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Tuesday, November 17, 2009
Arts / Today's Top Five / News Today's Top 5: Tuesday
Posted By Anita Overcash on Tue, Nov 17, 2009 at 8:00 AM
Here are the five best events going down in Charlotte and the surrounding area today, Nov. 17, 2009 — as selected by the folks at Creative Loafing.
• New Urbanscapes exhibition at Jerald Melberg Gallery
• Lyle Lovett at Belk Theater
• Mike Speanburg at Lake Norman Comedy Zone in Galway Hooker
• Kasey King's Disco Ball at Scorpio's
• Catawba Riverkeeper Foundation's Film Festival, Our Rivers vs. Us at Central Piedmont Community College
Monday, November 16, 2009
News / Biz Protests before Duke Energy CEO offered two awards
Posted By Rhiannon Fionn-Bowman on Mon, Nov 16, 2009 at 6:19 PM
About a dozen protesters hung out in front of the Mecklenburg County Courthouse this afternoon, some in costume. There were the usual picket signs, then there was the depiction of a coal industry executive forcing a blindfolded Justice to her knees. (Photos below.)
Originally, the group — which includes members of several environmental organizations — planned to protest during the trial of Ken Davies. He's a local attorney who was arrested during the April protest at Duke Energy headquarters in Uptown, along with roughly 40 of his fellow protesters. (See photos from that protest here.)
The crime? They became trespassers when they voluntarily crossed a pink line spray-painted on the sidewalk. Of the 40 arrested in April, 30 have already paid their debt to society — either through community service or by paying court costs. The final 10? Their charges were dropped last week.
Davies attempted to subpoena Jim Rogers, the company's CEO, to testify at his trial. He hoped Rogers would show and defend the company's Cliffside Steam Station (a coal plant), located about 50 miles from Uptown Charlotte.
Bruce Lillie, a supervisor in the D.A.'s office, says — despite appearances — the court's decision to drop their charges against Davies, and nine others, was coincidental and doesn't have anything to do with Davies' attempt to subpoena Rogers. More, Lillie says, he wasn't aware Rogers was being honored tonight by the Charlotte Chamber of Commerce.
"Our feeling was we had convicted a lot of people already involved with this case," said Lillie. Plus, he added, he heard that the protesters who didn't plead guilty planned to use their court time to draw attention to their cause -- and, he said, that isn't a good use of the court's time.
"From a practical standpoint," he said, "the court doesn't have the resources to turn a trespassing case into a 2-3 day trial."
When Davies' trespassing charge was dropped, plans for the protest got confused said Brian Seaton, one of the protests organizers. He expects a bigger crowd of protesters to show up tonight, at the Convention Center. The protest will begin at 5:30 and the group plans to hold their own award ceremony at 6:30.
Tonight, while Rogers is inside accepting the 2009 Citizen of the Carolinas Award, the protesters plan to honor him as Hypocrite of the Year.
They say he's a "greenwasher" because he says he's in favor of promoting alternative energy production while constructing a new coal fired plant.
"Among the things that are harmful to our planet," said Donna Lisenby, of Appalachian Voices and the Upper Watauga Riverkeeper, "coal-fired plants are among the worst things."
Duke Energy representative, Tom Williams, isn't bothered by the protests. Instead, he says, "We admire the people who are protesting. We admire their passion and enthusiasm."
He says his boss, Jim Rogers, has already testified under oath about Cliffside — to the North Carolina Utilities Commission and didn't have anything to do with the protesters' trespassing cases.
So far, all efforts by environmentalists to halt construction at Cliffside have failed.
News Who wants clean air?
Posted By Rhiannon Fionn-Bowman on Mon, Nov 16, 2009 at 5:04 PM
Did you know Charlotte-metro's air is on the nasty-air list? It is.
The Q.C. is ranked No. 8 on the American Lung Association's list of worst air, in terms of ozone. That's right. We're up there with Los Angeles and Houston, and, according to their report, our air quality is getting worse -- not better.
Plans to clean up the Charlotte region’s air have stalled even as federal regulators are pushing state and local officials to deal with pollution.The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has started the clock on penalties that could cripple the region’s road funding and block industrial development unless clean-air plans are submitted and approved by 2011.
State environmental regulators in both Carolinas and a regional transportation group are expected to detail those plans.
But the N.C. Department of Environment and Natural Resources has been held up in negotiations with the EPA over terms for an extension — one year or two — dictating when the region has to meet current ozone standards. Those talks have tied up the release of a major section of North Carolina’s state implementation plan, says Laura Boothe, the state’s division of air quality attainment planning branch supervisor.
The EPA must approve both states’ plans, known in government circles as an SIP, by May 8, 2011, or transportation dollars could be cut off for the region — an area that includes Mecklenburg, Union, Gaston, Lincoln, Cabarrus, Rowan and York counties, as well as southern Iredell County.
Read the rest of this Charlotte Business Journal article here.
Arts / News Best bets in Charlotte comedy this week, Nov. 17-21
Posted By Debbie Millwater on Mon, Nov 16, 2009 at 4:39 PM
As the headline suggests, here are a few of the best places to find comedy events in Charlotte — from stand-up to improv to sketch comedy and more. For a complete listing of all comedy visit www.CharlotteComedyLIVE.com.
Tuesday, Nov. 17
* Stand-Up Comedy at Lake Norman Comedy Zone at 7 p.m.
Nationally touring headliner Mike Speanburg.
Galway Hooker ~ 7044 Kenton Dr., Cornelius ~ 704-895-1782 ~ $10.
Wednesday, Nov. 18
* Laugh Out Loud Wednesdays Stand-Up Open Mic at 8:30 p.m.
Hosted by Tasha Renee. Music by DJ Infinite.
Situations Lounge ~ 7801 University City Blvd. ~ Free before 7:30 p.m.
Thursday, Nov. 19
* NoDa Stand-Up Comedy Showcase at Prevue Music Hall at 8 p.m.
Join host Mike Buczek as he brings you this weekly stand-up showcase featuring Charlotte's best up-and-coming stand-up talent.
Prevue Music Hall ~ 2909 N. Davidson St. ~ No Cover
Friday, Nov. 20
* Charlotte Comedy Theater Improv at Prevue Music Hall at 8 p.m.
Short form shows similar to Whose Line Is It Anyway?
Prevue Music Hall ~ 2909 N. Davidson St. ~ Charlotte, NC 28205 ~ $10
Saturday, Nov. 21
* Best of Robot Johnson Sketch Comedy at 10 p.m.
Charlotte's premiere sketch comedy troupe returns to Carolina Actors Studio Theatre for The Best of Robot Johnson featuring their best original sketches, hilarious recurring characters, musical numbers and a quirky take on pop culture.
Carolina Actors Studio Theatre ~ 1118 Clement Ave. ~ $15
To join Debbie’s mailing list (just one e-mail a week, I promise), e-mail DebbieMillwater@Gmail.com with the Subject Line “Subscribe.”
Boomer with Attitude / News Drug industry gives America the finger
Posted By John Grooms on Mon, Nov 16, 2009 at 3:40 PM
“When we have major legislation anticipated, we see a run-up in price increases.” According to the New York Times, that’s how Stephen Schondelmeyer, a pharmaceutical economics expert at the University of Minnesota reacted to the news that drug companies have raised prices an average of 9 percent in the face of upcoming health care reform. In other words, Schondelmeyer is saying, that’s just the way these guys work. When there’s a chance the government could cut into the industry’s obscenely high profits, up go the prices. Researchers at Harvard found the same kind of price increases after Congress added drug benefits to Medicare earlier this decade.
Oh, and the “agreement” the drug industry had with the White House to cut $8 billion per year from America’s drug bill via rebates to seniors and the government? You guessed it -- this year’s 9 percent price increases cancel out the agreement’s first year savings.
Writer Timothy Egan wrote a piece last week in which he noted that more and more Americans are angry because they now feel that our system – our social contract, if you will – is rigged against them, to the benefit of large corporations. Personally, I wonder what’s taken folks so long to make the connections, but with drug companies and health insurance companies gouging consumers for all they’re worth and more – not to mention taxpayer-rescued financial giants giving out $30 billion in new bonuses – the illusion that corporate honchos give a flying damn about average Americans is fading faster than a Wal-Mart shirt.
Arts / News New exhibition at The Gallery at Carillon
Posted By Anita Overcash on Mon, Nov 16, 2009 at 2:14 PM
A new two-person exhibition, titled Babette Herschberger: Paintings and Mary Lou Sussman: Monoprints, opens today at The Gallery at Carillon. Check out pics (below) of two paintings from the exhibition, which continues through Jan. 29, 2010.
News One powerful fly
Posted By Rhiannon Fionn-Bowman on Mon, Nov 16, 2009 at 1:55 PM
Who knew a fly could bug big business?
Mayflies may seal the fate of mountaintop mining in the Appalachian hills of the eastern U.S.Companies such as Massey Energy Co. that mine coal there by stripping mountain peaks and dumping debris in streams are being asked by the Environmental Protection Agency for the first time to safeguard the mayfly, one of the oldest winged insects and a bait favored by fly-fisherman.
Applicants for new mines will have to show they wouldn’t cause pollution deadly to the aquatic bug. That puts at risk about $3 billion a year in coal that operators led by Massey and International Coal Group Inc. extract in Appalachia, said Kevin Book, an analyst at ClearView Energy Partners LLC. Without fresh permits to dump debris, mines may shut by 2012 in states such as West Virginia, he said.
Mountaintop mining produces millions of tons of crushed shale and sandstone dumped in valleys and streams. Rainwater flowing though the debris carries dissolved metals into waters below, a lethal stew for mayflies, the EPA says.
In mountaintop mining, peaks are blown away by dynamite to expose coal. Companies may be forced to make greater use of tunnels and shafts, which require more labor and can add $3 to $10 to the cost of extracting a ton of coal, Book said.
More than 1,200 miles (1,930 kilometers) of creeks and streams have been buried by mining debris in Appalachia from surface-mining techniques, including mountaintop removal, the EPA said in 2005.
Mining’s threat to mayflies, which hatch in streams and grow to a quarter-inch to more than an inch (2.5 centimeters) long, has been documented since the late 1990s. This year, the EPA under President Barack Obama for the first time held up new permits on the grounds of inadequate safeguards for the insect.
Read the entire article at Bloomberg.com.
Further reading: Salt-loving algae wipe out fish in Appalachian stream
News Recycle your clothes
Posted By Rhiannon Fionn-Bowman on Mon, Nov 16, 2009 at 1:53 PM
From Terri Bennett, at Do Your Part:
One easy way to Do Your Part is to make sure clothing you no longer need is getting reused. But, what if you have items that are torn or you think really aren't usable again? Goodwill wants them both. If your clothes have no tears, stains or buttons missing, they'll go to the Goodwill sales floor.But what about old clothing or other things like rags, bedding or towels that are too worn out to be re-used? Well, Goodwill wants these, too. But, the textiles cannot be wet or contaminated with chemicals. These items are sorted and sold for recycling or many other uses such as sofa stuffing.
Donating these textiles means they are kept out of our growing landfills.
Read the rest of Terri's post here, and check out a video on the topic.
Boomer with Attitude / News Raze Memorial Stadium, build baseball park
Posted By John Grooms on Mon, Nov 16, 2009 at 12:30 PM
The latest bad news about Memorial Stadium should – it probably won’t, but it should – move the county to reconsider its stadium and baseball park plans. As we’ve written before, an opportunity to solve two problems at once is at hand. Lots of people want the Charlotte Knights to move to a new ballpark downtown, but lawsuits over the complicated land-swaps proposed to facilitate putting the park in Third Ward -- and gripes about using land previously designated for a large uptown park -- have kept the Knights in Fort Mill. Meanwhile, the county is sitting on the Memorial Stadium land, the stadium is a wreck, and will cost nearly a million dollars to repair. It was a fine stadium for a long time, and is a great historical relic, but it’s not worth the price it’ll take to fix it. At one point, the county considered using Memorial Stadium’s land for the baseball park, until someone figured out a way for Uptown big wheels to make more money. But the deal cobbled together by Center City Partners is going nowhere, and Memorial Stadium is in limbo. It's time now to reconsider the Memorial Stadium option for baseball. Now, will someone on the commission please put 2 and 2 together? Maybe county manager Harry Jones could claim he thought of a great way to save the county money and bring baseball downtown, and incidentally save his skin after his recent controversies.
Arts / Today's Top Five / News Today's Top 5: Monday
Posted By Anita Overcash on Mon, Nov 16, 2009 at 12:00 PM
Here are the five best events going down in Charlotte and the surrounding area today, Nov. 16, 2009 — as selected by the folks at Creative Loafing.
• Steve Kimock Crazy Engine at Visulite Theatre
• Find Your Muse Open Mic at The Evening Muse
• Speak A Latte at PJ's Coffee & Lounge
• Changing Places: From Black and White to Technicolor exhibition at Levine Museum of the New South
• Karaoke at Dixie's Tavern
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