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Wednesday, November 4, 2009
News Foxx wins! Lassiter doesn't
Posted By Rhiannon Fionn-Bowman on Wed, Nov 4, 2009 at 10:02 AM
Whew. That was close. But, only one candidate can win and that distinction goes to Democrat Anthony Foxx, who will forevermore be known as Charlotte's second African-American mayor.
Early voting data came in first, as you'd expect, and put Foxx out front. Within an hour, however, his lead slipped and his rival, Republican John Lassiter, was in the lead.
Now, I hate horse race electoral coverage as much as the next person -- but this really was one of those elections where one minute one candidate lead by a couple hundred votes and 10 minutes later the other one was in the lead by a few hundred.
If you're interested in a play-by-play on the the night, check out the #CLTvote Twitter hashtag. (If you want to read them in order, read the older posts first.)
Not long after 10 p.m., the final tally was in and Foxx was named the winner with 51.48 percent of the vote to Lassiter's 48.45 percent. There were 73 write-in votes. (Really?)
The pathetic news: Only only 106,994 citizens chose to vote for the next leader of the country's 19th largest city. What gives, people? If any election should prove that your vote counts, it's this one.
If you're wondering how your 'hood voted, check out this cool interactive map from The Charlotte Observer.
In related news, voters cleaned house in the school board election and three towns in Union County will now serve mixed drinks.
Watch Lassiter's concession speech here, Foxx's victory speech here (do note the color and tone of the crowds, will ya) and one of the winner's campaign ads here:
Arts / Today's Top Five / News Today's Top 5: Wednesday
Posted By Anita Overcash on Wed, Nov 4, 2009 at 8:00 AM
Here are the five best events going down in Charlotte and the surrounding area today, Nov. 4, 2009 — as selected by the folks at Creative Loafing.
• Author Ron Rash to sign Serena at Park Road Books
• The Good Doctor at Winthrop University
• Get To Know The Show: South Pacific at Duke Energy Theatre
• Mastodon at The Fillmore
• The Ties That Bind exhibition at The Light Factory
Tuesday, November 3, 2009
News Foxx wins Charlotte mayoral contest
Posted By Carlton Hargro on Tue, Nov 3, 2009 at 11:22 PM
The headline pretty much says it all: Anthony Foxx has defeated John Lassiter in the race to become Charlotte's next mayor. That victory makes Foxx the first Democrat to win in a long while and the second African-American to ever hold the office.
Congrats Mr. Foxx. More on this story to come tomorrow ...
Arts / News Bechtler Museum of Modern Art unveils "Firebird"
Posted By Anita Overcash on Tue, Nov 3, 2009 at 10:36 PM
Today, Creative Loafing witnessed the unveiling of French artist Niki de Saint Phalle’s sculpture the “Firebird,” which sits at the plaza of Knight Theater and the Bechtler Museum of Modern Art - set to open on January 2, 2010 in Uptown Charlotte. The sculpture, which is 17-feet and comprised of reflective mirrors, glass, and specs of color, is pretty damn impressive, too. (Just take a look at the photos below.)
Cyndee Patterson, board chair of Bechtler Museum of Modern Art; Heinz Roth, honorary consul of Switzerland; Urs Ziswiler, Switzerland ambassador to the United States; Andreas Bechtler, lead patron of the Bechtler Museum of Modern Art; and John Boyer, president and CEO of Bechtler Museum of Modern Art, all spoke during the event.
CL also got a peek at the inside of the museum (see pics below), though sadly it doesn’t contain art just yet. When it does, the collection will feature mid-century modern art by an array of talented and well-known European and American artists, including Alberto Giacometti, Jean Tinguely, Le Corbusier, Niki De Saint Phalle, Sam Francis, Andy Warhol, Joan Miro, Pablo Picasso, Barbara Hepworth, Nicolas De Stael, and more.
The anticipation of the museum’s opening and its convenient location to other newbie venues devoted to the arts, such as the Knight Theater, Mint Museum Uptown (opening in October of 2010), and Harvey B. Gantt Center for African-American Arts & Culture, is enough to get one super giddy. Boy, we can’t wait.
News Bring on the MegaMillions
Posted By Rhiannon Fionn-Bowman on Tue, Nov 3, 2009 at 6:47 PM
Can't win if you don't play.
The North Carolina lottery commission voted unanimously Monday afternoon to add MegaMillions to its lineup, giving the state a second multi-state game with eye-popping jackpots.MegaMillions tickets could start selling as early as Jan. 31. North Carolina has sold Powerball tickets since 2006, the year the state lottery began, with two drawings a week on Wednesday and Saturday.
The addition of MegaMillions will give players two more drawings a week, Tuesday and Friday, in which the jackpot can balloon to $200 million or more. Lottery officials are betting that the additional game will boost revenue in a market that is constantly looking for new options to offer players. Neighboring states Virginia, Tennessee and Georgia have already voted to sell two games, and South Carolina is scheduled to vote next Tuesday.
Read the rest of this News and Observer article here.
Can you school the lottery? Dunno. But these folks seem to think so:
News Got trash? Want trash?
Posted By Rhiannon Fionn-Bowman on Tue, Nov 3, 2009 at 6:47 PM
Great news:
Boomer with Attitude / News Physicians pile on Blue Cross
Posted By John Grooms on Tue, Nov 3, 2009 at 6:46 PM
Lately, it’s almost as if Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Carolina has been going out of its way to aggravate people. First, the health care insurance behemoth sent out notices to its customers giving them the news of across-the-board premium and co-pay increases — and they decided to do that during the same week in which they also mailed out flyers in opposition to health care reform. Those flyers included postage-free anti-reform cards that BCBSNC customers were urged to send to Kay Hagan to oppose reform.
On Sunday, Raleigh’s News & Observer ran an op-ed by BCBSNC’s CEO, Bob “$4 Million Man” Greczyn, in which he leaned heavily on a “highly respected study” that was, in reality, a document that has been widely dismissed as a deliberately skewed, industry-paid sham.
Now, physicians have sent a letter to N.C. Insurance Commissioner Wayne Goodwin, claiming that Blue Cross is trying to get around provisions of a new law controlling contracts between doctors and insurance companies. Read about it in more detail here.
Last but not least, we salute the Pitt County Board of Commissioners, which just voted to send BCBSNC a letter of disapproval concerning the recent anti-reform mailing aimed at Sen. Hagan. Details here.
Film / Film News / News This Week's DVD Releases
Posted By Matt Brunson on Tue, Nov 3, 2009 at 5:38 PM
Following is a list of some major DVD releases debuting today. For a complete list, go to www.amazon.com.
News Across the Globe: McDonald’s closes in Iceland
Posted By Anita Overcash on Tue, Nov 3, 2009 at 3:45 PM
Though I've never been a big fan of fast food, - and Morgan Spurlock's 2004 documentary, Super Size Me, certainly didn't help - I was intrigued to learn that McDonald's restaurants have left Iceland.
With the collapse of Iceland’s currency, the Krona, the country continues to face a dreadful economic climate. It’s so dreadful, in fact, that Iceland’s three McDonald’s restaurants – all located in the capital, Reykjavik – have closed down.
Icelandic folks scurried to the McDonald’s, before the closings, to order one last meal from the food chain. Some even stocked up on food for experimental purposes. See video from YouTube below.
For another video farewell to McDonald's, posted on YouTube, click here.
For more information on McDonald's food chain leaving Iceland, check out the article below from The Associated Press
REYKJAVIK, Iceland — The Big Mac, long a symbol of globalization, has become the latest victim of this tiny island nation's overexposure to the world financial crisis.Iceland's three McDonald's restaurants — all in the capital Reykjavik — will close next weekend, as the franchise owner gives in to falling profits caused by the collapse in the Icelandic krona.
"The economic situation has just made it too expensive for us," Magnus Ogmundsson, the managing director of Lyst Hr., McDonald's franchise holder in Iceland, told the Associated Press by telephone on Monday.
Arts / News A new beginning for Charlotte Concerts
Posted By Perry Tannenbaum on Tue, Nov 3, 2009 at 11:14 AM
The 80th anniversary season of Carolinas Concert Association began with some radical changes. Founded during the Great Depression, CCA seemed destined for awhile to succumb to the Great Recession. Rebranded as Charlotte Concerts and transported to the cozier confines of Halton Theater, the born-again series resurfaced on October 23 with the Perlman/Schmidt/Bailey Piano Trio.
Comprised of pianist Navah Perlman (yes, Itzhak’s daughter), violinist Giora Schmidt, and cellist Zuill Bailey, the group warmed up with Beethoven’s Piano Trio No. 6 in E-flat, written after the Pastoral Symphony No. 6, when the composer’s reputation and fame – if not his considerable artistic powers – were still on the ascent. It’s a surprisingly sunny and straightforward piece, without some of the feints and misdirection we see elsewhere in Beethoven, but the group’s chemistry didn’t mesh ideally with the hall.
Too much resonance haunted the treble, yet Perlman was disinclined to ease off on the pedals of the Yamaha, smudging the outer allegro movements. Schmidt could have helped more, but he sounded diffident in the opening movement and ignored his chances to assert himself in the ensuing allegretto. The third movement displayed Schmidt’s lyrical side to far better advantage, winking here and there with a scherzo charm and swaying with a lovely 3/4 lilt. His final affirmations in the closing allegro had all the sizzle that had been missing earlier.
Zuill Bailey had a better sound going for him at Halton than when I heard him back in August, playing the Beethoven Cello Sonatas with Simone Dinnerstein at (le) poisson rouge in New York. Halton flattered all of the cello – even when Bailey was in the background plucking pizzicatos. He was most assertive in the outer movements, particularly virtuosic in the finale.
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New Mint exhibit showcases Debora Arango
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Question the Queen City: Who set fire to the nightlife? 3
From 1971 to 1976, 17 nightclubs in Charlotte burned to the ground. Who did it?
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The Hangover Part II: Buzz kill 7
No use crying over spilt sequel.
