Cover Story
From hell and back
Ligsdenis Ochoa clutches her heart-shaped plastic purse as she’s led through a circle of strangers. She pulls herself into a chair and stares at her feet for a few moments, watching them dangle above the floor. She looks up to survey the room, and a tight-lipped smile stretches across her face. Quick instincts tell her…
Newly unemployed in North Carolina?
Better find work fast.
Today’s Top 5: Tuesday
Here are the five best events going down in Charlotte and the surrounding area today.
Latin American Coalition community organizer detained
Rausel Arista has lived as an undocumented immigrant and community organizer in Charlotte for 15 years.
Review: Scott Pilgrim’s O’Malley returns with Seconds
This might be the year’s best graphic novel.
City Council eases restrictions on bars and restaurants, including breweries
New space requirements mean bars and restaurants can expand.
First Drip (7/22/14): Knights double attendance, anti-rape clothing in India, more
The news you need to know today.
Theater review: Mary Poppins
Does it really take a crassly commercial one-two punch to bring the excitement and buzz back to Halton Theater? It certainly seemed that way on Saturday night as a new production of Mary Poppins climaxed CPCC Summer Theatre’s 41st season. Attendance at CP’s previous musicals, handsomely crafted productions of The Scarlet Pimpernel and Li’l Abner,…
Photos: Under the Sea Hootenanny at Neighborhood Theatre, 7/18/2014
Aquatic-themed show with local music.
Regarding coal ash transfer to airport, city issues Duke Energy an unexpected counter proposal
The details of the proposal, however, weren’t disclosed during a City Council Environmental Committee meeting Monday.
Today’s Top 5: Monday
Here are the five best events going down in Charlotte and the surrounding area today.
Ranking Weird Al’s eight ‘Mandatory Fun’ videos
From parodies of Robin Thicke to Southern Culture on the Skids.
#hashtaghungry: Lunges and Lunches, Ganttfest, more
A handful of filter-friendly, tweetable, social media-shareable foodie events in and around the city.
First Notes (7/21/2014): Eddie Vedder covers ‘Imagine,’ more
Plus, a weekly update of recent happenings in the world of music.
Heard: Kiss, PNC Music Pavilion (7/19/2014)
Sometimes the show around you is just as entertaining.
Today’s Top 5: Saturday
Here are the five best events going down in Charlotte and the surrounding area today.
Four characters we hope to see in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
Krang, Casey Jones and more.
Sex Tape: The turn of the screw
SEX TAPE **1/2 DIRECTED BY Jake Kasdan STARS Cameron Diaz, Jason Segel Those who felt that 2011’s Bad Teacher was a bad deal won’t exactly be storming the box office Bastille to snatch up tickets to Sex Tape, given that this new comedy reunites that picture’s central troika of director Jake Kasdan and stars Cameron…
Rise for Dawn of the Planet of the Apes
DAWN OF THE PLANET OF THE APES ***1/2 DIRECTED BY Matt Reeves STARS Andy Serkis, Jason Clarke I gotta confess, I don’t remember too much about 2011’s Rise of the Planet of the Apes other than James Franco woos the Slumdog Millionaire’s girlfriend and Draco Malfoy enjoys spanking monkeys. I do also recall not being…
Another week slides into the dustbin of legislative history
Tax referendums, poet laureates and budget shortfalls, oh my!
TODAY: Uber offers sweet treat, sprinkled with convenience
The rideshare company celebrates National Ice Cream Day early.
Cheap list: Makeovers, Food Truck Rally, Pin-ups and more
A list of cheap – $10 or less – things to do in the Q.C.
First Drip (7/18/2014): New poet laureate resigns, Senate delays sales tax vote, more
The news you need to know today.
Today’s Top 5: Friday
Here are the five best events going down in Charlotte and the surrounding area today.
Question the Queen City: An unsolved double murder
Did they ever catch the killer from the Mulberry Church Road murders?
The wrong question to ask a woman you barely know
The lesson here is, don’t fall asleep around strange fellas.
Your last chance to party with the pink and green
Here’s where you can party with the AKAs as their conference wraps up.
Charlotte Restaurant Week affects more than restaurants
All that food has to come from somewhere.
Drink This: Sweet Georgia Brown
Exclusive to Fahrenheit’s Charlotte location, this drink is an undeniable nod to this side of the Mason-Dixon.
Jodorowsky’s Dune, The Raid 2, The Train among new home entertainment titles
(View From The Couch is a weekly column that reviews what’s new on Blu-ray and DVD.) BAD WORDS (2014). Jason Bateman makes his feature directorial debut with the acidic comedy Bad Words, and it must be noted that he does yeoman’s work on the picture. His helming is competent but colorless, which in turn places…
Today’s Top 5: Thursday
Here are the five best events going down in Charlotte today.
Charlotte slam team attends Brave New Voices Poetry Festival
BreatheINK Youth Poetry Initiative spits in Philly.
Opening Friday
What’s new in theaters this weekend.
Theater: Porgy & Bess
So much was made of the cuts inflicted upon the 2012 edition of The Gershwins’ Porgy and Bess, to both the script and the score, that the only valid reason to even consider seeing it — according to a pair of negative Times reviews — was yet another Tony Award-winning performance by Audra McDonald as…
Coal ash, poet laureates & bus drivers — it’s a long, hot summer
A quick update on several previously reported stories.
First Drip (7/17/2014): Charlotte ranks second for places to live
The news you need to know today.
Johnny Winter dead at age 70
Guitarist had September date scheduled at Neighborhood Theatre.
Bizarre crime from Charlotte police files (July 17)
Ice Cold: Teens became movie stars last week after a video of them robbing an ice cream man went viral. The video, which has been viewed 3,700 times on YouTube, shows a girl trying to open the man’s ice cream cart. He immediately closes it, and she responds by punching him. A male teen joins…
Weekly horoscope (July 17-23)
For All Signs: Our largest planet, Jupiter, moves into the sign of Leo on July 16 and will remain in that sign for a year. Jupiter is the planet of expansion, optimism, philosophy, travel and education. It represents improvements and growth in whatever department of life it touches. The dark side of Jupiter can expand…
The Pull List (7/16/14): Doberman unchained
A cop story, ’80s style.
Late Bloomer releases “Dr. Abernathy” video
Song is from the band’s sophomore album.
Senate voting to kill proposed sales tax referendum today
State Senator Joel Ford says a 1 p.m. vote is scheduled.
WTF Wednesday (7/16/2014): Paris Hilton’s new video
Andre Johnson cut off his penis because “he’s a god.”
First Drip (7/16/14): Greg Hardy files appeal, Ku Klux Klan offers candy as recruitment tactic, more
The news you need to know today.
Take a Look at Me Now
It started, as so many good stories do, with a dare and a Phil Collins song. It ended with an emotional breakdown over a game of miniature golf. After falling into a Genesis/Collins K-hole — I inherited a genuine love for him from both my parents — I ran my mouth on Facebook, saying something…
A soul revival of the fittest
A wave has been sweeping through Charlotte in recent years. The latest point of impact is the U.S. National Whitewater Center where T Bird and the Breaks bring their swaggering update of old-school soul this Saturday. To be sure, the Austin combo layers Beastie Boys beats and scorching rock guitar over their infectious grooves. Yet,…
Adrian Crutchfield is ready to blow
Charlotte’s Adrian Crutchfield was 4 when he got his first saxophone, at a Kenny G concert. The headliner pulled him on stage and gave him the instrument. Little did Kenny G know that one moment would inspire Crutchfield to become a musician — one who has now, at the age of 29, played with fellow…
The Natural Order
I have a friend who says life is filled with too many choices. Any time you can leave a decision to an expert, you should. So, when out dining, she always asks the waiter to surprise her. I’ve been doing the same for years. Most servers say it’s refreshing. They get so many special requests…
The 10 worst Atari 2600 games
In the last two columns of “Console Me,” I discussed the Top 10 games ever made for the Atari 2600. The harmony of the universe depends upon an eternal balance, and so it is my duty to bring you the 10 worst games ever programmed for Atari 2600. 10. E.T: The Extra-Terrestrial. This is often…
Zimbabwean art set in stone at Daniel Stowe
A drop of sweat dribbles down Patrick Sephani’s face as he stands under a tent, chiseling on a medium-sized chunk of gray stone. At the moment, it’s beginning to look like it has wings, but there’s no real clue as to what it’s shaping up to become. For Sephani, sculpting is a way of life.…
CONTEST: You’re so Charlotte if …
Finally — an opportunity to share your wit with the masses.
