Mobile
News
Friday, August 21, 2009
Arts / Today's Top Five / News Today's Top 5: Friday
Posted By Anita Overcash on Fri, Aug 21, 2009 at 8:00 AM
Here are the five best events going down in Charlotte and the surrounding area today, Aug. 21, 2009 — as selected by the folks at Creative Loafing.
• Saved By The Beat: '90s Flashback Party, featuring Dustin Diamond at Suite
• Counting Crows at Uptown Amphitheatre
• La Petite Mort Burlesque at Halo
• Comedian Jared Stern at Alive
• Eyes of the Elders at Neighborhood Theatre
Thursday, August 20, 2009
Boomer with Attitude / News Ridge spills beans
Posted By John Grooms on Thu, Aug 20, 2009 at 4:59 PM
After the Nixon White House tapes were released, friends and I used to say, “Your most paranoid fears were true, after all.” The same may be said about the Bush years, with one change: rather than “your most paranoid fears,” make it “your worst hunches that those guys were sleazebags.”
Today, Tom Ridge, the first Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, confirmed something many Bush critics believed: the administration forced Ridge to raise the color-coded security alert in order to help Bush’s re-election campaign. Ridge, in his upcoming book about his time at DHS, says he knew the White House order was politically motivated, and he “considered resigning” because of it. Of course, he didn’t, and the security alert was raised, so Ridge’s consideration of resignation is, at this point, a big nothing.
Nonetheless, the revelation does confirm the Bush White House’s Karl Rove-derived view of everything, including important policy decisions, being political. And to think we’re still paying for those bozos’ policies.
News / Biz Fact: Clean energy costs more
Posted By Rhiannon Fionn-Bowman on Thu, Aug 20, 2009 at 3:51 PM
Thousands of coal industry muckety mucks are in Charlotte this week attending the Coal-Gen industry conference. In addition to worrying about cap and trade legislation in Washington, the group is trying to figure out how to continue offering cheap electricity while reducing carbon emissions and turning a profit.
But before we all start crying about the cost of clean energy, let's not forget the cost of dirty energy: Our health, clean air, our mountains, the lives of miners, our rivers, streams and lakes ... in other words, life itself.
I don't know about you, but I'd gladly pay a little extra to the power company each month -- and even chip in more to help the poor cover their energy bills, to avoid all of these coal power side effects.
Its 108 million tons a year of carbon emissions rank Duke third-highest among U.S. utilities. The company's contributions to global warming, use of coal mined by blasting Appalachian mountaintops and construction of a new coal-fired boiler at its Cliffside plant prompted hundreds of protesters to march on Duke's headquarters in genteel Charlotte in April.But Duke is also building a new-generation coal plant, in Edwardsport, Ind., that might be able to capture and store up to half its carbon emissions. Success for plants like Edwardsport, experts say, is key to securing the coal industry's future.
Duke executive Jim Turner, president of its regulated business segment, assured his audience that the company won't turn away from coal, in which it has invested $5 billion for non-carbon pollution controls.
“But there is a balance here,” he said, “because the cleaner we try to get, the more it costs.”
The costs of installing carbon-capturing technology could equal the amount U.S. utilities have spent for controlling all air pollutants combined, said Ron Barnes of Charlotte-headquartered Shaw Power Group, which designs and builds power plants.
The advanced design at Edwardsport will cost $2.3 billion for 630 megawatts, compared to the $1.8 billion (not including financing costs) for 825 megawatts at Cliffside.
While we're busy sweating corporate profits, the Germans are making clean energy work:
Arts / See & Do: The Weekender / News The Weekender
Posted By Anita Overcash on Thu, Aug 20, 2009 at 2:17 PM
Check out these events going down in Charlotte and the surrounding area this weekend— as selected by the folks at Creative Loafing.
FRIDAY, AUGUST 21
Suite at the EpiCentre
Remember Screech from Saved By The Bell? Well, it was Dustin Diamond who played the geeky character. And he’ll be in town tonight for Saved By The Beat, a '90s flashback party at Suite.
• Music Counting Crows’ fifth studio album Saturday Nights & Sunday Mornings features rock and country-styled songs. You can catch them perform both the newbie songs and older hits from their music catalog at Uptown Amphitheatre. more...
• Music Local hip hop act Eyes of the Elders will have its CD release party at Neighborhood Theatre tonight. And even better, the show is free. more...
SATURDAY, AUGUST 22
Grayson SkatePark
Go to Grayson SkatePark this weekend for Battle Slam Jam, an outdoor showcase of urban artists, athletes and performers. From skateboarding contests to graffiti writing, DJs to live music, there’s plenty to do at this annual event.
• Festival Want to know more about those marvelous little creatures known as hummingbirds? The Hummingbird Festival at Reedy Creek Nature Preserve will enlighten you. more...
• Comedy Take in some laughs tonight, as comedian Jared Stern performs at Alive. more...
SUNDAY, AUGUST 23
5615 South Blvd.
Try a variety of delicacies, including the grape leaf appetizer and the broken rice house special, at Vietnam Grille: Authentic Vietnamese Cuisine.
• Theater Become a detective in a murder investigation during performances of Shear Madness at Stage Door Theater. more...
• Music Tremont Music Hall is poppin’ tonight with music from electro-funk rockers Cobra Starship. more...
Arts / News Hop over to The Forum
Posted By Anita Overcash on Thu, Aug 20, 2009 at 1:28 PM
Tonight at The Forum, Sugar Society presents a DJ set, titled Rabbit In The Moon. See flyer (below) for more details.
Boomer with Attitude / News No Pat McCrory in 2010?
Posted By John Grooms on Thu, Aug 20, 2009 at 11:17 AM
Our region got a double dose of good news this morning. Jim Morrill of the Observer reports that neither former Congressman Robin Hayes nor former Charlotte mayor (oops – current mayor) Pat McCrory will run for Congress in 2010. It seems the two GOP pols met at a Concord barbecue eatery Tuesday and gave each other the news. Rep. Larry Kissell’s probably glad to hear the news about Hayes, his bitter opponent in two hard-fought Congressional races.
McCrory, as is often the case, was unintentionally hilarious. He refused to talk to Morrill about his decision, saying, “Right now my total focus is on completing my term.” His total focus, that’s great. Except, of course, for the time he took off from being focused on his job in order to give speeches against health care reform for the ultra-conservative group Americans for Prosperity.
Arts / Today's Top Five / News Today's Top 5: Thursday
Posted By Anita Overcash on Thu, Aug 20, 2009 at 10:23 AM
Here are the five best events going down in Charlotte and the surrounding area today, Aug. 20, 2009 — as selected by the folks at Creative Loafing.
• Altar Boyz at Duke Energy Theatre
• Dustin Diamond at Lake Norman Comedy Zone
• Neighbors Acres with No Strings Attached at Visulite Theatre
• Raft Guide Rodeo at US National Whitewater Center
• Authors Robert Tompkins and Donald Beagle at Joseph-Beth Booksellers
News CMS to kids: Walk
Posted By Rhiannon Fionn-Bowman on Thu, Aug 20, 2009 at 10:21 AM
There ya go, CMS. Work on two problems at once: Childhood obesity and the budget.
I don't want to hear any kids or parents complaining about this, either. Remember, way back in the day, when we walked to school? It will not hurt the kiddos to walk a few blocks to meet the bus.
What I'm worried about is this: Does this mean the already underpaid, under-appreciated bus drivers will be working fewer hours? (Bet so.)
Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools is saving about $3 million by booting 2,900 kids off the bus and making many others walk a bit further, officials said today.This year's changes mean CMS will have about 100 fewer buses on the road than last year. The fleet of 1,155 will drive about 11,000 fewer miles each day, transportation director Carol Stamper said.
Some of the changes have been in the works for two years. CMS worked with UNC Charlotte to create “common stops” in almost 200 neighborhoods, rather than having buses snake down residential streets stopping in front of so many homes.
Most kids still won't be hiking far. Stamper said the maximum house-to-stop trek is .2 of a mile for elementary students and .4 for middle and high school. The average is 0.12 miles, up from 0.07 last year, she said.
“That is less than halfway around one of our high school tracks,” Superintendent Peter Gorman noted.
The cool kids in the U.K. are doing it:
News Top energy sources
Posted By Rhiannon Fionn-Bowman on Thu, Aug 20, 2009 at 10:14 AM
Mark Jacobson, Stanford University professor of civil and environmental engineering, lists the top energy sources, from best to worst:
The top electrical generating energy sources are:
- Wind
- Concentrated Solar Power (CSP)
- Geothermal power
- Tidal power
- Solar photovoltaics (PV)
- Wave power
- Hydroelectric power
- Nuclear power
- Coal (even with Carbon Capture and Sequestration, CCS)
Nuclear and coal actually tied for last place.
Read more from the Energy and Environmental Science Journal. For the non-academic, less-geeky version, Grist.org has a good summary.
Here's Jacobson discussing carbon dioxide:
Wednesday, August 19, 2009
Film / Film News / News Opening Friday
Posted By Matt Brunson on Wed, Aug 19, 2009 at 11:45 PM
Adam - Hugh Dancy, Rose Byrne
The Cove - Documentary
Inglourious Basterds - Brad Pitt, Christoph Waltz
In the Loop - Peter Capaldi, Tom Hollander
Post Grad - Alexis Bledel, Michael Keaton
Shorts - William H. Macy, Leslie Mann
X Games 3D: The Movie - Documentary
-
5 Reasons To Buy Home Insurance Policy
-
Lunch Break (9/1/16): Organizers unveil "People, Not Polluters" platform in Charlotte as McCrory officials testify in Raleigh
The morning already passed us by. What the hell happened?
-
Question the Queen City: The Outlaws Motorcycle Gang Massacre
What's frequently referred to as the worst mass murder in Charlotte history remains unsolved.
