Joyce N. Boghosian (Obama), Evan Osherow (Taylor)
- No, that's not the first lady's hand on Mr. Taylor's shoulder, but we like that it looks that way.
First lady Michelle Obama will be attending two Charlotte fundraisers on March 2 to help raise money for the 2012 Democratic National Convention here, according to a convention official.
In the afternoon, the first lady will attend a fundraising dinner with a performance by North Carolina-raised singer/songwriter James Taylor. Tickets for the event at the Ballantyne Hotel begin at $12,500 per couple and benefit the Committee for Charlotte 2012, the official name of the host committee tasked with raising $36.65 million for the convention.
In the evening, the first lady will attend a fundraising reception at the hotel that also features a performance by Taylor, with tickets starting at $250.
Wednesday, February 1, 2012
News / Democratic National Convention 2012 Democratic National Convention 2012 Notebook: Marking an anniversary, planning parties
Posted by Mary C. Curtis on Wed, Feb 1, 2012 at 6:43 PM
It was a year ago today that Charlotte was announced as the site of the 2012 DNC, and as a reminder Steve Kerrigan, the convention's CEO, held a press conference on Wednesday. He listed all that’s happened over the past year and gave a preview of what’s to come.
Kerrigan ran through a few items, from the kickoff last September to the recent announcement of a presidential speech in Bank of America Stadium set for this September; he promised formal media briefings for coming attractions. Some of those expected announcements are: decisions on where each state is staying so neighborhoods will know what to expect, additional business opportunities (a chance to apply for contracts and subcontracts for transportation needs is due this month), more details on the convention layout at Time Warner Cable Arena (the DNCC gets the keys July 14) and security plans.
That last item has been a concern, especially since the city announced what will and will not be allowed for security reasons. Kerrigan deferred those discussions to the coordinating city and federal agencies, saying only that the goal is safety, with plans that are the “least disruptive.”
News Susan G. Komen for the Cure Foundation turns evil
Posted by Matt Brunson on Wed, Feb 1, 2012 at 4:25 PM
Meet Karen Handel, the new face for the Susan G. Komen for the Cure Foundation.
Handel is a failed politician, a right-wing extremist who lost her 2010 bid to become governor of Georgia while running on a campaign that blasted abortion rights and gay rights and took particular aim at Planned Parenthood (she was endorsed by both Sarah Palin and Jan Brewer; egad!). So did she then fade away in deserved irrelevancy? Of course not. In modern America, disgraced parties always seem to rise Phoenix-like from the ashes — heck, even the vile G. Gordon Liddy snagged his own radio show — so it's really no surprise that last year a major organization picked her as its new vice president. What's shocking is that the group was Susan G. Komen for the Cure Foundation, an organization that enjoyed a long relationship with Planned Parenthood as both fought for the rights and health of women.
- AP
- The heinous Karen Handel
Well, no more. As of yesterday, SGK has decided to cut all ties to Planned Parenthood, announcing that it will no longer fund grants for breast exams. This maneuver, which hurts all women but most particularly poor ones (a favorite target of GOP politicians), was spearheaded by Rep. Cliff Stearns (R-Fla.), but Handel's fingerprints are also clearly all over this thing.
News / Music Neighbors for Equality hosting discussion at Amelies on Feb. 2
Posted by Jeff Hahne on Wed, Feb 1, 2012 at 10:05 AM
Neighbors for Equality will host a Coffee & Conversation event on Feb. 2 at Amelie's in NoDa. Singer-songwriter Mieka Pauley will offer a free, live performance and participate in a discussion surrounding the anti-quality amendment to the North Carolina state constitution.
Held from 5 to 7 p.m., the event is open to the public and will offer opportunities to register to vote and time to sign up to volunteer for various initiatives for equality.
Pauley, a native of Boston and Harvard alumnus, has a 10 p.m. performance scheduled that night at the Evening Muse. She won the grand prize in both Cosmopolitan's StarLaunch and the New York Songwriters Circle Songwriting Competition in 2008 and was nominated for a Boston Music Award. In 2005, she won the grand prize in the first Starbucks Emerging Artist competition. She has toured with Citizen Cope and Edwin McCain.
Neighbors for Equality is a group of activists, working to mobilize and inspire communities through researching issues, developing resources, coordinating events, registering voters and encouraging equality supporters.
Tuesday, January 31, 2012
News City leaders and police make occupying Charlotte much more complicated
Posted by Mark Kemp on Tue, Jan 31, 2012 at 11:17 AM
- Photo by Grant Baldwin
- CMPD Capt. Jeff Estes squares off with longtime occupier Ayende Alcala (left)
When CL's print issue went to bed Monday afternoon, police had visited the Occupy Charlotte campsite earlier in the day for a relatively casual chat with campers about their imminent eviction from the Old City Hall grounds on East Trade Street. Within an hour after CL's deadline, some 60 officers moved on to the site and several protesters began practicing the civil disobedience they'd trained for over the weekend. Seven people were arrested.
This morning, police returned to the scene, making it clear that protesting at Old City Hall will no longer be easy or laid back. Charlotte law enforcement aims to take seriously the new city ordinances banning camping and making demonstrations as complicated as possible.
Monday, January 30, 2012
News / Democratic National Convention 2012 Democratic National Convention 2012 Notebook: N.C. a focus in presidential politics
Posted by Mary C. Curtis on Mon, Jan 30, 2012 at 7:06 PM
There was Gov. Bev Perdue’s announcement that she would not run for re-election. Perdue had gotten more love outside the state than in. She was praised on MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow Show for vetoing GOP-backed bills that restricted abortion rights and introduced voter ID, but her poll numbers in the state have been dismal. This unsettles this year’s gubernatorial race, even as former Mayor Pat McCrory can’t wait and Mayor Anthony Foxx’s name is floated. Foxx, host of the Democratic National Convention in September, was not expected to be in the middle of another election battle.
The President, in a statement, said of Perdue: “For over 25 years, she has fought for the people of the Tar Heel State — working to transform the state’s public schools, improve the health care system, protect and attract jobs for members of the military and their families, and create the jobs of the future.”
Sunday, January 29, 2012
News Occupy Charlotte braces for the big eviction
Posted by Mark Kemp on Sun, Jan 29, 2012 at 9:15 PM
- Photo by Grant Baldwin
- Capt. Estes of the CMPD reads the new city ordinance to members of Occupy Charlotte
Creative Loafing reporter Rhiannon Fionn is on the ground at Old City Hall tonight talking to members of Occupy Charlotte and Charlotte-Mecklenburg police about the ramifications of Monday's eviction. That's when police plan to go in and enforce a new city ordinance barring camping on the city hall grounds.
Some observers fear there will be a confrontation, although others say that fear is overstated. The one thing that's certain right now is the uncertainty surrounding what can stay and what can go; what kind of tent is considered a "living accommodation" and what kind isn't. When CMPD Capt. Jeff Estes showed up at around 5 p.m. today to read the new ordinance to the group, the occupiers "inundated" him with questions, said photographer Grant Baldwin.
CL reporter Fionn said the mood remained generally calm, and that the group had undergone rigorous civil disobedience training earlier in the day. "They made it clear to the police that they have questions about the ordinance and the police also admitted that they're not clear about it either" said Fionn. "In fact, the police advised the protesters to consult their attorneys."
Fionn and Baldwin will remain on the scene through the night, as rumors have spread that some kind of police action may happen between 4 a.m. and 6 a.m. Monday. That has not been confirmed by the police or the city. Also present on the scene is Isaac Sturgill, director of the Charlotte School of Law chapter of the National Lawyers Guild, who told Fionn that the Guild "wants the police and city to know they're watching." Sturgill wrote a "City Forum" column on the topic for CL in December.
At around 9 p.m., the Charlotte occupiers held a march to show solidarity with their counterparts from Occupy Oakland, where demonstrators broke into the city hall and damaged property after police arrested hundreds of protesters. Catch up with that story at The Christian Science Monitor.
