The CLog

Arts / Today's Top Five Today's Top 5: Wednesday

Posted By Anita Overcash on Wed, Jul 22, 2015 at 10:44 AM

Here are the five best events going down in Charlotte and the surrounding area today, July 22, 2015 as selected by the folks at Creative Loafing.

• Back Alley Film Series screening We Are Still Here at Carolina Cinemas Stadium 12

• Party in the Park at Romare Bearden Park

• Beer Tastings at Common Market (Plaza Midwood)

• Modern Primitives, Aqualads, Travesura, Ratboys, Moenda at Snug Harbor

• Beowulf at Duke Energy Theater

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News Local leaders speak on race relations following first day of Kerrick trial

Posted By Ryan Pitkin on Tue, Jul 21, 2015 at 5:30 PM

About 75 people showed up at Little Rock A.M.E. Zion Church on Monday evening for a panel discussion entitled “How Do We Heal” that included Jonathan Ferrell’s family members, representative of the NAACP, ACLU and elected officials to speak about race relations in Charlotte.

Two panels, one on activism and the other on political policy, spoke for about an hour and a half in total on subjects such as how activism can affect change, racial profiling, community leadership and other topics.

Below are some excerpts from the discussion.

On how to heal as a community following events such as the shooting death of unarmed Jonathan Ferrell by a white police officer:

Corine Mack, president, Charlotte NAACP - We’re no good to anyone else unless we heal first. I always say we need self-examination. We all have to look in the mirror and look at the issues that we need to heal. Black folks did not create racism, white folks did. It’s incumbent on whites, our good white brothers and sisters, to have real conversations with their counterparts, so that we can begin to have honest and deep conversations together. Some may learn from them and some may not, but at least start with that point, because for so many years, we’ve been politically correct and time’s up for that. We cannot let another African American boy or girl be killed; whether it’s at the hands of the police department, black on black crime or otherwise.

Marcelle Vielot (right) and Corine Mack

Tags: Randall Kerrick, Jonathan Ferrell, ACLU, NAACP, Corine Mack, Sarah Preston, North Carolina legislature, South Carolina legislature, Rep. John King, Rep. Rodney Moore, Image

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Arts / Today's Top Five Today's Top 5: Tuesday

Posted By Anita Overcash on Tue, Jul 21, 2015 at 11:11 AM

Here are the five best events going down in Charlotte and the surrounding area today, July 21, 2015 as selected by the folks at Creative Loafing.

• Iron and Wine and Ben Bridwell at The Fillmore

• Booty Booze Happy Hour at Cowbell Burger & Whiskey Bar

• Charlotte Comedy Awards w/ Carlos Valencia at Crown Station Pub

• Ariana Grande and Prince Royce Time Warner Cable Arena

• Charlotte Knights vs. Durham Bulls at BB&T Ballpark

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First Drip First Drip (7/21/15): Charlotte Water asks for residents to cut down on usage

Posted By Ryan Pitkin on Tue, Jul 21, 2015 at 10:07 AM

As drought indicators have gotten worse on the Catawba River basin, Charlotte Water has now asked customers to voluntarily cut down on water usage. Officials have said drought conditions in Charlotte are the worst they've been since December 2011. Charlotte Water is now asking customers to water lawns and gardens only on Tuesdays and Saturdays at night. They also asked people not to fill swimming pools and to turn off ornamental water features such as fountains.

Jury selection in the Randall Kerrick trial began yesterday, and the judge made multiple decisions regarding how the trial can be covered. Superior Court Judge Robert Ervin ruled that audio and video recordings will be allowed in the courtroom, but there can be no recording of any kind of the jurors. Two potential jurors were sent away yesterday, and none were chosen.

Construction crews have halted construction of a parking deck on Brevard and 10th streets on the orders of Levine Properties, until the developer receives money promised by UNC Charlotte. Construction began in April, but Levine is now saying it hasn't received the $4.2 million in equity funding promised by the state to set aside 300 of the 1,335 parking spots for UNC Charlotte, which has a campus nearby. The firm will wrap a 264-unit apartment complex around the parking deck when it is complete.

A police report from an accident involving one of Charlotte's new 48,000 pound streetcars says the driver "tried to stop the trolley but could not control it." The trolley reportedly rolled down a hill, out of control of the driver, for half a mile while westbound on Elizabeth Avenue before striking an SUV at the bottom, injuring two people. The city has said it will release more information about the accident today.

Cornelius officials covered a local Confederate memorial with a tarp on Monday after it was vandalized overnight on Sunday. The town covered the offensive words that were reportedly written or spray-painted on the memorial while they decide who is responsible for cleaning it up.

Tags: Charlotte Water, drought, water usage, Kerrick trial, Jonathan Ferrell, Randall Kerrick, Levine Properties, Charlotte parking, Charlotte construction, CATS, Charlotte trolley, Gold Line, Elizabeth Avenue, Cornelius, Confederate memorial, vandalized

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News Photos: KKK, New Black Panthers hold rallies on S.C. Capitol grounds

Posted By Ryan Pitkin on Mon, Jul 20, 2015 at 11:24 AM

Members of the New Black Panther Party and members of the Loyal White Knights of the Ku Klux Klan from around the Southeast held simultaneous rallies outside the South Carolina state Capitol on Saturday, where the Confederate flag was taken down just over a week before.

A group of about 2,000 people was estimated to have shown up, and police dispersed the crowd an hour early after skirmishes between groups led to five arrests and seven people being transported to the hospital by ambulance.

Creative Loafing contributor Zach NeSmith attended the dueling rallies and took the following photos:

Zach Neesmith

Zach Neesmith

Zach Neesmith

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Zach Neesmith

Zach Neesmith

Zach Neesmith

Zach Neesmith

Zach Neesmith

Zach Neesmith

Tags: Ku Klux Klan, New Black Panther Party, Confederate flag, Columbia, South Carolina, racism, protest rallies, Image

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First Drip First Drip (7/20/15): Jury selection begins in Kerrick trial

Posted By Ryan Pitkin on Mon, Jul 20, 2015 at 10:14 AM

The long-awaited trial of a white CMPD officer charged with involuntary manslaughter in the shooting death of an unarmed black man begins today with jury selection. Randall Kerrick fatally shot 24-year-old Jonathan Ferrell while responding to a 911 call from a woman who believed Ferrell was trying to break into her home. Ferrell had actually just wrecked his car and was looking for help.

David Albert Doyle Jr., 64, has been identified as the man found dead in his Lake Wylie home on Sunday afternoon. CMPD officials said they are investigating the death as a homicide. Neighbors said Doyle's friend found him inside his home on Plantation Woods Drive. He was pronounced dead on the scene.

America's obsession with Charlotte-native Steph Curry's daughter Riley continued this weekend when the Currys posted a video on her third birthday dancing to "Watch Me (Whip/Nae Nae)" that went viral soon after. Riley started getting attention over the summer when she took over her father's press conferences from his lap, stealing the microphone and giving the press funny quips.

One of Charlotte's new streetcars was involved in a wreck on Friday afternoon, slamming into an SUV and sending two people in the vehicle to the hospital. It is unclear what caused the accident. Nobody on the trolley was injured. It was the first accident involving one of the streetcars.

A video of a professional surfer fending off a great white shark at a competition in South Africa yesterday has gone viral. Mick Fanning and the shark can be seen tussling on television footage of the 2015 J Bay Open. Fanning was unhurt, but the leash connecting him to his board was chewed through. He and fellow surfer Julian Wilson were retrieved by rescue boats without incident and the rest of the tournament was canceled.

Tags: Randall Kerrick, Jonathan Ferrell, police shooting, David Doyle, Charlotte crime, Lake Wylie, Steph Curry, Riley Curry, Golden State Warriors, Charlotte Gold Line, Charlotte trolleys. Mick Fanning, Julian Wilson, shark attack, surfer