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Wednesday, June 17, 2015
First Drip First Drip (6/17/15): Mecklenburg commissioners pass budget emphasizing education
Posted By Ryan Pitkin on Wed, Jun 17, 2015 at 11:09 AM
NoDa Brewery co-owner Suzie Ford said the construction has been ramped up on the brewery's new North Tryon location and she expects it to be ready by September. Suzie and her husband, Todd, are investing about $8 million on the 32,000-square-foot warehouse at 2912 North Tryon St.
A water main break has shut down a road in Myers Park near Queens University. A tweet from Charlotte Water at about 7:30 a.m. said the 2200 block of Wellesley Avenue will be shut down and residents in the area will experience little to no water pressure. A Queens University spokesperson said the college still has "some water pressure" and will continue classes as scheduled.
Led by Charlotte-born-and-raised Stephen Curry, the Golden State Warriors won their first NBA championship since 1975. Andre Iguodala was awarded NBA Finals MVP, despite not having started a game during the entire regular season.
After announcing the availability of a fiber-based, high-speed Internet in parts of Charlotte on Monday, AT&T is now reportedly seeking to continue the rollout of ultra-fast Internet speeds to multi-family communities such as apartments. A Tuesday press release from the company's senior vice president said the AT&T Gigapower network will soon be available in more apartments, condominiums and communities.
Arts / Today's Top Five Today's Top 5: Wednesday
Posted By Anita Overcash on Wed, Jun 17, 2015 at 10:40 AM
Here are the five best events going down in Charlotte and the surrounding area today, June 17, 2015 as selected by the folks at Creative Loafing.
• Hozier at Uptown Amphitheatre
• Jeff Ross at Amos' Southend
• Trivia at Ed's Tavern
• Hurray for the Riff Raff, Clear Plastic Masks at Visulite Theatre
• Almost Famous Comedy Show at The Comedy Zone
Tuesday, June 16, 2015
First Drip First Drip (6/16/15): Kerr Putney named as new CMPD Chief
Posted By Ryan Pitkin on Tue, Jun 16, 2015 at 11:21 AM
The North Carolina Senate announced a budget proposal on Monday, which is expected to meet heavy opposition in the House and from the Governor. The budget would reduce this year's spending to a two-percent increase, only a third of the amount in the House bill passed last month. The new budget would put much of the state's $400 million budget surplus into rainy day funds. It does not include a bolstered film grant, nor extensions of expiring tax credits for renewable energy and renovating historic buildings.
The Charlotte Hornets traded away Lance Stephenson on Monday night, a player who many believed was a bigger distraction than he was an addition. The team traded Stephenson to the L.A. Clippers for veterans Spencer Hawes and Matt Barnes. Stephenson was seen as a major addition to the Hornets during last year's offseason, but struggled with consistency and spent much of the season coming off the bench. The team won 10 less games last season than the previous season.
The NBA Finals is enjoying high viewership in Charlotte, thanks in part to locally born Golden State star Stephen Curry, this year's NBA MVP. Curry is the son of Charlotte Hornets fan-favorite Dell Curry and came up playing basketball for Charlotte Christian High School and Davidson College. This year's Golden State-Cleveland championship series has averaged 240,000 viewers in Charlotte, a 27 percent increase from last year's finals. The sixth game of the series will be played in Cleveland tonight and is expected to reach up to 300,000 viewers in Charlotte.
The leader of the Spokane, Washington NAACP, who recently resigned after allegations that she has deceptively passed as black despite being fully white, appeared on the Today Show this morning and told Matt Lauer that she has identified as black since she was 5 years old and she "takes exception" to the allegation that she was deceiving people. Since being outed by her parents as being white, Dolezal has resigned as president of the Spokane, Washington branch of the NAACP, lost her position as a part-time African studies instructor at a local university, lost her job as a freelance newspaper columnist and is being investigated by the city Ethics Commission over whether she lied about her race on her application when she landed an appointment to Spokane's police oversight board.
Arts / Today's Top Five Today's Top 5: Tuesday
Posted By Anita Overcash on Tue, Jun 16, 2015 at 9:48 AM
Here are the five best events going down in Charlotte and the surrounding area today, June 16, 2015 as selected by the folks at Creative Loafing.
• Dirty Dancing at Belk Theater
• Contempt screening at Bechtler Museum of Modern Art
• Comedy Open Mic at Jackalope Jacks
• Charlotte Knights vs. Pawtucket Red Sox at BB&T Ballpark
• Broken Mic Night at Petra's Piano Bar & Cabaret
Monday, June 15, 2015
Arts / Today's Top Five Today's Top 5: Monday
Posted By Anita Overcash on Mon, Jun 15, 2015 at 4:59 PM
Here are the five best events going down in Charlotte and the surrounding area today, June 15, 2015 as selected by the folks at Creative Loafing.
• Gogol Bordello w/ Flogging Molly, Mariachi El Bronx at Uptown Amphitheater
• I Am A Knife With Legs at Actor's Theatre of Charlotte
• Find Your Muse Open Mic f. Sarah Tucker at Evening Muse
• Bingo at Big Al's
• Knocturnal at Snug Harbor
First Drip First Drip (6/15/15): Cowfish to reopen for second time
Posted By Ryan Pitkin on Mon, Jun 15, 2015 at 3:12 PM
Police have charged Chantee Boyd with felony death by vehicle and a list of other charges following a car wreck that took the life of her three-year-old son early Sunday morning. Police say Boyd was drunk when she crashed the car she was driving on Billy Graham Parkway, killing her youngest son and injuring her seven-year-old son. Boyd is being held on $505,000 bail and is set to appear in court tomorrow.
Following a weekend that saw temperatures peak at 94 degrees, meteorologists say the upcoming week will be even hotter, with temperatures nearing 100 degrees through Thursday. No rain is expected until possible Wednesday, during which there's a 50 percent chance of showers. Heat advisories have been issued in some areas surrounding Mecklenburg County.
Two teenagers lost limbs in shark attacks on the North Carolina coast on Sunday within 90 minutes of each other. Oak Island officials said both teens were standing in waist-deep water about 20 yards from the beach. A 13-year-old girl was attacked at about 4:40 p.m. and a 16-year-old buy was then bitten around 5:50 p.m.
Gastonia police took a 55-year-old man into custody after a four-hour standoff at a home in Gaston County on Monday morning. Police said the standoff began after Ted Campbell stole his mother's car. The standoff began at 5 a.m.
Sunday, June 14, 2015
Arts / Today's Top Five Today's Top 5: Sunday
Posted By Anita Overcash on Sun, Jun 14, 2015 at 9:00 AM
Here are the five best events going down in Charlotte and the surrounding area today, June 14, 2015 as selected by the folks at Creative Loafing.
• Charlotte Symphony's Summer Pops at Symphony Park
• The Wizard of Oz at Matthews Playhouse
• David Childers, The Loudermilks, Slim Pickens at Snug Harbor
• Drag Brunch at Sweet Meadow Cafe
• Funny On The Fly at The Comedy Zone
Saturday, June 13, 2015
Arts / Today's Top Five Today's Top 5: Saturday
Posted By Anita Overcash on Sat, Jun 13, 2015 at 9:00 AM
Here are the five best events going down in Charlotte and the surrounding area today, June 13, 2015 as selected by the folks at Creative Loafing.
• Lana Del Rey with Grimes (pictured) at PNC Music Pavilion
• Brew Stash Bash at U.S. National Whitewater Center
• Purgatory at Amos' Southend
• The Hound of Baskervilles at ImaginOn's Wells Fargo Playhouse
• The Chuckleheads at Warehouse Performing Arts Center
Friday, June 12, 2015
Arts Theater review: Oliver!
Posted By Perry Tannenbaum on Fri, Jun 12, 2015 at 11:50 AM
Before the curtain rose for CPCC Summer Theatre’s opening night - and its 42nd season - artistic director Tom Hollis observed a protracted moment of silence from the Halton Theater stage for sound designer Jeff Murdock, who died suddenly earlier this spring.
Frequently plagued with thumping noises, sudden squeals, and awkward sonic dropouts ever since the Halton opened nearly 10 years ago, the sound system was incorrigible last Friday during performances of Oliver!. Sound designer Kenny Shouse, presumably manning the soundboard as Murdock had done before him, seemed to have all his lines potted to prudent levels. I’m not sure I heard a single one of those unnerving squeals all evening. But there were more abysmal dropouts than I can ever recall at CPCC, and those prudent levels usually meant that our soloists couldn’t be heard when musical director Drina Keen summoned fortissimos from the orchestra pit.
Hollis could not be faulted if he felt that the splendid work by Keen, choreographer Ron Chisholm, set and lighting designer Gary Sivak, and costume designer Jamey Varnadore was heartbreakingly defaced by the wayward sound. I felt more sympathy for Hollis, for in assembling this Oliver! design team and cast, then coordinating them so well — including nearly two dozen children. Hollis was as masterful as he’s ever been in his 32 years at CPCC.
Film / Film Reviews The Jurassic Park Pack
Posted By Matt Brunson on Fri, Jun 12, 2015 at 10:51 AM
(Ratings are on a four-star scale.)
- (Photos: Universal)
Jurassic Park - 1993 was an exceptional year for Steven Spielberg, scoring critical and commercial kudos with both his summer blockbuster Jurassic Park and his year-end awards contender Schindler's List. The hype surrounding the dinosaur film was deafening, and yet the movie largely managed to meet expectations. Based on Michael Crichton's bestseller, it centers on the efforts of various characters — including scientists charismatically played by Sam Neill, Laura Dern and Jeff Goldblum — to escape from a theme-park island that's crawling with genetically recreated dinosaurs. Spielberg treats us much as he does his characters, leading us into a strange land and then expecting us to make it out with all our faculties intact; it's a tall order, given the heart-stopping, blood-curdling, limbs-numbing excitement packed into the second hour. The effects work is astonishing — then again, when the team members' past credits had included the likes of Aliens, Terminator 2: Judgment Day and the original Star Wars trilogy, that was to be expected. While Schindler's List was sweeping most of the major Oscars, Jurassic Park went 3-for-3 in its technical bids, winning for Best Visual Effects, Best Sound and Best Sound Effects Editing. Even more impressive was its phenomenal box office: At close to a billion dollars internationally, it still ranks among the all-time Top 20 grossers. ***1/2
The Lost World: Jurassic Park - You didn't have to be a rocket scientist — or even a paleontologist — to know that Jurassic Park's 1997 sequel would similarly rake in tons of dough, regardless of the quality of the picture. That was doubtless a relief to studio suits, considering that this is arguably Spielberg's most impersonal movie to date, failing to retain its predecessor's sense of mystery and majesty. It's entertainment on autopilot, with the dinosaur basically reinvented as a slasher-flick stalker. Goldblum returns from the first film, but his character has been transformed from an eccentric sidekick into a listless action hero; new co-stars Julianne Moore and Vince Vaughn fare even worse. The effects are about as impressive as those in the original Jurassic Park; unfortunately, it's the movie surrounding them that remains hopelessly mechanical. **
Jurassic Park III - Spielberg served only as executive producer on this 2001 effort, handing directing duties over to Joe Johnston (Captain America: The First Avenger). Screenplay duties were assigned to Alexander Payne and Jim Taylor, the team that would later win Oscars for penning Sideways, and William H. Macy joined a cast that included Neill and Dern, both returning from the first picture. Yet despite all this talent to burn, JPIII still turned out to be even worse than the second installment. There's one exciting sequence involving Pteranodons, but the rest is clumsy, uninvolving and often laughable — the scene in which Neill's character learns to speak "Velociraptor" and orders these vicious creatures to go away is particularly risible. In short, this is Hollywood's version of a red-light district, with lots of talented people selling themselves for quick cash. *1/2
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Atlantic City's boardwalk suffers fate similar to Charlotte's 2
A storm destroyed the Queen City's own boardwalk almost 80 years ago
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Question the Queen City: A Murder in Myers Park 3
The home Virginia Anderson was murdered in still stands, in the heart of the neighborhood.
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Flintlocks firing and autopsies: A Q&A with Manifest Destiny artist Matthew Roberts
On the look of the book, creating the monsters and more.
